Among the biggest 0% commission trading platforms are Trading 212 and eToro. These zero commission brokers have helped shake up the investment world over the past few years, making it even easier for non-professionals to buy, sell and manage investments online. We take a look at how Trading 212 and eToro compare.
What is Trading 212?
Formed in Bulgaria in 2004, Trading 212 in 2017 became the first UK share trading platform to allow investors to buy and sell shares for free. It is an app-only service with a minimum investment of £1 and low charges.
What is eToro?
eToro was founded in Israel in 2007 and launched into the 0% commission market in 2019. It has an app and an online trading platform, but its differentiator is that it’s a social trading platform where users can copy the trades of more experienced investors.
What do they offer?
Trading 212 offers a choice of a general investing account or an ISA, including a cash ISA. You can buy individual shares and exchange traded funds (ETFs), while additional trading options include CFDs (Contracts for Difference), currencies, commodities and cryptocurrencies. The minimum investment is £1 (£10 for CFDs).
eToro’s range is similar, with trading, money and DIY ISA accounts (the latter recently made available through its partnership with Moneyfarm). As with Trading 212, investors have access to stocks and shares, ETFs, commodities, CFDs, currencies and cryptocurrencies. Its main differentiator is the availability of copy trading and copy portfolios. The minimum initial investment for UK investors is US$50 for stocks and shares, with minimum deposits of US$10 after the first deposit has been made.
What don’t they offer?
While both have a comprehensive stocks and shares offering, the investment range is more limited than that available at the more established platforms. The fund options are limited to ETFs and there’s no Self-Invested Personal Pension (Sipp). eToro doesn’t offer a cash ISA and neither platform offers Lifetime ISAs or Junior stocks and shares ISAs.
Trading 212 v eToro – fees
As zero commission brokers, neither service charges commission on stocks and shares or ETFs and there are no account opening or management fees.
With Trading 212 you don’t face the range of potential fees you’ll typically see at more mainstream services, with no account fees, inactivity fees, deposit fees, foreign exchange fees or charges for withdrawal. For ISA and investment accounts there’s a 0.15% foreign exchange fee and a 0.7% fee is levied on non-bank transfer account payments when total deposits go above £2,000.
eToro charges fees with withdrawals and on accounts left inactive for a year or more. There are also currency conversion fees (which vary) and cryptocurrency fee of 1% for buy/sell and 2% for transfers.
Trading 212 v eToro – research, tools and features
Trading 212 has a range of articles and investment guides, while traders have access to data (including financial statements and financial ratios) and charting tools as well as an economic calendar.
eToro also provides articles, guides and an economic calendar. It recently launched new tools including portfolio composition breakdowns, risk analysis, expected dividend income tracking and portfolio benchmarking. For new investors there’s also the eToro academy, which offers a range of podcasts, webinars, courses and tutorials.
Trading 212 v eToro – user experience
Customer reviews on consumer website Trustpilot give a good idea of overall customer satisfaction.
Trading 212 has a 4.6 rating based on more than 51,000 reviews, while eToro’s 4.1 rating comes from just under 27,000 reviews.
Bear in mind that Trading 212 asks its customers for reviews, but Trustpilot states it has no recent records of eToro asking their customers to review them. Overall, businesses that regularly invite their customers to write reviews tend to have a higher TrustScore than businesses that don’t, which may account for some of the higher rating for Trading 212.
The Trading 212 app has a 4.6 score on the App Store (based on 282,000 ratings) while eToro’s app has a 3.9 score from 11,000 ratings.
Trading 212 v eToro – quickfire pros & cons
Trading 212 pros
- Lower fees.
- Offers cash ISA.
- No withdrawal or inactivity fees, or platform fee for ISA.
Trading 212 cons
- More limited education and support resources.
- No phone support – contact only through email and online chat.
- CFD fees can add up quickly.
eToro pros
- In-depth education and support resources.
- Access to social trading and portfolios.
- Advanced trading tools.
eToro cons
- No cash ISA.
- Platform fee for ISA (through Moneyfarm).
- Higher minimum investments.
- Fees for withdrawals and inactivity.
Our conclusion
Your best option when searching for the right platform for you is to use our free and easy-to-use comparison tools to find out what you’d potentially be charged for the type of investing you want to do.
To get free fractional shares worth up to 100 EUR/GBP, you can open an account with Trading 212. Terms apply.
