Robinhood vs eToro – Which is better for crypto, stocks, and more?

This Robinhood vs. eToro comparison pits two platforms, one of which has a stellar reputation within a niche market and the other a far better all-around option. The two exceeded our expectations in more ways than we could have imagined. eToro is a social trading brokerage that provides online and copy trading services. The Robinhood trading platform is a commission-free online discount brokerage.

One of the reasons for eToro’s success is the platform’s social trading capabilities, which let users mimic the actions of other traders. At first, only residents of the United States were permitted to trade cryptocurrencies on eToro. As of 2022, however, it provided stock and ETF trading to users in the United States. Compared to other crypto brokerages, eToro provides access to a wider variety of cryptocurrencies.

Robinhood expands the investment opportunities available to its users beyond cryptocurrency by providing access to stocks, ETFs, and options. You may gain exposure to hundreds of international corporations by purchasing American Depository Receipts. Although the number of cryptocurrencies available for trading is smaller than eToro’s, investors may still do so for no cost through the cheap broker.

Robinhood Overview

The California-based brokerage Robinhood is notable for not charging commissions on purchasing or selling stocks, ETFs, options, or digital currencies. Thanks to features like no minimum investment, commission-free trading, and low-volume trading alternatives, Robinhood has attracted many new investors, particularly younger ones. Despite their availability in Europe, this analysis will focus on Robinhood’s offerings in the United States.

Since Robinhood is no longer the only commission-free broker, thanks to a shift in the legislation, we wanted to put them to the test to see if they were still competitive among the top commission-free and beginner-friendly brokers. We’ll also discuss how to sign up for a Robinhood account and whether or not they provide features for experienced investors.

To begin, our initial Robinhood views and thoughts are that this is a constrained platform best suited for young, inexperienced traders with modest capital.

eToro Overview

Over 10 million people from 140 different countries have used eToro since its inception in 2007. eToro has its headquarters in Cyprus and is a member of the Financial Conduct Authority in the United Kingdom, which gives it the authority to operate across European borders. The Australian Securities and Investments Commission and the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission have approved eToro.

Since more than 15 different coins are supported, eToro is a fantastic platform for cryptocurrency trading. You may also engage in social trading, wherein your trades are immediately mirrored after the successes or failures of other users. However, withdrawals might be delayed and costly for traders due to hefty forex costs. Read here the eToro australia review.

Robinhood vs. eToro Service & Feature Comparison

Costs

Robinhood and eToro are two platforms that allow you to trade stocks and ETFs without paying any fees. Only seven coins are now supported by Robinhood, but customers may trade cryptocurrencies for free. eToro offers 59 distinct digital currencies, and its trading fees are 1% plus the market spread. Robinhood’s key selling feature allows users to trade cryptocurrencies without paying any trading fees. Almost all of the 50 states in the US have access to Robinhood Crypto’s 24/7 commission-free cryptocurrency trading.

The lack of a commission for transactions is because Robinhood Crypto is a trading platform and not an exchange; orders are filled through preexisting exchanges; therefore, fees for trading are still in effect. Robinhood uses third-party, external exchanges like GDAX and Gemini.

Robinhood facilitates day trading in cryptocurrencies and is widely available. In a gloomy, Matrix-inspired appearance, their cryptocurrency trading program seems quite sophisticated. Day trading cryptocurrencies on Robinhood doesn’t require a $25,000 portfolio as stock market trading does.

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All European customers of eToro can trade stocks and ETFs without paying any fees. Traders outside the European Union are charged small fees, but no zero-commission option exists. Regarding cryptocurrency trading, eToro uses spreads, which might go up or down depending on the market circumstances the company monitors.

In addition, eToro has other fees that aren’t related to trading. After 12 months of inactivity, your account will be charged $10 monthly.

Account Types

You may open one of three different types of Robinhood accounts: Robinhood Instant, Robinhood Gold, or Robinhood Cash. Because your Robinhood account is linked to your SSN, you are only allowed to have one Robinhood account type open at a time. To our knowledge, Robinhood does not currently support IRAs, joint accounts, or retirement accounts.

You can choose to establish an eToro account either as a retail customer or a business. The retail account has minimal sign-up criteria, such as basic information about the user and identification papers to verify the user’s identity. Let’s say you’ve settled on creating a business profile. In such a scenario, you’ll need to take a test and go through a voluntary procedure to see if you meet the requirements for this group.

Furthermore, eToro offers a premium tier of their program called eToro Club, which provides members with additional privileges and rewards according to the amount of equity they have achieved.

Research

An in-depth analysis may be found on eToro, focusing on equities and cryptocurrencies. Most assets have broken out key indicators, such as market capitalization, performance history, and fundamental parameters.

eToro provides a graphical representation of buy, sell, and hold recommendations for equities and 12-month price estimates from Wall Street experts. Each of the eight technical indicators is then automatically analyzed by eToro, and a buy, sell or hold recommendation is given for the cryptocurrency market.

Only Robinhood Gold subscribers get access to the market research features. Morningstar’s research reports are now at your fingertips.

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Range of Investments

eToro now supports 40 different cryptocurrencies in the United States, but the company hopes to add more in the future. For stocks and ETFs, it features an active closed beta. More than 3000 instruments are available on eToro, and they keep adding more, giving you access to a wide range of marketplaces. To invest in, pick from the following options: equities, commodities, currencies (forex), indices, cryptocurrencies, and ETFs. Due to regulatory compliance, US citizens will only have access to trading cryptocurrencies, US equities, and ETFs.

Robinhood accepts a wide variety of investments, including stocks, ETFs, gold, options, and cryptocurrencies, but the company’s lack of transparency prevents it from keeping a comprehensive asset list.

Have a look at the graph below for more information.

Two of the world’s most prominent internet trading brokers are these two. They provide various securities and assets, some of which are restricted by law. These are the main assets you may trade with the various US-based brokers.

Trading Technology & Mobile Apps

We’ll get into the mobile trading app later in our Robinhood review, but for now, let’s focus on the website. What makes Robinhood unique is that it began as a mobile app. In 2017, Robinhood released its website to complement its widely-used smartphone app. The website, as a whole, is user-friendly, functional, and aesthetically pleasing. Some users may also find the homepage’s lime green color overpowering.

Check out Robinhood USA’s first page and available tabs before signing up. Our testing revealed that your page loads quickly and smoothly, without any real hiccups. However, Robinhood claims to have “beefed up their infrastructure” after 2020, when they had significant disruptions due to market spikes. To see if this is accurate, we’ll have to wait for the market to soar again. The Robinhood website does the job, although it could need some improvements.

Robinhood was initially designed as a mobile-only trader focused on younger customers, making it a one-of-a-kind platform. As a result, Robinhood was in a better position. Trading to reproduce their web and desktop platforms onto the tiny screen is a common issue for online brokerages. Even yet, Robinhood had to bring a mobile platform to the large screen, which is much simpler.

Robinhood’s mobile and online interfaces make it simple to trade cryptocurrencies, stocks, and EFTs. Still, options trading is a tedious and time-consuming procedure. New and low-volume traders are targeted by Robin Hood USA’s platform, which is nearly non-customizable.

We advise staying away from Robinhood if you’re an advanced trader or a determined beginning. Let’s say you’re just starting out in trading or a casual investor who prefers to do business on the go. In that scenario, Robinhood isn’t terrible. Still, you’ll eventually need to transfer to another brokerage if you’re serious about developing your trading skills.

The trading app’s design departs visually from the site’s classic green and white motif. The backdrop is black, like the ones in matrix-style games or busy trading platforms. Only in this sense does Robinhood look like a legitimate trading platform.

Regarding eToro, you can rest confident that it is a legitimate trading platform developed for serious purposes. Those who like streamlined modernity and top-notch functionality will love eToro’s trading website and app. The layout is intuitive, with buttons and options where you’d expect to find them, in a color palette that’s easy on the eyes. The intuitive and forward-thinking in-built search feature is another plus.

Additional services, such as CopyTrader, are available on eToro. With this feature, you may pick a trader whose actions you wish to mimic, press a button, and instantly adapt their trading style. All of your purchases and sales will coincide with the dealers. Users may view the portfolios, statistics, and risk ratings of other users they copy, with a maximum of one hundred at once.

You can maintain tabs on your investments with the help of eToro’s in-depth portfolio and fee reports. These reports can help you gain valuable insight into your efficiency and potential trouble spots.

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Trading Tools & Features 

We compared Robinhood and eToro and discovered that eToro has many more options for traders. eToro is a cutting-edge trading platform with advanced features, including copy trading and trend analysis charts. As its name implies, Robinhood is a commission-free brokerage software lacking more sophisticated features.

Technical Charting

In-depth technical charts for each asset on eToro’s platform are provided for your convenience. You may choose from bar charts, line charts, candlestick charts, or Heikin-Ashi charts. You may choose from a 1-minute high/low price chart to a weekly high/low price chart.

Moving averages, MACD, RSI, Bollinger Bands, and many more popular technical studies are available for inclusion in your charts. The platform also supports simultaneous symbol comparisons.

Robinhood only provides access to line and candlestick charts. Even the most elementary moving averages and other technical analyses cannot be added to your charts. Charting timeframes for prices range from 1 day to 5 years.

Trader Sentiment

Each asset listed on eToro also comes with a trader sentiment score. This number indicates the proportion of investors purchasing a stock or cryptocurrency compared to those selling. This might come in helpful for spotting winning investments and capitalizing on trends.

Stocks currently on the rise may be seen on Robinhood’s several trending lists, such as the 100 most-traded stocks at any moment. Compared to eToro’s sentiment scores, this data isn’t quite as useful for active trading. Even so, it can help you find promising investments in the stock market.

Customer Support

As our Robinhood review goes to press, we realize that the weakest point is in customer service. The app and website make accessing the ‘Support’ menu simple. Everything from getting started to legal matters and taxes to financial planning is covered in detail.

It is immediately apparent, however, that Robinhood USA’s website provides zero means of getting in touch with the company. You can only reach the Robinhood support team by email, which you may do by filling out a form buried at the bottom of the page. Finding the email address anywhere else on the Robinhood website or app is impossible.

Neither a live chat nor a phone number for direct contact with Robinhood staff was accessible throughout our service study. Robinhood does not provide any assistance beyond a knowledge base and a set of frequently asked questions. Thankfully, the website is open and informative enough to partially compensate for the absence of customer assistance.

An entire class on customer service could learn from eToro. When it comes to helping customers, they are at the forefront. You may get in touch with eToro’s responsive and friendly customer service team in several ways. Unfortunately, you can’t get in touch with customer assistance on the weekends.

Live chat is one of two ways to get in touch with eToro’s support team; the other is a web-based ticketing system that will get you an email reply. The support staff is efficient and responsive. Unfortunately, you can’t reach them by phone or on the weekends, which is a significant drawback.

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eToro’s support staff is fluent in all 21 languages the company’s trading platforms provide.

Distinguishing Features

Before opening a position, users of eToro may put their trading strategies through their paces with the platform’s virtual trading tool. It also has a function called CopyTrader, which lets consumers “copy” the purchase orders of experts. Traders who want portability can use eToro’s excellent mobile trading app.

Traders have the flexibility to move between the desktop and mobile platforms. The eToro mobile app is highly flexible, allowing users to create their own watchlists, monitor their portfolios, and check the values of the supported cryptocurrencies. The desktop site and the mobile app allow users to place market orders.

With Robinhood, consumers may begin their financial adventure with as little as $1. This function is excellent for first-time traders since it allows them to test the waters with minimal risk. With Robinhood, you can make a deposit instantly of up to $1,000 and start generating money right away.

Robinhood’s innovative smartphone software simplifies cryptocurrency trading for its customers. Additionally, it features a news feed so users can stay up-to-date on developments related to each supported cryptocurrency. Users will have a great time trading because of the accessibility of real-time news and user-friendly charts.

My Preference: eToro Wins By A Bit

eToro provides a wider variety of instruments available for trading than Robinhood does. Particularly appealing is the ability to “copy” successful traders rather than making all of one’s investing selections. When comparing the two, eToro also comes out on top in the finance department since it offers more deposit and withdrawal options and processes withdrawal requests far more quickly than Robinhood.

There are benefits and drawbacks to both eToro and Robinhood. However, eToro is the way to go if you want to be associated with a brokerage business that has a stellar reputation and provides access to a wide range of investing options, including social trading.

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Robinhood vs. eToro: The Bottom Line

When comparing eToro and Robinhood, it’s clear that eToro is the superior trading platform. Robinhood’s image has been constantly damaged due to worries over its security and transparency. Traders and investors with little to no experience in the market might benefit significantly from eToro. It allows for exploration with the peace of mind that comes from knowing you have some protection in place in case of any hiccups.

With eToro, you can connect with other traders and have conversations with them. This alone differentiates it from the numerous other platforms vying for users in the trading business. Therefore, eToro is preferable to Robinhood for beginners eager to practice and learn the ropes. While Robinhood is a solid option, eToro offers even more advantages.

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