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Copy trading. A simple guide on how to copy trades to earn money
Updated: February 24, 2025
Many people have the desire to earn money in the financial markets, but not all of them havethe time,knowledge and desire to trade on their own. Forex brokers offer affordably and simple-to-usesolutions forall categories of customers. Copy trading is one of the most appealing passive income options.
Copying positions using a special social platform, you can achieve expert-levelprofitability. These kinds of platforms are quite popular, with millions of people joining them.Read on andlearn about the steps you need to take to copy traders: which brokers offer this service, how tochoose asuitable trader and the copy trading platform and the risks this type of investmentinvolves.
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What does copy trading mean?
First social trading platform was launched in 2010, introducing copy trading on the Forex market. Inspired by the rapid growth of social media, the developers decided to adjust their philosophy to the sphere of finance.
The idea was equally innovative and simple – to unite the beginners and expert traders on asingle tradingplatform. Professional traders are doing what they love the most – trade, while novice tradershave theoption to subscribe to them and copy their trades automatically or semi-automatically, using aspecial setof functions.
Today’s copy trading platforms feature a wide set of functions,includingsearching for a suitable manager and setting up risk management settings. Here are the keyfeatures:
Analytics of the traders’ trading results;
An option to distribute equity among dozens of traders with different strategiesand tradinginstruments under their management;
An option to stop copying at any given moment;
An option to set up the maximum risk level for each investment.
Every copy trading platform usually also has other unique features.
Pros and cons of Forex copying traders
The benefits of copy trading for an investor are rather evident – it provides a possibility to earn as muchas professionals earn, without putting too much effort into it. The traders, whose positions arecopied,also benefit, as they gain recognition of their colleagues, a possibility to attract additionalcapital,and, on some platforms, a part of the profit earned by those traders who copied his/hertrades.
Also noteworthy, copy trading platforms do have certain drawbacks, the biggest one being that theexcellentresults of a trader now do not guarantee that the same will be achieved in the future.
So, let’s sum up the information we have divulged so far.
👍 Pros
Low entry threshold
A possibility to enter the market without a big trading experience
It is potentially possible to earn as much as the top traders
Possibility of flexible setting in terms of risk management and search oftraders
👎 Cons
Successful trading in the past does not guarantee high profit in the future
Even the most experienced traders may suffer losses
Top 9 brokers to copy trades on Forex
The first step towards copy trading on Forex is finding a suitable broker that offers thiskind ofservice. We have listed the Top 10 Brokers that meet the following criteria:
They are regulated at one of the world’s largest financial centers;
They provide exhaustive information regarding all the important conditions andrisks of copytrading;
They offer beneficial trading conditions: low commissions and fees, wideselection of tradinginstruments, good quality of order execution;
They own their own advanced set of features for copying, or one of the severaltop social trading platforms, developed by a third party.
Broker | Minimum Investment Amount | Assets for copy trading | Social Trading Platform | Regulator | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | $100 | Over 250 assets: Forex, Stocks, Cryptocurrencies, Commodities, CFDs, Bonds, ETF. | AvaSocial, DupliTrade, ZuluTrade, MetaTrader MQL5 | Central Bank of Ireland, ASIC, FSCA, Japanese FSA, ADGM, FRSA | |
 | $100 | Markets: Forex, CFDs, Stocks, Commodities | FXTM Invest | CySEC, FCA, FSCA, FSC | |
 | $100 | Over 12000 trading instruments: Forex, Stocks, ETF, Crypto, Commodities, CFDs | RoboForex CopyFx | IFSC | |
 | $50 | Forex, Commodities, CFDs, Stocks | Naga Autocopy | CySEC | |
 | $200 | Markets: Forex, CFDs, commodities, Crypto, Stocks, Bonds | MyFxBook, ZuluTrade | AFSL, ASIC, CySEC | |
 | $10 | Over 300 trading instruments: Forex, Stocks, Crypto | ForexCopy | FSC | |
 | $100 | Markets: Forex, Bonds, CFDs | MyFxBook | FCA, CySEC, FSCA, Seychelles FSA | |
 | $1 | Forex, CFDs, Crypto | Share4you | BVI FSC | |
 | $100 | Forex, Crypto, Commodities, CFDs | NordFX Copy Trading | VFSC, CySEC, SEBI |
Best platforms for copy trading on Forex in 2024
All copy trading platforms can be conditionally divided into two biggroups:
- 1
Mono-platforms. A number of brokers use their own developments andoffer to copytraders only totheir own customers. FXTM, RoboForex, Forex4You have their ownproprietary platforms.
- 2
Copy trading platform providers. In the list above you can see that the majorityof brokers use standard platforms from third-party providers. The most popular among them are MQL,ZuluTrade, Myfxbook and DupliTrade.
Every platform has their own pros and cons. Our experts chose the best ones andcompiled a rating.In the table, we specified which brokers use the platform, what the minimumdeposit is and the typeof the platform — a mono-platform or a provider.
Social Trading Platform | Platform type | Compatibility with trading platforms | Minimum deposit | Brokers that use it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Provider | MT4, MT5 | $0 | AvaTrade, XM, IC Markets, Pepperstone, WForex, HotForex | |
Provider | ZuluTrade, MT4, MT5 | $300 | AvaTrade, IC Markets, FxOpen, Weltrade, Think Markets | |
FXTM Invest | Mono | MT4, MT5 | $100 | FXTM |
CopyFX | Mono | MT4 | $100 | RoboForex |
What is specific of copying traders on Forex?
Copy trading on Forex is quite similar to other markets. It is just as important here to reallyfocus oncarefully searching for the right broker and traders to copy. Some brokers offer an option of choosing traders who specialized in this market and show great results.
As for the peculiarities, one must keep in mind that the currency market is,usually, calmerin terms of volatility. In order to increase returns, many traders try to use a big leverage.This practiceleads to increased risks. That is why it is always important to check the maximum slippages thata traderyou plan to copy has had.
High liquidity makes this market attractive for high-frequency strategies. In this case, controlover theexpenses for paying broker’s commissions will play an important role.
Can you make money from copying traders?
Of course you can. If copy trading did not bring profit to a large number ofinvestors, itwouldn’t have been so popular. However, just as with any investment, there are always risks.You can makea good profit, but you can also lose some of your equity. For this reason, copy trading onForex shouldnot be viewed as the only area of investment. Do not invest more than you can afford tolose.
The main risks of copying trades
The markets are essentially volatile and the strategies that bring excellent results to traderstoday mayturn out to be totally ineffective tomorrow. Profit in the past does not guarantee returns inthe future.
The advice we gave earlier will help you minimize the risks. Let’srepeat the three main recommendations:
- 1
Diversification of the portfolio among traders
- 2
Monitoring trading history of the trader for the period of one year or longer andexcluding thetraders that allowed major slippages of the portfolio
- 3
Limiting the level of maximum losses for automatic stopping of copying
In addition, it is recommended to invest a smaller share of your capital in higher-riskstrategies and thebigger part – into less risky strategies.
What the main costs of copying traders
The costs largely depend on the chosen broker and copy trading platform.
As for the peculiarities, one must keep in mind that the currency market is,usually,calmer in terms of volatility. In order to increase returns, many traders try to use a bigleverage. Thispractice leads to increased risks. That is why it is always important to check the maximumslippages thata trader you plan to copy has had.
High liquidity makes this market attractive for high-frequency strategies. In this case,control over theexpenses for paying broker’s commissions will play an important role.
Summary
Copy trading is certainly a quite promising area for making money on Forex and other financialmarkets.Thanks to this service, even novice traders with small investment amounts can earn a profit atthe level ofa professional trader. However, one should always keep in mind that profit and risks are alwaysclose toeach other, which is why one should not overestimate the possibilities of copy trading. Do notforget aboutthe rules of diversification and do not try to chase excess profit, and then you will have abetter chanceat earning some real profit.
Expert commentary
Antony Robertson, Traders Union Financial Analyst
At first glance, copy trading seems like a very simple task. Indeed, the platforms are trying toimproveusability as much as they can, build the search logic and filters in a way that any customer canunderstand.
However, this type of investment should be treated just as seriously as any other. Analysis oftraderstatistics, building an investment portfolio, setting risk management criteria – these are theactions youhave to understand, otherwise you risk getting ‘burned’.
If you treat this seriously, your chances to achieve success will improve substantially, butstill won’t beguaranteed, simply because that is how the market works – the strategy that works well today mayturn out tobe unsuccessful tomorrow.
Copying traders reviews
Copying traders on FXTM turned out to be a lost time for me. I got hooked on the promise of bigreturns. Atfirst, things were going well, but as soon as there was volatility on the market, my tradersstarted toslip; I chose different ones, but the picture was mixed there – a month of profit, then a monthof loss. Inthe end I broke even and decided it was good enough. Maybe I wasn’t patient enough.
Riana Young, 28
Sales Manager
Glasgow
Huge profit is the thing that one should not expect from copy trading. Of course, you may getlucky, if youchoose a good trader at the right moment. However, often, those who have big profit later loseit just thesame. I believe that the ideal strategy is to build a pool for copying several traders withconservativestrategy. The chances to get 15-20% annual profit are much higher than 150%.
Sean Fulton, 33
Business owner
Indianapolis
My experience with ZuluTrade turned out to be fully successful. The platform is very convenient,with manyfilters that can help you choose the strategy to any taste. There are a humongous number oftraders. I use aportfolio. I invest the investment part into conservative traders that trade fundamentalanalysis and thespeculative part – into highly profitable traders. In reality, the result is more or less thesame. Still, Idream of getting at least some excess profit together with somebody!
Robertо Faber, 27
Dentist
Madrid
FAQ
What kind of profit can I expect by copyingtraders?
Profitability depends on many factors. There is nouniversalanswer. Firstly, it is important to choose a good broker with beneficial tradingconditions. Secondly,you need to find an effective trader, who shows stable financial results. And,naturally, marketsituation and other circumstances also play a certain role in this.
Can I lose money by copying traders?
Yes, this is a probability. Trading on the financialmarket alwaysinvolves a certain degree of risk. This is why it is important to observe the rules ofrisk managementand not to invest more than the amount you are prepared to risk into financialinstruments.
Which broker should I choose for copy trading?
This largely depends on your individual preferences.According to Traders Union expert assessment, AvaTrade currently has the best offer. The broker offers acombination ofa convenient copy trading platform, good trading conditions and reliability.
Who is the best copy trading broker today?
As of today, AvaTrade is on the top of the list. Thebroker boasts themost advanced platform, beneficial conditions for copy trading and the largest choice ofsignalsuppliers.
Glossary for novice traders
-
1
Social trading
Social trading is a form of online trading that allows individual traders to observe and replicate the trading strategies of more experienced and successful traders. It combines elements of social networking and financial trading, enabling traders to connect, share, and follow each other's trades on trading platforms.
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2
CFD
CFD is a contract between an investor/trader and seller that demonstrates that the trader will need to pay the price difference between the current value of the asset and its value at the time of contract to the seller.
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3
Brokerage fee
A brokerage fee, also known as a commission, is a fee charged by a brokerage or financial institution for facilitating and executing financial transactions on behalf of clients. Brokerage fees are typically associated with services related to buying or selling assets such as stocks, bonds, commodities, or mutual funds.
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4
VFSC
VFSC is the financial regulatory authority of Vanuatu. It was created by the Vanuatu Financial Services Commission of 1993 when it assumed a part of the responsibilities of the Ministry of Finance and Economic Management. VFSC is a offshore regulator.
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5
Diversification
Diversification is an investment strategy that involves spreading investments across different asset classes, industries, and geographic regions to reduce overall risk.
Team that worked on the article
Andrey Mastykin
Author, Financial Expert at Traders Union
Andrey Mastykin is an experienced author, editor, and content strategist who has been with Traders Union since 2020. As an editor, he is meticulous about fact-checking and ensuring the accuracy of all information published on the Traders Union platform. Andrey focuses on educating readers about the potential rewards and risks involved in trading financial markets.
He firmly believes that passive investing is a more suitable strategy for most individuals. Andrey's conservative approach and focus on risk management resonate with many readers, making him a trusted source of financial information.
Also, Andrey is a member of the National Union of Journalists of Ukraine (membership card No. 4574, international certificate UKR4492).
Bruce Powers
Contributor
Bruce Powers is an expert trader and technical analyst with over 20 years of experience in Forex, commodities, ETFs, cryptocurrencies and other assets. He is an active trader, technical and fundamental analyst, media commentator, educator and a writer. As an author for Traders Union, he contributes his deep analytical skills, expertise and understanding of the global economy and financial markets to provide market analysis and insights. Powers is also a frequent guest on business TV news shows.
Mirjan Hipolito
Cryptocurrency and stock expert
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).