Have you been looking to trade Forex but the whole thing simply seems way too scary and complicated for you? This is probably because Forex is indeed quite intimidating and the Forex trading platform we are taking a look at today tries to offer novice traders a solution to these woes.
eToro is the number one social investment network, putting the forex and stock trading together with the social media concepts to create a network where the less experienced traders can join in, see what their more experienced peers are doing and follow in their footsteps.
Keep reading our eToro Forex broker review and find out what makes eToro stand out from all the other Forex brokers out there!
The eToro Trading Platforms
The basic eToro trading platform is called eToroOpenBook and is a platform where you can join well over 4.000.000 other traders in a huge social market. Features within the OpenBook allow you to see which way your peers are trading on average as well as what other individual traders are doing and copy their trades, thus allowing even the less experienced Forex traders to take part in the market.
eToro aims to make Forex trading both profitable and entertaining at the same time, turning an otherwise very competitive, stressful and often nerve shattering activity into something a bit more playful and enjoyable.
The eToroWebTrader platform allows you to analyze your trades in real time and synchronize with the OpenBook from your desktop computer. If you are more of an on the go kind of trader, than you will want to take a look at the eToro mobile app called eToroMobileTrader, which is designed to let you use the same functionalities of the WebTrader only using your mobile devices such as Androids or iPhones.
Account Types
When you first join eToro, you will be granted access to a demo account. This demo account lets you trade in currencies and stock options with a virtual balance of $100,000 without having to invest any of your own real money.
Once you are ready to make your deposit and start trading real currencies, you will have the option to open either a Standard or an Islamic trading account. While the same deposit and withdrawal methods can be used for both, the Islamic account allows Muslim traders to trade according to the Shariah, meaning no interests are charged on overnight propositions.
Deposits and Withdrawals
Traders at eToro can use a wide range of banking options to deposit and withdraw funds from their eToro accounts, including Paypal, Skrill, Neteller, Credit Cards, MoneyGram and Wire Transfers. Standard trading accounts can be funded for as little as $50, while the Islamic accounts have to be funded for a minimum of $1,000.
Withdrawing funds from eToro once you have made some solid profits is not any harder, as the same banking options are available. Minimum withdrawal allowed from Standard accounts is $20 while the standard processing time for withdrawals is up to 5 days and the fee ranges between $5 and $25 depending on the size and method of the withdrawal.
The Pros and Cons of eToro
Overall speaking, eToro is a very solid trading platform, especially for the novice traders. The platform gives new traders access to a comprehensive training academy and a chance to follow the trades of their much more experienced peers, which surely gives the inexperienced traders a much bigger chance at being profitable right off the bat.
Every new trader is also awarded a first deposit bonus, with eToro bonus amounting to up to 1.000 eToro credits which can be used to trade Forex. In addition to this bonus, the platform often throws other promotions and bonuses at players, adding tons of incentive and extra value for the players.
The ability to trade by following others and get some extra cash from the platform is surely a great thing, and even the more experienced traders will appreciate the social aspect and the chance to have a look at what other traders are doing at the moment.
The slight disadvantage of eToro is certainly the fact traders are forced to pay a slightly wider spread than they would on other platforms, which is due to the fact that no commission is payable. Typical eToro spread starts at 2 pips for USD/JPY and 3 pips for EUR/USD and other trades.
Although SEBI approved, eToro kind of lacks some more advanced currency pairs which you may find on other platforms as well as some of the more sophisticated trading tools but this by no means makes it any less valuable, especially if you are also looking to have a little fun while trading.
Conclusion: The Best Social Trading Platform!
eToro is without a doubt the best social trading platform on the internet, and while there may be a few better Forex brokers in the industry overall, eToro does not come far behind anyone. We hope that this eToro review helped you better understand the unique way the platform works and bring the concept of social trading closer to your understanding.
If you are ready to try it, you can register with eToro right now and start trading demo money without even making a deposit right now!