Pearler vs CommSec: Fees Compared for ASX and US Shares

This pair does not settle on a single answer, because it genuinely depends on order size. CommSec charges A$5 on ASX orders up to A$1,000, which is less than Pearler's flat A$6.50. Past A$1,000 that flips, and by A$5,000 it is not close. Every figure below is a published fee read at source on 19 September 2026, GST included, with US dollars converted at the RBA rate of 0.7126 for 18 September 2026.

The short version

CommSec's A$5 tier is the lower charge on ASX orders up to A$1,000. Above that the tiered ladder works against it and Pearler's flat A$6.50 is lower, first by A$3.50 and then by much more. On US shares Pearler's bill is lower at every size priced here. Custody and account fees are identical, so brokerage and five basis points of conversion are the whole comparison.

Over ten years at A$1,000 a month it is A$600 at CommSec against A$780 at Pearler on ASX-only, and A$1,380 against A$1,502 on US-only. That first row turns on a single dollar of monthly contribution, which is its own section below.

What one purchase costs on each

• Pearler charges A$6.50 per order on both markets, GST included. A US order adds its 0.50% conversion on top.
• CommSec tiers its ASX fee by order value: A$5 up to A$1,000, A$10 up to A$3,000, A$19.95 up to A$10,000, A$29.95 up to A$25,000, then 0.12%. Its US fee is the greater of US$5 or 0.12%, and US$5 is about A$7.02 at the rate used here.
• The US columns combine brokerage and conversion. The ASX columns are brokerage only, because nothing changes currency on an Australian order.

Where the two are identical

How your ASX shares are held. Both are CHESS sponsored, so your shares register in your own name under your own Holder Identification Number rather than in an account the platform owns. Moving brokers later is a transfer of your holdings, buy dates and cost base, not a sale. CHESS sponsorship explained covers the register.

Currency conversion. Both build the cost into the exchange rate rather than printing it as a line on your contract note. Pearler charges 0.50% and CommSec 0.55%, and neither sets a minimum. What a conversion spread is and how it is calculated sits on the full nine-platform comparison.

Account fees. Neither charges one. Pearler Plus exists, is optional and priced separately, and has its own section below.

On small ASX orders, CommSec is cheaper

Up to A$1,000 of trade value, CommSec charges A$5 and Pearler charges A$6.50. CommSec is A$1.50 lower, and that is worth saying out loud, because it runs against the usual assumption. One of these platforms is owned by Commonwealth Bank and settles through the big-four banking system. The other is an app-first platform that built its reputation on cheap investing. On a A$500 order, the bank-owned one is the cheaper of the two.

Put both fees against the trade and the shape is plain. CommSec's A$5 is 1% of a A$500 parcel and 0.5% of a A$1,000 one. Pearler's A$6.50 is 1.3% of A$500 and 0.65% of A$1,000. Neither is ruinous in dollar terms. The point is which side of the crossover you are standing on, because that decides how the rest of this reads for you.

On mid and large ASX orders, Pearler is cheaper

Past A$1,000 the ladder starts working against CommSec. An order between A$1,000 and A$3,000 pays A$10, so Pearler is A$3.50 lower. Clear A$3,000 and CommSec steps to A$19.95, which is A$13.45 more. At A$20,000 the order pays A$29.95 against A$6.50, a gap of A$23.45.

The reason is that one fee moves with the order and the other does not. Pearler charges the same A$6.50 on a A$500 parcel and a A$20,000 one. CommSec prices on order value, so the bill steps up at A$1,000, A$3,000, A$10,000 and A$25,000, and above A$25,000 it becomes 0.12% of trade value. As a share of the trade, Pearler's flat fee shrinks from 1.3% at A$500 to 0.03% at A$20,000, while CommSec's A$29.95 is about 0.15% of the same order.

The ten-year ASX row, and why it is fragile

A$1,000 a month, 120 purchases, buy and hold, no sales. Read the first row twice, because it looks wrong. Pearler is the lower of the two on any ASX order above A$1,000, and yet over ten years its ASX-only total is the higher one, A$780 against A$600.

Here is why. A A$1,000 monthly purchase sits exactly at the top of CommSec's A$5 tier. CommSec charges A$5 an order, 120 times, which is A$600. Pearler charges A$6.50 an order, 120 times, which is A$780. Neither bill moves with the monthly amount, only with the number of orders, so CommSec's row is winning on a tier boundary rather than on anything durable.

Move the contribution to A$1,001 and the order lands in CommSec's A$10 tier. That is 120 orders at A$10, or A$1,200, against Pearler's A$780. One extra dollar a month changes that row by A$600 and reverses it. The mixed row carries the same fragility, because its ASX half sits on the same rung. If your monthly amount is A$1,000 or less, CommSec's column is lower. If it is a cent over, Pearler's is. Check your own number before you read anything into the row.

One thing missing from every total above: the sell side. Both charge brokerage when you sell too, and it is holding your ASX shares for at least 12 months that clears the bar for the 50% CGT discount.

On US shares, Pearler is cheaper at every size

Here both fee lines point the same way, which makes this the simpler half. Pearler's brokerage is A$6.50 flat. CommSec's is the greater of US$5, about A$7.02, or 0.12% of the order. Then conversion: 0.50% against 0.55%, no minimum at either.

Across the four sizes above, Pearler is lower every time: A$9.00 against A$9.77 on A$500, A$11.50 against A$12.52 on A$1,000, A$31.50 against A$34.52 on A$5,000, and A$106.50 against A$134.00 on A$20,000, where 0.12% finally beats the US$5 minimum at CommSec and the conversion gap does most of the work. Over ten years at A$1,000 a month, US only, the totals are A$1,380 at Pearler and A$1,502 at CommSec.

Every number here assumes you convert, buy and hold. It leaves out US regulatory and exchange fees on the contract note, dividend withholding tax, and the W-8BEN form you complete to get the reduced treaty rate.

What Pearler Plus does to the ASX comparison

Pearler Plus is A$3 a month, A$360 over ten years, and it covers unlimited automated recurring investing. Add it to the ASX-only row and Pearler's A$780 becomes A$1,140 against CommSec's A$600, so the gap across the decade widens from A$180 to A$540.

It does not touch the per-order figure. The A$6.50 brokerage applies whether you subscribe or not, and a subscription is a fixed cost sitting underneath the fees rather than part of them. It does not change which column is lower on the ASX row either: CommSec's A$600 stays the smaller number with the subscription included or left out. None of the totals above include it.

What CommSec's case actually is

Strip out the fees and CommSec's case is Commonwealth Bank's banking integration and its research. Settlement can run through a CommBank account, holdings sit alongside your banking, and the platform publishes market research and tools next to the trading screen. That is convenience and service, and neither appears in a fee table or changes a number above.

Two entities sit behind these schedules. Pearler is an authorised representative (1281540) of Sanlam Private Wealth, AFSL 337927. CommSec is Commonwealth Securities Limited, ABN 60 067 254 399, AFSL 238814. Both publish their numbers, and both were read for this page on 19 September 2026. Past the fee comparison, the deciding factors are the app, the reporting and how the cash moves, which sits inside a how to choose a platform question rather than a fee table.