Our Review
The bottom line is eToro is not a good option for trading crypto in Australia. There is only 30 cryptocurrencies, the crypto spreads are 0.75% to 4.50%, plus all accounts are in USD so you must pay FX fees when depositing or cashing out AUD.
- You should use eToro if trading crypto is not your only priority and you also want U.S. stocks and other features.
- You should not use eToro if you want lots of altcoins, low spreads and fees and a platform made specifically for crypto
2.7/5
🏆 Overall Better options available |
💰 Fees Above Average |
📲 Features Above Average |
🇦🇺Deposit & Withdrawals Below Average |
👍 Ease Of Use Average |
🔒 Security Average |
Where It Shines:
Where It Falls Short:
eToro Overview
Updated: Sep 16, 2021
📲 Features | Header | 🔐 Security | Header |
|---|---|---|---|
Coins Mobile App Web App Beginner Friendly? Pro Trading Terminal Limit Orders Recurring Buys Bundles Staking Margin Futures OTC 24/7 Support | 30 Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes No Yes Yes No No No ? | App 2FA Uses Cold Storage? AUSTRAC Regulated? Any Hacks or Incidents? Insurance Policy View Login History Address Whitelisting Crypto Withdrawals Allowed Year Founded Publicly Traded? | |
💰 Fees | 0.0/5 | 🏦 Deposits & Withdrawals | 0.0/5 |
$100 Buy After All Fees $100 Sell After All Fees Best Deposit Fee Best Withdrawal Fee Trading Fee BTC Spread BTC Withdrawal Fee ETH Withdrawal Fee | ? ? Free + FX fees $5 + FX fees Free 0.75% ? ? | AUD Fiat Wallet? Direct Bank Transfer POLi PAYid Credit/Debit BPay Other Fiat Currencies | No No Yes No Yes No Yes |
- Total fees and spread was tested Dec 17, 2021 and is subject to change
eToro Compared
We are tracking the 15+ most popular Australian crypto exchanges. Compare the entire industry below:
Coins | Total Purchase Fee | Trading Fees | $AUD Deposits | Beginner Friendly | Advanced Features | Website | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
600+ | 0.15% | 0.10% | Yes | No | Yes | ||
18 | 1.24% | 0.85% | Yes | No | Yes | ||
110+ | 4.50% | 2.90%* | No | Yes | No | ||
50+ | 1.09% | 0% - 2.00% | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
30+ | 0.14% + $50 | 0.10% | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
370+ | 1.89% | 0.10% - 1% | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
280+ | 2.36% | 0.05% - 0.9% | Yes | Yes | No | ||
150+ | 1.30% | 0.00% | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
270+ | 1.04% | 0.50% | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
150+ | 1.45% | 1.00% | Yes | Yes | No | ||
30 | - | 0% | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
27+ | 1.68% | 0.50% | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
50+ | 0.43% | 0.16% / 0.26% | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
700+ | 2.23% | 0.10% | Yes | No | Yes | ||
270+ | 0.41% | 0.08% - 0.1% | No | No | Yes | ||
320+ | 0.95% | 0.60% | Yes | Yes | Yes |
About eToro
eToro is a global trading platform that's available in 140+ countries. They were founded back in 2007 and started offering crypto in 2017. They have offices in the UK, USA, Europe and Australia and according to LinkedIn, they have 2000+ employees.
The platform itself has 2000+ assets ranging from crypto, stocks, ETFs, FX and more. Beginners and advanced users will find useful features like ProCharts, quick buy and sells, social trading and news feeds, crypto staking and much more.
Screenshots
Updated: Sep 16, 2021
Verification
Updated: Sep 16, 2021
Application Time | Roughly 10 minutes |
KYC Verification | Yes |
Instant Verification | No |
Manual Verification | "A few days" |
Who Is Eligible? |
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Sign Up Requirements |
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Opening an eToro account is similar to opening a bank and requires some personal information. By law they must verify your identity like any investment platform and they claim all info is kept secure and confidential.
Overall, the process is simple and you can start with just an email if you want to test the platform first.
Security
Updated: Sep 16, 2021
Let's break down eToro's security and overall reputation. Here is what we found:
Company Security Features
- Australian registered business holding an Australian Financial Services License (AFSL)
- Regulated by Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC)
- Regulated in several other countries around the world
- Some crypto assets are held in offline cold storage (they don't say how much)
- eToro employees are not authorized to transfer crypto out of the cold storage
- State-of-the-art monitoring tools trying to detect suspicious account activity
- They say, "we will never share your private data without your permission"
- Good track record since being founded in 2007
- See their security page here
User Security Features
- 2 Factor Authentication (via SMS or app)
- Phone verification
- Set a public account or private account
Past Incidents
In 2020, there were reports that 62,000 eToro accounts were compromised and being auctioned on a cybercrime forum. Someone allegedly had access to these users logins and info. We were unable to find any statemts from eToro on this issue.
Can You Trust eToro?
Overall, eToro is considered a safe platform. They've been operating since 2007, they have financial licenses in many countries and the platform is used by 20+ million users in 140 countries.
Although they are safe, keep in mind there is no insurance protection on your crypto. You also cannot withdraw crypto off the platform in Australia, so you don't really own it. So hypothetically, if eToro loses your crypto it's gone for good.
eToro Fees & Spread
Updated: Feb 16, 2022
Fee Type | Amount |
|---|---|
Trading Fee | 0% |
BTC Spread | 0.75% |
AUD Deposits | FX Fees (50-100 pips) |
AUD Withdrawals | $5 + FX fees (50-100 pips) |
Inactivity Fee | $10/month after 12 months of inactivity |
Crypto Spreads
eToro has zero commissions but relatively high spreads which range from 0.75% up to 4.50%.
Deposit & Withdrawals
Updated: Feb 23, 2022
On eToro, all accounts are based in USD so you must pay a conversion fee whenever you deposit or withdraw AUD. The AUD conversion fees are 50-100 pips which is also confusing for many.
For platforms with better AUD deposit and withdrawals, check out Swyftx, Digital Surge and Binance AU.
AUD Deposit Methods
Type | Fee | Time | Limits |
|---|---|---|---|
POLi | FX fee (50 pips) | Instant | Max $25,000 |
Credit Card | FX fee (100 pips) | Instant | $100 - $40,000 |
PayPal | FX fee (100 pips) | Instant | Max $10,000 |
AUD Withdrawal Methods
Type | Fee | Time | Limits |
|---|---|---|---|
POLi | $5 + FX fee (50 pips) | Up to 10 days | Min $30 |
PayPal | $5 + FX fee (50 pips) | Up to 2 days | Min $30 |
Crypto Withdrawal Fees
Coin | Fee | Minimum Withdrawal |
|---|---|---|
Bitcoin | ? | ? |
Ethereum | ? | ? |
Platform & Features
Updated: Sep 16, 2021
List of Features:
- iOS, Android and Web app
- Pro charts
- 2000+ assets (crypto, stocks, ETFs, FX, etc)
- eToroX (separate pro crypto trading platform)
- Staking
- CopyTrader
- CopyPortfolios
- Recurring deposits
- eToro Club
- Practice accounts
1. iOS, Android and Web App
eToro has a very simple user interface that can be accessed on all of your devices. The Google Play app on its own has over 10 million installs.
2. User Interface
The user interface is simple for beginners to navigate but also has advanced features for sophisticated investors. Advanced traders can switch to "ProCharts" with the click of a button which lets you view multiple charts at once and mor.
3. Buy and Sell
eToro offers instant buy and sells via market orders which is easy and quick for beginners. You can also quickly find advanced order types such as limit orders, stop losses and more.
In your settings you'll also find a One Click Trading feature you can set up. It allows you to "open your trades faster by pre-defining the terms you'd like to use, such as the trade size."
4. Assets
eToro gives you the convenience of crypto, stocks, ETFs and FX all in one platform. Their website says they currently have 2000+ financial assets which includes U.S. stocks and 30 cryptocurrencies for Australians to trade. Keep in mind, Australian's cannot withdraw cryptocurrencies right now, you can only buy and sell it.
5. eToroX (Pro Exchange)
eToroX is a professional crypto trading platform that's a separate website from eToro. The main differences with eToroX is it's only for cryptocurrencies and it's only for advanced users. You can also deposit and withdraw your crypto unlike on eToro.
To use eToroX, you must first open and verify an account on eToro. After you're verified you can use the same username and password to login to eToroX. The downside is you can only deposit USD or crypto at this time.
6. Staking
eToro offers Staking which lets you earn interest just for owning supported cryptocurrencies. eToro handles the complexities and shares the profits with you so the process is simple. Your earnings depend on your account level but eToro lets you keep at least 75% of the yield.
Right now, Aussies can currently stake Cardano (ADA) and Tron (TRX). Binance, Kraken and Swyftx also offer Staking features with varying crypto's and yields.
7. CopyTrader
eToro's CopyTrader is a unique feature that lets you automatically copy or view what the top traders are doing. The website says, "View millions of other traders’ portfolios, stats, risk scores, and more." You can browse and filter tons of traders on the platform that match the style you're looking for.
To use this feature you ned to select a trader that you want to copy, deposit at least $200 and click "Copy." Then you will duplicate all of their positions in real-time in proportion to your investment. You can also set stop losses or pause the copying at any time.
8. CopyPortfolio
eToro offers Portfolios which let you invest in multiple assets at once that are based on an industry, theme or idea. For example, there are portfolios for crypto, fashion, gaming, cyber security and so on.
The CopyPortfolios are an easy way to buy a diversified basket into something. The allocations, weighting and rebalancing is handled by eToro at this time and is not customizable.
9. eToro Club
The eToro Club is a loyalty program that gives you extra perks or access to features. Some of the benefits include higher staking rewards, less fees, access to events and more.
Currently, there are 5 tiers ranging from Silver to Diamond. Users will be automatically entered into Silver when they reach a realized equity of $5,000.
10. Other eToro Features
- Social news feed
- Create custom watchlists that you move, rearrange and more
- Create custom price alerts
- Open a virtual portfolio (to practice trading or just to see if you like eToro)
- Market research and news (no account required)
- eToro Academy (free courses for beginner and experienced investors)
- Affiliate program (refer friends to earn rewards)
Customer Support
Updated: Sep 16, 2021
eToro's customer support is available 24 hours a day Monday to Friday and they can be contacted via live chat, opening a ticket, or through the phone. They also offer a help center with over 1000 FAQs, articles and walkthroughs that might solve your problem. Lastly, there is a live website status where you can view any maintenance or incidents happening.
FAQ
eToro has many mixed reviews online however, from a legal standpoint, they are fully compliant in the USA, Europe, Australia and other financial jurisdictions.
