Thanks to online share trading apps, it’s cheap and easy to invest in New Zealand and overseas markets. Canstar explores the online share trading apps available in New Zealand.

Traditionally, to buy stocks and shares, you had to use a broker and invest large sums. However, online share trading apps have removed those barriers, making it quick, simple and cheap for Kiwis to invest.

Setting up an account usually only takes a few minutes, and you can start investing with only a few dollars. Below, Canstar rounds up the current online trading apps available in New Zealand and what they offer:

Sharesies

Sharesies is an online investment platform that was founded in 2017 in NZ. It’s probably the best-known investment app in NZ and it’s also the winner of Canstar’s 2025 Most Satisfied Customers Online Share Trading Award, which is based on feedback from 1272 New Zealanders who use online share-trading platforms.

Through Sharesies you can invest in shares, ETFs and bonds, across the New Zealand Stock Exchange (NZX), Nasdaq, New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), and the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).

Sharesies also allows you to invest in popular cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum and Solana.

Cost of investing with Sharesies

Sharesies has reintroduced their monthly paid plans, however, the standard unpaid option is still available. There are three monthly paid plans, which can be cancelled at any time:

$3 monthly plan:

Transaction fees covered on $500 of buy and sell orders
Transaction fees covered on $1000 of auto-invest orders

$7 monthly plan

Transaction fees covered on $1000 of buy and sell orders
Transaction fees covered on $3000 of auto-invest orders

$15 monthly plan

Transaction fees covered on $5000 of buy and sell orders
Transaction fees covered on $10,000 of auto-invest orders
NZX market depth
US live pricing

A $1 monthly kids plan is also available.

Standard unpaid option

There’s no minimum investment with Sharesies, which charges transaction fees, known as brokerage fees, on each purchase. Up to the capped amounts, there is a 1.9% transaction fee on the amount invested. Cap amounts are region dependent:

NZ shares capped at NZ$25 per order
OZ shares capped at AU$15 per order
US shares capped at US$5 per order

If you buy shares in more than one investment, they’re treated as separate orders and have separate transaction fees.

Sharesies charges a foreign currency exchange fee of 0.5%.

There’s also a management fee built into the price of ETFs and managed funds, charged by the fund manager. The fees are different for each fund, so check the fund info before you invest.

Sharesies charges a 0.8% transaction fee on crypto transactions, which aren’t covered by its monthly plans.

For more details on Sharesies click here.

ASB Securities

ASB Securities is a do-it-yourself share trading account offering access to New Zealand and Australian markets through a desktop or mobile browser. Other overseas markets can be accessed, by phone, through ASB’s broker team.

Unlike many other online share trading platforms, which trade on your behalf, ASB Securities provides direct trading. This means you own the shares outright.

Through ASB Securities, you can invest in shares, ETFs and bonds.

Cost of investing with ASB Securities

The online fees charged by ASB Securities for New Zealand trades are:

NZ$15 for trades up to $1000
NZ$30 for trades over $1000 and up to $10,000
0.30% on trades over $10,000

The fees charged by ASB Securities for Australian trades are:

AU$15 for trades up to $1000
AU$30 for trades over $1000 and up to $10000
0.30% on all trades over $10,000

For more details on ASB Securities click here.

CMC Markets

CMC Markets does not offer share trading. It only offers contract for difference (CFD) trading. CFDs allow you to speculate on the rising or falling prices of financial assets without actually owning them, for example currencies and cryptocurrencies, commodities, shares, ETFs and government bonds.

CMC Markets has two trading platforms. The company’s platform, Next Generation, and MetaTrader 4, a common platform used by most forex and CFD brokers.

CMC Markets has over 12,000 CFD markets to trade across forex, indices, commodities, cryptocurrencies, ETFs, shares and treasuries.

Cost of investing with CMC Markets

There are no account fees or minimum amount needed to start trading with CMC Markets. There are, however, a number of costs to consider, including commissions, spread fees, holding costs, card transaction and inactivity fees.

For more details on CMC Markets click here.

Hatch

Hatch only gives you access to the US share markets. Through Hatch, you can buy shares in individual companies and exchange traded funds (ETFs).

Cost of investing with Hatch

Hatch charges:

Exchange fee: 0.5%.When you deposit or withdraw money, it’s automatically exchanged from NZD to USD (or vice versa). Hatch’s 0.5% exchange fee is included in the estimated exchange rate you see. Hatch has special rates for deposits over $100,000. You only pay the exchange fee when you deposit or withdraw, and there are no hidden extra fees for withdrawals
Brokerage: US$3 to buy and sell shares. Adults: Pay a flat fee of US$3 for every order of up to 300 shares. If you buy more than 300 shares in one order, you’ll only pay US1c a share. Under 18s: US50c on kids accounts
US tax: US$1.50 (one-off) plus US50c per year pays for a compulsory W-8BEN tax form and yearly US tax filing

For more details on Hatch click here.

Invest Direct

Invest Direct is a do-it-yourself share trading account offering access to New Zealand, Australia, US and UK markets through a desktop or mobile browser. Unlike many other online share trading platforms, which trade on your behalf, Invest Direct provides direct trading. This means you own the shares outright.

Through Invest Direct, you can invest in shares, ETFs and bonds.

Cost of investing with Invest Direct

A minimum fee of $29.90 applies per trade on NZ trades.

The fees charged by Invest Direct for NZ and OZ shares are:

NZ: $29.90 on trades up to $15,000, + 0.20% on portion of trade above $15,000
AU: AU$29 per trade on AU shares, with a trade value up to AU$30,000, + 0.3% on portion of trade above AU$30,000

The fees charged by Invest Direct for UK and US shares are:

UK: Greater of £69.50 or 0.60% of trade value
US: Greater of $69.50 or 0.60% of trade value

It’s important to note that fees charged for over the phone trading are higher than those incurred when trading online. As are the fees for trading UK and US shares.

For more details on Invest Direct click here.

ShareMeUp

ShareMeUp is a micro-investing app that allows you to invest from $50 to $500 in NZX-listed companies on a weekly, fortnightly or monthly basis.

Cost of investing with ShareMeUp

ShareMeUp charges a minimum brokerage fee of 99c, which is based on the minimum purchase amount of $50 per security. This brokerage fee is capped at 1.98% of the investment amount, which ranges between $50 to $500 per security.

In addition, ShareMeUp charges a third-party payment transaction fee: $1 for the transaction and a variable fee of 0.1% of the amount invested.

For more details on ShareMeUp click here.

Stake

Stake is an Australia-based fintech company. It offers Kiwis the opportunity to invest in over 6000 US stocks and ETFs.

Cost of investing with Stake

Stake’s fees include:

Brokerage fees: <US$30,000 = US$3 | >US$30,000 = 0.01%
1% FX transfer fee on deposit and withdrawal only

Stake also offers a premium Black membership that offers advanced trading features, from $15/m or $156 annually.

For more details on Stake click here.

Tiger Brokers

Tiger Brokers is a share trading platform that was established in 2014 and introduced to New Zealand in 2015. It caters to novice and experienced investors by providing the accessibility of a micro-investing platform combined with the more advanced investment options required by seasoned traders.

As well as NZ stocks, Tiger Brokers provides access to international markets, including the Australia, China, Hong Kong, Singapore and the US.

Through Tiger Brokers, you can invest in shares, ETFs, US options and futures.

Cost of investing with Tiger Brokers

Because Tiger Brokers provides access to multiple worldwide stock exchanges, pricing is market dependent.

Commission: 0.1% of trade value (minimum $2 per order)
Platform fee: 0.2% of trade value (minimum $2 per order)

Australian stocks and EFTs

Tiger Brokers is currently offering a transaction promotion for first time investors:

$0 flat fee for four AU share trades per month for life

Otherwise, Tiger Brokers’ standard transaction rate for the AU market is:

AU$5 flat fee to buy or sell up to AU$20,000 trade value and 0.025% times trade value after that per transaction

US stocks, EFTs and OCT (over the counter)

Tiger Brokers is currently offering a promotional transaction fee for first time investors:

$0 flat fee for four US share trades per month for life

Otherwise, Tiger Brokers’ standard transaction rate for the US market is:

US$2 flat fee to buy or sell up to 200 shares. Plus US$0.01 for every additional share after that transaction

Hong Kong stocks and EFTs

HK$15 flat transaction fee to buy or sell up to HKD 25,000 trade value and 0.06% times trade value after that per transaction.

Note: Tiger Brokers also charges settlement, quotes and trading activity fees.

For more details on Tiger Brokers click here.

What are the risks?

If you’re looking to ease yourself into investing, then online share trading is a good option, as it can provide market experience without having to risk large sums of money.

But remember, investment values can go up and down, so you could lose your money. Also, be sure to take into consideration fees and currency fluctuations, because they can quickly add up.

Online share trading also requires a long-term perspective in order to build up significant wealth. So, if you’re not in it for the long game, you might be disappointed by any short-term gains.

KiwiSaver

If you’re serious about investing in your future and are looking for long-term returns, KiwiSaver is a great way to invest your funds, and to access investment know-how from industry professionals.

About the author of this page

Bruce Pitchers is Canstar NZ’s Content Manager. An experienced finance reporter, he has three decades’ experience as a journalist and has worked for major media companies in Australia, the UK and NZ, including ACP, Are Media, Bauer Media Group, Fairfax, Pacific Magazines, News Corp and TVNZ. As a freelancer, he has +worked for The Australian Financial Review, the NZ Financial Markets Authority and major banks and investment companies on both sides of the Tasman.
In his role at Canstar, he has been a regular commentator in the NZ media, including on the Driven, Stuff and One Roof websites, the NZ Herald, Radio NZ, and Newstalk ZB.
Away from Canstar, Bruce creates puzzles for magazines and newspapers, including Woman’s Day and New Idea. He is also the co-author of the murder-mystery book 5 Minute Murder.