eToro fees and CopyTrader, checked against the numbers
Every "eToro review" site tells you it's great. Here's what it actually costs, what CopyTrader's own performance data and the independent research say, and when a plain brokerage like Interactive Brokers is the cheaper choice instead.
What eToro actually charges
| Fee | eToro | Interactive Brokers |
|---|---|---|
| Stock/ETF commission | $0 | $0 (or ~$0.0035/share tiered) |
| Crypto trade fee | 1% | — |
| FX conversion fee | 0.70% | 0.03% |
| Withdrawal fee | $5 flat, every time | 1 free per month |
| Inactivity fee | $10/month after 12 months idle | None |
| Minimum deposit | $50 (first deposit from $1) | $0 |
On fees alone, Interactive Brokers is cheaper across the board — especially for FX, where eToro's 0.70% conversion charge is more than 20x IBKR's 0.03%. eToro's case has to be made on something other than price.
CopyTrader: what the returns actually show
CopyTrader auto-replicates another trader's positions proportionally to your balance — they put 10% into Bitcoin, your copy allocates 10% too, in real time. eToro's own risk disclosure is direct about the downside: you're exposed to the copied trader's leverage, timing and emotional decisions, not just the asset's own volatility.
eToro's public data showed its top 50 traders averaging around 30.4% annual returns in 2021 — but that's the top 50, not the typical copier. A 2018 academic study (Pelster, Paderborn University, and Hofmann, St. John's University) found that while most estimates of copier returns (alpha) were positive, only about a third were statistically significant — meaning for most copiers, the result wasn't reliably distinguishable from noise.
Translation: copying a good trader's past performance is not the same as reproducing it. Treat CopyTrader as a way to diversify how you invest, not a shortcut past doing your own risk management.
US availability
eToro USA Securities is live in 48 states — Hawaii, Nevada, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands are excluded. Crypto trading reached New York in April 2026 under eToro's BitLicense, so all 48 available states now cover stocks, ETFs, options and crypto. Check your own state on eToro's live-states page before assuming access.
Where it doesn't: you trade FX directly, withdraw regularly, or care about minimizing cost above all else — Interactive Brokers beats it on nearly every fee line.
Open an account
Affiliate link goes here once the eToro Partners account is set up — see NOTES.md.
Start with eToro (link pending)eToro USA Securities LLC; crypto assets via eToro USA LLC. Trading involves risk of loss. CFDs and copy trading carry additional leverage and volatility risk not present in plain stock ownership. This page may earn a commission if you open an account through the link above — see disclosure below.