Betashares Direct vs Vanguard Personal Investor (2026)

Quick answer: Betashares Direct is cheaper and more flexible for most ETF investors. It charges $0 brokerage to buy and sell any ASX-listed ETF, including Vanguard's, plus 550+ ASX shares, and lets you buy fractions from $10. Vanguard Personal Investor charges $0 to buy Vanguard ETFs but $9 to sell them, can't hold any other provider's ETFs, and keeps all the interest on your cash. Vanguard Personal Investor is the better fit if you want Vanguard's unlisted managed funds, or automatic investing straight into VAS or VGS. Neither platform is CHESS-sponsored.

Both platforms come from fund managers, not stockbrokers, and both hold your investments for you rather than in your own name. That's why they get compared so often. The differences that cost you money are when you sell, what you're allowed to buy, and what happens to cash sitting in the account.

Every figure below comes from each platform's own legal document: the Vanguard Personal Investor Guide dated 1 September 2026 and the Betashares Invest Product Disclosure Statement dated 9 September 2026. Looking for a comparison of the two fund managers' ETFs (VAS vs A200, VDHG vs DHHF)? See our separate Vanguard vs Betashares comparison.

Betashares Direct vs Vanguard Personal Investor at a glance

Feature	Betashares Direct	Vanguard Personal Investor
Buying ETFs	$0 on any ASX-listed ETF	$0 on Vanguard ETFs only
Selling ETFs	$0	$9 per trade
Non-Vanguard ETFs (A200, IVV, DHHF, NDQ)	Yes	Not available
ASX shares	550+ shares, $0 to buy or sell	Selected shares, $9 to buy or sell, plus a 0.10% a year account fee
Unlisted managed funds	Yes	Yes, Vanguard's range
Account fee on ETFs	None	None on Vanguard investments
Minimum order	$10 per buy	$200 for the first buy of each ETF or share, then 1 unit
Fractional ETF units	Yes, on market orders	No, whole ETF units only (managed funds can be bought in dollar amounts)
Auto-invest	From $50, into up to 5 Betashares ETFs	From $200 per cycle, into Vanguard ETFs and managed funds
Interest on your cash	Rate shown in the app. Betashares can keep up to 100%	None paid. Vanguard keeps all of it
CHESS-sponsored (your own HIN)	No, custodial (Citigroup)	No, custodial (Vanguard, with JPMorgan as sub-custodian)
Transfer existing holdings in	Yes, for approved investments	Not available for ETFs or shares
Transfer holdings out	Yes, up to $9.50 per security	Contact Vanguard
US shares	No	No
Operator and licence	Betashares Capital Ltd, AFSL 341181	Vanguard Investments Australia Ltd, AFSL 227263

Sources: Betashares Invest PDS, 9 September 2026; Betashares Direct; Vanguard Personal Investor Guide, 1 September 2026.

Fees: where the two platforms actually differ

Brokerage

The Betashares PDS says buying or selling ETFs, ASX-listed shares and unlisted managed funds, including dividend and distribution reinvestment, is "brokerage-free". Betashares describes the $0 pricing as a long-term commitment, not an introductory offer.

The Vanguard Personal Investor Guide sets out a different schedule (Guide, p. 4):

Investment on Vanguard Personal Investor	Buy	Sell	Account fee
Vanguard managed funds	No brokerage	No brokerage	None
Vanguard ETFs	$0	$9.00 per trade	None
ASX-listed direct shares	$9.00 per trade	$9.00 per trade	0.10% p.a.

The 0.10% account fee applies only to non-Vanguard investments. At the date of the Guide, that means directly held ASX shares only. It's calculated daily and deducted quarterly. A portfolio made up only of Vanguard ETFs and funds pays no account fee.

Cash interest: the cost most comparisons miss

Money waiting in your account isn't idle for the platform. Vanguard Personal Investor's Guide says that, at the date of the Guide, Vanguard retains all the interest earned on the Vanguard Cash Account. The interest it retained in the year to 30 June 2026 averaged 4.49% a year of the cash balance. Leave $2,000 there between purchases for a year and you forgo roughly $90 at that rate.

Betashares can also keep up to 100% of the interest on its pooled cash, but it may waive part of that and pay you a rate. The current rate is shown in the Betashares Direct app, according to the PDS. On either platform, keep your cash in a high-interest savings account and move it across only when you're about to invest.

Managed portfolio fees (Betashares only)

Buying individual ETFs on Betashares Direct has no ongoing platform fee. Its ready-made Managed Portfolios do, and so do Custom Portfolios you build yourself. For Betashares Managed Portfolios, the Portfolio Fee is:

Portfolio balance	Portfolio Fee
$0 to $10,000	$3.00 per month
Over $10,000 to $100,000	0.20% p.a.
Over $100,000 to $500,000	0.18% p.a.
Over $500,000 to $2,000,000	0.16% p.a.
Over $2,000,000	0.14% p.a.

J.P. Morgan Managed Portfolios on the platform charge more, for example 0.30% a year on $10,000 to $100,000. You can avoid portfolio fees entirely by buying the ETFs yourself.

What each one costs: four worked examples

These examples use only the fees above. ETF management fees (the MER) are charged by the fund, not the platform, so they're the same whichever platform you use. They're left out of the platform comparison here.

1. $500 a month into VAS for 10 years, then sell it all.

Betashares Direct: 120 buys at $0 and one sale at $0. Total $0.
Vanguard Personal Investor: 120 buys at $0 and one sale at $9. Total $9.

Practically a draw, unless cash sits in the account and earns nothing for you on Vanguard Personal Investor.

2. A three-ETF portfolio, rebalanced by selling once a year. Selling two ETFs a year to rebalance costs 2 × $9 = $18 a year on Vanguard Personal Investor, or $180 over 10 years. On Betashares Direct it costs $0. You'd also need all three ETFs to be Vanguard funds. A mix like VAS + IVV + VGE isn't possible on Vanguard Personal Investor, because IVV is an iShares fund.

3. $20,000 in ASX shares such as CBA and BHP, with four trades a year.

Vanguard Personal Investor: 4 × $9 = $36 brokerage, plus 0.10% × $20,000 = $20 account fee. $56 a year.
Betashares Direct: $0, as long as the shares are among the 550+ on its list.

4. You want A200 or DHHF instead of VAS or VDHG. Vanguard Personal Investor can't hold them. Betashares Direct can, at $0. This is the single biggest practical limit on Vanguard Personal Investor, since Betashares' A200 charges a lower fee than VAS.

Want to see how small fee differences compound over decades? Run your contribution plan through our ETF Calculator.

Is Betashares Direct or Vanguard Personal Investor CHESS-sponsored?

Neither. Both are custodial platforms, so you don't get a Holder Identification Number (HIN) and your name isn't on the share register.

Betashares Direct: investments are held on a pooled basis by Citigroup Pty Ltd as custodian, on separate trust for you, and you hold a beneficial interest.
Vanguard Personal Investor: Vanguard is the custodian and holds your assets on trust for you. JPMorgan Chase Bank (Sydney Branch) is the sub-custodian for ETFs and shares, and UBS Securities Australia places the trades.

In both cases the assets are held on trust for you, separately from the platform's own money, under an Australian financial services licence. Custodial ownership is a normal, regulated arrangement, not a red flag. The practical cost is portability. With a HIN, you can move holdings between CHESS brokers easily. With a custodial account, moving out depends on the platform's own process, covered in the next section.

If having your own HIN matters to you, our best ETF brokers guide lists $0 and low-cost CHESS-sponsored options such as Webull and CMC Invest.

Moving your investments in or out

This is where the two platforms differ most, and it rarely gets discussed until someone tries to leave.

Betashares Direct allows transfers both ways. You can transfer approved investments in from another account in your name, and Betashares charges nothing to receive them. To transfer out to another account in your name, you start the request with the receiving provider, and Betashares charges up to $9.50 per security. One catch: fractions of a unit can't be transferred. Any part-units must be sold, and that sale can create a small capital gain or loss.

Vanguard Personal Investor can't accept ETFs or shares. The Guide says transfers of ETFs and direct shares into the account are "not available". Vanguard says it intends to offer this in future and may allow it in exceptional circumstances. To move holdings out, you contact Vanguard, which can also arrange a transfer to another investor-directed portfolio service (IDPS). If you already own VAS on CommSec, for example, you can't consolidate it into Vanguard Personal Investor. You'd have to sell and rebuy, which triggers capital gains tax.

Selling to switch platforms is a CGT event, and from 1 July 2027 the 50% CGT discount is replaced by cost base indexation for gains made after that date. Our CGT changes explainer covers how that affects a sale, and you can model it in the CGT Comparison Calculator.

Auto-invest and small amounts

Betashares Direct:

Auto-invest works with up to 5 Betashares ETFs, from $50 per investment. It can't be pointed at Vanguard or iShares ETFs.
To automate a mix that includes other providers' funds, you need a Custom Portfolio, which carries the Portfolio Fee above.
Manual buys of any ETF or listed share start at $10. Fractions are available on market orders only; limit orders must be for whole units.

Vanguard Personal Investor:

Auto Invest starts at $200 per cycle. It runs weekly, fortnightly, monthly or quarterly from your Vanguard Cash Account, or fortnightly, monthly or quarterly by direct debit.
It can buy Vanguard ETFs as well as managed funds. Because ETFs are bought in whole units, any leftover cash rolls into the next cycle.
Managed funds need $200 to start, then accept top-ups from $1, which is how Vanguard Personal Investor handles small regular amounts.

Which is better for dollar-cost averaging?

Auto-investing into VAS, VGS or VDHG with no fees: Vanguard Personal Investor's Auto Invest does it directly, provided you can commit $200 a cycle.
Smaller amounts, Betashares funds such as A200, BGBL or DHHF, or any provider's fund: Betashares Direct is cheaper and more flexible.

Our dollar-cost averaging guide shows how regular investing plays out over time.

Which should you choose?

Choose Betashares Direct if you:

want $0 brokerage on both buying and selling
want any ASX ETF, including non-Vanguard funds like A200, IVV, DHHF or NDQ
invest small amounts, from $10
may want to move investments in from another broker later
rebalance by selling

Choose Vanguard Personal Investor if you:

only want Vanguard funds and plan to hold them for a long time
want Vanguard's unlisted managed funds with $1 top-ups
want hands-off Auto Invest straight into Vanguard ETFs from $200 a cycle
are opening a Vanguard Personal Investor Kids account alongside your own

Choose neither if you want a HIN. Use a CHESS-sponsored broker instead. Pearler and Stake or CommSec are compared in our other platform guides.

Using both is common too. For example, some people hold Vanguard managed funds on Vanguard Personal Investor and buy everything else on Betashares Direct.

Frequently asked questions

Is Betashares Direct better than Vanguard Personal Investor?

For most ETF investors, yes on cost and choice. Betashares Direct charges $0 to buy and sell any ASX-listed ETF and 550+ ASX shares, with buys from $10. Vanguard Personal Investor charges $9 to sell Vanguard ETFs, can't hold other providers' ETFs, and keeps all interest on cash. Vanguard Personal Investor is better if you want Vanguard managed funds or Auto Invest directly into Vanguard ETFs.

Is Vanguard Personal Investor CHESS sponsored?

No. Vanguard Personal Investor is a custodial platform (an investor-directed portfolio service). Vanguard holds your assets on trust for you, with JPMorgan Chase Bank as sub-custodian for ETFs and shares. You don't receive a HIN.

Is Betashares Direct CHESS sponsored?

No. Betashares Direct holds investments on a pooled basis through its custodian, Citigroup Pty Ltd, on separate trust for you. You have a beneficial interest but no HIN. You can still transfer whole units out to another account in your name for up to $9.50 per security.

Can I buy Vanguard ETFs on Betashares Direct?

Yes. Betashares Direct offers $0 brokerage on all ASX-listed ETFs, including Vanguard funds such as VAS, VGS and VDHG. Its Auto-invest feature only works with Betashares ETFs, though. To automate purchases of Vanguard ETFs on Betashares Direct, you'd need a Custom Portfolio, which carries a Portfolio Fee.

Does Vanguard Personal Investor charge brokerage?

Buying Vanguard ETFs costs $0, selling them costs $9 per trade, and ASX direct shares cost $9 to buy or sell plus a 0.10% a year account fee. Vanguard managed funds have no brokerage. There is no account fee on Vanguard investments.

Is Betashares Direct really free?

Buying and selling ETFs and listed shares is brokerage-free and there is no account fee on individual holdings. Betashares earns money from interest it retains on cash balances, Portfolio Fees on Managed and Custom Portfolios, up to $9.50 per security on transfers out, and the management fees of any Betashares ETFs you hold.

Can I transfer my shares to Vanguard Personal Investor?

Not ETFs or shares. Vanguard's Guide dated 1 September 2026 says transfers of ETFs and direct shares into Vanguard Personal Investor are not available, though Vanguard intends to offer them in future. Betashares Direct accepts transfers of approved investments and charges nothing to receive them.

Are Betashares Direct and Vanguard Personal Investor safe?

Both are run by licensed Australian fund managers: Betashares Capital (AFSL 341181) and Vanguard Investments Australia (AFSL 227263). Your assets are held on trust through a custodian, separately from the company's own money. Like any investment, the value of the ETFs you hold can still fall with the market.

Related calculators and guides

ETF Calculator: project regular contributions and fees over time
CGT Comparison Calculator: see the tax cost of selling to switch platforms
Vanguard vs Betashares: the fund managers' ETFs compared
Pearler vs Vanguard Personal Investor
Best ETF brokers in Australia
ETF and broker comparisons hub

This article is for general information only and does not constitute financial, tax or legal advice. Individual circumstances vary. Consult a registered tax agent or licensed financial adviser before making decisions based on this information.