Best international online brokers for citizens in Australia

To find the best international online brokers in Australia, we went ahead and did the research for you. After testing, analyzing and comparing 63 brokers, 5 made it to the top. We highly recommend all 5 to you. And now, without further ado...

The top 5 picks for the best international online brokers of 2020 for citizens in Australia:

1. Interactive Brokers is the number one international online broker in 2020. Wide range of products. Many great research tools. Regulated by several authorities.
2. Saxo Bank is your runner-up. Great trading platform. Outstanding research. Broad product portfolio.
3. Tradestation rounds out the top three. Great web and mobile trading platform. Low stock and ETF fees. High-quality educational tools.
4. Swissquote, numero quatro. Access to many markets and products. No inactivity fee. Rock-solid background.
5. Oanda. Generally low fees. Easy-to-use web trading platform. Easy and digital account opening. Just made it to the list at number five.

What makes a good online broker? First of all, they must offer fair fees and have a good safety score. It should also be easy to open an account and deposit money. They should give you access to many products, and they need to have a great trading platform.

Easy to list, but hard to figure out. That’s why we are testing brokers along more than 100 criteria, using real accounts and real money. We know what's up. You can find all the ranking criteria in our methodology.

Not sure which broker? For a tailored recommendation, check out our broker finder tool. You can enter your country, and it will narrow down the list of brokers to those that are available where you live. Want more details? Compare brokers with this detailed comparison table.

And now, let's see the best international online brokers in 2020 for citizens in Australia one by one, starting with the winner, Interactive Brokers.

Interactive Brokers was founded in 1978 and is one of the biggest US-based discount brokers. The broker is regulated by several financial authorities globally, including top-tier ones like the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

As it has licenses from multiple top-tier regulators, the broker is considered safe. Also, having a long track record and publicly disclosed financials while being listed on a stock exchange are also great signs for its safety.

Recommended for traders looking for low fees and a professional trading environment

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#1 Interactive Brokers
Fees

4.3

Interactive Brokers has low trading fees and for US clients, stock and ETF trading is free. On the negative side, there is a high inactivity fee for non-US clients.

All spreads, commissions and financing rates are for opening a position, holding for a week, and closing.

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#1 Interactive Brokers
Account opening

3.4

IB's account opening process is fully digital and the required minimum deposit is low. On the negative side, the online registration is complicated and account verification takes around 2 business days.

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#1 Interactive Brokers
Deposit and withdrawal

2.5

Interactive Brokers offers many account base currency options and one free withdrawal per month. The main drawbacks are that you can only use bank transfer and the process is not user-friendly.

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#1 Interactive Brokers
Markets and products

5.0

Through Interactive Brokers you can access an extremely wide range of markets, with every product type available.

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#1 Interactive Brokers
Web trading platform

4.3

Interactive Brokers's web platform is simple and easy to use even for beginners. On the negative side, it is not customizable.

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#1 Interactive Brokers
Verdict

Interactive Brokers is one of the biggest US-based discount brokers, regulated by several top-tier regulators globally. We recommend this broker for advanced traders.

On the plus side, IB has a vast range of markets and products available, with diverse research tools and low costs. 

There are some drawbacks though: there is a high inactivity fee and the account opening process is complicated. The desktop platform is complex and hard-to-understand, especially for beginners.

If you have experience navigating complex platforms and you like transparent low-cost trading, Interactive Brokers could be a great fit for you.

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Saxo Bank is a Danish investment bank founded in 1992, providing online trading and investments. The company is regulated by several financial authorities globally, including the Danish Financial Services Agency (FSA) and the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). 

Saxo Bank is a global service provider. In the different regions, its subsidiaries are present in the form of separate legal entities. The services offered by each entity might change slightly especially in case of their fees and products available to trade. In this review, we tested Saxo Bank UK.

Saxo Bank is considered safe because it has a long track record, has a banking background, and is regulated by top-tier financial authorities.

Saxo stops accepting customers in the MENA region between May and August 2020. This is because of COVID-19 and the higher volume of account openings.

Recommended for investors and traders looking for a great trading platform and solid research

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#2 Saxo Bank
Fees

2.9

Saxo Bank has average trading and non-trading fees overall. The fees for forex, mutual funds and stock index CFDs are low, while they are average for real stocks, ETFs or stock CFDs. Bond, options and futures fees are high.

All spreads, commissions and financing rates are for opening a position, holding for a week, and closing.

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#2 Saxo Bank
Account opening

2.6

Saxo's account opening is fully digital, user-friendly, and available in most of the world. On the other hand, the minimum deposit is high in certain countries, and account verification can take longer.

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#2 Saxo Bank
Deposit and withdrawal

4.8

Saxo provides multiple deposit and withdrawal options free of charge on a user-friendly interface.

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#2 Saxo Bank
Markets and products

5.0

Saxo Bank's product portfolio is great. It covers all asset classes and a lot of markets globally. Mutual funds and crypto are the only areas where its selection could be improved.

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#2 Saxo Bank
Web trading platform

4.5

Saxo Bank's web trading platform is one of the best among online brokers. It's easy to use, but also provides features favored by professionals, such as an advanced order panel. On the negative side, there is no two-step login.

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#2 Saxo Bank
Verdict

Saxo Bank is a great broker, providing a complex and good service.

Saxo offers a user-friendly and well-designed trading platform, backed by great research. The product portfolio covers all asset types and many international markets.

It has some drawbacks though. The fees for bonds, options and futures are high. There is also a high minimum deposit for certain countries. Lastly, there is no live chat or 24/7 customer support.

In general, Saxo Bank is one of the best online brokerage companies out there. By opening an account, you will get a broad, well-developed service constantly responding to the needs of clients.

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Tradestation is a US stockbroker founded in 1982. It is regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). Clients are eligible for up to $500,000 (cash up to $250,000) investor protection per account.

Tradestation is considered safe because it has a long track record, discloses its financials, and its parent company, the Monex Group is listed on the Tokyo stock exchange.

Recommended for traders focusing on us markets and buy-and-hold investing

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#3 Tradestation
Fees

4.3

Tradestation has low trading fees and high non-trading fees. You can choose from multiple fee structures, but you still have to pay withdrawal.

All spreads, commissions and financing rates are for opening a position, holding for a week, and closing.

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#3 Tradestation
Account opening

5.0

Tradestation account opening is fully digital, user-friendly, and fast. On the other hand, the minimum deposit is $500 and multiple base currencies are only available for futures accounts.

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#3 Tradestation
Deposit and withdrawal

1.8

Tradestation's deposit and withdrawal could be better. For example, you can only use bank transfer and there is a high withdrawal fee. On the upside, the deposit is free and withdrawal through wire transfer is fast.

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#3 Tradestation
Markets and products

2.5

Tradestation gives you access to a wide variety of US products, but its non-US market coverage is not competitive. Forex, CFDs and cryptos are missing.

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#3 Tradestation
Web trading platform

4.5

Tradestation has a good web trading platform. It is user-friendly and it looks nice, and it provides a two-step verification. On the flip side, it lacks price alerts.

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#3 Tradestation
Verdict

Tradestation is a great US broker.

The web and mobile platforms are very user-friendly with many functions. It also offers low stock and ETF trading fees. Lastly, education is well-structured and high-quality. 

On the other hand, the deposit and withdrawal are not user-friendly and you can use only bank transfer. There is no forex trading, and the customer service is of poor quality.

Feel free to try Tradestation if you prefer trading on US markets. We recommend it for buy and hold investors with some experience.

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Swissquote is a Swiss investment bank established in 1996. It has two main trading arms: a Swiss unit for trading stocks, funds, options and futures and a company in the UK for CFDs and forex.

Formally, Swissquote Bank Ltd is based in Switzerland and is regulated by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA), the country's financial regulator.

The other entity, Swissquote Ltd, is UK-based and offers CFDs and forex. It is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the UK's financial authority.

Swissquote is considered safe because Swissquote Bank Ltd has a banking license, it is listed on the Swiss stock exchange, discloses detailed financials regularly and it has a long track record.

For clarity, in this review we focus on the Swiss entity, but also discuss services of the UK arm, especially in the case of CFD and forex trading. To make it clear which company we are talking about, we will refer to the Swiss entity as "Swissquote (CH)" and to the UK-based entity as "Swissquote Forex (UK)".

Recommended for affluent investors who value safety and are ok with higher fees

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#4 Swissquote
Fees

2.3

Swissquote doesn't charge an inactivity fee and you can trade an impressive selection of funds for favorable fees. On the other hand, trading fees are generally high, including for stocks and ETFs, and there is a fee for withdrawing your money.

All spreads, commissions and financing rates are for opening a position, holding for a week, and closing.

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#4 Swissquote
Account opening

4.0

Swissquote offers a fully digital account opening, although we encountered some technical difficulties during the identification process. There is no minimum deposit for trading accounts, but a high minimum for forex and robo-advisory accounts.

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#4 Swissquote
Deposit and withdrawal

4.1

Depositing at Swissquote is quick with credit/debit card and can be done in several base currencies. On the negative side, you can only withdraw money via bank transfer.

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#4 Swissquote
Markets and products

4.9

At Swissquote (CH) you have access to many markets and trade with a lot of different product types. At Swissquote Forex (UK) you can trade only forex and some CFDs.

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#4 Swissquote
Web trading platform

4.2

The Swissquote (CH) eTrading platform has a lot of functions, so many that sometimes it can get complicated. Customizability is good and a there is a clear overview of trading fees, but you may run into some bugs.

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#4 Swissquote
Verdict

Swissquote is an investment bank with a rock-solid background:

• It is Swiss,
• it is listed on an exchange
• and it is a bank. 

It has two main entities, one in the UK and one in Switzerland. If you open an account at the London-based entity you can trade forex and CFDs, while the Swiss entity gives you access to asset classes ranging from stocks to options.

Swissquote offers a broad range of products across many markets. There are many stocks, mutual funds, and a lot of different other types of products, from bonds to cryptos.

However, nothing comes for free: Swissquote's trading fees are relatively high. 

All in all, Swissquote is a great stockbroker. As you can trade many products and no inactivity fee is charged, feel free to give it a try.

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Oanda is an American forex broker founded in 1996.

It is considered safe because it has a long track record, discloses its financials, and is regulated by top-tier authorities, such as the US Retail Foreign Exchange Dealer (RFED) and the UK's Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

Disclaimer: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 73.5% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

Recommended for forex traders who value a user-friendly platform and great research tools

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73.5% of retail CFD accounts lose money

#5 Oanda
Fees

4.5

Oanda charges low CFD and low forex fees. Non-trading fees are low, though the withdrawal fee is quite high for bank transfers.

All spreads, commissions and financing rates are for opening a position, holding for a week, and closing.

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73.5% of retail CFD accounts lose money

#5 Oanda
Account opening

4.4

Oanda's account opening is straightforward, with no required minimum balance.

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73.5% of retail CFD accounts lose money

#5 Oanda
Deposit and withdrawal

4.2

There is no deposit fee and you can conveniently use your debit card for deposit. While withdrawal is free in most cases, it is expensive for bank transfers, and it involves a fee if you withdraw to your card more than once a month.

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73.5% of retail CFD accounts lose money

#5 Oanda
Markets and products

1.5

At Oanda you can trade only forex and CFDs. It offers fewer forex pairs but more CFDs than its closest competitors.

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73.5% of retail CFD accounts lose money

#5 Oanda
Web trading platform

4.5

Oanda's web trading platform is user-friendly and safe with good customizability. On the downside, you can't set price alerts.

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73.5% of retail CFD accounts lose money

#5 Oanda
Verdict

Oanda is a good forex broker: its fees are great, and it has a good web trading platform where you will quickly feel comfortable. It provides a user-friendly and fully digital account opening process, as well as powerful research tools, especially API.

On the other hand, Oanda has a limited product portfolio, as only forex and CFDs are available. Customer support is slow, and bank withdrawal fees can be high.

Feel free to try Oanda: it is regulated by top-tier regulators, there is no minimum deposit, and the inactivity fee only kicks in after two years.

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73.5% of retail CFD accounts lose money

Now you know the top 5. You are probably curious about how we came up with this list. Let's go through a few points quickly. What is an online broker? Why do we think these brokers are safe? What are the most important factors when selecting the best online brokers?

What is an online broker?

Thirty years ago if you wanted to buy a stock, you had to pick up the phone and call your broker, who executed the transaction in return for a commission. Brokers were like in the Wolf of Wall Street movie. They were checking the stocks' prices while holding a telephone and shouting. Everything changed after the internet appeared. Nowadays if you want to buy Apple shares, you open online an account, deposit money, and make the order through the brokers' online platform. These brokers are the online brokers. Online brokers help you buying and selling securities, like stocks. After making your order, the online broker executes it immediately. Everything is online.

Are these brokers safe?

You can be sure none of them is a scam. They are regulated by top-tier authorities. Some of them are also listed on an exchange, while some have a banking background.

However, also brokerage companies can go down. Remember Lehman Brothers? In these cases, it is important to know what happens with your securities and cash. These are usually held in segregated accounts, so even in case of a broker bankruptcy, you are safe.

If everything goes very bad and for example, the broker steals your assets, then you have a last resort, the compensation fund of the country where the broker is regulated.

How did BrokerChooser pick the best international online brokers for a citizen in Australia?

At BrokerChooser, we test online brokers along more than 100 criteria, using real accounts and real money. We don’t want to overwhelm you, so for now we’ll just list the five most important criteria.

The five most important criteria for best international online brokers are:

You saw the details, now let's zoom out. Here are the best international online brokers of 2020 for citizens in Australia:

Interactive Brokers is our winner, the best international online broker in Australia of 2020. Wide range of products. Many great research tools. Regulated by several authorities.
All of these brokers are considered a great choice. Pick the winner, or any of the runners-up, and take the next step in your investment journey. Let us know what you think in the comment section.
Still unsure? Use the broker finder and find the best international broker for you, or learn more about investing your money.