14 min read

eToro Review 2022: Pros, Cons and More

Learn more about eToro, one of the world’s leading social trading platforms, which offers investment services for stocks and cryptocurrencies, as well as trading CFD with different underlying assets.
Article review author
Laurel Murphy
Article head image
Rating: 3.3 / 5
4/5
Open Account
Relatively easy to open an account
4/5
Interface
Easy to use website and mobile app, can occasionally lag
2/5
Customer Support
Customer service slow to respond or sometimes doesn't respond to queries
2/5
Security
A breach in 2020 resulted in 62,000 customer accounts being sold - not great.
4/5
Fees
Low fees
4/5
Withdrawal
Easy deposit and withdrawal process

eToro Overview

eToro is a global online financial trading platform and multi-asset broker founded in 2007 by David Ring. Ronen Assia. and Yoni Assia. The Israel-based brokerage company was originally called RetailFX, with a stated mission to make trading and investing available to anyone.

eToro released its signature OpenBook platform in 2010, allowing users to copy successful and well-known investors’ trades. This feature eliminates the need to do extensive amounts of research and to consistently watch the market’s movements. Users can simply choose a popular and established investor they like and copy trades they make.

eToro is widely known as a platform for retail investors, stock trading, commodities trading, forex trading, CFDs trading, social trading, cryptocurrency trading, index-based funds trading, and exchange-traded funds (ETF) trading.

eToro is famous for being one of the first brokerage sites that would offer its users the ability to trade cryptocurrencies. In 2014, they introduced bitcoin trading via contracts for difference (CFD). Traders did not own bitcoin, but instead could bet on its price. This increased investor familiarity with cryptocurrency.

eToro has announced plans to go public via SPAC merger. Around $650 million has been raised by investors, and eToro itself has been valued at 10.4 billion. The company currently boasts 20 million registered users worldwide.

According to many eToro reviews, ours included, eToro is a solid choice. One of its best features is the 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. eToro offers a trading bot for Discord. Note that using bots may be against eToro’s TOS.

Less experienced traders will benefit from the smooth interface and seamless user experience. Active and high-volume traders may feel limited by higher spreads and small maximum trading sizes.

Learn more

Pros / Cons

Advantages bg
Cons Icon
Cons
  • Withdrawals can sometimes be slow
  • Slow verification process
  • High first-time deposits
Pros Icon
Pros
  • Offers access to 17 cryptocurrencies.
  • Social trading and trade copying
Open a eToro account

Security

eToro offers limited info about their security measures There have been no recorded breaches of eToro’s systems, although users have been targeted by hackers en masse due to password re-use.

Is eToro’s security legit? eToro does offer two-factor authentication via SMS. While SMS 2FA is better than nothing, it’s deemed problematic by security professionals due to the ease with which it can be compromised.

The fact that the only publicly described user security measure offered is 2FA via SMS isn’t promising. eToro lags behind industry standard in not offering app-based 2FA.

Beyond that, eToro has vague references to “data security technology and tools such as firewalls and data encryption”, which is bog standard. While eToro hasn’t been hacked yet, they aren’t at the cutting edge of security.

Tips for users

Eager to use the CopyTrade tool? Here are a few tips on finding the best stock traders to copy on eToro:

01

Check the editor’s choice list. It showcases a weekly selection of top popular investors who have caught the eye of eToro’s own trading experts.

02

Utilize the Copy Stop-Loss feature when you open a copy trade. This will allow you to automatically close the copy trade at whatever point you choose which is useful for protection against unforeseen losses.

Regulation

eToro is highly regulated and licensed in five jurisdictions: the United Kingdom, Cyprus, the US, Australia, and Seychelles.

eToto UK is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and has a cross border license to offer services to member states of the EEA.

eToro’s brokerage services are provided by eToro Europe which is a registered Cypriot Investment Firm (CIF) and regulated by the Cyprus Securities & Exchange Commission (CySEC).

In the US, eToro is registered with FinCEN as a money services business.

In Australia, services and products are provided by eToro Australia, and regulated under the Corporations Act (Commonwealth) by the Australian Securities and Investment Commission. eToro Australia arranges for its clients to be provided services by eToro Europe.

eToro (Seychelles) has been granted a Broker-Dealer license by the Seychelles Financial Securities Authority.

Privacy

With eToro, you do not own your own crypto assets. eToro rather purchases the tokens on your behalf and registers them in an account under your name. Once the position is sold, they sell the coins on your behalf.

User Experience / Interface

eToro trading platform reviews are generally positive. eToro has a smooth interface and a pleasant user experience. The main hassle was using the app to set up an account. Either the reviewer’s thumbs stopped working for half an hour, or the development team should work out the haptics for the profile setup process.

When opening an account via app, beginner users are taken on a guided tour with explanations of different features.

Logging in is easy, and the app is simple to use and available on Android. Payment can be done quickly and with minimal fuss.

On the platform, it is relatively easy to see your watchlist, your portfolio and your news feed along with looking at the trade markets. All are on the main page when you log in.

The easiest tasks to accomplish are toggling between your real and your virtual account, which can be done at a simple hover and click with the mouse.

The hardest task to accomplish is tracking all the changes on the markets. The interface can get visually busy. It becomes easier to use over time.

eToro (Europe) Ltd., a Financial Services Company authorized and regulated by the Cyprus Securities Exchange Commission (CySEC) under the license # 109/10.

eToro (UK) Ltd, a Financial Services Company authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) under the license FRN 583263.

eToro AUS Capital Limited is authorized by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) to provide financial services under Australian Financial Services Licence 491139

eToro (Seychelles) Ltd. is licensed by the Financial Services Authority Seychelles (“FSAS”) to provide broker-dealer services under the Securities Act 2007 License #SD076 as it can be overwhelming to see what is going on at first due to the flashing numbers; however you can get used to it after some time.

How does eToro compare?

Most eToro broker reviews mention that eToro is not a crypto exchange per se, so it cannot be compared to exchanges like Kraken or Coinbase. If you are looking to trade crypto on a trustworthy platform without ever taking it out of an exchange, eToro could be a good fit. However, if you want to remove cryptocurrency to a wallet you own, it’s better to stick with a traditional exchange. We recommend Binance, Coinbase, or Kraken. eToro does not have a lending service either, although it does offer leverage and margin trading.

Compared to other financial services like Revolut, eToro has a better interface. It also offers the very useful copy trade feature. eToro also has many more financial services, but only Revolut offers a debit card (for now). eToro only offers minimal DeFi services like staking, and the platform executes the staking process on the behalf of its users. If you want to seriously trade crypto, try platforms like Kraken or Coinbase. If you just want to include crypto as a part of a diverse portfolio, eToro is a good option.

Customer Support

eToro offers customers 24-hour support 5 days a week. Customers who need assistance can reach the company by email, fax or live chat.

Languages supported by the eToro website include: Arabic, Chinese, Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Malay, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Vietnamese.

 eToro has a spotty reputation for customer service, with many customers complaining about slow or lack of responses to their queries. Opinions on eToro’s customer service are usually pretty low – just look at the ratings. Their current rating is 2.8, but nearly a third of their reviews are 5 star. eToro trusted reviews often mention that customer service is a weak point, so keep that in mind when choosing a crypto platform.

Opening an Account and Trading

Opening an account with eToro is simple. We’ve compiled a short list of steps to guide you through the process:

01
Sign up for eToro via the eToro homepage
02
Verify your identity – verification is a crucial step that will keep your account safe and allow eToro to comply with financial regulations. US citizens will be asked for their Social Security numbers and address.
03
Make your first deposit. There are many ways to fund your account. These include credit and debit cards (Visa and MasterCard), PayPal, Neteller, Skrill, Klarna, and others.

Post Sign Up

Once your account has been set up you can start using eToro’s many features. You can start out by practicing with a virtual account. eToro lets beginners access a $100,000 of virtual money to get to grips with the platform. This service enables you to hone your trading skills before risking your own funds.

You can also start using CopyTrader where you can search for top traders and filter results based on gain, success rate, risk score, favorite assets and more. You can also transparently see the stats of traders you are considering copying.

Once you feel comfortable, you can start trading manually with your own funds and utilize trading tools such as one click trading, personalized watchlists and real time volatility alerts. Big fan of eToro? They run an affiliate program where users who recommend eToro to others can earn rewards.

Deposits / Withdrawal

Deposits

Depositing is quick and easy. There are various payment methods at your disposal. You may choose whichever method you prefer and follow the instructions below:

01
Log in to the trading platform
02
Click on the 'Deposit Funds' button
03
Enter the amount and your preferred currency
04
Select the method of payment you wish to use. You can deposit via:

  • Credit Card
  • Bank Transfer
  • E-wallet (PayPal, Skrill, Neteller)

Please bear in mind that with eToro you will need a minimum deposit of $200/£200.

Withdrawals

In order to place a withdrawal request, please follow these steps:

01
Click on the Withdraw Funds tab in the left-hand menu.
02
Enter the amount to withdraw (in USD).
03
Complete the electronic withdrawal form as required.
04
Click “Submit”.

eToro is a global online financial trading platform and multi-asset broker founded in 2007 by David Ring. Ronen Assia. and Yoni Assia. The Israel-based brokerage company was originally called RetailFX, with a stated mission to make trading and investing available to anyone.

eToro released its signature OpenBook platform in 2010, allowing users to copy successful and well-known investors’ trades. This feature eliminates the need to do extensive amounts of research and to consistently watch the market’s movements. Users can simply choose a popular and established investor they like and copy trades they make.

eToro is widely known as a platform for retail investors, stock trading, commodities trading, forex trading, CFDs trading, social trading, cryptocurrency trading, index-based funds trading, and exchange-traded funds (ETF) trading.

eToro is famous for being one of the first brokerage sites that would offer its users the ability to trade cryptocurrencies. In 2014, they introduced bitcoin trading via contracts for difference (CFD). Traders did not own bitcoin, but instead could bet on its price. This increased investor familiarity with cryptocurrency.

eToro has announced plans to go public via SPAC merger. Around $650 million has been raised by investors, and eToro itself has been valued at 10.4 billion. The company currently boasts 20 million registered users worldwide.

According to many eToro reviews, ours included, eToro is a solid choice. One of its best features is the 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. eToro offers a trading bot for Discord. Note that using bots may be against eToro’s TOS.

Less experienced traders will benefit from the smooth interface and seamless user experience. Active and high-volume traders may feel limited by higher spreads and small maximum trading sizes.

Learn more

eToro Fees and Trading costs

Withdrawal fees

eToro charges a withdrawal fee of $5 which is charged every time you withdraw money – a high premium.

The minimum amount that you can withdraw is $30 so it is recommended that you withdraw when you have larger returns as the fees will eat up smaller amount withdrawals.

eToro does charge a fee for inactive accounts but doesn’t charge deposit fees.

Etoro’s trading platform operates in dollars only. A conversion fee is applied every time you deposit money in a different currency.

VIP accounts

High value traders can access plenty of perks on eToro with a VIP club membership. For traders who maintain balances between $5k-$250k, there are five tiers ranging from silver to diamond. There are plenty of benefits depending on VIP tier, including discounted withdrawal and deposit fees, a dedicated account manager, and exclusive assets.

Popular Investor program

eToro’s Popular Investor program is for traders who allow other investors to copy their strategy. The 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 free concert tickets for those who reach elite status.

Cryptocurrency trading

eToro has pricing close to the industry average for trading cryptocurrency. It only charges on the spread, this can range from just 0.75% for Bitcoin and 1.9% for Ethereum, to 4.5% for IOTA.

This is then multiplied by the number of units purchased

Converting between cryptocurrencies on eToro only costs 0.1%

Exchange-Traded Securities

eToro does not charge commission for US stock trading (not available to US investors) and supports fractional shares.

News

Amid regulatory scrutiny, eToro has signaled that it will begin to move away from CFDs in addition to decreasing the amount of leverage offered. The trading platform has also recently added meme token Dogecoin in response to client demand.

eToro also recently added Hedera Hashgraph and Avalanche to its platform. Avalanche (AVAX) is a smart contract platform with a native token AVAX. Hedera Hashgraph (HBAR) offers an alternative distributed ledger technology powered by native assert HBAR. Hedera Hashgraph is governed by a group of corporations that include IBM, Google, and Boeing.

FAQs

Is eToro Safe?

eToro is considered low-risk. Is eToro trusted? Yes, and by quite a few people. The company is not publicly traded and does not operate a bank. eToro is authorized by two tier-1 regulators (high trust), one tier-2 regulator (average trust), and one tier-3 regulator (low trust). eToro is authorised by the following tier-1 regulators:

The Australian Securities & Exchange Commission (ASIC) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)

Other major exchanges such as Coinbase and Binance are also regulated by the FCA, therefore eToro can also be counted in the list of trusted exchanges when it comes to safety. Although there are various platforms and means of buying cryptocurrency online, the official regulation of the exchange means that eToro cannot simply abscond with client assets or funds.

Supported Countries

Curious if eToro is available in your country? eToro is available in the following countries:

  • Algeria
  • Andorra
  • Angola
  • Argentina
  • Australia
  • Austria
  • Azerbaijan
  • Bahrain
  • Bangladesh
  • Belgium
  • Bolivia
  • Brazil
  • Bulgaria
  • Cabo Verde
  • Chile
  • Colombia
  • Costa Rica
  • Croatia
  • Cyprus
  • Czechia (Czech Republic)
  • Denmark
  • Dominican Republic
  • Ecuador
  • Egypt
  • Eritrea
  • Estonia
  • Eswatini (fmr. “Swaziland”)
  • Finland
  • France
  • Georgia
  • Germany
  • Gibraltar
  • Greece
  • Holy See
  • Hungary
  • Iceland
  • Ireland
  • Israel
  • Italy
  • Jordan
  • Kazakhstan
  • Kenya
  • Kiribati
  • Kuwait
  • Kyrgyzstan
  • Latvia
  • Liechtenstein
  • Lithuania
  • Luxembourg
  • Malaysia
  • Malta
  • Mexico
  • Monaco
  • Netherlands
  • New Zealand
  • Norway
  • Oman
  • Peru
  • Philippines
  • Poland
  • Portugal
  • Qatar
  • Romania
  • Senegal
  • Seychelles
  • Singapore
  • Slovakia
  • Slovenia
  • South Korea
  • Sweden
  • Switzerland
  • Thailand
  • Ukraine
  • United Arab Emirates
  • United Kingdom
  • United States* (some states)
  • Uruguay
  • Vietnam

Currencies and Payment Methods

eToro operates in USD and accepts deposits in 14 other currencies: EUR, GBP, AUD, RMB, THB, IDR, MYR, VND, PHP, SEK, DKK, NOK, PLN, CZK.

A conversion fee is charged when converting funds to USD.

eToro supports a wealth of payment methods. Check their deposit FAQ for a full list. We’ve included most of them below:

  • Credit/debit cards
  • PayPal
  • Neteller
  • Skrill
  • Rapid transfer
  • iDEAL
  • Klarna / Sofort Banking
  • Bank transfer
eToro’s Services

CopyTrader

eToro allows users to automatically copy what trades successful investors are making. Beginners can leverage the expertise of experienced traders by instantly replicating their portfolios.

Stock and ETF trading

eToro offers zero-commission stock investing accounts where users can invest in stocks and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). eToro offers hundreds of diverse ETFs.Companies with popular stocks listed on eToro include Microsoft (MSFT), Newegg Commerce (NEGG), Amazon (AMZN). Tesla (TSLA), and Apple (AAPL). Users can even buy spot CFD contracts, like West Texas Intermediate (WTI) Light Sweet Crude Oil, where the price of the Spot CFD is derived from the two upcoming Futures contracts.

CFD trading platform

Non-US customers can avail themselves of the CFD (contract for difference) platform. eToro offers leverage, with maximums listed below:

  • x30 for major currency pairs (such as EUR/USD)
  • x20 for non-major currency pairs (such as EUR/NZD), Gold and major indices
  • x10 for commodities other than Gold and non-major equity indices
  • x5 for CFD stocks (securities) and ETFs
  • x2 for CFD cryptocurrencies. eToro has disabled the ability to open leveraged crypto positions due to high volatility in crypto markets.

eToro is a global online financial trading platform and multi-asset broker founded in 2007 by David Ring. Ronen Assia. and Yoni Assia. The Israel-based brokerage company was originally called RetailFX, with a stated mission to make trading and investing available to anyone.

eToro released its signature OpenBook platform in 2010, allowing users to copy successful and well-known investors’ trades. This feature eliminates the need to do extensive amounts of research and to consistently watch the market’s movements. Users can simply choose a popular and established investor they like and copy trades they make.

eToro is widely known as a platform for retail investors, stock trading, commodities trading, forex trading, CFDs trading, social trading, cryptocurrency trading, index-based funds trading, and exchange-traded funds (ETF) trading.

eToro is famous for being one of the first brokerage sites that would offer its users the ability to trade cryptocurrencies. In 2014, they introduced bitcoin trading via contracts for difference (CFD). Traders did not own bitcoin, but instead could bet on its price. This increased investor familiarity with cryptocurrency.

eToro has announced plans to go public via SPAC merger. Around $650 million has been raised by investors, and eToro itself has been valued at 10.4 billion. The company currently boasts 20 million registered users worldwide.

According to many eToro reviews, ours included, eToro is a solid choice. One of its best features is the 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. eToro offers a trading bot for Discord. Note that using bots may be against eToro’s TOS.

Less experienced traders will benefit from the smooth interface and seamless user experience. Active and high-volume traders may feel limited by higher spreads and small maximum trading sizes.

Learn more
Helpful?
FAQ

New to crypto? Here’s our guide!

FAQ Image #1 01 Why Bitcoin? It seems like the buzz around Bitcoin just keeps growing. Bitcoin is a constantly evolving technology with a passionate community. What is it about the digital asset that makes it such a controversial topic and attractive investment?
FAQ Image #2 02 How to Get Started with Bitcoin It can be difficult to get past the technical jargon surrounding bitcoin (BTC) and other cryptocurrencies in order to figure out how you can buy and store them. Beginners can purchase Bitcoin, for example, on many exchanges using fiat currency like U.S. Dollar, Euro or British Pound.
FAQ Image #3 03 Blockchains 101 Blockchains are a type of database where data is stored in blocks that are chained together. As new data comes in, it is entered into a block, which is then chained to the previous block. The Bitcoin blockchain serves as a ledger that records every Bitcoin transaction in history.
FAQ Image #4 04 Bitcoin in the Real World Ok - you’ve found an exchange, bought your Bitcoin, and stored it safely. What’s next? By now you can buy just about anything with Bitcoin if you try hard enough, from Amazon gift cards to an old master painting. You can also convert your BTC to fiat with ATMs, an exchange, and more.

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