eToro vs Kraken

When looking to kick-start your trading journey in flying colors, you need to pair it with a trading platform that you will feel comfortable using and one that adapts to your investing needs. If your option is down to eToro and Kraken and would want to compare the strengths and weaknesses of the two, here is a handful guide to help you determine which among the two: eToro or Kraken, that best meets your trading requirements.

eToro is a social trading app and a brokerage that allow its users to trade on a several financial assets—including CFD trading—while learning and copying trading strategies from seasoned traders through its Copy Trade feature. eToro users can choose from a wide range of financial instruments such as currencies, stocks, currency pairs, forex, commodities, indices and even cryptocurrencies, to trade on the platform.

Kraken, on the other hand, is a cryptocurrency exchange that provides a trading platform for both cryptocurrency and fiat currencies. Unlike eToro, it only trades on various kinds of cryptocurrencies.

Wondering if you can test out eToro’s platform?

Absolutely yes, you can! eToro's demo account that comes with a virtual money of $100,000 gives users the chance to do mock trades in virtual mode without risking real money. Keep in mind that using this feature of eToro will not only provide you ample time to practice your trading skills, you also get to familiarize yourself with the platform and its many features. Remember that you still need to open an account in order to access the virtual portfolio. Click on the button below to open an account now in eToro.

YES, TAKE ME TO ETORO!

67% 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

To start off, here's a quick comparison showing the main features and highlights of eToro and Kraken. All information used here are based on the latest news and updates from both trading platforms.

 

Side-by-side comparison of eToro vs. Kraken

Broker	eToro	Kraken
Minimum Deposit	$50 - $1000 (depends on country)	0.0001 BTC (or other crypto of your choice)
Markets	3000+	8000+
Market Types	Stocks, Commodities, Currencies, Indices, Crypto, ETFs	Crypto
Supported Crypto	20+	8000+
Deposit Methods	Credit/Debit Card, PayPal, Neteller, Skrill, Rapid Transfer, iDEAL, Klarna/Sofort Banking, Bank Transfer, Local Online Banking	Bitcoin Payments, Clear Junction, Etana, PayID, Silvergate Bank Transfer, Wire Transfer
Demo Account	Yes (Unlimited)	Yes
Regulation	FCA (UK), CySEC (Cyprus), ASIC (Australia)	FCA, FinCEN, FINTRAC, AUSTRAC, FSA
Customer Support	Email, Live Chat	Phone, Email, Live Chat

Account Types

When it comes to account types, eToro offers flexible classifications for its clients. Retail accounts are grouped into tiered memberships called the eToro Club which features exclusive offerings, perks and privileges depending on the size of the client's equity holdings.

Here are eToro's membership categories:

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

Kraken offers three account types:

• Starter
• Intermediate
• Pro

The highest-tiered account is the Kraken Pro account which offers personalized withdrawal and deposit limits, access to Kraken's over the counter trading desk, higher API limits and higher margin allowance limits.

Demo Account

While Kraken does not offer demo accounts with virtual money or cryptocurrency for practice use, users can however, sign up for a demo account to trade for Kraken futures.

eToro meanwhile, offers a demo account that comes with a virtual money of $100,000 for clients to use for practicing mock trades and to also get a feel of using the whole trading platform without risking real money at first.

If you're interested in testing the eToro demo account, then you can simply click the button below to get started. Keep in mind that you will be required to open an account in order to utilize their virtual portfolio. There's no need to immediately make a deposit if you’re not ready yet. You can easily fund your account when you're ready to go for live trading.

GO EXPLORE THE DEMO!

67% 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

Both eToro and Kraken only require a username, password and email for a user to register and create an account. However, one would need to make a minimum deposit first before completing the registration and process of creating an account.

 

eToro vs. Kraken initial registration requirements

Broker	eToro	Kraken
Registration requirements	Username, Email Address, Password	Username, Email Address, Password

Minimum Deposit

For eToro, the minimum deposit ranges from $50-$1,000 depending on the country you are in. For example, $50 is the minimum requirement for traders who are based in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Indonesia, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Netherlands, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States and Vietnam.

While on Kraken, the minimum deposit would depend on your chosen cryptocurrency. Here are some of them:

• Bitcoin: 0.0001 BTC
• Bitcoin Cash: 0.0006 BCH
• Cardano: 5 ADA
• Dogecoin: 0 DOGE
• Ethereum: 0.05 ETH
• Ripple: 0 XRP
• Stellar Lumens: 0 XLM

 

eToro and Kraken minimum deposit comparison

Broker	eToro	Kraken
Minimum Deposit	$50 - $1000 (depends on country of residence)	0.0001 BTC (or other crypto of your choice)

Platforms

Both eToro and Kraken can be used in the two leading platforms of desktop computers via a browser and smartphones operating on both the iOS and Android systems.

Platforms offered by eToro and Kraken

Broker	eToro	Kraken
Web-based	✔	✔
Android	✔	✔
iOS	✔	✔
Windows	❌	❌
Mac	❌	❌

Assets

Here's the deal:
If you're a trader looking to diversify your portfolio, then you will find eToro as the more advantageous trading platform than the crypto-centric Kraken trading platform.

Since eToro is an online brokerage trading platform, it gives its users access to a diverse range of financial asset options such as stocks, crypto, indices, ETFs, commodities, and forex.

Kraken meanwhile, is purely a cryptocurrency exchange supporting more than 70 cryptos (as compared to eToro's 20+) and in the upwards of 8,000 crypto markets.

Leverage

Kraken only allows Leverage on a few of its financial instruments and it varies from 1:2 to 1:5—which seems low for anyone accustomed to forex investing. Kraken also imposes a leveraged trading fee from 0.01% - 0.02% depending on the crypto instrument and is levied every four hours.

Leverage on eToro is in line with ESMA regulations providing a maximum of 1:30. This generally accepted range of leverage offered by eToro make it more appealing to clients who uses the strategy of leverage as a means to open large investments in exchange of a smaller amount of owned money.

And please remember: While leverage gives investors more chances of earning more than their initial investment, it also comes with a risk of "the higher the leverage, the higher is the risk of losing money".

Customer Service

You can contact the eToro customer service department via email or chat. While the lack of phone support may be inconvenient for some, it also makes things more convenient as you can easily go online to chat or send an email instead.

eToro has some other customer support options for those looking for additional help. These include submitting an online ticket or utilizing their Help Center - which can help you with everything eToro-related.

On the other hand, Kraken provides three ways to contact their customer service department. They are email, phone, and live chat.

Regulation

Keep in mind: One of the most important parts of choosing an online service is to make sure that they are licensed by a trustworthy authority.

The good news is that eToro is regulated with licenses from reputable authorities:

• Cyprus Securities & Exchange Commission (CySEC): eToro (Europe) Ltd. is licensed with company registration # HE058.
• Financial Conduct Authority (FCA): eToro (UK) Ltd. is authorised and regulated with company registration # 7973792.
• Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC): eToro AUS Capital Pty Ltd. is the holder of an Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL) 491139 issued by this regulator.

Kraken follows legal requirements in any jurisdiction where they operate. They are regulated by the US Financial Crimes Enforcement Network aka FinCEN. Kraken client funds are stored by clients in bank accounts with partner banks, which are regulated heavily. Regulations occur at the state level and Kraken Bank is regulated by the Wyoming Division of Banking.

Kraken is registered and regulated with the following:

• Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN): As a Money Services Business (MSB), Kraken is registered with registration # 31000176593851.
• Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC): Also as an MSB, Kraken is registered with registration # M19343731.
• Financial Conduct Authority (FCA): CryptoFacilities Ltd. is regulated with reference number 757895.
• Australian Transaction Reports and Analysis Centre (AUSTRAC): Bit Trade Pty Limited is registered as a Digital Currency Exchange and regulated with ABN # 42 163 237 634 and ACN # 163 237 634.
• Financial Services Agency (FSA): Payward Asia, K.K. is registered in Japan as a Crypto Asset Exchange Operator with registration # Director-General of Kanto Local Finance Bureau # 00022.

Conclusion

Kraken comes with a solid reputation as a trusted cryptocurrency exchange and its features, performance and feedback from its users fully back up that claim.

For cryptocurrency investors and traders, Kraken brings in a lot of Pros such as high Bitcoin to EUR liquidity, a safe platform with no known hacks yet, industry-accepted commissions and a great charting by TradingView.

While Kraken supports more cryptocurrencies and crypto currency markets then eToro, more traders are opting to choose eToro because it provides access to more financial assets that allow traders to diversify their portfolios and thereby avoid great risk in their trading career.

Many traders are loving the advanced yet user-friendly interface of eToro plus the copy trading feature that provide instant avenue for newbie traders to learn from the more experienced ones. In terms of crypto-trading, there's also an ample lot of cryptos to trade in eToro.

Simply put: If your interest remains solely in trading cryptocurrencies, then you'll have a good time using the Kraken trading app, but if you are a trader looking to diversify your investments, then eToro sounds like the perfect trading app for you.

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. 67% 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.

Cryptoassets are volatile instruments which can fluctuate widely in a very short timeframe and therefore are not appropriate for all investors. Other than via CFDs, trading cryptoassets is unregulated and therefore is not supervised by any EU regulatory framework.

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.