eToro vs IG - Fees Review included
Which broker is better eToro or IG? Our expert assessment conducted according to TU’s own methodology showed that eToro is one of the top brokers in the financial market with the TU Overall Score of 7.75 out of 10. IG is one of the top brokers in the financial market with the TU Overall Score of 6.68 out of 10. Find out more about TU Overall Score.
| Feature | eToro | IG |
|---|---|---|
Overall |
4.8 |
4.4 |
5.0 |
4.7 |
|
4.7 |
4.7 |
|
4.9 |
5 |
|
Investment Instruments |
5.0 |
3.9 |
Platforms and Charting Tools |
4.1 |
4.7 |
Deposit and Withdrawal |
4.5 |
4.0 |
Research |
5 |
4.5 |
Education |
4.3 |
4.2 |
Support |
4.2 |
4.8 |
Bonuses |
1 |
3.4 |
|
|
eToro vs IG: Pros and Cons
The eToro broker is a very popular online platform for trading. Founded in 2007, the company operates as a social trading website that works with traders in dozens of countries.
The Forex broker IG Markets is a structural subdivision of the IG Group corporation. Its securities are listed on the London Stock Exchange and are included in the FTSE 250 index. IG Markets is a UK registered company created in 1974, but since its inception, its representative offices have appeared in some other European countries. Since 2014, a retail line of brokerage services has been opened. The international division of the broker is registered in Bermuda and licensed by the Bermuda Monetary Authority
| eToro | IG | |
|---|---|---|
| Overall Pros | Mobile app for trading from smartphones | reliability. IG Markets is part of the IG Group, founded in 1974. Its subsidiaries are also licensed by the British regulator FCA, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), and the American regulators CFTC, and NFA |
| Highly licensed and regulated broker | 16,000 trading instruments, investments in IPOs and exchange-traded funds | |
| eToro charges a fixed withdrawal fee of $5 USD | relatively good spreads, from 0.6-1 pips depending on the type of instrument | |
| The traders have access to the following trading offers: a copy trading service and ready-made portfolios with semi-automatic diversification | customer support is 24/7 | |
| The funds of eToro clients are held at the licensed US banks | ||
| Overall Cons | Customer support can be only contacted by tickets | high threshold of entry which discourages private novice traders |
| complicated and unpleasant verification procedure. There are cases of refusal to open an account due to unconfirmed or low income | ||
| there are no products for passive investment, no bonus system is provided | ||
| a limited set of options for depositing and withdrawing money, which is not very convenient for global Forex traders |
eToro vs IG: Safety and Regulation
| Regulated By: | eToro | IG |
|---|---|---|
US Regulation |
Yes (eToro US) |
Yes (CFTC, NFA) |
FCA (Great Britain) |
Yes |
Yes |
CySec (Cyprus, EU) |
Yes |
No |
ASIC (Australia) |
Yes |
No |
Other Regulators |
Seychelles FSA |
BMA (Bermuda), MAS (Singapore) |
eToro vs IG: Trading Conditions
| Trading Conditions | eToro | IG |
|---|---|---|
Minimum Deposit |
$50 |
$450 |
Trading Platforms |
eToro |
MT4, IG Trading Platform, L2 dealer |
Max Leverage (Futures) |
1:30 |
1-200 |
Supported Markets |
Forex, Stocks, Indices, Commodities, Crypto |
Forex, Crypto, commodities |
Trading assets |
1000+ |
16000+ |
Trading Accounts |
Standard, Demo |
Demo, Standard |
Base Account Currencies |
USD |
USD |
eToro vs IG: Fees
Forex Trading Fees
| Fee | eToro | IG |
|---|---|---|
Standard Account EURUSD Average Spread |
1 pip |
0.6 pips |
Standard Account Fee |
$0 |
$0 |
ECN/STP Account Fee |
Not supported |
Not supported |
ECN Account EUR Average Spread |
Not supported |
Not supported |
CFD Trading Fees
| Fee | eToro | IG |
|---|---|---|
CFD Trading Fee |
Floating spread |
Floating spread |
Non-Trading Fees
| Fee | eToro | IG |
|---|---|---|
Account Fee |
No |
No |
Deposit Fee |
No |
No |
Withdrawal Fee |
$5 |
No |
Inactivity Fee |
$10 per month after 12 months of inactivity |
$18 per month after 24 months of inactivity |
A conversion fee may be applied as withdrawals and deposits are conducted in USD. Any other currency will have to be converted.
eToro vs IG: Trading Assets
| Asset Name | eToro | IG |
|---|---|---|
Overall |
1000+ |
16000+ |
Forex |
Yes |
Yes |
Stocks |
Yes |
No |
Metals |
Yes |
Yes (CFD) |
Cryptocurrencies |
Yes |
Yes (CFD) |
Energy |
Yes (CFD) |
Yes (CFD) |
Indices |
Yes |
No |
ETFs |
No |
Yes |
Bonds |
No |
No |
Mutual funds |
No |
No |
Stock options |
No |
No |
Futures Trading |
No |
No |
Binary Options |
No |
No |
eToro or IG: Investment Programs
| Asset Name | eToro | IG |
|---|---|---|
Copy Trading |
Yes |
No |
MAM/PAMM |
No |
No |
Managed Accounts |
No |
No |
Other |
No |
Investing in IPOs |
Trading Platforms: IG or eToro
| eToro | IG | |
|---|---|---|
MT4 |
No |
Yes |
MT5 |
No |
No |
cTrader |
No |
No |
Appropriate platform |
eToro |
IG Trading Platform |
Others |
No |
L2 dealer |
|
|
eToro vs IG: Deposit and Withdrawal Methods
| Deposit and Withdrawal Method | eToro | IG |
|---|---|---|
Bank Transfer |
Yes |
Yes |
Debit Card |
Yes |
Yes |
Electronic Wallets |
No |
No |
Crypto |
No |
No |
eToro vs IG: Research
| Research Type | eToro | IG |
|---|---|---|
News Feed |
Yes |
Yes |
Fundamental Data |
Yes |
Yes |
Chart Analysis |
Yes |
Yes |
Trading Ideas |
Yes |
No |
E-Mail Reports |
Yes |
No |
eToro vs IG: Education
| Education Type | eToro | IG |
|---|---|---|
Demo-account/Paper Trading |
Yes |
Yes |
Webinars |
No |
Yes |
Articles |
Yes |
Yes |
Videos |
Yes |
Yes |
Cent account |
No |
No |
IG vs eToro: Support
| Support Features | eToro | IG |
|---|---|---|
Working Days |
24/5 |
24/7 |
Yes |
Yes |
|
Phone |
No |
Yes |
Online chat |
Yes |
Yes |
Other |
No |
No |
eToro vs IG: Forex Bonuses and Promo
| Promo | eToro | IG |
|---|---|---|
Forex Bonus |
No |
No |
Affiliate Program |
$100-250 per trader |
"Invite a friend". The partner receives $100 for each attracted referral who must carry out 5 transactions of the corresponding volume (possibly, 5 lots are implied) within 6 months. |
Other Promos |
No |
No |
|
|
Top 5 Reviews on IG
-
Comment
It’s a decent company, I do most of my trading here, but I have an account with another company. There are no particular complaints. If you know how to trade, I can confidently recommend IG Markets.
-
Comment
Personally, what attracts me the most is the access to options with a low deposit at IG Markets broker. However, everything comes with a price: commissions and premiums are higher compared to companies with higher margin requirements. By the way, with a minimum deposit of $200 for options, you won't get much leverage. So, to feel more comfortable, you need to deposit at least 10 times more money into your account.
-
Comment
I can briefly share my experience. Overall, if you don't dwell on withdrawal issues, everything is fine. I withdraw funds to my card or in USDT almost every month. Initially, I had doubts about IG Markets, but after several consistent withdrawals to my card, I started to trust them more. Although the profit is not that great because the amount constantly circulates in the balance: I deposit, trade, withdraw profit. But I enjoy the trading process itself, so I have no complaints about IG Markets broker.
-
Comment
I have recently explored IG Markets. My first impressions are positive. I had a lot of questions and contacted the support service. I was pleasantly surprised, since all questions were explained to me promptly and in full. Working is convenient, the IG Markets website is informative, and the platform has a lot of trading tools for every taste. In general, I am satisfied. I hope everything will be just as good.
-
Comment
I've known the broker IG Markets for several years. I started trading here when I had no experience with currency pairs. Over time, I gained experience and stopped losing my money. IG Markets is not my primary broker. I maintain a smaller deposit here compared to another company where the conditions are better. However, the first broker is the first broker, and I don't want to leave it.
Top 5 Reviews on eToro
-
Comment
Stability in trading is the most important thing that I note in a broker’s operation. There are a lot of scams now, and finding a good broker is now very difficult. The regulator's license is important, but the company's presence on the market is more important. Entrusting the service to someone who has been operating for many years is the best idea. I have decided on eToro.
-
Comment
eToro is the first broker where I am not bothered with requotes. They haven’t occurred in 3 months even at high activity. It is clear that eToro has a thorough approach to work; the equipment is not cheap.
-
Comment
I started my eToro way back in 2020 to invest in US ETFs which at that time were not very accessible in my location. I checked their website and did a careful research before creating my account because of a number of complaints about their high fees. The website says commission is free, as with other factors which are charged in other platforms such as overnight and custody fees. Cut the story short I created an account with them and purchased one of their ETF products for an expense ratio of 0.03% at the time of sale. I thought this was such a steal price compared to an equity index feeder fund offered by a major bank brand in my area. From my estimation and confirmed by their agent as well (contacted them before posting this review), commissions from my trades averaged 0.09%, with a 0% commission structure on shares. Insanely low! This makes them my favorite platform for trading stocks.
-
Comment
Recently I completed a small experiment to test the performance of eToro and I am happy to share my conclusions. I made sure that the company really operates, quickly executes trades in the market, and withdraws profits. Although the eToro platform is not always perfect, it is still possible to make a profit on it.
-
Comment
I've been searching for a broker for a long time to comfortably trade stocks, and I'm very glad I opened an account with eToro. A big advantage is that trading fractional shares is possible. The commission for traders is no higher than with other brokers, and customer support always responds quickly, and money transfers are fast—I work with a card.
eToro is a multi-asset platform which offers both investing in stocks and cryptoassets, as well as trading CFDs.
Please note that CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 76% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
Past performance is not an indication of future results. Trading history presented is less than 5 complete years and may not suffice as basis for investment decision.
Copy Trading does not amount to investment advice. The value of your investments may go up or down. Your capital is at risk.
Cryptoasset investing is highly volatile and unregulated in some EU countries. No consumer protection. Tax on profits may apply.
"Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high-risk investment and you should not expect to be protected if something goes wrong. Take 2 mins to learn more"
eToro USA LLC does not offer CFDs and makes no representation and assumes no liability as to the accuracy or completeness of the content of this publication, which has been prepared by our partner utilizing publicly available non-entity specific information about eToro.
FAQs
What should I start Forex trading with?
It is desirable for novice traders to explore trading using a demo account to learn the market and how to work on the trading platform without the risk of suffering losses. At the same time, it is advisable to review the educational materials of the broker, learn trading basics. Then you can deposit the minimum required amount to perform a small number of transactions. If you manage to close several months in a row in the black, without substantial drawdowns on the account, then you can try increasing your deposit. Also trying to copy trades automatically is a good option for a start.
What amount should I start trading with?
The minimum deposit of $10 may be enough to trade on the cent account. However, for trading on Standard/ECT accounts, experts recommend starting with at least $200-500. With this amount, you can use not a very big leverage. Remember, getting carried away with the margin is the main cause of losses among beginners.
What should I take into consideration when choosing a broker?
Experts recommend looking at the broker’s reliability first and foremost. The other important features include basic trading conditions, commissions and fees, customer reviews. If brokers are approximately the same in terms of basic criteria, you need to choose based on your experience and tasks. One broker may be good for professionals and another – for novice traders.
Is it possible to be scammed by a broker with a license from a reputable regulator?
In theory, yes. But in practice, it takes so much time and money to comply with the requirements of reputable regulators that it is not worth it for scammers to bother obtaining a legitimate license.
Team that worked on the article
Mikhail Vnuchkov joined Traders Union as an author in 2020. He began his professional career as a journalist-observer at a small online financial publication, where he covered global economic events and discussed their impact on the segment of financial investment, including investor income. With five years of experience in finance, Mikhail joined Traders Union team, where he is in charge of forming the pool of latest news for traders, who trade stocks, cryptocurrencies, Forex instruments and fixed income.
The area of responsibility of Mikhail includes covering the news of currency and stock markets, fact checking, updating and editing the content published on the Traders Union website. He successfully analyzes complex financial issues and explains their meaning in simple and understandable language for ordinary people. Mikhail generates content that provides full contact with the readers.
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Olga Shendetskaya has been a part of the Traders Union team as an author, editor and proofreader since 2017. Since 2020, Shendetskaya has been the assistant chief editor of the website of Traders Union, an international association of traders. She has over 10 years of experience of working with economic and financial texts. In the period of 2017-2020, Olga has worked as a journalist and editor of laftNews news agency, economic and financial news sections. At the moment, Olga is a part of the team of top industry experts involved in creation of educational articles in finance and investment, overseeing their writing and publication on the Traders Union website.
Olga has extensive experience in writing and editing articles about the specifics of working in the Forex market, cryptocurrency market, stock exchanges and also in the segment of financial investment in general. This level of expertise allows Olga to create unique and comprehensive articles, describing complex investment mechanisms in a simple and accessible way for traders of any level.
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Mirjan Hipolito is a journalist and news editor at Traders Union. She is an expert crypto writer with five years of experience in the financial markets. Her specialties are daily market news, price predictions, and Initial Coin Offerings (ICO). Mirjan is a cryptocurrency and stock trader. This deep understanding of the finance sector allows her to create informative and engaging content that helps readers easily navigate the complexities of the crypto world.