eToro vs Freetrade - a detailed comparison for 2022

Written by
Fact checked by
Adam N.
Updated
Jan 2024

Commission-free stock trading took the world by storm in 2019 and became an industry standard among top online brokers. Although both eToro and Freetrade offer this service to their clients, other services and the overall trading experience provided by the two platforms differ greatly. This article provides a detailed comparison of what each broker offers to users.

eToro USA LCC does not offer CFDs; only real crypto assets are available.

visit etoro
eToro USA LLC; Investments are subject to market risk, including the possible loss of principal

visit freetrade

eToro is the largest social trading platform in the world with a great selection of cryptocurrencies and a range of other assets (i.e. stocks, CFDs). Freetrade is a UK-based fintech startup founded in 2016 offering only stocks and ETFs.

eToro vs Freetrade overview
eToro Freetrade
Recommended for investors interested in copy trading and and zero-commission stock trading Recommended for long-term investors on the hunt for low fees and focusing on the UK and US markets

Pro: free stock and ETF trading

Pro: free stock and ETF trading

Pro: seamless account opening

Pro: seamless account opening

Pro: social trading features

Pro: great mobile trading platform

Con: high non-trading fees

Con: available in limited countries

Con: only USD base currency

Con: no withdrawal to debit/credit card

Con: subpar customer service

Con: basic product portfolio

Read our eToro review for 2022 Read our Freetrade review for 2022

TABLE OF CONTENTS

  1. Fees
  2. Deposit and withdrawal
  3. Account opening
  4. Trading platform
  5. Markets and products
  6. Customer service

 

Fees

eToro fees

As an eToro client, you can trade stocks and ETFs for free, and forex and CFD fees are low. With the free feature, you're buying the real stock, not a CFD product, therefore you can't use leverage. Trades involving stocks not denominated in USD (such as UK or European stocks) will be converted to USD by eToro at the current market rate, without any markups. What's more, eToro will also absorb any tax duty that might be due if you trade on the UK market.

Non-trading fees at eToro are a bit more expensive. The most notable charges are a $5 withdrawal fee, and an inactivity fee of $10 per month that kicks in after one year of inactivity. To avoid having to pay this fee, simply remember to log into your account from time to time.

Freetrade fees

True to its name, Freetrade offers free stock and ETF trading. As an advantage over eToro, there are no account, inactivity or withdrawal fees at Freetrade. Note that account maintenance is free of charge only for the basic account; if you choose Freetrade Plus, which provides more stocks, order options and priority customer service, there is a £9.99 monthly fee.

The only downside in terms of fees is that the conversion fee is relatively high at 0.45%. Also, if you opt for same-day withdrawal, you will be charged a £5 fee.

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Deposit and withdrawal

eToro and Freetrade are very similar when it comes to all the ways you can upload (deposit) and withdraw your money. While our overall take is that the funding experience at Freetrade is ever so slightly better, it's definitely worth noting that at Freetrade, you can't withdraw money to credit/debit cards (but you can deposit with it). This might be a deal breaker for some, as we know a lot of you are using this method to deposit and withdraw money to and from online brokers.

  eToro Freetrade
Deposit and withdrawal score 3.9 stars 4.0 stars
Deposit methods Bank transfer, Credit/debit cards, Skrill, Neteller, Klarna, POLi, iDEAL Bank transfer, Credit/debit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay
Withdrawal methods Bank transfer, Credit/debit cards, Skrill, Neteller, Klarna, POLi, iDEAL Bank transfer, Apple Pay, Google Pay

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Account opening

eToro

eToro accepts clients from all over the globe, with a few notable exceptions including Russia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, New Zealand, Saudi Arabia and Turkey. The account opening is super fast and the minimum deposit for most clients is $50. Residents of Australia and the US have to make an initial deposit of only $10. Note, however, that the minimum amount for a bank transfer is $500.

eToro offers two simple account types:

  • live account for trading
  • demo account, where you can test the platform (and your trading skills) using virtual money

Freetrade

At the time of writing, Freetrade only accepted clients from the UK, Ireland and the Netherlands. The platform is working on rolling out its service to the rest of the EEA.

The account opening process at Freetrade is fast, fully digital and user-friendly. There is no minimum deposit requirement. Clients can choose from 4 different account types:

  • General Investment Account – standard account for stock and ETF trading
  • Investment Savings Account – a tax-efficient savings account
  • Freetrade Plus Account – a tax-efficient solution with an expanded product portfolio and order types
  • SIPP Account – flexible investments in pension savings

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Trading platform

Of the two brokerages, only eToro offers a web-based trading platform. Freetrade is a mobile-only broker, available for both iOS and Android. The mobile trading experience is similar across the two brokers, as both apps are user-friendly and well designed.

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Markets and products

eToro clients can trade CFDs and forex, as well as real stocks, ETFs and a wide selection of crypto coins. Innovative services like social trading and Smart Portfolios are also available.

Freetrade  is continuously expanding its selection of stocks and ETFs (on the NYSE and the LSE), but has no plans to add more asset classes to its offering.

  eToro Freetrade
Stocks Yes Yes
Fractional shares Yes Yes
Forex Yes No
Crypto Yes No
CFDs Yes No

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Customer service

  eToro Freetrade
Customer service score 2.5 stars 3.8 stars

Customer service is one of the weakest points of the eToro user experience. You can reach eToro mainly via a web-based ticketing system and answers may take a long time to arrive. Live chat is only available to Club members, a privilege you can attain by having at least $5,000 in equity in your account. eToro says its customer service is available in all 21 languages that the web and mobile trading platforms offer.

You can contact customer service at Freetrade via live chat and email. Both channels are quick and efficient, though not available 24/7.

visit etoro
eToro USA LLC; Investments are subject to market risk, including the possible loss of principal

visit freetrade

 

Risk disclaimer

eToro is a multi-asset platform which offers both investing in stocks and cryptoassets, as well as trading CFDs.

Disclaimer: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 76% 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 does not amount to investment advice. The value of your investments may go up or down. Your capital is at risk.

Cryptoasset investing is highly volatile and unregulated in some EU countries. No consumer protection. Tax on profits may apply.

Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest. This is a high-risk investment and you should not expect to be protected if something goes wrong. Take 2 mins to learn more!

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.

>Back to eToro review

 

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Author of this article

Edith Balázs

Fiscal Fables Storyteller | Forex • Safety • Financial Journalism

I bring 20+ years of experience as a correspondent having worked for Bloomberg, Dow Jones and The Wall Street Journal covering macroeconomics, stock, currency and fixed-income markets. I hold a Master's degree in American Studies and Journalism.

Everything you find on BrokerChooser is based on reliable data and unbiased information. We combine our 10+ years finance experience with readers feedback. Read more about our methodology.

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