Best CHESS-Sponsored Brokers in Australia (2025 Review)

Choosing the right share trading platform is one of the most important decisions for an Australian investor. In 2025, the market is crowded with competitive, low-cost options, but not all are created equal.

This guide compares five of the most popular CHESS-sponsored brokers, breaking down their fees, standout features, and who they are best suited for. This review is from the perspective of a somewhat passive, long-term ETF investor who values simplicity and low costs for regular investing.

The Key Comparison Criteria

Before we dive in, here are the core principles guiding this comparison:

• CHESS-Sponsored Only: All brokers reviewed hold your shares directly in your own name under your own Holder Identification Number (HIN). This is a critical feature for long-term security.
• Low Fees are a Priority: For investors who use a dollar-cost averaging strategy (investing smaller amounts regularly), high brokerage fees can significantly eat into returns. This is why brokers from the big four banks are not included; their fees are simply too high for this style of investing.
• Automation is a Bonus: Features that allow for automated, recurring investments help remove emotion from the process and make it easier to stick to a long-term plan.
• Simplicity Over Complexity: This review focuses purely on how well each broker supports buying and holding ASX-listed investments. Advanced charting tools and direct access to foreign exchanges are not a primary focus.

With that in mind, let's compare the brokers.

1. Moomoo

A relatively new player in Australia, Moomoo has quickly gained traction since becoming CHESS-sponsored in April 2024. For a detailed breakdown of its features, safety, and whether it's trustworthy, check out our in-depth Moomoo review.

Fees & Pricing:

Moomoo offers a very competitive fee structure at just $3 per trade for ASX shares and ETFs under $10,000. For larger trades, the fee is 0.03% of the trade value.

Standout Features:

Moomoo's recurring investment plan is a unique offering. For a subscription of $9.90 per month per stock or ETF, you can set up automatic buys on a monthly or fortnightly basis, with the brokerage fee included. Moomoo also features excellent API integration with portfolio trackers like Sharesight, allowing for automatic syncing of your trades.

2. CMC Invest

While its standard fee might seem higher, CMC Invest has a killer feature that makes it incredibly cost-effective for long-term investors making regular, small trades.

Fees & Pricing:

The standard fee is $11 or 0.1% per trade, whichever is greater.

Standout Features:

CMC's trump card is its $0 brokerage on all ASX buy orders of $1,000 or less. This is limited to the first buy per security, per day. In practice, this means you could invest nearly $3,000 into three different ETFs in a single day for free. With some simple planning, a dollar-cost averaging investor can potentially structure all their regular buys to pay zero brokerage. Note that the standard fee still applies when you sell.

Best For:

Investors who want to use a long-standing, trusted name in the Australian market and can take full advantage of the $0 brokerage offer for small, regular buys.

3. Stake

Stake is another favourite among Australian investors, known for its beautiful user interface and competitive pricing.

Fees & Pricing:

Stake charges a flat $3 per trade for all ASX trades up to $30,000, and just 0.01% for any trade size above that. For most retail investors, this is effectively a $3 flat fee.

Standout Features:

It is surprisingly easy to get the brokerage fee down to zero. Stake regularly offers promotions like 12 months of $0 brokerage when you transfer an existing portfolio of at least $1,000 to your account. You can also earn brokerage discounts by referring friends.

Update:

Stake used to offer a recurring investment feature, but as of 2025, this option appears to have been removed from the platform.

4. Pearler

If automation is your top priority, then Pearler is the broker you need to know about.

Fees & Pricing:

Pearler has a refreshingly simple flat fee structure. It charges $6.50 per trade, regardless of the trade size. You can reduce this to $5.50 per trade by pre-purchasing a bundle of trades for a 15% discount.

Standout Features:

Pearler's Autoinvest feature is its main selling point. You can set up a detailed investing plan with target allocations for your chosen ETFs, and Pearler automatically executes the trades for you. There is no subscription fee for this service; you just pay the normal brokerage fee. This is a game-changer for anyone committed to a dollar-cost averaging strategy. Pearler also offers free portfolio transfers, both in and out.

5. Webull

Last but not least, Webull has an unbeatable offer for ETF investors.

Fees & Pricing:

Webull offers $0 brokerage on all Australian ETFs. This applies to both buying and selling, for any trade size, and it's their standard pricing model, not a temporary promotion. For individual shares, standard brokerage of $4.94 (for trades under $16,333) applies.

Standout Features:

For investors who exclusively use ETFs to build their portfolio, this is as good as it gets from a pricing perspective. Like Pearler, Webull also doesn't charge any fees to transfer shares or ETFs in or out of the platform.