2026 Share Trading Platform Awards

Canstar releases its
2026 Share Trading Platform Star Ratings and Awards.

Released: 7 May, 2026

Congratulations to the Award winners

(Winners are listed alphabetically)

CMC Invest

Broker of the Year Award
Outstanding Value Award – Casual Investor
Outstanding Value Award – Active Investor
Outstanding Value Award – Trader
Outstanding Value Award – International Investor

CMC Invest is Canstar’s 2026 Broker of the Year, also taking Outstanding Value Awards across the Casual Investor, Active Investor, Trader, and International Investor profiles. CMC Invest outperformed newer online-only competitors on customer service, research, reliability, and ease of use. Its depth of offerings—including the security of CHESS-sponsored ASX settlement (meaning your shares are registered under your name) and single-wallet access, allowing simpler trading of shares across 15 international markets—sees it providing a premium experience at a competitive price point.

IG Australia

Outstanding Value Award – Casual Investor
Outstanding Value Award – Active Investor
Outstanding Value Award – Trader

IG Australia has been recognised with the Outstanding Value Casual Investor Award and retains the Active Investor and Trader Awards in 2026. Recent pricing changes have reshaped its value, with the platform now offering free brokerage on ASX and US shares. This change particularly benefits casual investors, where per-trade fees can erode small or infrequent trades. It also supports conditional orders and stop-loss minimums, which can protect investors from losses, as well as off-market transfers, allowing investors to move shares between accounts without selling them. A paper-trading account (a simulated, risk-free trading experience) is also available for investors wanting to practice strategies safely. Importantly, IG Australia uses a custodial model, meaning ASX holdings are held on the investor’s behalf rather than being CHESS-sponsored. 

Interactive Broker Australia

Outstanding Value Award – Casual Investor
Outstanding Value Award – Active Investor
Outstanding Value Award – Trader
Outstanding Value Award – International Investor

Interactive Brokers Australia retains the Outstanding Value Casual Investor, Active Investor, Trader, and International Investor Awards in 2026. A key strength is its excellent foreign exchange pricing, which significantly lowers the cost of trading global stocks. That’s paired with its global reach, with a single account providing access to stocks across more than 30 countries. For active traders, the platform offers deep insights and functionality, including the ability to buy fractional shares, engage in short selling, and access its Trader Workstation platform. It’s important to note, ASX shares purchased through the broker aren’t CHESS-sponsored, instead held by a third party on your behalf.

Moomoo

Outstanding Value Award – Casual Investor
Outstanding Value Award – Active Investor
Outstanding Value Award – Trader

Moomoo AU retains the Outstanding Value Casual Investor, Active Investor, and Trader Awards in 2026. Its competitive brokerage fees on CHESS-sponsored ASX trading anchors the value it was found to offer across every profile. As did its cash management program, paying interest on uninvested balances. The toolset supports a wide range of investing objectives: a mobile-first experience suits casual investors while active investors and traders are supported by technical analysis from TradingView, Level 2 market data (showing buyers and sellers awaiting trades), and advanced screeners to filter for specific investment traits.

Tiger Brokers

Outstanding Value Award – Active Investor

Tiger Brokers (AU) retains the Outstanding Value Active Investor Award in 2026. It offers investors flexibility, with features like short selling and options trading, all while providing some of the most competitively-priced CHESS-sponsored ASX trading in the market. 

Webull Securities

Outstanding Value Award – Casual Investor

Webull Securities (Australia) has been recognised within the Outstanding Value Casual Investor Award and retains the Active Investor and International Share Trading Awards in 2026. Its price point and features offer value for casual investors through to frequent traders, whether they are investing on the ASX or across international markets. Its CHESS-sponsored ASX trades are among the most competitively priced in the market, while the platform provides free real-time prices and charting to automatically identify over 50 market patterns. Traders can also benefit from professional analyst insights via Trading Central and automated tax reporting from Sharesight. For those not yet ready to use real money, or who want to live out an investing fantasy, ‘paper trading’ allows for risk-free strategy practice.

About this year’s Awards

The provider landscape saw a major shake-up this year, most notably with acquisition of a majority stake in Saxo Bank by J. Safra Sarasin Group in March 2026. As a result, Saxo’s Australian platform has been rebranded as Totality, a move that changed the competitive lineup heading into this year’s assessment. The market has seen competition in fees at the digital-first end–housing newer arrivals competing on lower fees and breadth of features–with several cutting ASX brokerage fees even further. 

Beyond the price changes, a clear divide between bank-backed and online-only platforms continues to shape consumer experience. Digital-first brokers score strongly on price and platform capabilities. However, Canstar’s research shows that, on average, legacy, often bank-backed platforms rate more highly on trust, reliability, and service quality.

How we assessed value

Each platform was evaluated using a value-based methodology following the customer journey–from opening an account all the way to closing it–across eight categories, with more than 245 individual features scored. Categories were weighted by their relevance to each of four consumer profiles:

• Trade (60–70%): Making up the largest share of the total score was Trade, comprising Price Score (brokerage fees, ongoing costs, and foreign exchange costs), trade capabilities, and market access. Within the Trade category, Price Score alone accounts for 50-75% of the score. Canstar modelled 100 hypothetical trading scenarios per profile, benchmarked the total annual cost against peers, and awarded the lowest-cost platform the highest score, with remaining platforms scored on a relative distribution.
• Research (10–15%): Comprises available charting, company information, market information, live data and analytics, and alerts.
• Account Management (5%): Covers account access, reporting, and security.
• Customer Service (3–15%): Covers education and account and client services.
• Opening, Deposit & Settlement, CHESS, and Closing (combined ~10%): Covers the remaining touchpoints of the customer journey.

We used four consumer profiles–think of them as investor personas–to determine the value a trading platform may provide: 

Casual investor
Trades once a month, on average, with a long-term investment outlook.

Active investor
Makes an average of four trades a month, paying attention to market information and analysis, and potentially invests in managed funds.

Trader
Makes an average of 30 trades per month, using the latest market information to determine their portfolio holdings, and may consider derivatives as part of their strategy. 

International investor
Aims to diversify their portfolio across global markets, putting greater weight on the likes of foreign exchange costs.

The Broker of the Year Award aggregates results across all profiles to recognise the platform that delivers the strongest combination of value, performance, and service across investor types. Customer satisfaction makes up 40% of the total score, reflecting our belief that trust, reliability, and service quality can be just as important as low fees.

Who we looked at

To be eligible for the Canstar Share Trading Platform Star Ratings and Awards, a platform must:

• Be secure and regulated: The broker must be an ASX Participant or CHESS sponsored. If not, they must hold an AFSL (or be an authorised representative), hold customer assets in a separate trust with the customer as beneficial owner, and have no access to customer funds without the customer’s approval.
• Provide full ASX access: Platforms must offer all shares listed on the ASX.
• Support our consumer profiles: Platforms must be able to handle transactions matching the value and volume specified in the profiles used in our assessment.
• Offer real-time data: For the Trader profile, platforms must offer live or click-to-refresh ASX price data with no delay.

Additional requirements:

• International Share Trading Platform Award: Platforms must offer online trading on a US exchange. 
• Broker of the Year Award: Reserved for CHESS-sponsored brokers.

After applying these criteria, Canstar assessed 27 providers across 56 products in this year’s award round.

What to keep in mind when considering Share Trading Platforms

Total cost is more than just brokerage. While low commissions make great headlines, the real cost of using a platform can lie in the fine print. Ongoing platform fees, costs for conditional orders, charges to move your shares via an off-market transfer, and foreign exchange fees can add up. The right balance between cost and features depends on how often you trade, the size of each trade, and whether you’re trading Australian shares, international shares, or both.

CHESS-sponsored vs. custodial. In Australia, there is more than one way you can ‘own’ your shares. CHESS sponsorship means your shares are registered directly in your name with the ASX. Under a custodial model, your broker or a third party holds your shares on your behalf, with you as the beneficial owner. Both are common and have different implications for ownership and transfer flexibility–consider which option gives you the peace of mind you need.

Tools that match how you trade. The right platform should feel like a tool, not an obstacle. Casual investors may prioritise ease of use and education, while active investors and traders typically need stronger charting, market data, and execution features like conditional orders or short selling. The lowest priced platform won’t always be the right fit.

International access and FX costs. If you’re buying stocks in the US or other global markets, the foreign exchange spread is often a larger cost than the brokerage fee itself. Platforms vary in the markets they offer and how they handle your money. Some use a single ‘multi-currency wallet’, while others offer separate sub-accounts for different currencies. Crucially, they also differ in how FX is priced.

What this award is and isn’t

What this award is:

• A measure of value. The assessment considers the full cost of using a platform–brokerage, ongoing fees, and foreign exchange costs–alongside trading capabilities, research, and service.
• A level playing field. All eligible platforms, from bank-backed brokers to online-only operators, are assessed under the same methodology and benchmarked against peers within each profile.

What this award isn’t:

• Personal financial advice. Ratings are based on general consumer profiles, not your individual financial situation, goals, or risk tolerance.
• The only thing to look at. Review each platform’s FSG, PDS, TMD, and terms, and consider your own circumstances, before opening an account.
• A list of every provider in Australia: While we try to include the majority of the market, some smaller providers or those that don’t meet our eligibility criteria may not be included.

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About: Fin Valentine, Research Analyst

Bachelor of Economics (International Trade and Finance), University of Queensland

Fin works across a range of financial and utility product areas as part of Canstar’s Research team, with a particular interest and expertise in the Energy and Lending markets. He contributes to the development of Canstar’s Expert Ratings and Awards by analysing product features, pricing trends and market movements.

Holding a Bachelor of Economics (International Trade and Finance) from the University of Queensland, Fin combines strong analytical capability with a passion for helping consumers make better-informed decisions. He closely monitors regulatory shifts and product developments, translating complex datasets into clear insights that support transparency and consumer confidence.

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