just spent way too long researching where to actually buy shares in australia and honestly the differences between platforms are wild. like, some charge per trade, others have spreads, some let you own the shares directly and others just give you price exposure. it's not just about fees either - market access varies heaps. if you only want asx stocks, that's one thing. but if you want us markets or global exchanges, you need a different setup entirely.

figured out there's basically two camps. the direct ownership crowd (commsec, stake, cmc invest) where shares sit on the asx registry in your name, which feels more "real" but costs more per trade. then there's the cfd/multi-asset platforms like mitrade where you get zero commission but it's price exposure rather than ownership. eToro's interesting because of the copy trading thing - you can literally copy what experienced traders are doing, which is wild if you're starting out.

for beginners wanting a best platform to buy shares australia-wise, the choice depends on what you actually want to do. if you're buy-and-hold, commSec and stake are straightforward. if you want to trade more actively or access crypto/forex alongside shares, mitrade's zero commission model makes more sense. interactive brokers is there if you're serious and managing real money internationally.

the annoying part is fees hide everywhere - fx conversion, inactivity charges, overnight funding fees on cfds. none of them advertise the full picture upfront. so yeah, definitely check the complete fee schedule before committing. the best platform to buy shares in australia for you depends on whether you want direct ownership, how many markets you need access to, and how often you're actually trading. worth testing with a demo account first if they offer one.