Etoro Review

30 Second Summary

Company Overview

Founded in 2007 and based in Israel, eToro has millions of clients in over 140 countries. Starting in mid-2018, U.S.-based customers in registered states have access to a subgroup of assets (by regulation) that the brokerage enables, focused primarily on cryptocurrencies.

At its start, eToro was a graphics-intensive forex platform and it has adapted those tools for crypto trading. Non-U.S. customers can trade additional asset classes such as contracts for difference (CFDs) and stocks on a variety of exchanges. In this review, we will call out the different capabilities of eToro for U.S. residents versus non-U.S. clients.

eToro serves UK clients through a unit regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Australians through an Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) regulated entity. All other customers are served by a Cypriot unit that is regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC).

eToro is not listed on any stock exchange, does not disclose its annual report on its site, and does not have a bank parent.

Who Is eToro Recommended For?

eToro is best for international Forex and CFD Traders, that are quite new and look for an easy way to start through copy trading. It is also ideal for people who want a platform that can combine CFD trading with Stock trading and buying/selling cryptocurrencies, all in one place and on the go.

Is eToro Suitable For Day Trading?

If you are a beginner trader who is just starting, then eToro will be the right broker to trade with. The ability to conduct social trading is indeed a feature that can greatly enhance the profitability of a beginner trader. On the downside, the broker’s spreads are higher than those offered by other providers.

As a day trader that relies on small margins and a large number of trades to make an overall daily profit, the additional cost incurred may erode at any gain that is made from day trading.

eToro Awards

eToro has won multiple awards over the years for its innovation in trading technology. eToro is continually awarded as Best Broker to Trade Cryptos With and Best Social Trading Platform, two titles that will not be lost easily.

eToro Sponsorships

After a successful campaign in 2019, by appointing Alec Baldwin as their US brand ambassador to promote their copy fund and cryptocurrency products, the broker decided to dominate football in Europe.

As one of Europe’s biggest football club sponsors, eToro extended its UK Premier League partnerships with Crystal Palace, Everton, Leicester City, and Southampton, and is added West Bromwich Albion and Burnley to its portfolio.

In the German Bundesliga, the investment platform announced new partnerships with FC Augsburg, 1. FC Cologne, Hamburger SV (Bundesliga 2), Union Berlin, and Vfl Wolfsburg, as well as Eintracht Frankfurt.

These deals add to eToro’s existing sponsorships across Europe, including Danish champions FC Midtjylland and recently announced AS Monaco.

Safety and Regulation

As a financial services provider that is based in Cyprus, eToro is subjected to the regulatory oversight of the Cyprus Securities Exchange Commission (CySEC). Authorized under the CIF license no. 109/10, eToro has “passported” its authorization to the UK and is registered with UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) also oversees investment providers across Europe and influences regulatory rulings across the EU.

Is eToro Safe?

eToro is not publicly traded and does not operate a bank. However, it is a well-known brand with clients from all around the world and a pioneer in the fintech space.

eToro is also authorized by two tier-1 regulators (high trust), one tier-2 regulator (average trust), and zero tier-3 regulators (low trust).  Therefore, it is considered to be a safe broker to trade with.

Accepted Countries

eToro accepts traders from Australia, Thailand, United States, United Kingdom, South Africa, India, France, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Italy, Denmark, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Qatar, and most other countries. Traders can not use eToro from Iran, Turkey, Japan, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore.

United States residents who live in Delaware, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New York, Nevada, Puerto Rico, or Tennessee can sign up for an account but cannot yet trade.

Residents of Hawaii, Guam, American Samoa, and the US Virgin Islands may not become customers. The firm is registered in all other states, allowing those residents to open accounts and trade

Trading Platforms

Since the launch of the revolutionary eToro trading platform in 2010, the firm has improved on the trading platform tremendously.

Today, the trading platform used is called the eToro CopyTrader. This new platform incorporates both the main features and products of the old Openbook trading platform and Webtrader hence giving clients access to the best of both worlds from a single trading interface.

In addition to being able to copy trades and trade independently, eToro also allows their clients to earn extra income by becoming a “Popular Investor”. This is not something many brokers can offer.

As a Popular Investor, the trader allows others to view his trading activities. Once the trader has managed to achieve a minimum number of copiers, he will be rewarded with cash and rebates on the spreads that he pays. To qualify as a popular investor, you need to deposit a minimum of $1000. Besides, you must also recruit a copier for a minimum of 2 months with at least $500 equity or finance.

In line with keeping their reputation as an industry innovator, eToro introduced the concept of “portfolios” to copy. The new service appropriately named “CopyPortfolios” will allow traders to copy a range of assets selected by eToro. These funds as categorized into Market CopyPortfolios and Top Trader CopyPortfolios.

The world of trading isn’t often welcoming for beginner traders. eToro offers a simple, beginner-friendly platform that anyone can master in as little as a few trades.

Sign up process

A simple, quick, and clean sign-up process. Signing up with eToro is as simple as entering a little personal information and verifying your identity. Most traders will be able to create an account in as little as 10 minutes.

Client Dashboard

A social media-like dashboard, that has information that matters. Have you ever wondered what people are saying about Bitcoin, Litecoin, and other cryptocurrencies on social media?

eToro’s trading platform doesn’t only allow you to buy and sell cryptocurrencies, it also allows you to communicate with other traders and see what other traders think about the coins you want to trade. Simply click on the crypto you’re thinking about buying or selling to learn more about what traders are saying.

eToro’s trading platform doubles as a social media website. Learn more about your favorite cryptocurrencies and communicate with other traders on eToro’s all-inclusive platform.

Platform Orders

Intuitive buy and sell order placement. eToro’s platform is easy for beginners to navigate, with simple order placement and up-to-the-minute pricing information. eToro also includes real-time charting and price updates on its ProCharts feature (which allows you to display multiple charts and access charting tools) and a free sentiment calculator for every currency available on the platform.

Though it may not offer as many charting and analysis tools as competitors, eToro’s simplicity can be a welcome change for traders just beginning their investigation into the crypto trading sphere.

Advanced Charting Features

eToro also delivers technical analysis and research tools on the platform. These features are flexible enough to benefit both professional and amateur traders. The offering includes deep market data across the range of products, which means strategy can also be backtested.

These tools allow an analysis of real-time prices too of course. So trends can be identified and marked up. While other forex brokers may score higher in terms of analysis tools, the charts at eToro will suit the majority of traders, whatever their level of experience.

Trading Hours

Similar to other brokers like XM, IG, and Saxo Bank, the platform is available 24/7 but markets will only be available to trade when the main markets for that asset are open.

So US Stocks will only be available when US markets are open on Wall Street for example. Forex is available around the clock during the week, as there is always at least one market open somewhere in the world.

Weekend trading is available where markets are open, so Forex becomes available during Sunday, and the Australian and Asian markets open and start the week.

Mobile Trading App

eToro has also provided free mobile trading apps which their clients can download and install onto their smartphones and mobile devices to enable them to trade on the go.

These apps have been designed for both iOS and Android-powered mobile devices to allow full mobility and access to the financial markets at the same time. Other operating systems are also compatible. You can deal on real-time prices, check what has been traded, and open news and customer service sections – all from your device.

Copy-trading and watchlists are also fully functional from the app. The apps are very well thought out. All the functionality of the main web platform is retained, but is well laid out so does not feel cramped.

Security is also vital with mobile apps and the eToro applications are very secure, you need to be able to trust the app. The security tools within the android and iOS systems are utilized, so your account is safe.

All versions of the app are regularly updated. The most recent update saw the android version reduced in size by 50% – with no loss of functions. The iOS version was similarly improved. Both saw a large increase in speed from the new, lighter program.

eToro Crypto Wallet

eToro now offers a multi-crypto on-chain wallet. The phased rollout will see the feature opened up country by country, and the available list of cryptocurrencies will also expand as time goes on.

The wallet offers a high level of security, with multi-signature sign-in supported – this means users can view their blockchain transactions without having to expose their private key. The mobile app (available from Google Apps, and the Apple store) will allow the buying and selling of cryptocurrency using fiat currency.

It will also allow the conversion of one crypto or virtual currency to another. The app is open to any registered eToro customer and makes accessing an otherwise complex market easy.

Trading Accounts Offered

To simplify the trading process, the firm has opted to provide its clients with only one standard type of trading account. Opening a trading account is a simple and straightforward process that requires you to fill up and submit the registration form.

Before you can participate in live trading, you need to place a minimum deposit of $200. And if you wish to participate in the “Popular Investor” program, you need to place a minimum deposit of $1000 before you can qualify for the program.

However, if you are unsure and wish to try out the platform first before committing any real money, you can do so using the free demo account facility. This provides a simulator of sorts, though you still get to use live real-time prices. The virtual balance allows traders to learn the platform at no cost.

The process is the same as signing up for a live trading account. Once you have signed up for the demo account, you can also switch to a live account status by selecting the “Real” account tab.

How to open an account with Etoro

The account opening process is hassle-free and fully digital. It is fast, too, as we were able to open an account within one day.

You have to start by registering with your email account or with your Facebook or Google+ account. And that’s basically it, you can immediately access the trading platform and start to trade with a $100,000 demo account.

If you want to go further and fund it with real money, you have to verify your identity and residency by uploading the required documents:

• Proof of identity: a copy of your passport or personal ID.
• Proof of residency: a copy of a utility bill or bank statement.

Assets and Products Offered

eToro offers a total of 2361 tradeable symbols. Today, traders can trade with 16 cryptocurrencies, 47 currency pairs, 30+ Contracts for difference, 150 ETFs, and more than 2042 types of stocks from all over the world.

The firm has also been a long-time pioneer of cryptocurrency trading. They offer the largest range of cryptos anywhere and are focused on expanding this market whenever an established token reaches the mainstream.

Stocks and ETFs

If you buy stocks or ETFs without leverage, you are buying the real asset, not a CFD. Usually, this feature is not offered by other CFD and forex brokers. In that sense, eToro’s selection of 17 stock markets to access is great. However, compared to stockbrokers like Saxo Bank or Degiro, it is poor.

At eToro, you have access to the following 17 stock exchanges:

• Amsterdam
• NYSE
• Nasdaq
• Euronext Brussels
• Euronext Lisbon
• Frankfurt
• London
• Paris
• Madrid
• Milan
• Zurich
• Oslo
• Stockholm
• Copenhagen
• Helsinki
• Hong Kong
• Saudi Arabia

However, you can only trade popular stocks. For example, the number of tradable stocks on the Nasdaq with eToro is currently 370, which is only around 10% of the listed companies on the Nasdaq exchange.

Why would this matter to you? If you only trade the most popular stocks, like Microsoft or Apple, you probably won’t notice the lack of smaller stocks. eToro will, from time to time, make new stocks available for trading, usually in a batch.

For example, on the 30th of March, they added 185 new stocks, among them, was a very trending one, Zoom Technologies. However, if you had to wait for eToro to add the stock, you missed the early rally in the stock.

Cryptocurrencies

If you’re based in the U.S., you’ll be limited to trading cryptocurrencies through eToro. eToro currently supports the purchase and sale of 15 unique coins, including:

• Bitcoin (BTC)
• Ethereum (ETH)
• Bitcoin Cash (BCH)
• Ripple (XRP)
• Dash (DASH)
• Litecoin (LTC)
• Ethereum Classic (ETC)
• Cardano (ADA)
• MIOTA (IOTA)
• Stellar Lumens (XLM)
• EOS (EOS)
• NEO (NEO)
• TRON coin (TRX)
• Zcash (ZEC)
• Tezos (XTZ)

These represent 15 of the most popular cryptocurrencies, meaning that eToro does have a solid and diverse cryptocurrency selection. Though this list falls a bit short in comparison to other U.S.-based cryptocurrency hubs like Coinbase (21 coins on non-pro accounts) and Binance US (30 supported coins) it offers much more than major brokerages that focus on stocks.

CopyTrader

eToro’s revolutionary CopyTrader tool allows you to mimic the trading strategies of the pros with just a few clicks.

First, professional and experienced traders sign up for the CopyTrader program, which authorizes eToro to reveal the percentage of assets each trader has in his portfolio with the general community of eToro users. eToro also reveals the stats of traders to show how well they perform and their portfolio that shows the instruments they’re trading.

You can choose to “copy” a professional trader’s portfolio and mimic their asset allocation. In exchange, professional traders earn a commission every time a trader decides to copy them. Users can communicate with the CopyTrader on the newsfeed.

CopyPortfolio

CopyPortfolio is basically an investment fund, but under the hood, it is a CFD portfolio. While with CopyTrader you were following one trader, with CopyPortfolio you can invest either in a theme or in a portfolio of top eToro traders. Investing in themes means, for example, investing in a portfolio of big banks or cryptocurrencies.

The Crypto Portfolio, for instance, consists of the biggest cryptocurrencies, weighted by market cap. Another way to invest via CopyPortfolio is to invest in a portfolio comprised of multiple “star” traders. There is also a crypto CopyPortfolio available.

Trading Costs And Fees

eToro is a market-maker broker and lists a typical variable spread of 1 pip on the EURUSD, which is slightly higher than the industry average. When comparing fees alone, retail traders don’t choose eToro for its spreads, but rather for its social copy-trading platform capabilities.

VIP account fees

eToro offers a VIP club membership with five tiers ranging from silver to diamond for traders who maintain balances between $5k -$250k. Depending on the level, benefits vary from a dedicated account manager to discounted withdrawal and deposit fees, access to private signals, and exclusive assets, among other VIP-style account benefits.

Popular Investor program

eToro’s Popular Investor program has four levels, from cadet to elite, where you can be eligible to receive various perks. Benefits from this program can range from spread rebates to a monthly payment and even a management fee for those who reach elite status. Popular Investor is for traders who allow other investors to copy their strategy.

Cryptocurrency trading fees

Overall, eToro has pricing close to the industry average for trading physical cryptocurrency, such as 0.75% for buying or selling bitcoin, while its fiat to crypto conversion fee is high at 5%. Meanwhile, converting from crypto to crypto at eToro only costs 0.1% in addition to prevailing spreads.

Exchange-Traded Securities fees

In addition to trading CFD shares, eToro also offers a zero-dollar commission for US stock trading (not available to US investors) and supports fractional shares.

Stock fees and ETF fees

eToro offers zero-commission real stock trading. Since May 2020, this is valid for all countries, but clients from Australia can only trade US stocks commission-free. Note that with the free feature, you’re buying the real stock, not a CFD product and you cannot use leverage.

eToro used to be primarily a CFD broker and they let you trade stocks and ETFs as CFDs, too, if you set the leverage to greater than one. For this CFD product, eToro charges low fees, i.e. the spread (the difference between the ask and the bid prices) is low.

CFD fees

eToro has generally average CFD trading fees. eToro CFD fees for a $2,000 long position held for one week are as follow:

• S&P 500 index CFD fee – $1.5
• Europe 50 index CFD fee – $2.7
• Apple CFD fee – $6.7

Forex fees

eToro forex fees are average. eToro forex benchmark fees of a $20,000 30:1 long position held for one week are as follows:

• EURUSD benchmark fee – $8.8
• GBPUSD benchmark fee – $8.5
• AUDUSD benchmark fee – $8.2
• EURCHF benchmark fee – $12.6
• EURGBP benchmark fee – $12.3

Non-trading fees

eToro has average non-trading fees, as it charges $10 per month after one year of inactivity, but simply logging into your account counts as an activity. The withdrawal fee has been recently lowered to $5.

Leverage

The maximum leverage at eToro is 1:30. However, the leverage is different for each instrument as follows:

• 1:20 for stock index CFDs
• 1:5 for stock CFDs
• 1:30 for forex

Deposit and Withdrawal

There are several ways in which you can fund your trading account at eToro, or withdraw.

At present, the supported methods include deposits through credit cards such as VISA, Mastercard, or Diners. eWallets such as China UnionPay, Neteller, PayPal, Skrill, WebMoney, and Yandex are also available for traders to deposit their funds with. For traders who do not possess a credit card or eWallet, they can also fund their trading account through a bank wire transfer.

What is the minimum deposit requirement to open a trading account with eToro?

The minimum deposit requirement at eToro is $200 for Non-US traders. US Traders can open an account with just $50.

How long does it take to withdraw money from eToro?

Typically, it takes 3 business days to create and process a withdrawal request.

Promotions and Contests

Currently, eToro is running a big promotion on its crypto trading products. For a limited time only, clients of eToro can get $500 when they trade $5,000 worth of crypto. Here’s how:

1. Sign up for an eToro account
2. Deposit funds
3. Open $5,000 worth of crypto trades in your portfolio
4. Automatically receive $500 directly to your trading account balance

* Subject to T&Cs

Market Research and Education

Overall, eToro’s research is competitive but not quite award winning.

Research tools

There is a standard economic calendar, earnings reports calendar, news headlines, daily market analysis series, and podcasts. That said, several of these features are not directly integrated into the eToro platform.

Fundamental Analysis

It is worth noting that eToro does an excellent job incorporating fundamental analysis into its platform for shares trading. That said, eToro still trails leaders such as IG and Saxo Bank in this category, as there are few articles from eToro’s in-house staff under the market analysis category.

Sentiment data

Rather than show sentiment based on all users, only the trades of top traders at eToro are used to calculate sentiment data (taking it a step above the usual sentiment tools brokers provide). This is comparable to how CMC Markets shows sentiment data.

Wall newsfeed

eToro uses a Twitter-style wall feed of collective commentary for a given instrument. This public feed appears as a stream of updates from other eToro users to give you an idea of what other traders are posting about in the eToro network.

The content is sourced by eToro users and can vary in quality. It is certainly unique; that said, I find content that is generated by in-house staff or from third-party professionals to be of higher quality, on average.

Virtual practice portfolio

Though some major trading websites and brokers will allow you to create a “paper trading” account to practice your stock trading strategy, it’s rare to see a broker extend the same abilities to cryptocurrencies. In fact, the virtual account mimics the real trading account.

You can practice your trading strategy or practice placing buy and sell orders with a $100,000 virtual practice account. This feature may be especially useful for new cryptocurrency traders who are still getting a hang of reading indicators and spreads.

Customer Support

Customer support is available Monday to Friday, 24 hours a day. To contact the support team, traders can do so by submitting their queries on the web contact form provided on their website.

For most eToro inquiries, you’ll need to submit a support ticket through the crypto broker’s online platform. The company claims that it may take as long as 7 days to receive a reply from customer service, which is significantly longer than most other major brokers.

eToro’s live chat feature is only available to users who have currently active eToro accounts. If you have an active eToro account, you can access live chat through your brokerage desktop 24/7 Monday through Friday.

eToro doesn’t currently offer any form of phone support or support for those with hearing limitations. There is also a help center available.

Overall Verdict

eToro is great for retail traders who want to crowdsource investment ideas using the power of copy trading, or for highly experienced active traders who want to be rewarded for sharing their ideas with other traders.

Less experienced traders requiring handholding may find the user-friendly platform an added benefit. That said, I do not recommend eToro for active or high-volume traders as higher spreads and small maximum trade sizes will be a limiting factor.

Though eToro may expand its offerings in the future, U.S. traders are limited to 15 of the world’s most popular cryptocurrencies on both the mobile app and desktop platform.

Although you shouldn’t count on eToro to provide a one-stop-shop for all your investing needs, eToro can add a diverse range of exposure to the cryptocurrency market.

eToro’s main strength is its simple and straightforward platform. Beginners can sign up for an account in as little as 10 minutes and the account verification process is intuitive.

Once you’ve opened your account, you have access to an easy order placement platform, straightforward commissions, and pricing information, with a bustling social media network that can help you inform your trades.

Its one-of-a-kind CopyTrader feature is equally as beneficial to professionals as it is for novice traders. Experienced traders get to share what they know with a larger audience (and earn some commission while doing it) while new traders receive a dynamic and up-to-date model portfolio to get trading started.

Best of all, using the CopyTrader feature doesn’t incur additional expenses beyond the standard spread you’d pay buying and selling.

There are a few areas where eToro can stand to improve. We’d also love to see eToro expand its currency offerings even further to include smaller names like Chainlink and Bitcoin SV for another layer of exposure and diversification.

Methodology

All brokers listed on our website are regulated by at least one financial regulator and have never been reported as a scam. Our reviews and overall scores are based on the key areas above, in a combination with our opinion and commentary.

The reviews are shared and discussed with the brokers, but the authors of our website always have the final word. Furthermore, we always strive to keep the information on our website updated and relevant for our readers.

What helps us stand out is that we always test our brokers with an anonymous live account, to ensure we deliver the most accurate information and experience to our readers.

Finally, our reviews and evaluation are always independent of any financial compensation we may receive from the brokers.

Risk Disclaimer

There is a very high degree of risk involved in trading securities.

With respect to margin-based foreign exchange trading, off-exchange derivatives, and cryptocurrencies, there is considerable exposure to risk, including but not limited to, leverage, creditworthiness, limited regulatory protection, and market volatility that may substantially affect the price or liquidity of a currency or related instrument.

It should not be assumed that the methods, techniques, or indicators presented in these products will be profitable, or that they will not result in losses. Learn more at Wikipedia.

All investments involve risks and are not suitable for every investor. The value of securities may fluctuate and as a result, clients may lose more than their original investment.

The past performance of a security or financial product does not guarantee future results or returns. Keep in mind that while diversification may help spread risk it does not assure a profit, or protect against the loss, in a down market.

There is always the potential of losing money when you invest in securities or other financial products. Investors should consider their investment objectives and risks carefully before investing. More details here.

Looking for more information on brokers and trading? Have a look at our trading guides:

• Best Forex Brokers for 2021
• Best Binary Options Brokers for 2021
• Best Online Stock Brokers for 2021
• Best Trading Apps for 2021

Review Sources

1. eToro Website – https://www.etoro.com/
2. Wikipedia – Etoro – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EToro

Get $500 when they trade $5,000 worth of crypto

eToro is popular for its easy-to-use copy-trading platform where traders can copy the trades of investors across over 2300 instruments, including exchange-traded securities, forex, CFDs, and popular cryptocurrencies. It also offers 0% commission stock trading.

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