7 Best Day Trading Platforms in Australia for 2024

Day trading is a high-risk, high-reward strategy where investors buy and sell securities on a trading platform within the same day to profit from short-term price fluctuations. In this guide, we looked at what trading platforms serve day traders the best in Australia. Some platforms are more suitable for this type of trading than others, therefore, it’s crucial to choose the right one.

The best day trading platforms in Australia provide real-time data analytics as well as educational resources. These tools will help investors learn about market dynamics, economic indicators and trading strategies. Another thing to consider is that because of the high frequency trading pattern, day traders rely on fast and accurate order execution. Look for platforms that offer low latency and advanced order types to optimise trading speed. Ideally, that means your order is placed in under 50 milliseconds (50 ms).

All that said, the big key is finding a platform with low trading fees. It’s important because with frequent trading, costs can add up and eat into your profit. Day traders must look at both the commission the broker charges per trade and the bid-ask spread, which is how platforms earn revenue. You need to look for the ones with the tightest spreads. We analysed the platforms available in Australia for their suitability for day trading, and compiled a list of seven of the best. See our selections below:

An in-depth look at the top-ranked day trading platforms in Australia

Now, let’s break down the top Australian day trading platforms based on the features important for day traders as we have outlined.

1. eTtoro: A platform providing day traders with plenty of options

eToro offers Australian day traders a range of options for the markets they want to trade, a user-friendly web-based platform and mobile app, various account types and social trading. The availability of multiple assets is one of its biggest strengths. Start with access to the ASX and 16 other exchanges around the world, including the NYSE, NASDAQ, and the London Stock Exchange. The platform has an easy-to-use interface that makes it simple to find specific stocks or a sector. The home page features a scrolling bar at the top that shows how different markets are doing, and on the left, you can easily access your portfolio or set up a watch list of securities. 

eToro was an early mover in copy trading, where it allows users to automatically mimic the trades of successful investors. This type of social trading makes it easier to understand trading strategies and learn from top performing traders, including ones with a short-term horizon. Investors can get a $100,000 virtual account, or essentially play money, to practise trading with. It also has Smart Portfolio that delivers balanced and researched portfolios that can help you with investing in specific market segments.

The platform’s fees are straightforward, but that’s not the same as low. The broker charges 1% on buying and selling cryptocurrencies, and on derivatives, it charges larger spreads than some companies. While it offers real shares, not just derivatives, there are certain limits on transfering shares and only US stocks grant voting rights. 

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2. Vantage Markets: Good low-cost platform for frequent traders

With a low minimum deposit, no commission on US shares and relatively low spreads, Vantage is well-suited to day traders looking to keep costs down while doing active trading. It offers more than 1,000 financial instruments across different asset classes and a wide array of educational content, including articles, videos and guides. It also doesn’t charge an inactivity fee, a big plus for beginner investors. Like eToro, it has a demo account with $100,000 in virtual currency.

The platform offers customer service via phone, live chat or email 24 hours a day, but some customers complain about the quality and wait times. Three other negatives: the relatively high trading fees for share CFDs on the ASX, relatively slow execution speeds of orders and that the company doesn’t allow direct share buying, only CFD trading on shares. 

The company does use MetaTrader 4&5, TradingView, DupliTrade and ProTrader platforms, making it more useful for day traders looking for higher-end platforms. Its different account levels makes it easier to adjust as you change your trading styles. The Standard STP account, with commission-free trading and floating spreads beginning at 1.0 pip, but it also has a RAW ECN account that offers tighter spreads, but with a $3 commission per lot per side. A Pro ECN account is ideal for busy day traders, with spreads starting from 0.0 pip and a low commission of $1.50 per lot per side for a $10,000 minimum deposit.

3. Pepperstone: Good technical analysis, fast execution

The platform has many advantages for day traders in Australia. It offers trading in 1,200 financial instruments, is easy to set up and easy to start, with no minimum deposit required. It has two types of accounts, the EDGE Standard account, which doesn’t charge commissions on trades, but has a 1.0 pip on spreads. More frequent traders would likely opt for the EDGE Razor account, which has narrower spreads, but charges a US $3 commission per trade. 

The biggest negative for Pepperstone is a relatively sparse level of educational resources. It also only offers CFD trading and while there are plenty of options for that (more than 100 currency pairs in forex, commodities, cryptocurrencies, indices, and shares), there is no CFD bond trading. It also has a demo account, but that lasts only 30 days unless you set up a live account, so that’s not a lot of time for new traders to get their feet wet.

In Australia, the broker uses MT4, MT5, cTrader, TradingView, the Pepperstone Trading Platform, many of which deliver plenty of technical analysis and charting for day traders, particularly those who use algorithms. Another edge of Pepperstone is relatively fast trade execution of 30ms.

4. AvaTrade: Negative balance protection, plenty of trading options

The platform is a great place for day traders to start, thanks to its AvaSocial, ZuluTrade and DupliTrade apps for social and copy trading. It also provides, for its MetaTrader4 users, a great product in its AvaTrade Guardian Angel, which is a free risk management tool that gives instant feedback and tailored alerts. The brokerage delivers more than 19,000 traded assets. One of its unique features is negative balance protection, which means that if your trades result in losses that bring your account balance below zero, AvaTrade will cover the deficit up to a certain limit.

Some of the negative aspects of the platform is its relatively high inactivity fee of US $50, though that’s not a likely problem for active day traders. It also offers a limited range of financial instruments, compared to other brokers, with forex, and CFDs for crypto, stocks, indexes and commodities, but not bonds or futures, or the ability to buy stocks directly. Its trading fees are limited to spreads and are about average in the industry.

AvaTrade’s educational resources are so-so, but the company does shine in certain technical aspects. It has a push notification system which is great for day traders that keeps traders updated with key market shifts or changes in their accounts, and the alerts can be adjusted to individual preferences. 

5. Trade Nation: Great for novice day traders

Trade Nation has several advantages for day traders. There’s no minimum deposit and no inactivity fee. While it is based in London, it’s regulated in Australia by the ASIC, and beside its in-house platform, TN Trader, it utilises advanced trader platforms, including MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5, that have plenty of features for technical analysis. The broker even offers a demo account that you can try out before signing up.

It also has its own copy trader platform, TradeCopier, but that is only available in MetaTrader 4. It has a decent number of educational materials, and an easy-to-use interface. At times, though, its website can be clunky and slow-moving. 

Overall, though day traders will probably like the platform’s low fixed spreads on trade, though its trading is limited to CFD trading for forex, shares, indices, commodities, and cryptocurrencies. One downside is that while it has a chatbot, there is no live chat available for customer service. While most of its fees are low, and no trading commissions, its fees for forex are higher than some platforms.

6. IG: Best platform for advanced day traders

IG, founded in 1974, is a well-established online trading platform, with its headquarters in London and branch offices in Melbourne and Sydney. It offers a variety of financial instruments that would entice day traders, including forex, shares, indices, commodities, and cryptocurrencies. All in all, it offers more than 13,200 financial instruments to trade.

Some of its features that would be good for day traders include advanced trading platforms, such as MetaTrader 4&5, educational materials that include articles, webinars and tutorials. Its clients are able to trade CFDs, and directly buy stocks, ETFs and investment funds, as well. It also has a free demo account with $20,000 in virtual funds.  

Some of the downsides to IG for day traders are its minimum deposit (between AUD $10 and AUD $100) and relatively high share trading fees, though for more frequent traders, those fees drop. It charges no commission on international stocks and in Australia, stocks on the ASX cost only AUD $5 a trade if you made more than three trades in the previous month. It also has a custody fee, but that goes away if you make more than three traders a quarter or if you invest a certain amount in one of IG’s Smart Portfolios. 

There’s a reason IG has more than 320,000 clients worldwide. It has an intuitive website and becomes a better platform the more money you have invested and the more you trade.

7. CommSec: Most secure platform for day trading

Australia’s largest brokerage operates more like a traditional broker than many of the others in this list. To begin with, it’s been around a long time, nearly 30 years, so there’s more security for day traders. It’s more expensive to open an account than with most, as you will need a AUD $500 deposit to begin trading. Once you get past that hurdle, though, there are some advantages. There’s also a good account, the CommSec Pocket, that is designed for novice investors and only needs a AUD $50 deposit, but you can only trade ETFs with that account.

It has a strong educational component. You can research investments using daily market reports, company earnings reports, as well as CommSec’s in-home learning centre, which has webinars, videos, podcasts and tutorials. It also has a demo platform for practice trading.

On the plus side, unlike many of the others in this list, you can trade shares directly with CommSec, not just share CFDs. In addition, you can trade 25 in international markets, including the US, Europe and Asia and there are CFD options for crypto, ETFs, and forex. The brokerage also gets a good customer service rating and its support team is available by phone, email or live chat.

On the downside, the platform charges AUD $5 for trades up to and including those worth AUD $1,000. However, for new traders, CommSec’s brokerage fee on trades is waived on the first 10 trades in Australian stocks up to a maximum trade value of $50,000 through the end of January. The big advantage of CommSec for day traders is the wealth of markets that it allows you to trade in and for some traders, having more options is crucial.

How do these Australian day trading platforms stack up

Platform	Minimum deposit	Price to trade	Inactivity fee	ASIC protection	Trustpilot score
eToro	US $50	US $1 to US $2 for CFD stock trades	US $10 per month after one year of inactivity	Yes	4.2 out of 5 stars (24,241 reviews)
Vantage Markets	No commission on US shares The greater of AUD $6, or 0.08% on Australian shares	None	Yes	3.3 out of 5 stars (3,403 reviews)
Pepperstone	$0	Commission free (the price is built into the spreads)	None	Yes	4.4 out of 5 stars (2,540 reviews)
AvaTrade	AUD $100	Commission free (the price is built into the spreads)	US $50 after three months of inactivity	Yes	4.5 out of 5 (8,735 reviews)
Trade Nation	None	Commission free (the price is built into the spreads)	None	Yes	4.4 out of 5 (848 reviews)
IG	AUD $10 on BPAY AUD $100 by credit card, Apple Pay or PayPal	Commission free for UK, US shares AU shares are AUD $8, or AUD $5 (conditions apply)	None for share trading accounts AUD $18 per month after two years of inactivity for CFD trading	Yes	4.4 out of 5 stars (824 reviews)
CommSec	AUD $500	From AUD $5 to 0.12% of the trade value (depending on the amount)	None	Yes	3.5 out of 5 stars (1,504 reviews)

How to succeed in day trading?

Day trading requires a deep understanding of the market, technical analysis, and risk management. Successful day traders must be disciplined, patient, and emotionally prepared for the volatility. Here are three things to bear in mind:

Exploit price volatility

To be profitable, day traders often focus on securities with high trading volume and volatility, therefore, some stocks lend themselves to trading, such as the most popular day trading stocks in the US markets. Day traders capitalise on market overreactions, buying when prices are undervalued and selling when they are overvalued.

Learn about trading fees

The pricing can be nuanced, and you need to learn about how they are quoted. For instance, if you trade forex, currencies are priced to four decimal points. The smallest movement an exchange rate can make is a pip (percentage in point,) which is one hundredth of a percent. It appears in the fourth decimal place (0.0001). The spread, which is in fact the cost of trading, is given in pips.

Have a day trading strategy

However, day trading is not without its risks, and it’s essential to have a solid trading plan. The best trading platforms will have vast educational offerings and demo accounts to test your strategy. It’s also important to have risk management strategies in place to safeguard your investment when markets move agains your trades.

What is a day trading platform?

A day trading platform is a software application that provides tools and services necessary for executing trades within a single trading day. These platforms typically offer features such as real-time market data, giving access to up-to-date quotes, charts and news; technical analysis tools, such as charts and indicators to show market trends; an ability to place and manage different types of orders, such as market orders, limit orders and stop-loss orders.

The top day trading platforms in Australia generally provide real-time news updates and access to customizable alerts to help investors stay informed, as well as a mobile app to allow traders to follow and make trades while on the go.

How to choose the right platform to day trade 

There are several steps you can make to find a platform in Australia that suits your needs and goals for day trading:

• Define Your Needs: Assess your trading style, preferred markets, and desired features. Consider factors such as the platform’s user interface, available tools, and fees.
• Research and Compare: Explore different online brokers and trading platforms. Compare their offerings, fees, and customer reviews. Look for platforms that are regulated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).
• Consider Fees: Evaluate the various fees associated with trading, including commissions, fees for data, and platform usage. Compare different platforms to find the most cost-effective option.
• Test the Platform: Many platforms offer demo accounts or simulated trading environments. Use these to test the platform’s functionality, speed, and ease of use.
• Check Customer Support: Ensure the platform provides reliable and responsive customer support. This can be crucial in case of technical issues or questions.
• Read Reviews: Look for reviews and testimonials from other traders to get a sense of the platform’s performance and reputation.

Our methodology of selecting the best platforms to day trade in Australia

We looked exclusively at trading platforms with a big presence in Australia, and thanks to their low fees, easy-to-use interfaces and relatively quick execution speeds, are good choices for day traders, who often trade more regularly than other traders. We also looked at a mix of platforms that would appeal to beginning investors and more experienced traders. 

How do we calculate fees per platform?

We look at the various fees that platforms charge, which range from trading fees, bid-ask spreads, and inactivity fees, all of which can add up and cut into margins for busy day traders.

FAQs