eToro vs IG: Fees, Platforms and Offerings Compared

About eToro

eToro was established in 2017, but it originally started out as a platform primarily for forex traders. However, the eToro team quickly recognized the potential and expanded the platform’s products and services. 

With the launch of its social trading experience and other tools, eToro has become a more rounded platform offering access to stocks, crypto, options, and ETF trading, while providing a social media-type feel, where you can benefit from the experience of other traders. Users can also access automated portfolios, cash management, and other helpful features. eToro also offers access to a demo account, where you can practice crypto trading or CFD trading, for example, without having to risk any of your capital.

eToro USA LLC does not offer CFDs, only real Crypto assets available.

Today, eToro operates in 140 countries and has over 20 million users and is considered one of the best investment brokers in the world.

Your capital is at risk. Other fees apply. For more information, visit etoro.com/trading/fees.

About IG Markets

IG, or IG Markets, has been around since 1974, and it was established as the first spread betting firm in the world. It is part of the IG Group Holdings Plc, which is a conglomerate that has the aim of empowering decisive, informed, and adventurous people to access financial market opportunities. 

IG has more than 178,000 clients on five continents, making it a global leader in online trading. Although it is possible to trade stocks using IG, this platform focuses on forex trading, even offering access to the heavily regulated U.S. market. 

eToro vs IG Markets: Services

eToro is a trading platform offering commission-free investments in stocks and ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds), and providing access to cryptocurrency trading.
While IG does provide access to stocks, commodities, and crypto, its primary focus is on currencies, offering access to numerous Forex pairs.

Both brokers offer access to mobile trading apps so that you can track your investment portfolio wherever you are.

eToro vs IG: Fees

Fees are a real sticking point for many traders, as it can be confusing to know what you’ll need to pay for each trade. However, eToro offers trading on stocks and ETFs without any commission fees. While you don't pay any commissions, you will have to consider a spread when buying and selling these assets. In fact, neither IG Markets nor eToro charge commission fees.

The only slightly confusing issue comes when you want to buy or trade crypto. Instead of having a per-transaction charge, eToro front-loads its crypto fees. Effectively, there is a 1% bid-ask spread fee, but you must pay the entire fee in advance. This means that you’ll pay a 1% purchase fee and a 1% sale fee, so you’ll cover the “round trip” of your crypto in one go. 

IG’s fee structure is a little more complicated. It is free to open an account, and you’ll only pay a fee each month if you’ve not used your account for two or more years. When you do trade, you’ll pay a spread or commission on each trade.

The spread depends on the type of asset you’re purchasing. Key Forex pairs have an 0.6-point spread, while other asset classes have a spread of 0.1 to 0.8 points. 

The only other fee you may incur is an overnight funding fee. This is a charge for holding cash CFD positions after the daily cut-off time. IG will make an adjustment to your account to reflect this, plus a small admin fee. eToro has a similar fee when trading CFDs. Just remember that retail CFD accounts lose money often when using such complex financial instruments.

Other fees on eToro include an inactivity fee ($10 per month) and a withdrawal fee ($5 per withdrawal).

eToro vs IG: Platform

The eToro trading platform has been designed to have a streamlined onboarding process. There is a self-guided questionnaire to help to set up your account, so you can get trading quite quickly. 

Once you’re signed up, the user interface is quite intuitive. There is a trading tab to view prices, buy and sell with real-time pricing. On the eToro platform, you will also find the Popular Investor Program and CopyTrade features easy to find on your home screen. This adds a “social media” feel to the platform as you can watch what more experienced traders are buying and selling. Copy trading is, in fact, one of the features that make eToro such a popular platform. If you don't know what it is, copy trading lets you copy professional traders and mimic their stock markets trades.

You’ll also find embedded ESG ratings, which score assets according to socially conscious factors. You can filter your search results according to ESG score if you are concerned about creating a socially conscious portfolio. 

You can create custom watchlists, which can be synced between the web and mobile platforms, so you don’t need to be tied to your desk. You can set notification alerts, so you can track your interests on the go. 

IG offers a customizable and easy-to-navigate web-based trading platform. This is easy to access from any type of browser and it is stable. While it may lack some of the bells and whistles of other trading platforms, this is a quality interface that allows you to access your own software via the API interface. 

If you’re using the web-based platform, you can access Reuters news, charting, and basic risk management tools, such as stop losses and price alerts. 

Besides the web-based platforms, both brokers have mobile apps which you can use to trade on the go.

eToro vs IG: Offerings

eToro provides access to more than 2,075 stocks (including ones from the London Stock Exchange), 22 ETFs, and 24 cryptocurrencies. You can also access fractional shares above $10. 

IG offers a far more comprehensive list of offerings with more than 17,000 assets, including shares, commodities, indices, cryptocurrencies, ETFs, bonds, options, forex, and industry sectors. 

Both eToro and IG Markets allow you to trade CFDs. Keep in mind that CFDs are complex instruments, and many retail investor accounts end up losing money rapidly when trading these. Moreover, IG Markets doesn't offer negative balance protection to its US customers.

To start trading, you will need to first make a deposit. The minimum deposit for eToro is $50, while for IG, it's $300 for card payments. However, the latter has no minimum deposit for bank transfers.

Security

eToro has biometric entry and two-factor authentication to access your account. If you buy and trade crypto, you can store your coins securely in the eToro wallet.

However, you should know that coin transfers are only possible one way. This means that if you move any coins to a third-party wallet, you will not be able to move them back to eToro. 

Regarding overall platform security, eToro has SIPC coverage offering up to $500,000 in protection, including up to $250,000 in cash to recoup your assets should the platform fail.

Like eToro, IG Markets offers two-factor authentication, which you can activate via the app. IG is a publicly traded, regulated platform with authority from several tier-one regulators, including ASIC (Australian Securities and Investments Commission), FCA, and FINMA.

Other Features 

Both eToro and IG offer educational tools, but the IG Academy is particularly impressive. It is designed to get beginners quickly up to speed while also offering advanced trading strategy articles and online webinars that will appeal to the more seasoned trader. 

eToro vs IG Conclusion: Which is Better

eToro is a solid platform that is likely to appeal to most traders regardless of their experience level. IG is marketed at a more specific clientele. This platform operates on a “go big or go home” approach that may be a little daunting for many traders. 

All in all, both platforms are excellent for beginner and experienced investors. They both offer great research tools and excellent research tools.

If you don't think any of these 2 is a great choice for you, try our broker comparison page to find a better platform.

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