eToro Review

Aside from some hidden fees and a limited research area, eToro does a very good job. It offers a functional and easy-to-use platform, with the bonus of an excellent copy trading option as well as zero-commission stock trades. Its only other limitation is that it doesn’t offer the same breadth of investments as many of the more traditional brokers.

• Minimum Deposit: $
• ISA: No
• SIPP: No

eToro pros & cons

Pros:

• eToro have a high-functioning copy trade option, a feature in which they are a market leader.
• Easy-to-use mobile app and straightforward trading platform.
• No commissions on stock trading.

Cons:

• Lacks a wide variety of investment options.
• In comparison to industry leaders, eToro’s research section is limited.
• Although advertised as zero-commission trading, there are some hidden fees.

Overall summary

Commissions & fees

EToro markets 0% commissions for stock trading; and while commissions are indeed not charged, there are some fees customers should be aware of.

The different types of additional fees are highlighted below. Note, eToro has different account tiers based on account balance, which makes traders eligible for fee discounts and other features.

Conversion fees: If you deposit money in AUD, EUR, GBP, and RUB, it will be converted to USD when you deposit and converted back when you withdraw. Fees vary based on how you deposit money, and what currency you are transferring. Fees range from 50 pips to 250 pips per conversion.

Withdrawal fees: eToro charges a flat $5 fee on all withdrawals. The minimum withdrawal amount is $30.

Minimum position amount: Imposes a minimum position amount of $50.

Inactivity fees: When an account has been deemed inactive (no login for 12 months), a monthly inactivity fee to the sum of USD $10 will be charged from any remaining available balance.

CFDs: Clients may also trade stocks on eToro using Contract for Difference (CFD) trading. These trades incur multiple fees, and traders can learn more at the eToro website.

To calculate annual share dealing costs, we’ll assume a £30,000 portfolio in a traditional, taxable share dealing account. This would qualify you as a Platinum member and net a 50% discount on the deposit and withdrawal fees made by bank transfer (compared to fees applicable to lower-tier accounts). Diamond members with a portfolio over $250,000 are exempt from conversion fees.

So to deposit £30,000 would cost 25 pips, which would be $25, or approximately £75 at a GBP/USD exchange rate of 1.30. The withdrawal fee would be the same, plus the flat $5 fee (approximately £4). So total fees to withdraw and deposit £30,000 would be £154.

Zero-commission trading applies to all stocks available on the eToro platform when investing in non-leveraged buy stock positions. Zero commission does not apply to leveraged positions, short selling, or stock CFDs. Look at the bottom of the order ticket to see if you are purchasing the underlying asset or a CFD before submitting the ticket.

Zero-commission stock investing is available to eToro users residing in countries under FCA and CySEC regulations, which includes all major European countries.

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eToro pricing summary:

Mobile trading apps

The eToro mobile app is an efficient and easy way to trade shares. All of the technical indicators and drawing tools function smoothly on the app. Navigating to specific markets, watchlists, or virtual trading is seamless. The eToro app has a clean and modern feel to it, unlike some of the more traditional brokers. Note that we did not test CFDs or forex trading for this review. (See our picks for Best Mobile Trading Apps.)

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Other platforms & tools

eToro does not have a downloadable platform, currently offering a web-based platform and the mobile app highlighted above. The web-based platform is user friendly and allows easy access to real/virtual trading and copy trading, and has solid, if somewhat basic charting capabilities.

Charting: eToro’s charting platform offers a noteworthy 66 technical indicators, but — slightly less noteworthy — only 13 drawing tools. Traders have the ability to change chart types, chart intervals, and overlays, amongst other features. Another useful feature eToro offers is ProCharts, which allows comparison of up to six different charts at once. ProCharts is currently only available on the web platform, not on the mobile app.

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eToro trading tools:

Research

Traditional research for individual stocks and ETFs is limited at eToro. Basic company fundamental data are provided, such as financial data and a quick overview of the asset. Analyst ratings and price targets are also available for funded accounts.

Unfortunately, these ratings and price targets are primarily available for U.S. stocks, with limited research available for most stocks listed on the London Stock Exchange. However, video research content has been added with weekly outlooks and more in-depth articles, particularly on the larger U.S. stocks.

eToro does not currently offer market news or a stock screener, features offered by most online brokers.

Social trading network: One unique aspect of eToro is the emphasis it places on social trading. Every time you view a stock quote, one of the first things you see is a social feed — it’s like Twitter, but for stocks. People will post their thoughts on stocks, often with data to support claims. While the usefulness of the social trading network is debatable, it is an exciting feature that is not widely available.

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eToro research:

Offering of investments

eToro offers share dealing on 17 different exchanges. Fractional shares are also available, a feature not provided by most U.K. brokers. In addition to share dealing, traders can deal forex, CFDs, and cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, ethereum, and dogecoin. Conversely, eToro does not offer options, bonds, investment trusts, or funds. ISA and SIPP accounts are not available at eToro.

Copy trading: Copy trading allows traders to automatically copy trades placed by other select individuals. Users can copy individual traders and portfolios. Different individuals and portfolios may have different risk levels and focus on certain aspects of the market, which allows you to copy specific strategies. Read more about copy trading, as well as our picks for best brokers for copy trading, on our sister site, ForexBrokers.com.

eToro offering of investments:

Education

The education area at eToro, eToro Academy, has been buttressed recently with the addition of in-depth videos and written articles ranging across topics such as Investing and Trading 101, how to manage stock investing risks, and ethical investing. The broker also hosts market watch webinars and podcasts with something to interest both the beginner and more advanced trader.

Although the educational offering is certainly improving, eToro could still do more to target the stock investor, with articles aimed at retirement, pensions and longer-term investing — though given they do not offer SIPP or ISA accounts, the lack may be understandable.

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eToro education:

Final thoughts

eToro offers deeply discounted trades on a very user-friendly web platform and mobile app. It is a great option for investors and traders who are interested in copy trading or want to not only deal shares, but also be involved with forex, ETFs, cryptocurrencies, and CFDs. Investors seeking options, investment trusts, funds, or the traditional ISA and SIPP accounts will want to read our guide to the Best Trading Platforms.

About eToro

As an early pioneer in social copy trading, eToro was founded in Israel in 2006 as a financial trading technology developer. After launching its first product, it has since grown to service over 9 million users with an innovative platform that continually evolves to be one of the largest social networks globally, with clients in over 170 countries.

Disclosures

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. 78% 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.

Cryptoassets are highly volatile and unregulated in the UK. No consumer protection. Tax on profits may apply.

eToro USA LLC does not offer CFDs and makes no representation and assumes no liability as to the accuracy or completeness of the content of this publication, which has been prepared by our partner utilizing publicly available non-entity specific information about eToro.