Introduction
The Fintech era—a coinage of the words "finance" and "technology"—has given birth to the so-called "thumb traders” wherein investors can trade stocks and cryptocurrencies by a mere click of a thumb on their mobile phones. This possible via the trading app of eToro.
eToro has a social trading and investment marketplace app where users can trade stocks, cryptocurrencies and CFD assets. We've done a thorough evaluation of these platforms via our latest brokerage review.
| 🖥️ App | Web, iOS, Android |
78% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
How Many App Users in the World?
The eToro app has been seeing a rapid increase in its users as the interest in social trading grows by the day.
Total users of eToro breached the 20 million figures in March 2021, achieving a significant increase compared to its 2020 client population.[1]
eToro is expecting its users to further grow as more people ride the trend of investing on stocks and explore cryptocurrency trading.
Yoni Assia, the CEO and Co-Founder of eToro commented last year about eToro's user growth:[2]
We started eToro with the mission of opening up global financial markets, so everyone could invest in a simple and transparent way.
How to Use the App?
The eToro app is visually self-explanatory and seamless to explore. After signing up an account on the eToro App (which will only take a few short moments), and having your identity verified, you can now start trading after depositing a fund to your account.
Getting to Know the Interface
After you have created and signed up for an account and made your deposit and you think you’re ready to start trading, make sure to familiarize yourself first with the main menu of the eToro app.
At the main page of the eToro app, you will see the following:
- Watchlist: Just like the name suggests, it is here where you can organize a list of traders you want to copy, and company shares to follow. For example, you can create a list called "Stock Traders to Copy" or "Must-watch stocks".
- Portfolio: This is where you will see the performance of your investment. Most traders spend more time in this part of the app to follow live tickers of company shares and the status of their investments.
- News Feed: Think of your Twitter feed but without the meme and the personal drama and ranting. eToro’s feed consist of pure trading-related updates from your fellow traders.
- Trade Markets: This is where you can follow the various share values of companies trading in the stock market.
- Copy People: This is the gateway to the best feature of eToro, the "Copy Trade". You can search other successful traders here and imitate their trading strategies.
- Invest in CopyPortfolios: This is portfolio management investment product which will allow you to copy a basket of instruments or group of professional traders automatically according to a predetermined strategy or theme.
eToro on Different Platforms
The following platforms below are available for any user who has eToro account.
Web-based
As the name suggests, it is a platform that is accessible on the web or more specifically, via a web-browser such as Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Edge and Opera.
This is similar to the WebTrader platforms of other brokerages in the sense that it is a purely web-based interface that won’t require any installation on a PC or laptop.
Alternatively, this can also be accessed on a mobile browser like Safari and Opera Mini.
eToro notified their clients via the platform that as of Monday, March 29 2021, they will no longer be supporting the following browser versions:
- Internet Explorer (all versions)
- Google Chrome (Ver. 56 and earlier)
- Firefox (Ver. 51 and earlier)
- Samsung Internet (Ver. 5 and earlier)
- Opera (Ver. 43 and earlier)
Android Mobile App
The eToro app was designed to function smoothly on a smartphone and is easily available for Android users on Google Play Store. It is compatible with Android phones with version 5.1 (Lollipop) or higher.
To look for the eToro app on Play Store, just simply type "eToro" on the search bar and install.
After installing it, you’ll open to a message that says “eToro. Trade the world’s top financial markets with confidence”.
iOS Mobile App (for iPhone and iPad)
eToro is also available on the iOS platform. Like the Android version, the iOS eToro app can be downloaded for free at the Apple Store.
There is no difference in the interface between the eToro app for iOS and the eToro app for Android. Both provides an interface that allows users to explore stock options, buy and trade stocks at a few movement of the finger.
Is There a Desktop App?
Currently, there is no eToro desktop and laptop app for Windows or Mac.[3] The only option for PC or laptop users is to access the web-based platform from a web browser.
Downloading the App
There is no actual installation or executable file that can be downloaded from eToro. The mobile apps can only be installed directly from Google Play (for Android) and App Store (for iOS).
App Reviews
On various financial websites, eToro averages a rating of more than 4-stars or an equivalent of A+. Financial analysts and users' consensus always laud the app's straightforward interface, zero-commission trading and the 'social-copy' trading feature that allow users to mirror the trading strategies of seasoned and successful traders using the app.
The eToro trading app is considered as among most-trusted trading app especially by casual traders and those who are about to start learning the ins and outs of stock trading.
Many reviews mention the social features, the zero commissions, the easy to understand interface and the availability of trading cryptocurrencies, as the benchmark that make the eToro app as an ideal trading tool for new traders wanting to navigate the world of stock and crypto market.
Buying a Stock on the App
When users say it's very effortless to trade on eToro app, they mean every word. Using the app, one can buy stocks at a few clicks of a button.
Take note:
To start buying stocks, just look for and click on "Trade Markets", then go to "Stocks", then select from the "Industry" tab of the company stock you're interested in.
For instance, if you clicked on "Financial" from the "Industry" tab. A list of financial companies along with their current stock values will be shown on the screen.
For example:
You wanted to buy some stocks of Citigroup. Click on its ticker symbol "C" and you will be then shown a feed detailing the latest news about Citigroup.
Ready to buy a stock? Just click on the "Buy" button and set the amount you are investing, set the "leverage" figure you want and finish it off by clicking "Set Order"
Congratulate yourself for being a shareholder of Citigroup.
How to Sell a Stock on the App?
Just follow the same process when buying a stock but this time instead of "Buy", click the "Sell" button. After you open the SELL interface of the app, your position will become a 'short-selling position' that will increase its value once the stock's value goes down.
Take note:
Doing the SELL function will not automatically sell your assets, rather it will open a new position called "short-selling".
Short-Selling: How Does It Work on the App?
When using the eToro trading platform, most of the selling is called "short-selling" and it is done by following the system of Contract for Difference (CFD).
CFD trading happens when the trader and the broker come to an agreement wherein the broker will lend the trader (you), a specific number of shares of a company.
You as a trader will be able to sell that stock—backed by a forecast that the value of those shares will go down. Afterward, when the share price goes down, you will then buy it back for a lower share value.
By returning the stocks back to the broker, you end up earning the price difference. This is how you as a trader can earn through CFD trading in eToro.
How to Test the App?
It's possible to explore the platform first without using real money and this can be done via the demo account or the "virtual portfolio" mode. It's the same as live trading with real-time market prices but the only difference is that everything is in demo mode with $100,000 virtual funds.
In order to use this feature, you will need to sign-up for an account first.
If you want to use the eToro app right now then you better click on the button to get started.
eToro is a multi-asset platform which offers both investing in stocks and cryptoassets, as well as trading CFDs.
Please note that CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 78% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
Past performance is not an indication of future results. Trading history presented is less than 5 complete years and may not suffice as basis for investment decision.
Copy trading is a portfolio management service, provided by eToro (Europe) Ltd., which is authorised and regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission.
Cryptoasset investing is unregulated in some EU countries and the UK. No consumer protection. Your capital is at risk.
eToro USA LLC does not offer CFDs and makes no representation and assumes no liability as to the accuracy or completeness of the content of this publication, which has been prepared by our partner utilizing publicly available non-entity specific information about eToro.
References
- ^ eToro celebrates 20 million registered users eToro
- ^ EToro reaches 13 million registered users globally Finextra
- ^ Downloadable eToro platform eToro