eToro UK review 2021

You can trade commission-free on both UK and international stocks with eToro, which is why we’ve given it a good rating for fees, although there are some charges, as we highlight in our fees section. It’s regulated and authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK and covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS), so you’ll be protected for up to £85,000 if eToro were to go bust. eToro took home the prize for CFD and Forex Trading Innovation in the Finder Innovation Awards 2020.

eToro is known for its copy trading feature, which lets you see what other traders are doing, and copy them. We’ve explained the feature in a bit more detail below. You’re not guaranteed to make any profits, and your money is at risk when you invest.

We’ve analysed some of the key features of eToro, whether it’s really free, and what you can invest in.

eToro products

eToro’s main drawback is that you can only invest in a general investment account – it doesn’t have pensions or ISAs on offer. The most similar provider that also has an ISA is Trading 212. We’ve compared eToro and Trading 212 below.

What stocks can you trade with eToro?

eToro lets you invest in over 1,000 different global stocks from the world’s leading exchanges. You can access some major stocks, including Apple, Netflix, Google, easyJet, Barclays, Airbus and Adidas.

eToro has helpfully organised its stocks by industry, such as technology, healthcare and consumer goods. You can also search by stock exchange. Once you’ve done this, you can sort the stocks by performance over certain periods and alphabetically.

You can also trade cryptocurrency on eToro. We’ve covered this in full in our eToro cryptocurency review.

You can’t buy stocks that are listed on the Toronto stock exchange, Japan Exchange Group or Deutsche Börse with eToro.

eToro fees

eToro’s fees are one of the main reasons it’s so popular. You don’t pay commission on trades, which is ideal if you plan to trade regularly.

Despite the much-publicised “commission-free” trading option, eToro isn’t really free. It comes with a couple of unavoidable fees, such as for deposits into and withdrawals from your account and for converting your deposits into another currency.

To get the most out of its extensive trading platform, you can find yourself paying a number of standard (and unexpected) fees, and these can be confusing for beginner traders. Make sure you check its fees before you begin trading, especially around inactivity fees (a fee for not trading but still having money in your account) and currency conversion.

Commission-free investing is currently only available in countries under FCA and cySEC regulation, which includes the UK and all major European countries.

There’s also a minimum deposit amount of $50 for your first deposit. Zero commission doesn’t doesn’t apply to any leveraged trades, shorts or stock CFDs.

While you won’t pay commission on basic share buy and sell orders, you’ll still need to pay a $5 withdrawal fee, and the minimum withdrawal amount is $30.

eToro tools and research

eToro’s got an array of trading tools that can help you, including interactive charting and advanced charting tools. You can use stop loss and trailing stop to have more control over your trades.

When it comes to research, there’s great research on stocks, exchange traded fund (ETF) research, latest news and company announcements. You can also create watch lists and get tips from other traders with social trading.

eToro has a virtual portfolio, which is a demo account that lets you trade up to the value of $100,000 to practise without using real money.

What’s it like to use eToro?

1. Getting started

Sign up or just explore the site to copy other traders. Read tips from users and more.

2. Crypto

Browse the marketplace to find trading info, filter, and set up alerts and more via your account.

3. Copy traders

Search for other traders and see what they're doing. Filter results and join the community.

4. Browse traders

See what the most (or least) successful traders are doing with their portfolios, and how, on eToro.

‹ ›

eToro customer satisfaction

We carried out a customer satisfaction survey in December 2020.

eToro’s customers like cheap trading fees and found that it’s easy to use. Good customer service was one of the key positives mentioned about the platform.

Some reviews mentioned that they didn’t like the layout of the platform or felt that it was too complicated.

On consumer review platform Trustpilot, eToro has 2.8 out of 5 stars and a rating of “Average”, based on more than 6,300 reviews.

Things are brighter in the App Store, where the eToro app has 3.5 out of 5 stars based on more than 4,700 reviews. On Google Play, the eToro app has 4.1 out of 5 stars based on more than 5,000 reviews.

Positive feedback included the ease of use and flexibility to switch between stocks and crypto. Negative feedback centred around technical glitches and issues with withdrawals.

On Reddit, the users thought that eToro was easy to use and has a good platform. Most of the negative comments surrounded the withdrawal charges and the inactivity fees. (Updated June 2, 2021).

eToro review: What else do I need to know?

eToro lets you trade stocks, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), contracts for difference (CFDs), commodities and currencies. As well as low-cost investing, eToro also offers the OpenBook trading platform, which lets users automatically copy and execute another investor’s trades.

Along with digital trading platforms such as Freetrade and Trading 212, eToro offers a free investing account. This means users can buy and sell a range of global stocks with no commission.

What is copy trading?

eToro is the leading social trading platform because of its copy trading feature. This means that you can connect with others to share your investment strategies and discuss trading with the user base. You can also copy other traders’ actions in real-time. This is a nice way of getting the hang of how it works and utilising others’ knowledge and experience.

The platform allows you to filter the different traders that you can copy by loads of different things, such as the risk score, how many people already copy them, how many profitable weeks they’ve had and where they’re located. It also has “trending” traders, “top investors”, and investors based on the risk score.

The platform lets you see the users’ average risk score and gains in the last year. Of course, as always, past performance is not an indication of future results.

eToro cryptocurrency trading

eToro has 27 cryptocurrencies available to trade. It charges a slightly different spread for each cryptocurrency, which you should be aware of.

You can’t use leverage when trading cryptocurrencies as this was banned by the FCA on 6 January 2021.

What cryptocurrencies can you trade with eToro?

• Bitcoin (BTC)
• Ethereum (ETH)
• XRP (XRP)
• Dash (DASH)
• Litecoin (LTC)
• Cardano (EADA)
• IOTA (MIOTA)
• Stellar (XLM)
• EOS (EOS)
• NEO (NEO)
• TRON (TRX)
• ZCASH (ZEC)
• Binance Coin (BNB)
• Tezos (XTZ)
• Maker (MKR)
• Compound (COMP)
• Chainlink (LINK)
• Uniswap (UNI)
• Yearn.finance (YFI)
• Dogecoin (DOGE)
• Aave (AAVE)
• Algorand (ALGO)
• Decentraland (MANA)
• Enjin (ENJ)
• Basic Attention Token (BAT)
• Polygon (MATIC)
• Spark (FLR)

How much does it cost to trade crypto with eToro?

eToro charges a spread on cryptocurrencies, which is essentially a fee placed on top of the market price for a given asset. Fees vary depending on the cryptocurrency being bought or sold and are subject to change. All fees are accurate at the time of writing (July 2021).

You may also have to pay other fees, such as for withdrawals or to convert your money into USD.

• Cryptocurrency buy and sell fees

  Cryptocurrency	Spread
  Bitcoin (BTC)	0.75%
  Ethereum (ETH)	1.90%
  Bitcoin Cash (BCH)	1.90%
  Ripple (XRP)	2.45%
  Dash (DASH)	2.90%
  Litecoin (LTC)	1.90%
  Ethereum Classic (ETC)	1.90%
  Cardano (ADA)	2.90%
  IOTA (MIOTA)	4.50%
  Stellar (XLM)	2.45%
  EOS (EOS)	2.90%
  NEO (NEO)	1.90%
  Tron (TRX)	3.50%
  ZCASH (ZEC)	3.50%
  Binance Coin (BNB)	2.45%
  Tezos (XTZ)	5.00%
  Compound (COMP)	3.90%
  Chainlink (LINK)	3.90%
  Uniswap (UNI)	3.90%
  Yearn Finance (YFI)	2.90%
  Dogecoin (DOGE)	2.90%
  Aave (AAVE)	3.90%
  Algorand (ALGO)	3.90%
  Decentraland (MANA)	4.90%
  Basic Attention Token (BAT)	2.90%
  Polygon (MATIC)	3.90%

eToro CFD trading

If you’re more of an advanced trader, eToro allows you to trade contracts for difference (CFDs). These allow you to trade on market volatility without ever having to own the underlying asset. Great if you don’t want a truck full of soybeans rocking up on your doorstep.
Features of eToro’s CFD trading platform include:

• Customised risk management. “Trailing Stop Loss” and “Take Profit” can help you protect your investments.
• Analysis tools. Includes charts, analyst consensus and insider transactions.
• Innovative features. These include One-Click Trading, real-time alerts and interactive newsfeeds.
• Leverage. You can apply for up to 1:30 leverage.

What are the eToro Club tiers

The eToro club is a tiered membership program that you can add to your eToro account, based on the amount of realised equity you have on the platform. It offers a range of perks including fee discounts, analytical tools and access to events.

You can get additional benefits and features with each upgrade in the eToro club. The tiers are:

• Silver – $5,000+
• Gold – $10,000+
• Platinum – $25,000+
• Platinum+ – $50,000+
• Diamond – $250,000+

How to sign up for eToro

It takes 30 seconds to create your investing account via the eToro website, but you’ll then need to complete your profile and verify your account. This can take 10-15 minutes.

1. Create an account. This doesn’t take long. You just need to choose a username and enter your email address and a password.
2. Provide more information. You’ll need to select “complete your profile” to enter this. We’ve listed some of the things eToro will ask for below.
3. Answer some questions. These will be about your experience of trading in the past, including equities, crypto and leveraged products.
4. Tell eToro what you plan to trade and for how long. You can choose between stocks, crypto, currencies, commodities and indices.
5. Give an indication of your future plans. This includes information about what you’re investing for and your expected risk and reward scenario.
6. Provide a photo of your ID. You’ll have to provide a copy of your passport or ID card and a utility bill or bank statement.

You’ll need to provide:

• Your name
• Your date of birth
• Your address
• Your national insurance number
• Whether you are a US citizen
• Information about your income
• Your phone number and email

It can take up to 3 business days for your account to be verified.

How to use eToro

Once you’ve been verified, you can deposit funds and start trading. With the free account, you can access many of the regular eToro features like CopyPortfolio, virtual trading and TipRanks expert stock analysis.

You can add and remove stocks, cryptocurrencies, ETFs, indices, commodities and currencies to your watchlist, and also track your portfolio.

However, when using the platform, keep in mind that only basic stock buy orders are commission-free. It can be quite easy to get carried away and start dabbling in other types of assets, but these will attract trading fees and may hold more risk.

eToro vs Trading 212

Finder rating	★★★★★	★★★★★
Customer satisfaction rating	★★★★★	★★★★★
Stocks and shares ISA available?
FSCS protected?
Costs rating	★★★★★	★★★★★
Keep in mind	68% of retail CFD accounts lose money	76% of retail CFD accounts lose money
	Go to site More Info	More Info

We’ve also got a detailed comparison between eToro and Trading 212 if you want to know more.

Pros and cons of eToro

Full verdict: Is eToro any good?

It’s good – but you need to understand the fees. eToro has built a reputation as one of the most innovative and popular online investing platforms since its launch in 2007. It currently has over 10 million users worldwide and provides a range of low-cost investing services.

The additional fees are eToro’s biggest drawback, especially when you don’t know what to expect. Take a look through its fees and make sure you understand what each of them is for before you begin. If you think eToro isn’t for you, you can browse other platforms in our share trading comparison table.

Frequently asked questions

• What happens with dividend paying shares?

  Dividends are paid into your eToro account as cash. You’ll get an email, notification and an activity feed item when those are paid.

• Is there a eToro web app?

  Not yet. But this is the latest from the eToro team: “It shouldn’t be too difficult to do once we have more resources available. We already have all the necessary APIs for the mobile apps anyway.”

• Does eToro offer investment advice?

  No, eToro is not a financial advice service and does not provide investing advice. Investors are responsible for their own purchasing and trading decisions.

• Is there a eToro web app?

  Not yet. But this is the latest from the eToro team: “It shouldn’t be too difficult to do once we have more resources available. We already have all the necessary APIs for the mobile apps anyway.”

• Will I pay tax on my investment profit?

  Yes, you will likely need to pay tax on any gains you make from buying and selling shares, although this will depend on your personal tax rate. However, you can invest up to £20,000 per year in the investment ISA, which will not be subject to tax, but eToro does not have an ISA option available.

• How do I withdraw my money?

  You can withdraw your money using the app directly into your bank account. There is a £5 fee for same-day withdrawals.

• Can I get eToro on Android?

  Yes you can! Download eToro either on the App Store or get it on Google Play.

• What is an investment ISA?

  Also known as a stocks and shares ISA, this is an account that lets you invest up to £20,000 per year in stocks. You do not need to pay tax on any profits you make in your ISA.

• What is an ETF?

  An exchange-traded fund (ETF) is an investment fund that is traded on a stock exchange. It operates like a normal stock, but is actually a bundle of various assets such as bonds, stocks and commodities. We have a full guide to ETFs if you’re looking to take a nap.

• Does eToro offer a stocks and shares ISA?

  No, eToro does not offer a stocks and shares ISA (individual savings account). It isn’t known whether this is going to be offered in the future. There are plenty of different platforms that you can get an ISA with, so it’s worth taking a look at our stocks and shares ISA comparison if this is what you’re looking for.

• Is eToro safe?

  Yes. eToro is regulated and authorised by the FCA in the UK and also covered by the FSCS, so you’ll be protected for up to £85,000 in the event the company goes bust.

  As with any type of investment, it’s your money that’s at risk when you use eToro, and there’s no guarantee of profits.

• How does eToro make money?

  eToro makes money by charging a range of fees on certain types of trades. While it’s free to start using eToro, you’ll need to pay for most of its trademark trading features and options.

• Who is eToro good for?

  eToro is good for investors who understand what they’re doing with investing, or those who have done some research. The platform can be overwhelming and quite confusing for beginners, but if you stick with it and research what you’re unsure of, it’s possible to pick it up.