Is eToro better than Plus500? Who offers lower spread, better trading conditions and is safe broker to trade?
We provide answers to all questions in this eToro vs Plus500 Comparison Review. For this Review we opened real accounts and deposit over US$ 6,000 in totalto compareboth offerings,account opening process at eToro and Plus500 also the fees, trading conditions, platform selection and withdrawal process.
What is eToro and Plus500
eToro is one of the largest, Best Social trading Brokers and platform with a good range of portfolios and Top number of investors.
Plus500 is a large and popular CFD broker with a good number of instruments for retail and professional traders.
Some of the highlights of eToro vs Plus500 are:
| eToro | Plus500 | |
| 💻 Website | www.etoro.com | www.plus500.com |
| 🛡️Founded year | 2006 | 2008 |
| 🏦 Headquarter | Israel | Israel |
| 🗺️ Authorized & Regulated in | USA, UK, Australia, Cyprus | UK, Cyprus, Australia, South Africa, Seychelles, Singapore |
| 🔒 Is Broker safe | Yes | Yes |
| 💰 EUR/USD Spread | 0.97 | 0.8 |
| 💳 Minimum deposit | US$50 or US$500 | US$100 |
| 💰 Withdrawal fee | US$5 | US$0 |
| 🖥️ Trading Platform | eToro’s own trading platform | Plus500’s proprietary trading platform |
| 📈 Markets offered | Indices, Forex, Commodities, Stocks, Cryptocurrencies, ETFs | Forex, Stocks, Indices, Commodities, Cryptocurrencies, ETFs, Options |
| 📉 Number of Products | 986 | 2400 |
| 🔎 Our Detailed Review | eToro Review | Plus500 Review |
Licenses and Regulation
Both Brokers are safe to trade and are highly reliable, low risk trading Brokers due to regulations and are not a scam.
eToro is licensed by some of the top global regulators, including the UK’s FCA, CySEC, ASIC, and FinCEN.
Plus500 holds 6 regulatory licenses from several top regulators, like the United Kingdom’s FCA, Singapore’s MAS, and Australia’s ASIC.
For this review, we opened an account under eToro (Europe) Limited regulated by CySEC and with Plus500AU Pty Ltd ASIC regulated broker in Australia.
We recommend you register your account with the eToro UK or CySEC entity and with the United Kingdom or Australian or Singapore entity of Plus500 if they are available in your jurisdiction.
| eToro | Plus500 | |
| 🔒 Licenses | ASIC, CySEC, IE Singapore, FCA, NFA | ASIC, CySEC, ISA, IE Singapore, FSCA, FCA, FSA |
| Top Tier License | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Publically Traded | ❌ | ✔️ |
| Compensation Scheme | ✔️ (depending on entity) | ✔️ (depending on entity) |
eToro vs Plus500 Fees
eToro and Plus500 fees are similar and mainly built into a spread basis, there is no commission based accounts.
There are additional fees at charged by two Brokers, eToro charges a few non-trading fees, while Plus500 does not charge any deposit or withdrawal fee but charges a monthly fee after 3 months of inactivity.
| eToro Fees | Plus500 Fees | |
| Fees based on spread | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Floating Spread | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Fixed Spread | ❌ | ❌ |
| Commission based fees | ❌ | ❌ |
| Inactivity Fee | $10 | $10 |
| Deposit fee | 0$ | 0$ |
| Withdrawal fee | 5$ | 0$ |
| Active trader/ VIP Programs | ✔️ | ❌ |
Spreads Charged in Our Trades
For our test trades on eToro vs Plus500 accounts, we chose popular instruments in each market. We placed 3 trades for each instrument to get the average spread, we found both negative and positive sides for each Broker spreads.
eToro spreads for Indices and Forex are below the industry average. For commodities and stock CFDs spreads are above the industry average. Cryptocurrencies in our trades are more than double the industry average.
Our testing finds Plus500 spreads for Forex and ETFs much lower than the industry average. Spreads on Indices, Commodities, Stocks, and Cryptocurrencies, are on the higher side.
| Markets | Instruments | eToro Avg. spread | Plus500 Avg. spread | Industry avg. spread |
| Indices | FTSE 100 | 1.4 | 2 | 1.65 |
| Forex | EUR/USD | 0.97 | 0.8 | 1.16 |
| Commodities | Gold | 4.5 | 4 | 3.53 |
| Stocks | AAPL | 2.23 | 1.93 | 1.75 |
| Cryptocurrencies | Bitcoin | 102.71 | 49.02 | 72.81 |
| ETFs | QQQ | 0.53 | 0.17 | 0.45 |
Account Types Compared
eToro and Plus500 both offer a single account with access to all tools and services from one account.
Opening a new account on eToro was very simple and easy, the registration process took merely 11 minutes.
Account Opening with Plus500 for our test was smooth, the registration process took merely 16 minutes.
| eToro Accounts | Plus500 Accounts | |
| Standard Account | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| ECN / Commission Based Account | ❌ | ❌ |
| Islamic Account | ✔️ | ❌ |
| PAMM Account | ❌ | ❌ |
Markets and Products
Plus500 offers a wider range of instrument selection compared to eToro, however all are traded as CFDS. While eToro primarily a Forex and CFD broker, but also offers trading services with real Stocks, ETFs, and Cryptocurrencies.
| Markets | eToro Instruments | Plus500 Instruments |
| Indices | 13 | 29 |
| Forex | 49 | 71 |
| Commodities | 31 | 22 |
| Stocks | 726 | 1737 |
| Cryptocurrency | 16 | 14 |
| ETFs | 151 | 94 |
| Options | – | 433 |
Trading Conditions
Trading conditions on eToro are fair and suitable for beginning traders, however, both brokers do not allow scalping, while Plus500 restricts hedging too and is not the best for beginners due to lack of proper education.
| Trading Method | eToro | Plus500 |
| Hedging | ✔️ (eToro will retain the profits) | ❌ |
| Scalping | ❌ | ❌ |
| Change Leverage | ✔️ | ❌ |
| Copy trading/ Social trading | ✔️ | ❌ |
| Beginners Trading | ✔️ | ❌ |
| Professional Trading | ✔️ | ✔️ |
Deposit and Withdrawal
Both deposit and withdrawal processes on eToro and Plus500 are simple enough, supporting various funding methods. However, eToro charges a flat fee of $5 for every withdrawal.
We tested the deposit process on eToro using multiple payment modes and the deposits were received instantly.
We tested deposit by Debit Card on Plus500 there was no deposit fee and the findings were instant.
| eToro | Plus500 | |
| 💰 Deposit Fee | ❌ | ❌ |
| 💰 Withdrawal fee | 5$ | ❌ |
| 💳 Minimum deposit | US$50 or US$500 | US$100 |
| Bank Transfer | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Debit/ Credit Cards | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| PayPal | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Skrill | ✔️ | ✔️ |
Trading Platform
Both Brokers eToro vs Plus500 use its own trading platform and does not offer any other alternative. Both platforms look modern and are easy to use or navigate, however, both lack professional research tools, comprehensive fundamental data while analysis is rather basic.
eToro is known for its social trading feature. In fact, it gained popularity because of this feature. It basically has two features: CopyTrader and CopyPortfolio.
Plus500 platform is user-friendly and good for CFD trading, but cannot be customized.
| eToro Platform | Plus500 Platform | |
| Proprietary Platform | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Web Platform | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Desktop Platform | ❌ | ❌ |
| Mobile App | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Alternative Platforms | ❌ | ❌ |
| MetaTrader4 | ❌ | ❌ |
| Simple to use platform | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Demo Account Trading | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Execution Agency Model | ❌ | ❌ |
| Research | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Advanced Research tools | ❌ | ❌ |
Education and Support
eToro does not offer high quality education resources, however is better compared to almost none at Plus500. eToro and Plus500 both offers decent customer support with Live Chat and support inquiries.
We found eToro developing its learning materials and established eToro Trading School.
Plus500 offers only a few basic videos to educate novice traders.
| eToro Support | Plus500 Support | |
| Trading School for Beginners | ✔️ | ❌ |
| Tutorials | ✔️ | ❌ |
| Trading Videos | ❌ | ✔️ |
| Webinars | ✔️ | ❌ |
| Daily News and Analysis | ✔️ | ❌ |
| Economic Calendar | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Live Chat | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| Email Support | ✔️ | ✔️ |
| 24/7 availability | ❌ | ❌ |
Conclusion on eToro vs Plus500
Comparing eToro to Plus500 side by side we found both brokers reliable and with good standing. The proposals are different with eToro focus on Social Trading and Plus500 as CFD Trading Broker with a large number of instruments and easy-to-use platform.
Trading costs are relatively similar, based on spread with no commission with a competitive trading environment.
Our trading experience on eToro platform was smooth. eToro is good for beginners and experienced/popular traders. It has some attractive features like social trading and is Best for the number of Top Traders.
Our experience with Plus500 was mixed. It also offers a huge list of CFD instruments across several markets with attractive spreads on forex pairs.
| eToro | Plus500 | |
| Recommended for | ✔️ Best for Social Trading ✔️ Beginning Traders ✔️ Trading Currency Pairs ✔️ Cryptocurrency Trading ✔️ Stocks Trading | ✔️CFD Trading ✔️ Experienced traders |
| Might not be fit for | ❌ Scalping trader ❌ Hedging trader ❌ EA trader ❌ Trading through MT4/MT5 platform only ❌ Commission based trading | ❌ Beginning Trader ❌ Scalping trader ❌ Hedging trader ❌ EA trader ❌ Trading through MT4/MT5 platform ❌ Commission based trading |