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eToro is a multi-asset investment platform. The value of your investments may go up or down. Your capital is at risk.
In this eToro review, we’ll explore the platform’s features and the benefits of using eToro to trade and build a portfolio that you can’t easily assemble anywhere else. You might be surprised to learn all this innovative stock broker and crypto exchange has to offer.
What is eToro?
eToro is an online broker that offers trading for stocks, cryptocurrencies, exchange traded funds (ETFs), indices, commodities and options. In 2013, eToro added commodities trading and crypto trading, starting with Bitcoin and later expanding to dozens of cryptocurrencies.
Headquartered in Israel, eToro has grown to open offices around the world, including the US, the UK, Australia, and Cyprus.
eToro’s history dates back to 2007, when two brothers, Yoni Assia and Ronen Assia, along with David Ring founded the company, first known as RetailFX. Today, the platform boasts over 33 million users worldwide, becoming a household name in countries like the US and UK.
For investors, eToro delivers one unique feature that sets it apart from many other brokers and exchanges: Traders can follow the moves of other crypto traders using a feature called eToro copy trading.
eToro’s Popular Investor program brings additional financial rewards to successful crypto traders who build a following. Followers benefit from the opportunity to make winning trades without needing to be an investing guru. Availability varies by market, however. In the UK, copy trading is available for all assets, whereas in the US, copy trading is limited to crypto trades.
There’s also a social news feed where traders can share their thoughts on market moves and trends, bringing a sense of community you won’t find on most trading platforms.
What Can You Trade and Invest in on eToro?
Often, exchanges and brokerages only offer one or two types of assets. eToro bucks the trend here as well, giving investors access to several types of assets all with one trading account. Depending on where you are in the world, you may have access to everything eToro has on tap. In some areas, like the US, you’ll have to forgo forex (foreign currencies) trading and commodities trading, including oil, gold, or silver.
Cryptocurrencies
eToro offers trading in about 80 cryptocurrencies, although some assets aren’t available in certain jurisdictions. In the US, 23 cryptos are available for trading, including Bitcoin. You’ll find broad availability of the big names, so you can buy Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), which make up nearly 70% of the worldwide cryptocurrency market capitalization combined.
eToro’s “Discover” tab shows an overview of the daily movers and shakers. Click through on a crypto that catches your eye to learn more, including detailed charts, technical analysis, asset-specific news, stats, and even trading indicators.
Crypto Staking
eToro also offers staking services (for US customers) for some proof-of-stake cryptocurrencies. Currently, eToro supports staking for TRON and ADA.
Here’s how it works:
Staking refers to pledging crypto as collateral to help validate transactions on the blockchain. In exchange for pledging your crypto, proof-of-stake networks pay staking rewards when validators successfully add a block to the blockchain. The yield from these rewards can reach 3% to 5% APY, and often higher, and the rewards are typically paid in the form of more (staked) crypto.
But the process of staking crypto manually can be daunting. Platforms like eToro can do the heavy lifting and take care of the technical aspects of staking your crypto for you. The crypto staking platform (eToro, in this case) receives the staking rewards and then keeps a percentage of the rewards, passing along the rest.
Rewards vary by customer tier, called “clubs.”
- Bronze Club customers keep 75% of staking rewards.
- Silver, Gold, and Platinum Club members keep 85%.
- Diamond, Platinum+ Club members keep 90% of the staking rewards.
Note: Staking is not available for eToro US customers and may be restricted in other jurisdictions as well.
Stocks
eToro also offers fractional stock purchases. With eToro stock trading, you don’t have to spend $400+ on a share of Nvidia. You can buy a part of a share, or a share and a half, depending on how much you want to invest. eToro’s minimum deposit is $10, so you can buy fractional shares of stocks in any value north of the $10 investment minimum.
Currently, eToro offers over 4,000 stocks, including all the big names you’d expect like AAPL, TSLA, AMZN, and others. This compares well with other brokers, particularly CFD brokers, many of which only offer about a third of that amount.
Stock CFDs
Contracts for difference or CFDs are trading contracts in which you aren’t buying the underlying asset. Instead, you’re trading contacts based on the future price of the asset. This structure allows trade in either direction, going short if you think the price will decrease or going long if you think the price will increase. In supported markets, including the UK, you can trade either stocks or the stock CFD.
Stock Options
As the name suggests, an option gives you the ability to buy or sell shares at a fixed price at a later date. You’re not actually buying or selling the stock (yet). You’re just buying a contract that allows you to buy or sell at that price.
- Buy options are known as call options or “calls.”
- Sell options are called “puts.”
eToro is transparent about the risks in options trading, namely that you can lose the entire cost of the options you purchase.
For some investments, Options trading on eToro may be the prudent way to approach the trade. However, due to higher risks, options are best suited to experienced traders.
Note: Options trading requires the eToro Options Trading mobile application.
Exchange-Traded Funds (ETFs)
Choose from over 400 ETFs on eToro. ETFs, or exchange-traded funds, allow you to buy one easy-to-trade asset that tracks an index, a sector, or a single asset, such as gold.
eToro’s available ETFs vary by region. Here are some popular options you can trade eToro:
- SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY): This well-known ETF tracks the S&P 500 companies, including Alphabet (Google), Tesla, Amazon, Nike, and more.
- The iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond ETF (TLT): The TLT ETF invests in long-term US government bonds. Some traders use this ETF to diversify their portfolio without the hassle of buying bonds individually.
- Invesco QQQ (QQQ): Track the ups and downs of the Nasdaq 100 with one easy-to-buy ETF.
- The SPDR Gold ETF (GLD): Owning physical gold brings some sticky storage considerations. The GLD ETF gives your portfolio exposure to the gold market without the storage risks.
- The Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI): Can’t decide where to invest? VTI lets you invest in, well, everything. The fund holds 4,000 individual stocks, ranging from microcap to the largest companies in the world.
Indices
eToro also offers trading for indices using a product called a CFD (Contract for Difference). You can think of CFDs as derivatives (you’re not trading the real asset) that allows you to use leverage and to trade indices 24 hours per day. By contrast, ETFs can only be traded during market hours.
Because indices allow leverage trading, you can also sell short if you think the market may turn to the downside. This is something you can’t do with ETFs, unless you can find an inverse ETF for the index you think might take a tumble.
Popular choices for indices include:
- NASDAQ100: Bet on the price direction of the top 100 stocks on the Nasdaq.
- SPX500: The SPX500 index tracks the performance of the S&P 500, the 500 largest companies traded on US stock exchanges.
- DJ30: This index follows the movements of the Dow Jones Industrial Average, an index of 30 leading blue-chip stocks like Apple, Intel, JPMorgan Chase, and General Electric.
- USDOLLAR: Track the value of the US dollar versus a basket of international currencies such as the UK Pound, Euro, Canadian Dollar, Swiss Franc Japanese Yen, and Swedish Kroner.
- UK100: You may have heard of the FTSE 100, or “Footsie,” as it’s affectionately known, The UK100 tracks this index of the top 100 companies on the London Stock Exchange (measured by market capitalization).
Indices let you trade markets worldwide, long or short, and with leverage. Trading with leverage means you can multiply your earnings, but also your losses.
Note: Indices trading through CFDs is not available in the US.
Forex
Foreign exchange (forex) trading refers to trading currencies. The day-to-day variances in currency values can seem small – until you apply leverage, turning small price movements into seismic events. The forex market is the largest market in the world, with daily trading volume in excess of $5 trillion.
If you’re a skilled technical trader and have a keen sense for how central bank actions and business cycles can affect currency values, eToro forex trading may be a good fit for you.
In forex trading, you’re taking two sides of a trade at once, buying one cryptocurrency and selling another within a trading pair. The stakes are high, but the profit potential can be much higher than you’ll find with traditional investing.
As one of the best high-leverage brokers, eToro supports forex trading with up to 30x leverage on major trading pairs, including EUR/USD and GBP/USD, and up to 20x leverage on minor trading pairs.
Note: Forex trading on eToro is not available in the US.
Commodities
Commodities trading lets you find profits by trading the raw materials that make the building blocks of modern life. You’re not trading the real commodities, however. You’re trading a contract.
We’ve all seen the effects of oil prices at the pump and wheat prices at the grocery store. Work the other side of the inflation trade and turn higher oil prices into a profit. Or, bet on the price of gold, or wheat, or soy beans, or cotton.
eToro offers trading in over 30 commodities used around the world. Similar to indices, commodities trading uses CFDs (Contract for Difference) on eToro. This structure allows you to trade or add commodity exposure to your portfolio without needing to take delivery of, say, 100 barrels of crude oil.
On eToro, you can trade:
- Metals
- Energy
- Livestock
- Agricultural
- Soft commodities (such as cotton or cocoa)
Commodity prices are often driven by different market forces than stocks and bonds, so commodity trades can offer a way to profit even when equity markets are flat or down.
Again, CFDs use leverage, borrowed money that comes with its own costs and risks. Small market moves can create outsized gains – or wipe out your position. Trade carefully.
eToro Fees & Commissions
To their credit, eToro is largely transparent on fees, but the true cost of buying and selling can still use some clarification. The snippet below from eToro’s website shows no commission to open a long position on AAPL.
That’s accurate. However, it’s not the full story. You’ll pay a spread when you buy and again when you sell. For popular asset types like stocks and crypto, this entry and exit cost is reasonable. We’ll break down the numbers in just a bit.
Let’s look at eToro’s trading fees for each asset type.
eToro Trading Fees
eToro’s trading fees vary depending on which type of asset you’re trading. Crypto, for example, uses a flat fee of 1%, whereas stocks trade without a fixed fee, instead using a spread on certain trades. This means you’ll pay the difference (the spread) between bid and ask prices for the stock you’re buying or selling.
For crypto trading, eToro’s 1% trading fee puts the brokerage in the middle of the pack. You’ll spend more in fees using Coinbase’s simple trades, for example, which costs 3.84% for a $100 BTC buy. At the other end of the spectrum, you have exchanges like OKX, which charges a 0.08% trading fee for a BTC limit order.
We’d describe eToro’s trading fees as both fair and easy to understand. When you buy crypto on the platform, you’ll see an immediate loss of about 2% for the position, which reflects the 1% buying fee and 1% selling fee you’ll realize when you close your position.
How Bid and Ask Prices Determine Spreads
Spreads can seem confusing until you understand what they are and how they apply.
Stock and crypto exchanges use order books, which are just a list of fixed-price (limit) orders placed by other traders.
Let’s say one trader has an open limit sell order for 100 AMZN shares at $126.00. If this is the lowest price offered, then this is the ask price.
Another trader has an open limit buy order for 100 AMZN for $125.50. This is the bid price, assuming no other buy orders are priced higher.
The spread is the difference between these two amounts.
When buying stocks or ETFs with eToro no-fee trades, you’ll pay the ask price. When selling, you’ll receive the bid price. In effect, you pay the spread, although the cost difference isn’t labeled as a fee.
The example above is exaggerated for demonstration purposes. On an actively traded stock like Amazon, the spread is likely to be about a penny rather than 50 cents per share.
In the live-price example below, you can see the Sell (S) and Buy (B) price highlighted in the red rectangle. On eToro, these prices are equal to the bid (Sell) and ask (Buy).
When you buy AMZN stock on eToro, you pay the ask price — or as eToro labels it, the Buy price.
When you sell, you get the bid price, or the Sell price as eToro labels it on their price chart.
For illustration purposes only
Let’s track the cost of a stock trade using the demo account.
Here, we bought $2,000 worth of AMZN stock. We paid $126.21 per share. We also verified the eToro price against the price on Nasdaq.com to be sure we weren’t paying a big markup. Perfect match. We paid the ask price.
A few minutes later, we sold the virtual position. On eToro, you sell at the bid price. You can see the trade will execute for less than the ask price (shown in the background on the screenshot).
eToro doesn’t charge a commission, so the math is pretty simple. We paid the spread, which was zero on the buy and one cent per share on the sell order. The position size was 15.8466 units, so the trade cost is calculated thusly:
- 15.8466 * $0.01 = $0.1585
We paid about 16 cents in virtual funds for this virtual trade.
eToro Trading Fee Structure
For stock trades, eToro compares well with other investment apps like Robinhood; both use a spread and charge no commission.
When purchasing crypto, however, eToro’s trading fees put the platform about mid-pack in regard to costs compared to other crypto apps. Full-featured exchanges like Kraken offer the lowest fees, with Kraken charging just 0.16% for limit order trades on Kraken Pro. By comparison, eToro charges 1% for crypto trades. On the other end of the spectrum, you have the simple buy/sell box on Coinbase that can cost nearly 10% for small transactions and 3.84% for $100 crypto purchases.
Trade Type | Trading Fee | Example |
Cryptocurrency | 1% + spread | $100 BTC purchase costs $1 in fees (1%). Selling costs 1% of the amount you sell.
|
Stocks | No trading fee; you’ll pay a spread between the bid and ask prices. | You buy one share of TSLA at the ask price. When you sell, you receive the bid price. The spread between these varies, but is generally close on high-trading-volume stocks. |
ETFs | No trading fee; you’ll pay a spread between the bid and ask prices. | You buy one share of SPY at the ask price. When you sell, you receive the bid price. The spread between these varies, but is generally close on actively traded ETFs. |
Forex | Spread fee + overnight fees | You invest $1,000 in a 20x EUR/USD trade (trade value: $20,000). Typical spread fee for this trade is $5.36 + an overnight fee of $2.01 (variable) for one night. Total trade cost: $7.37. |
Indices | Spread fee + overnight fees | You buy a CFD for the index, starting a long or short position. You’ll pay the spread when buying or selling as well as an overnight funding fee (which may be a refund if asset prices change dramatically).
|
Options | No eToro fees for US customers (regulatory and provider fees apply); UK customers pay $0.65 per contract. | Cost of contract varies by option |
Commodities | Spread fee + overnight fees | You buy a CFD for the commodity, starting a long or short position. You’ll pay the spread when buying or selling as well as an overnight funding fee (which may be a refund if asset prices change dramatically). |
Several of eToros investment options use CFDs. If you’re familiar with futures contracts or perpetual futures in crypto, the concept is similar.
You’re opening a contract that bets on the future price of an asset without ever having to take delivery of the asset. Pricing for the contract is kept close to the market price by using a funding rate (or overnight fee) to incentivize or discourage too many traders from taking one side of the trade.
High leverage and changing overnight fees make CFDs a bit riskier compared to conventional trades. Consider your choices before choosing a CFD. For example, there may be an ETF that parallels the performance of an indices CFD trade, but with lower risk.
Generally, eToro’s trading costs for stocks, ETFs, forex, and commodities are competitive with similar platforms. For example, the spread for trading EUR/USD on eToro’s forex trading is just 1 Pip (1/100th of 1%). The spread is 0.15% for stock CFDs.
eToro Non-Trading Fees
eToro has a number of non-trading fees, the majority of which most traders will never experience. However, there are a few that can come up more frequently and which can take a bite out of your earnings.
Here are some of the non-trading fees you should know about before you open a position.
Fee Type | Fee |
Incoming wire (domestic) | $8.00 |
Incoming wire (international) | $14.00 |
Withdrawal fee | $5 ($30 minimum withdrawal requirement) |
Deposit and withdrawal conversion fees | Variable cost charged in PIPs (1/100th of 1%) |
eToro’s non-trading fees are in line with what you would find with similar trading platforms.
eToro has a lot to offer in its variety of investment types, but the social aspect of the eToro trading app supercharges its potential. You can put the other users on your watchlist or get notifications of new posts.
But you can also copy their trading moves with eToro copy trading. This makes eToro fairly unique, as only a few other platforms offer copy trading. It allows you to automatically copy the portfolios and traders of top investors, making it a very popular feature among beginners who don’t have the technical or fundamental analysis skills of more experienced investors.
eToro lets you sort the list of traders by performance, risk score, number of copiers, and other criteria. If you’re not quite sold on the idea, you can copy a trader in your virtual account, a demo account that gives you $100,000 in play money to test strategies. Think of it as eToro paper trading.
Some of the traders on eToro boast impressive stats, but depending on your region, you may be limited to copying traders from the same country. In the US, for example, you can copy other US traders. But if the next Warren Buffett is in another country, you won’t be able to copy their trades.
If you want to copy a trader, you’ll need to commit at least $200 to the trade(s). When they trade, you’ll see the same trades in your account (adjusted based on the amount you commit). You can also set a value at which to stop copying trades. In effect, you’re telling eToro how much you’re willing to risk before you bow out and stop copying a particular trader.
In the example below, we set a “stop loss” at 80% of the initial investment.
Copy Trading Trader Highlights
Here are some standouts based on 2-year performance.
Note – Copy Trading does not amount to investment advice. The value of your investments may go up or down. Your capital is at risk.
- jeppekirkbonde: With a low risk rating of just 4, Jeppe has managed a trading record of nearly 53% profitable weeks and boasts a reported 25% annual return since 2013. Top performing assets include NVDA with a 294% return and RHM.DE, returning over 173% thus far.
- edwhite1: Given a 2-year return is over 84%, Edward Anthony Martin White trader is worth a second look. Ed shows a knack for good timing and solid picks with profitable trades like NVDA (1,128%), AAPL (487%), and MSFT (390%).
- rambod59: They say you only have to be right 51% of the time to make a profit. With 50.88% profitable trading weeks and a 2-year return of nearly 88%, Rambod Hakhamaneshi’s performance suggests that old adage is true. Six-month performance is at just under 13%, with a core portfolio of just three cryptos: BTC, ETH, and COMP.
- jbrooksbaker: Jordan Brooks Baker uses eToro for the sole purpose of acquiring more ETH, described as “digital real estate” and focuses on long-term gains rather than the ups and downs of frequent trading. YTD returns top 30% and 2-year returns are over 65%.
- crypto101_kevin: Kevin Stanley, a member of the Crypto 101 podcast team, wins the year with an impressive 52.47% YTD return. Two-year returns are also noteworthy at over 46%. Kevin’s portfolio is a bit more diversified, with BTC, ETH, and LTC, alongside a mix of DeFi blue-chip alt coins, including MKR, AAVE, UNI, and COMP.
- troylinsey: Troy Lindsey is a dip buyer who invests in crypto for the long term. Troy’s posts talk about the long game in crypto and references DCA, dollar-cost averaging, a way to flatten the average cost of purchases by buying fixed dollar amounts at fixed intervals. Troy’s YTD performance is over 50% with a broad portfolio of 17 crypto assets.
- bluntbros: Dave Rodriguez has a 33.45% YTD return and 2-year return of over 20% with a fun portfolio of blue chips like BTC, ETH, and LINK, mixed with meme coins such as DOGE and SHIBxM (SHIB). Dave makes his moves based on technical analysis and only buys the dips.
How to Pick Which Traders to Copy
Consider the risk score, which eToro makes available, but then take a look at the past trades for traders you’re considering for copy trades.
Read trader profiles to get an understanding of how they trade. People who are tuned in to the crypto market, for example, may have a better sense of which new tokens are worth buying and when market moves are overdone. Someone from the real estate business might have a better insight into what’s next for homebuilder stock, or home improvement stores, or even home lenders and insurers.
With over 33 million users, this leading copy trading platform has knowledgeable traders in nearly every market niche, and you can track their past performance before choosing to copy their trades.
Also look at the frequency of trades. Every time you trade in or out on crypto assets, you’ll pay 1%, so less frequent trading may help you achieve higher returns. This can also be a consideration for assets with larger spreads because spreads add to your trading cost. Lower trade frequency may also save you money on taxes when considering long-term versus short-term capital gains rates.
eToro Copy Portfolios (Smart Portfolios)
Copy trading can be a bit like Forrest Gump’s box of chocolates: You never know what you’ll get next. The trader you’re copying might make a surprise move that isn’t quite to your taste.
If you prefer a hands-off investing approach, but with a tight focus (and no surprises), you can consider eToro CopyPortfolios, now rebranded as smart portfolios. You can pick a smart portfolio in nearly any niche or sector, including crypto, stocks, and ETFs.
You’ll need at least $500 to get started with smart portfolios, which are hand-picked by eToro analysts. Each portfolio is designed to offer diversification while targeting a sector or investment goal.
Some even mirror the investments of other funds, like the CopyPortfolio that follows the SEC-reported trades of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway.
Availability of smart portfolios varies by location. For example, the Berkshire Hathaway smart portfolio can’t be traded in the US due to regulatory restrictions (but crypto smart portfolios are available). That particular portfolio shows a 2-year return of over 16%. The Coinshares France SAS smart portfolio shows a stunning 148% 2-year return and invests in crypto using machine learning strategies.
eToro Trading Platforms
eToro uses a proprietary platform, which means there’s no support for APIs, which are plugins to access the backend of the platform rather than the user interface. There’s also no support for MetaTrader 4 (MT4), MetaTrader 5, or other third-party platforms commonly used with forex trading. Think of eToro as a platform focused on ease of use.
eToro Review: User Experience
Expect a pleasant experience as you navigate eToro’s beginner-friendly platform. Most of what you’ll need for basic trading can be found within a click or two of the main menu. You can also customize your start page to greet you with your portfolio, or your social feed. Make eToro yours.
However, certain features of the app can seem disjointed. If you want to trade options, you need to use the mobile app. Moving crypto to a standalone crypto wallet is possible, but requires more steps than it should. First, you have to move the funds to eToro Money (another mobile app) and then transfer it to another crypto wallet.
These extra steps represent our only real reservations with the eToro platform. Overall, the experience could be a bit more cohesive. That said, for most traders, this probably won’t be a concern. If your main intention with eToro is to buy and hold or make some basic trades, you’ll likely find both the web app and mobile app to be intuitive and provide all the tools you need to make an informed trading decision.
eToro Mobile App
eToro’s mobile app gives you a better sense of what eToro is all about: social investing. Upon login you’re greeted with a summary of your portfolio’s daily performance.
Scroll down and you’ll see a news feed, not unlike Twitter or similar apps.
eToro’s mobile app feels fast, and mirrors the desktop app in regard to functionality, but with one notable difference: alerts. You can configure alerts for assets in your watchlist so you don’t miss a trading opportunity. It’s no wonder it’s been dubbed as the best forex trading app in 2024
The virtual account is also available for practice trading on mobile or to test out a trading strategy on the go. Expect a beginner-friendly experience that doesn’t sacrifice features on mobile.
eToro Review: Charting and Analysis
By default, eToro’s charting tools load a candlestick chart (choose from eight other chart types), from which you can begin customizing to your tastes. On the chart below, we added ETH to the BTC chart to see the performance of the top two cryptocurrencies compared.
TradingView powers eToro’s standard charts, which are quite advanced once you add some indicators. Competitors like Robinhood offer advanced charts as well. However, Robinhood defaults to a basic chart and only a handful of trading indicators are available on the advanced charts. By contrast, eToro offers over 100 indicators on its TradingView charts.
When you reach $5,000 in equity (silver eToro Club member), you’ll also have access to eToro ProCharts, although you can demo the feature for 30 days as a bronze member. ProCharts automatically display users or tradable assets from your watchlist and save your custom layouts. And ProCharts were built from the ground up with speed and active traders in mind.
Choose from dozens of indicators to add to your chart. Alternatively, eToro offers an ready-made overview of leading buy/sell indicators at a glance.
eToro Account Types
Choose from four types of accounts when you open an account with eToro.
eToro Payment Methods
You can deposit using several methods on eToro, and most come with no deposit fees. However, wire transfers incur a fee ($8.00 for domestic incoming wires). Also, because eToro uses USD as its base currency for deposits, you may pay a conversion fee for deposits made in other currencies.
Payment options vary depending on your location, but you can expect broad support for bank transfers and debit cards in major markets.
- Bank transfer
Note: eToro options only supports payments via bank transfer.
eToro Minimum Deposit
Minimum deposits vary by region, with a low $10 minimum for eToro users in the US or UK. eToro users in Australia, France, Germany, or Italy, need $50 as a minimum deposit.
eToro Withdrawal Times
As we mentioned earlier, eToro charges a $5 withdrawal fee, with a $30 minimum withdrawal amount. You may find the following table handy as well, so you can anticipate when your funds will be available.
When depositing via bank transfer, eToro places a seven-day hold on the funds deposited before you can withdraw. In most cases, withdrawals must be made to the same funding source used for the deposit, whereas trading profits may be returned via ACH bank transfer. If you made money, you might see your withdrawal split between two funding sources.
Plan on a short wait before funds withdrawn from eToro are available.
Withdrawal funding type | Withdrawal time |
ACH bank transfer | Two business days |
Wire transfer | Up to seven business days |
Debit card | Up to four business days |
eToro Options (ACH bank transfer) | One to three business days |
Crypto transfer to eToro wallet (eToro Money) | Up to five business days |
eToro Demo Account
One of our favorite features of eToro is the demo account, which eToro calls a “Virtual Portfolio.” Standard accounts get $100,000 in virtual funds to invest or trade. Whether you want to test out a trading idea you had at dinner or just want to practice with eToro’s features, like copy trading, you can do it with a demo account. And with no risk of losing real money.
At some point, you may also see your virtual trading limits increased. In our demo account, we started with $100,000 and were given another $2,000 in virtual funds somewhere along the line.
eToro paper trading with a demo account also lets you see the effect of fees on various trade types. Trades work exactly like they do on the real platform. Take what you’ve learned and apply it to real trades.
eToro Customer Support
With its intuitive interface for basic trades, most users probably won’t ever need to contact support at eToro. But if you do need to contact eToro, you have three options:
- Chat: eToro’s chat agents are available 24 hours a day, Monday through Friday.
- Ticket system: You can open a ticket for support requests. Expect a reply by email within 48 hours.
- WhatsApp: eToro Club members (Silver and above) can reach out via WhatsApp. All users with an equity balance of $5,000 or more can access WhatsApp support with no additional cost.
On Trustpilot, eToro has one of the highest ratings you’ll find in the industry. Well-known brokers Charles Schwab and Robinhood currently have Trustpilot scores of under 2. Similarly, crypto exchanges Binance and Coinbase both have Trustpilot scores of 2.1 or lower.
eToro’s Trustpilot score of 4.4 demonstrates the company’s commitment to customer service and its responsiveness to customer questions.
We reached out to eToro with a minor question after market hours. Our chat agent connected almost immediately, and later we received a survey request regarding the interaction. Well done, eToro.
eToro Accepted Countries
You can trade on eToro in many countries around the world, such as the UK, US, Canada, Germany, France, and Australia.
However, some features may not be available based on local regulations. For example, users in the US will see the following message for indices, commodities, and any type of CFD trading.
eToro also maintains a list of countries where eToro is not supported due to regulations or risk considerations. Notably, terms of the settlement with the Ontario Securities Commission prevent eToro trading in Canada.
Is eToro Safe? Licensing & Security
Governments around the world approach consumer protection by requiring licensing. This brings brokerages, money transmitters, and exchanges under the purview of local regulatory authorities. This also comes with additional reporting requirements for brokerages and added oversight by regulators.
eToro is one of the few crypto exchanges regulated by licensed bodies like the CySEC in Europe. The company offers trading services in over 100 countries worldwide.
Generally, licenses and regulatory oversight translate to safer trading environments for investors, even if governments around the world don’t always agree on which types of trades to allow. Regulators poring over disclosures and filings help increase transparency and compliance, while also reducing the risk of losses for retail investors.
In major markets except crypto, eToro is licensed with local regulators:
- USA: eToro is registered with FinCEN in the US, while also holding money-transmitter licenses in most US states. The brokerage is also registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
- UK: eToro is registered with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK.
- Europe: Throughout Europe, eToro falls under CySEC regulation.
- Australia: The Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) regulates eToro in Australia.
Licensing and regulatory oversight give consumers an extra set of watchful eyes. Government agencies also provide financial assurances in some jurisdictions. In the US, cash deposits are insured through the FDIC, while securities (stocks, ETFs, and options) are insured through the SIPC, up to the applicable limits for each account. Cryptocurrencies are not insured.
For account security, eToro provides the basic protections traders expect, including SSL encryption and two-factor authentication for logins.
Conclusion
eToro’s user-friendly interface makes the trading platform well-suited to beginners and intermediate traders, although advanced traders can find a home here as well.
Trading opportunities are largely a product of where you live and the regulations in place. Fully half of the trading types on eToro are not available in the US, for example. No matter where you are, there’s still a lot to like with eToro, however. eToro offers easy-to-understand fees, customizable charts, buying indicators, copy trading, and a demo account where you can learn trading basics or test out strategies with no risk.
In this review of eToro, we found the platform a good fit for most traders overall, particularly those who find a benefit in the hands-off trading aspects of copy trading and smart portfolios.
eToro is a multi-asset platform which offers both investing in stocks and cryptoassets, as well as trading CFDs.
Please note that CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 76% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
Past performance is not an indication of future results. Trading history presented is less than 5 complete years and may not suffice as basis for investment decision.
Copy trading is a portfolio management service, provided by eToro (Europe) Ltd., which is authorised and regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission.
Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high-risk investment and you should not expect to be protected if something goes wrong. Take two minutes to learn more.
References
- https://www.etoro.com/crypto/staking/
- https://www.etoro.com/trading/fees/
- https://www.etoro.com/academy/summer-school/can-you-afford-to-invest/
- https://www.etoro.com/customer-service/help/73082359/how-do-i-find-stocks-on-the-platform/
- https://www.etoro.com/customer-service/help/41369656/what-is-a-spread/
- https://www.etoro.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Fees-eToro-single-pdf-07-07-22.pdf
- https://www.trustpilot.com/review/www.etoro.com
- https://www.osc.ca/sites/default/files/pdfs/proceedings/set_20180926_etoro.pdf
- https://register.fca.org.uk/s/firm?id=001b000000NMkLXAA1
- https://www.cysec.gov.cy/en-GB/entities/investment-firms/cypriot/37683/
- https://www.fdic.gov/
- https://www.sipc.org/