Best brokers for beginners in Ecuador in 2021

To find the best online brokers for beginners in Ecuador in 2021, we went ahead and did the research for you. We conducted interviews with newbies who had no trading experience. We tested 93 brokers of which 5 made it to the top. And now, without further ado...

The best online brokers for beginners in Ecuador in 2021 are:

1. Passfolio - the best broker for beginners in Ecuador in 2021. Free US stock and ETF trading. Great mobile platform. Fast and fully digital account opening.
2. Saxo Bank is the runner-up. Great trading platform. Outstanding research. Broad product portfolio.
3. eToro placed third. Free stock and ETF trading. Seamless account opening. Social trading experience.
4. Zacks Trade is number four. Low fees. Extensive stock and ETF selection. Great customer service.
5. Swissquote. Just made it to the list in fifth place. Access to many markets and products. No inactivity fee. Rock-solid background.

What makes a great broker for beginners? Two things above all: an excellent mobile trading platform and low fees (learn more about brokerage fees here). The service should fit your needs and make everything easy. It should offer great educational tools, like a demo account, and provide webinars or courses. It must be easy to open an account and deposit funds.

All that is easy to list, but hard to figure out. That's why we are testing brokers along more than 300 criteria, using real accounts and real money. So we know what's up.

Not sure which broker is best for you? For a tailored recommendation, check out our broker finder tool. You can enter your country and it will narrow down the list of brokers to those that are available where you live. Want more details? Compare brokers with our in-depth comparison tool.

And now, let's see the best online brokers for beginners in Ecuador in 2021 one by one. Starting with the winner, Passfolio.

Passfolio, a global zero-commission stockbroker, is a young and ambitious brokerage founded in 2018. It is regulated by the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA). In addition to the top-tier regulation, clients also enjoy investor protection under the SIPC policy of Passfolio's clearing firm for up to an additional $30 million (with a cash sub-limit of $900,000 per account), subject to an aggregate limit of $150 million.

Although Passfolio is a global broker, there is a distinct focus on Brazilian customers, as evidenced by the fact that a good portion of the content it offers is available in Portuguese. 

Passfolio is considered safe because it is regulated by top-tier authorities and offers extra protection to investors. 

Recommended for beginners and long-term investors focusing on the us stock market

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#1 Passfolio
Mobile trading platform

4.2

Passfolio's mobile platform boasts a clear-cut design and its search functions are also solid. What's missing is a wider selection of order types, as well as price alerts.

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#1 Passfolio
Fees

4.5

Passfolio has attractive fees, as trading in all assets except for cryptos is free of charge above a trade value of $5. On the other hand, most withdrawal options carry a fee.

All commissions are for opening a position, holding for a week, and closing.

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#1 Passfolio
Education

2.5

Passfolio's education services are limited and not varied. There are some high-quality educational articles and a YouTube channel with market updates in Portuguese.

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#1 Passfolio
Customer service

3.5

Passfolio clients can contact the broker via all three customary channels. The email service is very fast, the live chat is somewhat slower, while phone support is virtually nonexistent.

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#1 Passfolio
Account opening

5.0

On mobile, the account opening at Passfolio is super fast and fully digital, with validation in just 15 minutes. On the other hand, there may be some issues when validating via desktop.

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#1 Passfolio
Deposit and withdrawal

1.5

Passfolio's deposit functions are numerous and they all come free of charge. On the other hand, withdrawal is not free and the process of depositing funds is complicated.

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#1 Passfolio
Verdict

As an up-and-coming brokerage, the main attractive feature of Passfolio is its highly competitive fee structure. You can essentially trade free of charge with an amount exceeding $5, depositing funds is free and the broker doesn't charge any account fees either. The mobile app is exceptionally user-friendly and the account opening and validation was extremely fast.

On the negative side, the range of products is rather limited and customers have access solely to US markets (NYSE/NASDAQ). Depositing funds in your Passfolio account can prove to be a cumbersome process and all withdrawals carry a price tag. Educational materials are pretty scarce, albeit some of high quality, and videos are only available in Portuguese.

Passfolio is ideal for non-US investors looking for an easy-to-use platform to trade in US securities.

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Saxo Bank, a Danish investment bank founded in 1992, provides online trading and investment services. The company is regulated by several financial authorities globally, including the Danish Financial Services Agency (FSA) and the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). 

Saxo Bank is a global service provider and its subsidiaries are present in the form of separate legal entities in different regions of the world. The services offered by the various entities may differ slightly, especially with respect to fees and product portfolios. In this review, we tested Saxo Bank UK.

Saxo Bank is considered safe because it has a long track record, a banking background and is regulated by top-tier financial authorities.

Recommended for investors and traders looking for a great trading platform and solid research

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#2 Saxo Bank
Mobile trading platform

5.0

Saxo Bank's user-friendly mobile platform has the same look and very similar functionalities as the web platform.

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#2 Saxo Bank
Fees

3.3

Saxo Bank has average trading and non-trading fees overall. Trading fees vary greatly between different asset classes.

All commissions are for opening a position, holding for a week, and closing.

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#2 Saxo Bank
Education

4.5

If you want to improve your financial knowledge, Saxo Bank has a lot to offer. You can use a demo account, attend webinars or watch educational videos.

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#2 Saxo Bank
Customer service

4.0

Saxo's customer service is available in many languages, with phone and email support that work well despite small issues. Downsides include the lack of live chat and 24/7 availability.

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#2 Saxo Bank
Account opening

2.5

Saxo's account opening is fully digital, user-friendly and available in most countries. On the other hand, the minimum deposit is high in certain countries and account verification can take longer.

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#2 Saxo Bank
Deposit and withdrawal

4.8

Saxo provides multiple deposit and withdrawal options free of charge on a user-friendly interface.

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#2 Saxo Bank
Verdict

Saxo Bank is a great broker, providing a complex and good service.

It offers a user-friendly and well-designed trading platform, backed by great research. The product portfolio covers all asset types and many international markets.

It has some drawbacks though. The fees for bonds, options and futures are high. There is also a high minimum deposit for certain countries. Lastly, there is no live chat or 24/7 customer support.

In general, Saxo Bank is one of the best online brokerage companies out there. By opening an account, you will get a broad, well-developed service constantly adapted to the needs of clients.

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eToro review summary

eToro is a well-known Israeli fintech company and a social trading broker, established in 2007.

eToro serves UK clients through a unit regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Australians through an Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) regulated entity. All other customers are served by a Cypriot unit that is regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC).

eToro is not listed on any stock exchange, does not disclose its annual report on its website and does not have a bank parent.

eToro is considered safe because its UK and Australian arms are regulated by top-tier financial authorities and it is a well-known fintech company.

Disclaimer: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 75% 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.

Our overall eToro rating

Compare this broker to the best eToro alternative here. 

Recommended for traders interested in social trading (i.e. copying other investors’ trades) and zero commission stock trading

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#3 eToro
Mobile trading platform

4.9

eToro's mobile platform is well-designed and intuitive. It is a pleasure to use.

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#3 eToro
Fees

4.4

eToro offers free stock and ETF trading, while forex and CFD fees are low. On the negative side, non-trading fees are high, including a $5 withdrawal fee.

All commissions are for opening a position, holding for a week, and closing.

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#3 eToro
Education

3.5

eToro's education tools are limited, offering only a demo account and some mediocre videos about investing.

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#3 eToro
Customer service

3.3

eToro customer service is average: you can reach it on several channels and get quick and relevant answers. On the flip side, you can't reach them on weekends and it's difficult to find the live chat service on the webpage and they are often offline.

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#3 eToro
Account opening

5.0

Account opening at eToro is seamless and very fast.

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#3 eToro
Deposit and withdrawal

3.5

Depositing money is free and easy, with a lot of available options, including credit cards. However, there is a withdrawal fee and only USD accounts are available.

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#3 eToro
Verdict

How eToro works? eToro offers zero-commission stock trading. The account opening is swift and seamless. It has a lot of innovative features, like social trading and copying other (successful) traders.

It has some drawbacks, though. Non-trading fees are high and eToro only allows USD accounts, which means that conversion costs on deposits and withdrawals can be high in some cases. Live chat is hard to reach and their educational materials could be better.

So is eToro good? Overall, we would recommend eToro for its social trading feature and zero-commission stock trading.

Risk disclaimer

eToro is a multi-asset platform that offers both investing in stocks and crypto assets as well as trading CFD assets.

Disclaimer: 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.

Cryptoassets are volatile instruments that can fluctuate widely in a very short timeframe and therefore are not appropriate for all investors. Other than via CFDs, trading crypto assets 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.

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Zacks Trade is a US-based discount broker and a division of LBMZ Securities. LBMZ Securities was founded in 1978 and is regulated by the top-tier US financial authorities SEC and FINRA.

LBMZ Securities's clearing and execution services are provided through Interactive Brokers, a global stockbroker regulated by many top-tier financial authorities globally.

If you're familiar with the services of Interactive Brokers, you might notice that many of Zacks Trade's services are the same. To sum up:

• Zacks Trade has its own, different fee structure, product selection, educational tools and customer support.
• The account opening and deposit/withdrawal processes, trading platforms and research tools are the same as at Interactive Brokers.

Zacks Trade is considered safe because it has a long track record and is overseen by top-tier regulators. 

Recommended for traders and investors looking for comprehensive research tools, a wide product selection and low fees

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#4 Zacks Trade
Mobile trading platform

3.8

The Zacks Trade mobile trading platform, called Handy Trader, has a lot of functions and a useful chatbot, but its user interface could be better.

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#4 Zacks Trade
Fees

4.2

Zacks Trade has low trading and non-trading fees. Its stock, ETF and bond trading fees are especially low, while mutual fund fees are quite high.

All commissions are for opening a position, holding for a week, and closing.

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#4 Zacks Trade
Education

2.5

Zacks Trade offers a demo account and videos on how to use its system. However, we missed some educational tools, such as general educational videos or webinars.

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#4 Zacks Trade
Customer service

4.3

Zacks Trade customer service is quick and useful although we missed the 24-hour support that would help out international customers.

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#4 Zacks Trade
Account opening

2.8

Zacks Trade has a fully digital account opening for clients all over the world, and there is no minimum deposit. On the negative side, we found the process slow and hard to navigate.

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#4 Zacks Trade
Deposit and withdrawal

3.5

Zacks Trade offers one free withdrawal per month for nearly all base currencies. However, you cannot use credit/debit cards or electronic wallets to deposit or withdraw funds.

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#4 Zacks Trade
Verdict

Zacks Trade is a great US discount broker. It is a division of LBMZ Securities, which is regulated by the SEC and FINRA.

On the plus side, Zacks Trade has low fees, outstanding stock and ETF selections and great customer service.

There are some drawbacks though, as its desktop trading platform and research tools are quite complex. The account opening is complicated and slow. Lastly, we missed some useful educational tools.

As Zacks Trade provides a demo account and doesn't require any minimum deposit, feel free to try it.

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Swissquote is a Swiss investment bank established in 1996. It has two main trading arms: a Swiss unit for trading stocks, funds, options and futures, and a company in the UK for CFDs and forex.

Formally, Swissquote Bank Ltd is based in Switzerland and is regulated by the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA), the country's financial regulator.

The other entity, Swissquote Ltd, is Luxembourg and offers CFDs and forex trading. It is regulated by the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF), Luxembourg's regulator. The purpose of this entity is to grant access to the European markets after Brexit. The UK entity remained only for UK clients

Swissquote is considered safe because Swissquote Bank Ltd has a banking license, it is listed on the Swiss stock exchange, discloses detailed financials regularly and has a long track record.

Here, we focus mainly on the Swiss entity, sometimes referred to as "Swissquote (CH)". Throughout our content, we will refer to the Luxembourg-based entity as "Swissquote Europe (LUX)".

Recommended for affluent investors who value safety and are ok with higher fees

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#5 Swissquote
Mobile trading platform

4.7

Swissquote's eTrading has a user-friendly and well-designed mobile trading platform. The search function is simple, although sometimes the results are organized a bit strangely, similarly to the web platform.

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#5 Swissquote
Fees

2.4

Swissquote charges no inactivity fee and you can trade an impressive selection of funds for favorable fees. On the other hand, trading fees are generally high, including stocks and ETFs fees, and there is a fee for withdrawing your money.

All commissions are for opening a position, holding for a week, and closing.

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#5 Swissquote
Education

5.0

Swissquote provides easy-to-understand and professional educational videos, ebooks, webinars and tutorials.

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#5 Swissquote
Customer service

4.4

Swissquote has fast phone, email and live chat support. On the other hand, the email replies were not always relevant.

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#5 Swissquote
Account opening

4.0

Swissquote offers a fully digital account opening process, although we encountered wait times. There is no minimum deposit for trading accounts, but a high minimum for forex and robo-advisory accounts.

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#5 Swissquote
Deposit and withdrawal

4.6

Depositing at Swissquote is quick with credit/debit card and can be done in several base currencies. On the negative side, you can only withdraw money via bank transfer, and the Swiss entity charges fees.

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#5 Swissquote
Verdict

Swissquote is an investment bank with a rock-solid background:

• It is Swiss,
• it is listed on an exchange
• and it is a bank. 

It has two main entities, one in the UK and one in Switzerland. If you open an account at the London-based entity you can trade forex and CFDs, while the Swiss entity gives you access to assets ranging from stocks to options.

Swissquote offers a broad range of products across many markets. There are many stocks, mutual funds, and a lot of different other types of products, from bonds to cryptos.

However, nothing is free: Swissquote's trading fees are relatively high. 

All in all, Swissquote is a great stockbroker. As you can trade many products and no inactivity fee is charged, feel free to give it a try.

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Now you know which are the best brokers for beginners. Curious how we put together this list? Let's go through two points in some more detail: whether these brokers are safe, and how we compiled the list.

Are these brokers safe?

You can be sure none of them is a scam. They are regulated by at least one top-tier authority. Some of them are also listed on an exchange, and some have a banking background.

However, brokerage companies can also go bust. Remember Lehman Brothers? In these cases, it is important to know what happens with your securities and cash. These are usually held in segregated accounts, so even in case of a broker bankruptcy, your money is safe.

If a worst-case scenario happens and, for example, the broker steals your assets, then you have a last resort: the compensation fund of the country where the broker is regulated.

How did BrokerChooser pick the best brokers for beginners?

At BrokerChooser we test online brokers along more than 300 criteria, with a real account and real money. In order not to overwhelm you, here are just the five most important criteria for brokers for beginners:

When you are a beginner the best way to start your journey is by learning.

Below, you can find some very useful learning materials to start with.

If you are considering starting your investment journey by learning, check out our education page, where you can find a lot of great materials. Learn about the pros and cons of investing your money on your own or the difference between trading and investing. You can also take a look at this article on account opening if you want to learn how you can open a trading account.

For beginner buy-and-hold investors we recommend reading our how to buy shares and how to buy ETFs articles.

For beginners who want to learn to trade, we can provide even more. A professional trader wrote about how to become a trader. Most beginner traders start with forex trading. If you don't know anything about this topic, start with our forex primer article. CFDs have also become very popular, but they are very risky. Start learning about this product type with this introduction to CFD trading and continue with the pros and cons of CFD trading.

Cryptos are a hot topic, but also super risky. We dug into it and found the safest ways to invest in Bitcoin. Highly recommended if you are considering cryptos.

When you become more experienced and start exploring futures options, you should definitely check out our article on the topic.

You saw the details, now let's zoom out. Here are once again the best brokers for beginners in Ecuador in 2021:

Passfolio is our winner, the best broker for beginners in Ecuador in 2021. Free US stock and ETF trading. Great mobile platform. Fast and fully digital account opening.

All the other brokers in the top five are considered great choices as well. Pick any of them and take the next step in your investment journey. Let us know what you think in the comment section.

Still unsure? Use our broker finder to find the best broker for you or learn more about investing your money.