In simple terms, share trading platforms afford you the resources to buy and sell company stocks or derivative products based on company stocks to make a profit. While trading shares, you can make a profit through capital growth or dividend, based on the amount of profit your company makes.
To trade the shares of a South-African listed company, you will have to do it through the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) which is the best stock market in Africa, listing over 400 companies. However, you can trade foreign shares through several other stock exchanges such as the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the NASDAQ (United States), and the London Stock Exchange (LSE).
Cheapest Share Trading Platform in South Africa
We are all in the business to make more money and avoid losing what we already have. Therefore, it is only logical that traders will always opt for the cheaper option as long as its quality is good enough. It is no surprise that when it comes to evaluating the best trading platforms, the cost always plays a major part. The things we considered when choosing the cheapest share trading platform are the commissions, spreads, overnight fees, inactivity fees, deposit/withdrawal fees, currency conversion fees, account opening fees, and maintenance fees.
With over 10 million users on its platform, eToro remains undisputed when it comes to choosing the platform that offers the cheapest share trading in South Africa. Using eToro ensures that you can trade easily without paying any commission, ticketing, or management fees.
For beginner traders, eToro has a demo account, with all the real-life trading conditions that allow you to trade shares up to a value of $100,000 for practice before you dive into the real trading and start investing real money. As a web trader, eToro allows you to place orders even when the platform is down. Opening a trading account is free of charge, there is no deposit fee and there is no commission. However, eToro charges $5 on every withdrawal and $10 per month after a 12-month inactivity period.
eToro also places a 0.5% currency conversion charge on international transactions. If you trade only South African stocks, you will not need to pay a currency conversion fee because everything is denominated in rands. However, for international trades, you will need to convert your Rands to dollars at a charge of 0.5%. All CFD trading platforms will charge you overnight financing fees if you fail to exit before the market closes and eToro is no different. This is why CFD trading is better when it is concluded within a short term.
CM Trading – Based in Johannesburg, is an online share trading platform is one of the largest trading platforms in South Africa. Opening a trading account with CM is completely free of charge. However, you have to pay a 2% charge to deposit money on your account or to withdraw from it. If your account is inactive for a year, you will be charged $15 per month as an inactivity fee. CM Trading offers a wide range of investment options including commodities, cryptocurrencies, and Contracts for Differences (CFDs). CM Trading is regulated by South Africa’s Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) to ensure that the risk for the client is kept relatively low.
CM trading also offers a free demo account to help you learn the ropes before you start trading with real money. CFD trading on the CM platform is similar to the other platforms in terms of the amount of risk you are exposed to. However, this platform allows you to trade CFDs on bond indices, shares, currency pairs, and precious metals.
Best Share Trading Platform in South Africa
There are many factors to consider when choosing the best share trading platform in the country. These include pricing (all the fees charged by the platform), safety, reliability, user-friendly platform, a demo account for practice, access to global markets, foreign exchange fees, performance, and customer support.
A lot of options come to mind. eToro is the cheapest and offers the best pricing, CM Trading stands out as the best CFD share trading platform in South Africa, Plus500 offers huge leverage facilities for CFD trading.
However, after considering all these, the best trading platform in South Africa seems to be IG. Although IG charges a commission unlike some of the other trading platforms mentioned above, you will get great value for your money. As a trader on IG, you will have access to a massive share library which includes being able to buy shares from over 10,000 reputable companies. It allows you to trade shares in the traditional form and also as CFDs. Its spread betting facility covers more than 13,000 Contracts for Differences (CFDs) stocks. However, you need a minimum deposit of £250 on your account.
You will be required to pay a £12 inactivity fee per month after you have been inactive for two years. The £8 commission on each trade reduces to £3 when you trade for more than three times in the previous month. Withdrawal and deposit are completely free of charge. As a beginner, you might be skeptical about some of these charges. However, the charges are a small price to pay for the top-quality service you will get on this platform.
Best Stock Brokers in South Africa
There are many things that you have to consider when choosing an online stockbroker. Some stock brokers offer the best rates for beginners. Some others allow packages that will best serve the experienced trader. The cost is also another important thing to consider before you make your choice.
Here are some of the best stock brokers in South Africa.
- IQ Option – It is a very efficient trading platform that offers a wide range of services. Whether you are an experienced trader or a novice, IQ Options is the right platform for you
- Binary.com – If you are a binary options trader, then you will not find a better broker than Binary.com
- Deriv. com – It is user-friendly and very easy to navigate making it a very good option for the beginner.
- Olymp Trade – The platform is a low-risk investment platform that ensures that the client’s profit or loss is moderate
- CM Trading – Offers a wide range of investment options including commodities, cryptocurrencies, and Contracts for Differences (CFDs). CM Trading is regulated by South Africa’s Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) to ensure that the risk for the client is kept relatively low
- eToro – It costs nothing to set up an account with eToro but you have to deposit a minimum of $200 to start trading. It is used by over 10 million clients worldwide. It offers a demo account, zero commission on trades, and good customer support.
South African Trading Platforms
One of the exciting things you experience as a web trader is choosing the right commodity to trade. There are trading platforms that focus on Forex trading, some on share trading; some trading platforms allow the trading of Contracts for Differences (CFDs) on stocks. Some other platforms specialize in cryptocurrencies while several platforms offer a combination of any of the aforementioned. Here are some of the trading platforms in South Africa.
Broker Overview #1 IQ Option
Founded in Cyprus in 2013, IQ Option South Africa has evolved from a hugely successful binary options trading platform to an all-in-one trading platform. IQ option offers a wide range of services to the trader including Forex trading, binary options, FX options, cryptocurrencies, commodities, equities, and stock indices, etc.
Pros
- The platform is user-friendly
- The customer support is excellent and they can be reached by phone, chat, or email.
- It offers a free demo account
- Islamic account is also available
- It allows several local payment options for any country you belong to.
- Very low minimum deposit amount ($10)
Cons
- It does not allow US traders
- It does not have Meta Trader 4 or 5 (MT4/MT5)
Conclusion: It is a very efficient trading platform that offers a wide range of services. Whether you are an experienced trader or a novice, IQ Options is the right platform for you; unless you’re in the United States.
Broker Overview #2 Binary.com
Binary.com South Africa allows you to trade Forex, cryptocurrencies, binary options, contracts for differences (CFDs), and commodities. It offers the greatest flexibility of any binary broker. You can also trade Forex and CFD via its Meta Trader 5.
Pros
- Offers free demo account
- Allows minimum trade of $1
- It is heavily regulated to lower the risk of the trader
- It features an auto-trading robot
- It requires a minimum deposit of just $5
Cons
- It does not allow Islamic account
- It does not offer copy/social trading
Conclusion: If you are a binary options trader, then you will not find a better broker than Binary.com
Broker Overview #3 Deriv.com
This is an online broker that allows you to trade binary options, Forex, commodities, and CFDs. It is a user-friendly platform with over one million users.
Pros
- Deriv.com South Africa Offers Demo Account
- Minimum Deposit of just $5
- Allows traders to trade using the Meta Trader 5
- Offers Auto Trading
Cons
- No copy/social trading
- No Islamic account
- Offers no bonus
- Does not trade cryptocurrencies
Conclusion: It is user-friendly and very easy to navigate making it a very good option for the beginner.
Broker Overview #4 Olymp Trade
Founded in 2014, this online broker has continued to expand and now boasts more than 25,000 active traders per day. Olymp Trade is present in 134 countries worldwide and supports 19 languages.
Pros
- A minimum deposit of $10
- Offers free demo account
- Minimum trade of $1
- Has a wide reach globally
Cons
- Does not offer Forex trading
- No Meta Trader 4/5
- Offers no social/copy trading
Conclusion: The platform is a low-risk investment platform that ensures that the client’s profit or loss is moderate.
What are share trading platforms?
Share trading platforms are online brokers that allow you to buy and sell shares by yourself. Although these platforms render a lot of help to the user by ensuring access to market data and statistics to help you decide on the kind of shares to buy, you will be the one making the key decisions from the comfort of your home.
What is the cheapest share trading platform?
eToro remains the cheapest reliable trading platform in South Africa. On this platform, you can trade shares without paying a commission. You can deposit money in your account without paying commission. It also charges one of the lowest inactivity fees out there.
Do share trading platforms charge fees to deposit and withdraw?
Some share trading platforms allow you to deposit and withdraw without paying any charges. Some platforms charge fees for either deposit or withdrawal from your account. Other trading platforms charge fees for both deposit and withdrawal.
Should I invest all my money in a company if it shows massive potential?
The stock market is very unpredictable. A company might tick all the right boxes and have massive potential for growth before you buy it but diversification is really important when trading shares. For several reasons, things might not turn out as you expected and you can only protect yourself from unforeseen circumstances by not putting all your eggs in one basket. Therefore, the best way to invest is to diversify. The probability that all your stocks will fail at the same time becomes lower if you have several options available.
Should I opt for a flat commission or variable commission?
They both have their unique advantages and your choice should depend on how much you are planning to invest and how frequently you are willing to trade your shares. Flat commission ensures that you pay the same fee irrespective of how much you trade. It can then be deduced from this that flat commission is extremely favourable to those who trade in large volumes and unsuitable for the little traders. Therefore, if your aim is to buy small shares and make a small but significant profit with low risk, then you shouldn’t opt for trading platforms that charge flat commission. However, if you trade in large volumes and you trade consistently for an extended period, a flat-rate commission might just be the right choice for you because you pay a flat fee no matter how much your trade generates.
