eToro vs. AvaTrade

Introduction

eToro or AvaTrade? Want to know which brokerage is the better option? Check out this side-by-side comparison their service and features in order for you to make the right decision.

Thinking of testing out eToro?

If you believe that eToro is the winner in this fight after seeing the comparison table above then you might possibly be interested to sign-up with them and start trading. In that case, you can click the button below and this will direct you to their registration page.

77% 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.

Comparison

Below is a side-by-side comparison table of eToro vs AvaTrade so you can see the difference and similarities of their features. The data on this table is based on the most recent information that we have gathered from these 2 brokerages.

Account Types

Both eToro and AvaTrade offer the same types of accounts for their clients: retail and professional.

With AvaTrade, these are basically the only 2 options but with eToro, there’s an eToro Club which is a tiered membership comes with extra privileges based on the users equity size and not the deposit:

• Silver
• Gold
• Platinum
• Platinum​+
• Diamond

Keep in mind though that the eToro Club is available for certain regulations and the platform languages.

Demo Account

Most brokerages offer demo accounts for their traders and the good news is that you can experience these features from eToro and AvaTrade.

How can you actually use this?
Via a practice account, you’ll be able to get a feel of the platform and do some test trades without worrying about your capital since you will only use virtual funds and not real money.

eToro’s demo account has no expiry and can be used for a lifetime as long as you have an active account with them. AvaTrade’s demo account however is only valid for 21 days. That’s just 3 weeks so this might not be ideal for you especially if you prefer to use a demo account that won’t give you any time pressure.

Having a lifetime demo account is a lot more convenient since you can use the virtual mode any time you want to or whenever you feel like doing risk-free trading rather than one that will eventually be deactivated.

Like to try the demo?

If you’re already curious to see eToro’s demo account, you can quickly test it out simply by clicking this button. You’ll be required to open an account but there’s no need to deposit any amount yet since you’ll only use the virtual portfolio. Should you decide to proceed with live trading, then that will be the time that you’ll have to make an initial deposit into your account.

77% 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.

Registration

You can register for an account via a web browser (which is the more convenient way) or from any of the platforms that they offer.

If you’re going to sign-up with eToro, you’ll initially be asked for a username, a password and an email address but with AvaTrade, there are a few more details required and this includes your first name, last name, email address and phone number. Take note that AvaTrade will not ask for a password yet as this will be required from you after confirming your account registration via email so their process is a bit more time consuming.

Remember that this is just the initial part of the registration. All brokerages, particularly licensed and regulated brands, are mandated to ask their clients to complete and verify their profile by providing a few more personal additional details and proof of identity for security purposes.

Here’s the deal:
You can also register for an account with eToro and AvaTrade via Facebook and Google. If you have an existing account with these services and it’s okay with you to link them with your online trading account then you can do so simply by choosing this option.

Minimum Deposit

If you’re going to open an account with AvaTrade, you’re going to need to fund it with an initial deposit of $100 or its equivalent amount in another currency.

eToro on the other hand has a different minimum deposit requirement and it ranges from $50 to $1000 depending on your country of residence. If you’re from the US, UK, Austria, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden or Switzerland, you’ll only need to deposit a starting capital of $50.

Platforms

With eToro, there are 2 platforms in general to choose from. The first is the web-based version which can be accessed directly via any web browser. You just need to have Chrome, Firefox, Edge or Safari on your computer or smartphone and go to www.etoro.com to be able to trade on this user interface. There’s no need to download or install anything.

If you have a smartphone or tablet that’s powered by Android or iOS then you also have the option of installing their mobile app which have been optimized for touchscreen devices.

For AvaTrade traders, there are several more options to choose from and you can decide on which one to use based on your trading and market preferences:

• AvaSocial
• Web trading
• AvaTradeGO
• MetaTrader 4
• MetaTrader 5
• AvaOptions
• Automated Trading
• Mac Trading

So what's the catch?
Not all assets are accessible on these platforms of AvaTrade. There are some instruments that you can only access on the Web Trading platform and are not available on MetaTrader 4.

Spreads

There are 2 types of spreads: fixed and variable.

As the name itself implies, fixed spreads are spreads that do not change regardless of the market conditions while variable spreads may change based on how the market is currently performing.

With eToro, the spreads that they provide variable so instruments that are susceptible to high volatility like crypto will naturally have wider spreads than more stable asset classes. In contrast, AvaTrade’s spreads are fixed so these are calculated using a fixed rate and are not going to change regardless if the market is crashing or booming.

Keep in mind that both fixed and variable spreads have their own pros and cons depending on your trading needs.

Deposit

This is very much true particularly when you’re going to fund your account. If you are given more options to make a deposit then that would make it more convenient since there are many ways to do it as compared to having just 1 or 2 options.

With eToro, traders can fund their account by using credit/debit cards, PayPal, Neteller, Skrill, Rapid Transfer, iDEAL, Klarna/Sofort Banking, bank transfer and local online banking. Do take note that the availability of some of these payment gateways are dependent on the country where you reside and the regulator that supervises your account.

AvaTrade’s banking methods are much less as it only accepts Visa or MasterCard credit and debit cards, Skrill, Wire Transfer and PayPal. This is a non-issue if you’re used to utilizing any of the supported methods but in the event that your payment service provider experiences technical issues or has decided to ban using them for online trading then you only have few other options.

Withdrawals

When you take your money out from eToro, it only takes only up to 1 business day for them to processed the request given that you have already provided them with important documentation. But with AvaTrade, the processing time may take up to 2 business days.

Remember: The withdrawal processing time is the time it takes for them to take action with your request to cash out your funds. This is not the same as the time it would take for you to see the funds in your bank account or chosen payment method as this is primarily dependent on your payment service provider which would usually take 3 to 8 business days under normal circumstances.

Customer Service

Contacting the customer support departments of these brokers can be done via email and live chat only. Unfortunately, there’s no phone support but most brokerages have already removed this option since going online is the most common option.

With eToro however, there are more complementary options for such as opening a ticket or using the Help Center which has a comprehensive library of information which might be useful for their users. AvaTrade on the other hand has a basic FAQ page.

Conclusion

There’s a number of notable features that both eToro and AvaTrade have. They are both licensed and regulated by trusted financial authorities, offer a diversity of tradable assets and a suite of platforms for their clients. And just like any comparison, it is expected for these 2 brokerages to have some strengths and weaknesses with the other brand being stronger than its competitor in certain categories and vice versa. eToro has far more tradable instruments and that is almost 3 times of what its competitor is offering. It is also much faster in processing withdrawal requests. AvaTrade on the other hand has more platform offerings and a phone support.