eToro vs Trading 212

This Forex broker comparison will take a deeper look at eToro, a social trading platform operational since 2007 and home to over 3,000,000 traders, and Trading 212, a mostly-mobile trading platform which is highly popular in the UK and Germany. It introduced zero-commission trading, and the application has been downloaded over 14 million times in a statement to its popularity. The former compensates for its services with excessive fees, while the latter offers traders tight spreads in a competitive trading environment. eToro markets itself as a FinTech company, but Trading 212 displays its strength as one, evident by the products provided.

This comparison will focus on the following four aspects plus an ultimate verdict:

• Features and Platforms
• Available Markets
• Typical Spreads and Fees
• Security and Trust
• Broker vs Broker Verdict

Feature	eToro (visit site)	Trading 212 (visit site)
Headquarter:	Cyprus	UK, Bulgaria
Regulation:	CySEC, FCA, ASIC	FCA, FSCS
Type of Broker:	Market Maker	Market Maker
U.S. Clients Allowed:
Minimum Deposit:	$50 - $10,000	£10 or a currency equivalent
Maximum Leverage:	1:30 (CySEC, FCA), 1:500 (ASIC)	1:30
Commissions / Spreads:	Spreads	Spreads
Account 1:	Standard	CFD
Account 2:	Professional	Invest (non-leveraged)
Account 3:
Account 4:
Demo Account:
Islamic Account:
Segregated Account:
Managed Accounts:
Institutional Accounts:
Website Languages:	English Spanish 18+	English Spanish 3+
Support Hours:	24/5	24/5
E-mail Support:
SMS Support:
Chat:
Broker Offers:	See what eToro offers 74% of retail CFD accounts lose money	See what Trading 212 offers

Features and Platforms

eToro

Social trading has retreated from its peak, but eToro attempts to present a suitable option to those interested in following other traders. This broker continues to push forward with success, as evidenced by millions of active traders using the in-house developed CopyTrader. The addition of CopyPortfolios was an attempt to decrease risk and add more diversification to investment opportunities. The trading platform is available as a webtrader and mobile version. In the course of this comparison, we discovered that that TipRanks, a third-party provider where traders may access market coverage provided by over 15,000 analysts is perhaps the best feature offered by eToro.

The ProCharts charting package enhances manual trading. eToro also buys and holds select physical assets for clients, and the Popular Investor Program offers qualified signal providers an annualized compensation of 1.5% of allocated assets. With social trading at the core of operations, the in-house research and education remains secondary and of lesser quality.

The 66.0% loss rate of traders ranks eToro ahead of many competitors, essential to the success of its business model.

eToro advances social trading successfully, but its fees are higher than most brokers.

Trading 212

Commission-free trading is gaining popularity, disrupting traditional brokerage models, and Trading 212 remains one of the pioneers of this trend.This FinTech company operates out of the UK and Bulgaria, offering two distinct account types. The CFD account is for leveraged trading, and the Invest account offers traditional equity trading. Adding to the innovative services is fractional share trading, allowing traders with less substantial capital to manage a well-diversified portfolio.

Another great feature is ProQuant. It allows the creation of automated trading robots without the need to code. Daily analytics are provided, but the quality is sub-standard, with the risk warning more detailed than the analysis. Education is offered through well-presented video content, granting an excellent introduction for new traders with a modern approach. The overall trading conditions are outstanding, but 76% of retail traders operate their portfolios at a loss when trading with Trading 212, a full 10 percent more than eToro’s losses.

Available Markets

eToro features more than 2,000 assets across six categories. With forty-seven currency pairs and seventeen cryptocurrency pairs, Forex traders can easily diversify their core portfolios. Through thirteen commodities, an additional diversification opportunity is presented. Another thirteen index CFDs and 145 ETFs offer trading opportunities with the remainder of assets spread across global equities. Trading 212 offers a superior asset selection with over 3,000 across the same six categories.

Pure Forex traders have access to over 185 currency and cryptocurrency pairs, with an additional 23 commodities. The outstanding equity selection is complemented by 44 index and ETF CFDs. Both brokers offer an asset selection suitable for the majority of traders.

Typical Spreads and Fees

The pricing environment at eToro remains unacceptably elevated, with the lowest spread listed as 3.0 pips for the EUR/USD. While zero commission equity trades are marketed, they solely apply to buy orders in non-leveraged portfolios. Leveraged portfolios and short-sellers are levied with a 0.09% fee. In comparison, Trading 212 offers the EUR/USD as low a 0.8 pips without additional costs together with free equity trades, generating a superior pricing environment. The former attempts to cover expenses for its social trading service with tremendous mark-ups, while the latter achieves a trader-friendly composition for manual and automated traders. On the other hand, eToro’s traders may be willing to pay the higher fees for the opportunity to copy experienced traders and hopefully to enjoy fewer losses than are seen with Trading 212.

Swap rates on leveraged overnight positions are equally applied. Since eToro and Trading 212 feature a sound equity selection, corporate actions like dividends and mergers are passed onto traders. eToro charges a $5 flat-fee on all withdrawals, where Trading 212 remains free of charges. Third-party costs may apply, depending on the payment processor utilized. The broad pricing environment remains significantly more geared towards trader profitability at Trading 212, and towards broker profitability at eToro.