Bursa or US? The true cost of investing

Brokerage is only part of it. This adds up stamp duty, clearing fees, currency conversion and the 30% US tax on dividends, so you can see what each market really costs you.

How much you invest (RM)

How you invest

Orders per year (buys + sells)

Average order size (RM)

Years invested

What you buy

ETFs Shares

Bursa broker

Rate %

Minimum RM

Platform fee per order RM

US broker

Rate %

Minimum USD

Platform fee per order USD Malaysian broker (charges Malaysian stamp duty)

More assumptions

Currency conversion cost, each way (%)

Set by the broker you pick. Malaysian brokers don't publish this (users report 0.55% to 1.3%; we use 0.8%). For foreign brokers we use Wise, about 0.63%.

US dividend yield (%)

S&P 500 funds pay roughly 1–1.5% a year; Nasdaq 100 funds under 1%.

RM per 1 USD

Average US share price (USD)

Only matters for per-share fees.

When does the answer change?

Yearly cost as a share of your money, by how often you trade. Hover to read values. The dot marks your plan.

Education only, not advice. This compares costs, not returns, and does not recommend any market, broker or investment. Brokers are grouped by whether they are licensed by the Securities Commission Malaysia. Foreign brokers are shown for comparison only: we found no SC licence for them, and you can check any broker on the SC Investment Checker. Inclusion is not an endorsement. Fees change: check your broker's current fee page. Broker links go to each broker's own website. None are affiliate links; if we ever add one, it will be marked as such.

How it's calculated

Bursa: brokerage (per broker), clearing fee 0.03% capped at RM1,000, stamp duty RM1 per RM1,000 capped at RM1,000 for shares. ETFs pay no stamp duty from 2026 to 2028 but pay 8% SST on brokerage and clearing.
US: broker commission and platform fees, US regulatory fees on sells (SEC and FINRA), and Malaysian stamp duty charged by Malaysian brokers (capped at RM200 for ETFs).
Currency is converted once into USD and once back at the end. Money is assumed to stay in USD in between.
US dividends lose 30% to US tax; Malaysia has no tax treaty with the US. Bursa dividends are single-tier (not taxed for most individuals).
Half of all orders are assumed to be sells.

Sources

Fees checked .