
Get exclusive money-saving offers and guides
Straight to your inbox
Finder's rating: 4.1/5
★★★★★
FYI: Buying and selling stocks directly is different to trading CFD stocks. CFDs are leveraged products where traders speculate on the price movements of underlying assets like stocks, without ever actually owning them.
While there are plenty of global online brokers, eToro's big drawcard is its social trading feature that allows you to copy the actions taken by the platform's leading traders.
Although targeted towards more active traders, the fact that you can learn from others and share investment ideas makes this platform a solid option for anyone looking to master their skills in stock, forex, commodities and cryptocurrency trading.
We’re reader-supported and may be paid when you visit links to partner sites. We don’t compare all products in the market, but we’re working on it!
Type of broker | Online only |
---|---|
Available markets | NASDAQ, NYSE |
Standard brokerage fee | US$0 |
Support | |
Go to site More Info |
eToro has something that will appeal to most investors.
For those starting out their investing journey, eToro’s ease of use, educational resources and copy-trading platform will help newer investors quickly learn the market.
If you’re a more experienced investor, eToro’s range of products including 3,000 tradable CFD, forex, exchange-traded securities and cryptocurrencies could greatly appeal to you.
On the downside, eToro is not the cheapest broker going around, especially for forex and CFD products, while it also uses USD as the base currency.
Fees |
★★★★★ 4.2/5 |
|
Trading tools |
★★★★★ 3/5 |
|
Research and education |
★★★★★ 3/5 |
|
Available securities |
★★★★★ 2.5/5 |
|
Customer support |
★★★★★ 2.0/5 |
eToro was launched in 2006 in Tel Aviv and soon became a global trading phenomenon. Today it has the biggest social network of CFD, stock, commodity and forex traders in the world, with 13 million users worldwide.
The platform soon made a name for itself after spearheading the social trading revolution with its popular copy trading feature which allows users to track and imitate the actions of the platform's top traders.
If you're looking for more than just a standard forex or CFD broker, then the social trading elements outlined in this review are for you.
eToro is regulated by financial authorities in the US, Europe and Australia. In Australia, it's licensed by the Australian Securities Investment Commission (ASIC) under the trading name eToro AUS Capital Pty Ltd.
Among popular user review sites, feedback has been mixed. On the complaints side, reviewers primarily point to the withdraw fees, spreads and poor online customer service. The positive reviews highlight eToro's user friendly platform and OpenBook feature which allows users to share live trading news and ideas with each other.
Ratings from review sites:
Note: Forex and CFD trading always carry risks which you should be aware of, so read up before you start investing. Do your research before signing up to any forex or CFD trading platform.
Here are the notable account features worth highlighting:
eToro does not charge any traditional broker fees or commissions, regardless of the asset being traded. Instead it charges entirely on foreign exchange spreads.
For this reason, eToro doesn't have the lowest forex spreads on the market, starting at 1.0 pips for AUD/USD and running as high as 50.0 pips for exotic currency pairings.
Deposit fees. There is no fee to deposit money into your account but eToro users trade in USD, so Australians will need to pay a currency conversion fee of 0.5% for wire transfers or 1% for any other method such as PayPal or card.
Withdraw fees. The same currency conversion fee applies again to withdraw funds. You can withdraw your funds at any time, however the minimum you can withdraw is AUD30 and there is a AUD5 withdrawal fee. You can withdraw funds using a credit card (1-2 days), PayPal (1-2 days) or bank transfer (up to 8 days).
Inactivity fee. If there has been no login for 12 months, eToro charges an inactivity fee of US$10 per month until any remaining funds are removed. No open positions will be closed to cover this and the fee will stop once a user logs in.
eToro's platform is unique from most others in Australia's market because you can trade contracts for difference (CFDs) and stocks from a single account, so it's important to understand the difference.
CFDs are risky leveraged products that allow you to speculate on the price movements of stocks and other assets such as cryptocurrencies and commodities without ever owning them. Because they're leveraged, both your profits and losses are magnified and you can lose more than your initial investment.
When you trade stocks, you own the underlying asset and your profits can only be equal to the price rise of the stock. This also means you can't lose more than your initial investment.
On eToro's platform you have a choice of adding leverage when you trade stocks. If you choose 1x leverage, you're buying the real stock and you'll see the message "You are buying the underlying asset."
If you choose to add leverage above 1x, you'll automatically switch to CFD trading as you can see in the image below:
![]() Trading real stocks on eToro. | ![]() CFD trading on eToro. |
When you sign up to eToro you have the option of opening a retail account or professional account. Below is a comparison of the fees, minimum deposits and spreads.
Retail | Professional | |
---|---|---|
Minimum opening balance | US$200 | US$200 |
Spreads | From 1.0 pips | From 1.0 pips |
Commission per lot | $0 | $7 |
Leverage | 1:1 - 30:1 | 1:1 - 400:1 |
Minimum trade size | US$10 (For share trading) | US$10 (For share trading) |
If you have a question about your account, eToro has a help section on the platform. You'll see a live chat option but this isn't available for Australian users at this stage.
You can also learn more about trading forex and CFDs through the eToro Trading Academy, which offers webinars, an ecourse, trading tips and a dedicated education centre.
Support options:
It's free and easy to create an eToro account. Simply apply online by clicking the "Go to site" button at the top of this page and follow these steps:
In order to satisfy financial service regulations, you'll need to answer a few questions about how much experience you have trading stocks and other products such as CFDs as well as a short quiz that you'll need to pass to qualify for an account.
6 Comments
January 10, 2018
Hi
I am having trouble logging I to my account even tried to reset my password ,
Is the system down.
Please advice.
January 10, 2018
Hi Jaicingh,
Thanks for your inquiry. Please note that we are not affiliated with eToro or any company we feature on our site and so we can only offer you general advice.
Please visit eToro official site and contact them directly to report an issue with your log in details.
Best regards,
Rench
December 14, 2017
I want to buy 1000 ripple and hold them for an indefinite then sell at some future time.
How much do I have to deposit in my account (Australian dollars). They are currently 60cents US.
What will be the purchase fees? Sales fees? Are there any other applicable fees?
December 21, 2017
Hello Bob,
Thank you for visiting Finder.
If you wish to buy and sell Ripple in Australian Dollars (AUD), you can directly go to Coinspot. According to their website, if you will buy 1000 XRP (Ripple), you will be paying $1257.69 (AUD) which already includes 2-3% of the total transaction. The value of Cryptocurrencies differs/ changes from time to time so it will be better to visit the exchange where you will be making the transaction to check for their current rate.
Other fees and charges can be found on our review page as it explains how you can buy/ sell through Coinspot.
I hope this helps.
Let us know if there is anything else that we may assist you with.
Cheers,
Ash
December 9, 2017
I am in Australia. Can I sell in Australia and what are your payment methods. For example creditcard/debit card, paypal, bank account?
December 11, 2017
Hi Rob,
Thank you for visiting finder, we are an Australian financial comparison website and general information service.
Yes trading or buying and selling is allowed in Australia. For payment methods, you can deposit money into your eToro account by credit card, debit card, PayPal or bank wire transfer.
Cheers,
Joanne