Sharesies vs Hatch vs Stake

Sharesies vs Hatch vs Stake

Here is the thing that surprised us most while putting this together: there is no single cheapest platform. The winner changes depending on how much you invest at a time and how often you trade. A flat fee punishes small orders. A percentage fee with a cap rewards them. And for US shares, it is the brokerage and the foreign exchange fee working together that decides the outcome — never one on its own.

So we have laid out what each platform actually charges, straight from their own published pricing, and matched those cost structures to the kind of investor each one suits. No hype, no affiliate spin.

One correction worth stating upfront: Sharesies does not charge a 0.5% foreign exchange fee. Its published pricing does not include one, and we have not stated a figure for it. Hatch charges 0.5% FX. Stake charges 1% with a US$2 minimum. That distinction matters more than any headline brokerage number.

How We Researched This Guide

We went to each platform's own published pricing page and worked from what they state, not from what a comparison table somewhere else claims. The numbers here — Sharesies' 1.9% transaction fee with its caps, Hatch's US$3 flat brokerage, Stake's US$3 per trade and 1% FX fee — are all pulled from the providers themselves. Where a platform publishes tiered pricing, such as Hatch's auto-invest tiers and Stake's US$30,000 threshold rate, we have reproduced the tiers rather than flattening them into a single figure.

What we could not do is give you an all-in cost comparison including exchange rate spreads. None of the three publishes its spread, so any figure would be invented. We have said so plainly rather than guessing. The regulatory material on adviser duties and disclosure comes from the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013, set out in full on legislation.govt.nz, and from FMA guidance.

ValueHub's Trusted Providers

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Simplicity

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Simplicity is a nonprofit KiwiSaver and investment fund manager charging 0.25% p.a. across all six KiwiSaver funds. 100% owned by the Simplicity Foundation, a registered charity. Over 190,000 members. Seven rounds of fee cuts since launch in 2016. 15% of management fees are donated to NZ charities. Founded by Sam Stubbs (ex-Tower Investments CEO, Goldman Sachs).

The Quick Summary (60-Second Version)

If you want the short version before we get into the detail:

• Sharesies charges 1.9% per transaction, capped at US$5 on US orders over US$264, AU$15 on Australian orders over AU$805, and NZ$25 on NZ orders over NZ$1,316. No minimum investment.
• Hatch charges US$3 flat to buy or sell up to 300 shares, plus US$0.01 per additional share, and 0.5% FX on both deposit and withdrawal.
• Stake charges US$3 per trade, or 0.01% on orders of US$30,000 or more, with a 1% FX fee and a US$2 minimum on conversions only.
• On a US$500 US trade, Hatch works out around US$5.50 all in, Stake around US$8, and Sharesies hits its US$5 cap.
• At small order sizes the differences are a few dollars. At large sizes, the FX fee dominates and flat brokerage becomes irrelevant.
• Sharesies is the only one of the three offering NZ and Australian shares alongside US shares, plus managed funds.

The Cost Structures, Side by Side

Brokerage is only half the story. The other half is what it costs to get your money in and out of the platform, and how those two charges interact at your order size.

Here is how that plays out on a US$500 US share purchase. Hatch charges US$3 brokerage plus 0.5% FX on the amount exchanged, so roughly US$5.50 before any exchange spread. Stake charges US$3 plus a 1% FX fee with a US$2 minimum, so roughly US$8. Sharesies charges 1.9% capped at US$5 — and because that cap is reached on US orders over US$264, most small US trades pay the cap rather than the percentage.

At that size, you are comparing a few dollars. The picture changes at scale. Stake's US$30,000 threshold rate and Hatch's scaling auto-invest tiers only start to matter on large orders, and by then the percentage-based FX fee is doing most of the damage. A flat brokerage fee becomes a rounding error; a percentage FX fee does not.

What Each Platform Is Actually Good At

Sharesies: the everything account

Sharesies is the only one of the three that gives you NZ and Australian shares alongside US shares, plus managed funds with no transaction fee. That breadth is the whole pitch. If you want one login for a NZX holding, a US ETF and a managed fund, this is the only option that delivers it.

The monthly plans change the maths. They start at $3 per month, with $7 and $15 tiers above that, and a $1 per month Kids Account. If you are investing modest amounts regularly, a plan can cover your brokerage entirely, which makes the 1.9% headline rate far less relevant than it looks. The catch is that you have to think about which tier fits your activity, and that is an optimisation puzzle not everyone wants.

Hatch: the US specialist with no subscription

Hatch does US shares and ETFs, charges US$3 flat to buy or sell up to 300 shares, and has no monthly fee. You can start with as little as US$1. It does not charge the usual W-8BEN fee, which other US brokers often levy at around US$5 to US$20 on opening an account.

Auto-invest orders scale: under US$300 you pay a 1% fee, from US$300 to US$30,000 a US$3 flat fee, and above US$30,000 a 0.01% fee. Kids Accounts are fees-free. A cumulative deposit total over US$100,000 earns a discount on exchange fees for deposits over US$50,000. For a set-and-forget US investor, the flat fee and lack of subscription make it the simplest of the three.

Stake: built for people who trade without withdrawing

Stake charges US$3 per trade, dropping to 0.01% on orders of US$30,000 or more, and a flat 1% FX fee with a US$2 minimum. The FX charge applies only when you convert to or from USD — there is no FX charge when you buy and sell within your USD balance. Funding by bank transfer is free; debit card and Apple Pay or Google Pay cost 2%, credit card 3%.

That model rewards a specific behaviour. If you deposit once, trade repeatedly, and leave the money in USD, you pay the FX hit once. If you deposit and withdraw frequently, the 1% starts to sting. Selling on US markets also carries an SEC fee of US$8.00 per US$1,000,000 sold, and a Trading Activity Fee of US$0.0000119 per unit sold capped at US$5.95. The minimum trade is US$10.

Questions You Might Have

Which platform is cheapest for small regular investing?

It depends on how small. Sharesies' US cap of US$5 kicks in on orders over US$264, so small US trades pay the cap rather than 1.9%. Hatch charges US$3 plus 0.5% FX. On a US$100 trade, Hatch is cheaper. On a US$500 trade, Sharesies' capped fee edges ahead. Run your own numbers at your actual order size.

Do I pay FX fees every time I trade?

Not on Stake, provided your money is already in USD. Stake charges FX only when you convert to or from USD. Hatch charges 0.5% when it exchanges money between NZD and USD on both deposit and withdrawal. Sharesies does not publish an FX fee figure, and top-ups and withdrawals can only be made in NZD.

Can I buy NZ and Australian shares on any of these?

Only Sharesies. Hatch and Stake are US-focused. If you want NZX or ASX exposure alongside US shares, Sharesies is the one that offers all three markets under a single login. Hatch and Stake are for investors who are happy to keep their US holdings separate from anything else.

What is the W-8BEN form and do I have to pay for it?

It is the form that stops the IRS taking a larger share of your US dividends. Hatch does not charge the usual W-8BEN fee, which other US brokers often levy at around US$5 to US$20 on opening an account. Stake covers the W-8BEN form fee too, usually US$5 at first deposit. Sharesies handles it as part of onboarding.

Is there a single cheapest platform overall?

No. A flat minimum fee punishes small orders. A percentage fee with a cap means the cap only matters once you are trading large amounts. The interaction of brokerage and FX fee decides the outcome for US shares, not either one alone. Match the cost structure to your behaviour rather than chasing a winner.

What Matters Most

The cheapest platform depends entirely on your order size and how often you trade. That is not a cop-out — it is the actual answer. A flat US$3 brokerage is brilliant on a US$2,000 order and terrible on a US$50 one. A 1.9% percentage fee is painful on a large order and irrelevant on a small one once the cap applies.

So work out your own pattern first. How much do you put in at a time? How often? Do you withdraw, or does the money stay invested? Once you know that, the platform choice mostly makes itself.

Over a decade or more, compound interest will matter more to your final balance than which of these three you choose.

If you want one account for NZ, Australian and US shares, Sharesies is the only option. If you want simple US exposure with no subscription, Hatch. If you trade repeatedly without withdrawing, Stake's USD wallet model works in your favour. Pick the structure that matches your behaviour, not the one with the best-sounding headline number.