What is the Best Super Funds in Australia 2026
Synopsis
A complete 2026 guide to the best super funds in Australia, comparing top performers like Hostplus, AustralianSuper, UniSuper, and Australian Retirement Trust. Learn how to evaluate long-term returns, fees, and investment strategies to choose the right fund for your retirement goals.
There's no single fund that's automatically "the best" for everyone, since the right choice depends on your age, your balance, and how much you value fees versus returns. Here's how the top performers stack up right now, based on the latest data from Chant West and SuperRatings.
Top 10-year performers (Balanced/Growth options, to 30 June 2026):
- Hostplus Balanced around 8.90% per annum, the highest of any major default Balanced option.
- Australian Retirement Trust, AustralianSuper, Aware Super and UniSuper all close behind, generally within one percentage point of Hostplus over the decade.
- UniSuper Growth top performer over the most recent 12 months, at 12.3%, as per Chant West data.
What Is The Best-Performing Super Fund In Australia Right Now?
Over the year to 30 June 2026, the median Growth fund returned 9.5%, the fourth year in a row that returns have come in above 9%, according to Chant West. UniSuper's Growth option led the pack over those 12 months with a 12.3% return, followed by NGS Super's Diversified option at 11.5%. That short-term strength was driven mainly by international shares, which surged 25.5% in hedged terms on the back of continued enthusiasm for AI and strong company earnings.
One-year numbers move around a lot though, so they're not the most reliable way to judge a fund. Over the past decade, Hostplus Balanced has been the strongest performer among the major default options, returning around 8.90% per annum. Australian Retirement Trust, AustralianSuper, Aware Super and UniSuper all sit close behind, typically within a percentage point of Hostplus over that same 10-year stretch, which shows just how tightly matched the big funds actually are over the long run.
Which Super Fund Has The Lowest Fees In Australia?
"Hostplus" and "low fees" aren't automatically the same thing. Hostplus's standard, actively managed Balanced option actually carries some of the highest fees in the market, largely due to a performance fee built into its cost structure. It's Hostplus's separate Indexed Balanced option, which invests passively rather than trying to beat the market, that's genuinely one of the cheapest products around, often costing well under $220 a year on a $50,000 balance.
AustralianSuper tends to sit in the moderate-to-low range on fees for its standard Balanced option, while its Indexed Diversified option is also competitively priced, though not quite as cheap as Hostplus's indexed product. Vanguard Super is another consistently low-cost option worth comparing. The most reliable way to check current fees for any fund is the ATO's free YourSuper comparison tool, available through myGov or at ato.gov.au, which ranks MySuper products by return and shows fees in actual dollar terms rather than confusing percentages.
Is AustralianSuper Better Than Hostplus?
It depends what you're optimising for. On 10-year performance, Hostplus's Balanced option has edged out AustralianSuper, returning around 8.90% per annum compared with AustralianSuper's slightly lower figure over the same period, though the gap is small. On fees, the comparison flips: AustralianSuper's standard Balanced option is meaningfully cheaper than Hostplus's standard Balanced option, mainly because of that Hostplus performance fee.
AustralianSuper is Australia's largest fund by membership and has picked up Canstar's Outstanding Value Award for superannuation every year running. Hostplus, meanwhile, was named Money Magazine's Best Super Fund for 2026 and also picked up Mozo's Experts' Choice Award. Both are strong, well-regarded funds. If low fees on the default option matter most to you, AustralianSuper has the edge. If you're comfortable with a slightly higher fee for a strong long-term track record, or want access to Hostplus's low-cost Indexed Balanced option specifically, Hostplus is worth serious consideration.
How Do I Choose The Best Super Fund For My Retirement?
Start by looking at net returns after fees over 7 to 10 years, rather than focusing on a single strong year, since one-year results swing around a lot and don't tell you much about long-term consistency. The ATO's YourSuper tool is built for exactly this comparison, letting you line up MySuper products side by side using 7-year performance data.
From there, check that any fund you're considering has actually passed APRA's annual performance test, which assesses whether a MySuper product has delivered returns within 0.5% a year of its benchmark over 8 years. Funds that fail have to notify members directly, so this is a useful, independent filter. Beyond the numbers, think about what else matters to you: insurance cover, ethical or socially responsible investment options, and how easy the fund's app or website is to actually use day to day.
What Are The Top Industry Super Funds In Australia?
Industry funds, originally set up to serve specific sectors but now generally open to anyone, dominate the top of most performance tables. AustralianSuper, Australian Retirement Trust, Aware Super, UniSuper, Hostplus and Cbus all regularly appear near the top of both Chant West and SuperRatings' long-term performance rankings, and all have passed APRA's performance test in the most recent assessment.
Awards give a useful second opinion here too. SuperRatings named Aware Super its overall Super Fund of the Year, and Chant West gave Aware Super its top award as well, recognising strength across investment performance, member services and insurance, not just raw returns. That combination, strong returns plus solid all-round service, is generally a better signal than performance figures alone.
Can I Switch My Super Fund Easily?
Yes, switching funds is mechanically straightforward, and can usually be done online in under half an hour through a new fund's website or the ATO's myGov portal. The tricky part isn't the mechanics, it's what you might lose in the process, particularly insurance.
Before switching, check what life, total and permanent disability, and income protection cover you currently hold through your existing fund. Some cover, especially cover tied to pre-existing health conditions or built up over years, isn't automatically replaced when you move to a new fund, and a new provider may apply fresh waiting periods or ask new health questions. It's worth confirming your new fund offers comparable cover before cancelling anything with your old one.
Which Super Fund Is Best For Young Workers Or New Employees?
If you're young, your biggest advantage is time. A 25-year-old has 40-plus years for compound returns to work, which generally means it's worth prioritising long-term growth and low fees over defensive, lower-risk options built for people closer to retirement. Funds like Hostplus have historically been popular with younger and casual workers, partly due to their roots in hospitality and tourism, and partly because of that low-cost Indexed Balanced option.
That said, no single fund is automatically "the youth pick." What matters more at this stage is choosing a fund with a genuinely growth-oriented default option, keeping fees low so more of your balance stays invested and compounding, and not over-insuring through your super if you don't yet have dependents relying on that cover.
What Investment Options Do Australian Super Funds Offer?
Most funds offer a similar spread of options, even if the names vary slightly. These typically range from Cash and Conservative, through Balanced, to Growth and High Growth, with each step up carrying more exposure to shares and other growth assets, and more volatility along with it. Balanced options, the ones most Australians default into, generally hold somewhere around 60 to 80% in growth assets like shares.
On top of the standard risk-based options, many funds also offer indexed versions of their main portfolios, which track the market passively at a lower fee rather than trying to outperform it, along with socially responsible or ethical options that screen out things like fossil fuels, tobacco and gambling. Comparing which specific asset classes and screens each fund offers is worth doing if these choices matter to you personally, since not every fund offers the same level of customisation.
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