Trading 212 Key Features
Trading 212 is widely regarded as one of the most feature-rich trading platforms available in the UK & Europe. It offers the most Stocks & ETFs out of any exchange in the world, with over 10,000 assets listed on the NASDAQ, S&P, London Stock Exchange (LSX), Euronext, and many other markets.
Trading 212 offers two main platform features, Trading 212 Invest and Trading 212 CFDs. Trading 212 Invest allows users to invest in over 10,000 assets with zero commissions and Trading 212 CFDs gives advanced users access to leverage to go long or short certain assets.
eToro Key Features
eToro offers the same suite of features as Trading 212, with thousands of different Stocks, ETFs, Commodities, and Options to trade. The key difference between eToro and Trading 212 is that eToro offers the ability for customers to buy and sell cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, Avalanche, and 60 others.
The eToro trading platform also offers cryptocurrency staking, which allows users to deposit crypto assets to earn interest of up to 10% annual interest. You can stake and earn interest with large tokens like Solana, Cardano, Ethereum, USDC and many others.
Trading Fees
Both Trading 212 and eToro charge fees for trading and both platforms offer commission-free trading on some markets.
Trading 212 charges commissions on forex pairs, stock CFDs and commodity CFDs. They do not charge commissions on cryptocurrency CFDs or ETFs. eToro charges commissions on forex pairs, stock CFDs and commodity CFDs. They do not charge commissions on cryptocurrency CFDs but they do charge a spread on crypto CFDs.
So if you are looking to trade commission-free, then Trading 212 is the better option for forex pairs, stock CFDs and commodity CFDs. However, eToro is the better option for cryptocurrency CFDs.
Available Markets
Trading 212 offers a wider range of traditional markets such as forex, stocks, indices, commodities and ETFs. They also offer cryptocurrency CFDs. eToro only offers forex, stocks, indices, commodities and cryptocurrency CFDs. So if you are looking to trade in a wider range of markets, then Trading 212 is the better option.
When it comes to the cryptocurrencies available to trade on each platform, Trading 212 offers a more limited selection than eToro. Trading 212 currently offers Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash and Ripple. eToro offers those five cryptocurrencies plus 60 others that includes Solana, Avalanche, Shiba Inu, Cardano, and more.
So if you are looking to trade in a wider range of markets, then Trading 212 is the better option. Otherwise, if you are looking to trade a wider range of cryptocurrencies, then eToro wins.
Security and Regulation
Both Trading 212 and eToro are regulated by financial authorities in multiple jurisdictions. Trading 212 is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK, the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) in Cyprus and the Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) in South Africa.
eToro is regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), the Markets In Financial Instruments Directive II (MiFID II) in the European Union, and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the United Kingdom.
Both platforms offer negative balance protection for retail clients and use segregation of client funds to protect client money. They also both have robust security measures in place such as two-factor authentication.
Final Verdict: Trading 212 vs eToro
Trading 212 and eToro have very clear and distinct advantages, which means the better platform will depend on the user profile. If you are looking to trade the widest variety of Stocks and ETFs, then Trading 212 is the platform for you.
Otherwise, if you want to invest in both the traditional financial market, and emerging digital asset market, then eToro is the superior overall platform.
