IQ Option versus eToro Broker Comparison

IQ Option started as a dominant binary options broker in the now-defunct industry and one of a few who transitioned to a CFD broker. It claims just shy of 50 million traders with monthly withdrawals exceeding 20+ million. IQ Option offers its propriety trading platform and primarily caters to first-time millennial and GenZ traders.

eToro, a market leader in the social trading scene, continues to expand its active trading community, approaching 25 million. CopyTrader, CopyPortfolios, and in-house managed thematic investment portfolios form the core at eToro. It also became a competitive cryptocurrency broker. eToro additionally has a balanced asset selection and introduced its eToro Academy for beginners.

We have conducted an in-depth review of IQ Option and eToro to determine which one presents the better overall choice and which traders will benefit the most at either broker.

• Features and Platforms
• Available Markets
• Typical Spreads and Fees
• Security and Trust
• eToro vs. IQ Option - Verdict

Headquarters	Israel	Cyprus
Regulators	ASIC, CySEC, FCA, FSA	N/A
Tier 1 Regulator(s)?
Owned by Public Company?
Year Established	2007	2013
Execution Type(s)	Market Maker	Market Maker
Minimum Deposit	$50 - $10,000	$10
Negative Balance Protection		N/A
Trading Platform(s)	Proprietary platform	Proprietary platform
Average Trading Cost EUR/USD	1.0 pips	1.2 pips ($12.00)
Average Trading Cost GBP/USD	2.2 pips	1.8 pips ($18.00)
Average Trading Cost WTI Crude Oil	$0.05	$0.06
Average Trading Cost Gold	$0.45	$0.79
Retail Loss Rate	74%	N/A
Minimum Raw Spreads	0.8 pips	N/A
Minimum Standard Spreads	1.3 pips	N/A
Minimum Commission for Forex	$0.00	N/A
Islamic Account
Signals
US Persons Accepted?
Managed Accounts
	Get Started	Get Started

Features and Platforms

MT4
MT5
MT4/MT5 Add-Ons		N/A
cTrader
Proprietary Platform
Automated Trading
Social/Copy Trading		N/A
DOM?
Guaranteed Stop Loss
Scalping
Hedging
One-Click Trading
OCO Orders
Interest on Margin
	Get Started	Get Started

Neither broker supports algorithmic trading solutions nor provides quality research. IQ Option and eToro rely on their active trading communities and sentiment indicators.

Available Markets

Currency Pairs
Cryptocurrencies
Commodities
Crude Oil
Gold
Metals
Equity Indices
Stocks		N/A
Stocks (non-CFDs)
Bonds		N/A
ETFs
Options		N/A
Futures
Synthetics
	Get Started	Get Started

IQ Option features a limited Forex selection with 25 currency pairs but a respectable selection of 35 cryptocurrencies, 176 equity CFDs, and 23 ETFs. eToro counters with a balanced selection focused on more than 2,000 equity CFDs, 220 ETFs, and 55 cryptocurrencies CFDs. eToro also offers physical cryptocurrency trading and staking.

Typical Spreads and Fees

Average Trading Cost EUR/USD	1.0 pips	1.2 pips ($12.00)
Average Trading Cost GBP/USD	2.2 pips	1.8 pips ($18.00)
Average Trading Cost WTI Crude Oil	$0.05	$0.06
Average Trading Cost Gold	$0.45	$0.79
Average Trading Cost Bitcoin	$574	$117.47
Minimum Raw Spreads	0.8 pips	N/A
Minimum Standard Spreads	1.3 pips	N/A
Minimum Commission for Forex	$0.00	N/A
Deposit Fee		N/A
Withdrawal Fee		N/A
Inactivity Fee	$10 monthly after 12 monthd	N/A
	Get Started	Get Started

IQ Option and eToro offer commission-free Forex trading. It presents the most notable advantage of IQ Option over eToro with minimum spreads of 0.3 pips or $3 per 1.0 lot versus 1.0 pips or $10 at eToro. eToro offers commission-free share trading for buy orders, but CFDs face a minimum commission of 0.09%.

Security and Trust

Country of the Regulator	Australia, Cyprus, Seychelles, United Kingdom	Cyprus
Name of the Regulator	ASIC, CySEC, FCA, FSA	N/A
Regulatory License Number	491139, 109/10, 583263, SD076	247/14
Regulatory Tier	N/A	1
	Get Started	Get Started

IQ Option operates as an unregulated but duly registered company out of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. eToro complies with six regulators. It also provides an excess of loss insurance underwritten by Lloyd’s of London with a $1M limit. Negative balance protection exists at both IQ Option and eToro.

Webull also has membership with The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), the NASDAQ, and the CBOE EDGX Exchange (CBOE EDGX) with a clean FINRA record. Both brokers initiated the process of an IPO, with private valuations for Webull approximately at $400 million versus $2.5 billion for eToro.

eToro vs IQ Option – Verdict

eToro

Pros	Cons
Copy-trading with a community numbering almost 25 million traders	Higher minimum deposit requirement but within a reasonable range
User-friendly web-based trading platform and mobile app	No algorithmic trading
Quality educational offering for beginner traders via videos
Balanced asset selection with a focus on equity CFDs and ETFs

IQ Option

Pros	Cons
Large trading community approaching 50 million traders	Limited asset selection
A user-friendly trading platform for manual traders	Limited deposit and withdrawal options
Low trading costs with commission-free spreads as low as 0.3 pips	No algorithmic trading
Respectable choice of cryptocurrency CFDs

IQ Option presents traders with low commission-free trading costs and a trading community approaching 50 million but trails eToro in all other categories. eToro offers a balanced asset selection and a quality educational platform eToro Academy for beginner traders. While IQ Option offers social trading, eToro presents higher-quality social trading tools, and clearly comes out ahead of IQ Option overall.

You might also be interested in reviewing the below broker comparisons:

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• Plus500 vs IQ Option
• Nadex vs IQ Option

Read full eToro Review

Read full IQ Option Review