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EasyEquities vs Lightyear: fees, markets and protection

Facts for both companies from their official pages; each was checked on the date shown in its review.

Facts verified on October 18, 2026

Key differences

Only EasyEquities lists Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) and Australian Securities Exchange (ASX).
Only Lightyear lists Euronext, London Stock Exchange, and Xetra (Deutsche Börse).
Only EasyEquities is licensed by FSCA.
Only Lightyear is licensed by EFSA and FCA.

Criterion	EasyEquities	Lightyear
Rating	2.9/5 on other platforms 6.8K ratings	4.6/5 on other platforms 5.5K ratings
Regulators	FSCA	EFSA, FCA
Minimum deposit	No minimum	—
Markets	Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), US exchanges (NYSE, Nasdaq), Australian Securities Exchange (ASX)	US exchanges (NYSE, Nasdaq), Euronext, London Stock Exchange, Xetra (Deutsche Börse)
Products	stocks, ETFs, fractional shares, funds	stocks, ETFs, fractional shares, bonds, funds
US stock or ETF order	0.56% of the order	0.1% of the order, minimum $0.10, maximum $1
Currency conversion fee	0.5%	0.35%
Deposits and withdrawals	Bank transfer, Visa / Mastercard, Ozow, Capitec Pay	Bank transfer, Visa / Mastercard, Apple Pay, Google Pay
Founded	2014	—
Headquarters	South Africa	—
Investor protection	—	Estonian Investor Protection Sectoral Fund, SIPC (US securities held with Alpaca)
Available only in	—	Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark +20
	Read review	Read review

Which regulators license EasyEquities and Lightyear?

EasyEquities is licensed by FSCA; Lightyear by EFSA and FCA.