eToro – #1 Social Copy Trading PlatformFind Out More

76% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with eToro. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. 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 two mins to learn more.

What Is Social Copy Trading? (2024 Guide)

What Is Social Copy Trading? (2024 Guide)

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76% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with eToro. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. 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 two mins to learn more.

A list of the Top Social Copy Trading Platforms for March 2024:

  1. eToro
  2. AvaTrade
  3. IG
  4. Tickmill
  5. Admiral Markets

Description of the Best Social Copy Trading Platforms for March 2024

There are many national and international social copy trading platforms around the world, but here are our top picks:

1. eToro

Pros

  • Regulated by FCA, ASIC
  • No withdrawal fee for US clients
  • 0% commission on stocks
  • Social and copy trading

Cons

  • Not available in every US State
  • More expensive than most of its competitors
  • No MetaTrader platforms

US customers don’t have access to CFDs

Established in 2007, eToro offers both CFD and stocks trading opportunities. Copy trading is available through their patented software CopyTrader, which provides the opportunity to copy the portfolios of top-performing traders.

As a first step, try out a demo copy-trading account with virtual funds to build an understanding of how the process works.

eToro also features an online community in which you can join discussions with fellow traders and learn more about trading and the various markets.

eToro is available in over 60 countries. In 2018, it began to take on US customers but is still only available in certain states.

Due to the Dodd-Frank Act and related legislation, US traders may only copy other US traders.

To find out more, read our eToro review.

Visit eToro

76% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with eToro. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. 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 two mins to learn more.

2. AvaTrade

Pros

  • Worldwide regulated
  • Multiple platforms – MT4, MT5, etc.
  • Negative balance protection
  • 20% welcome bonus
  • Educational content
  • Wide rage of payments methods
  • Fixed spreads

Cons

  • You can’t buy stocks
  • Quarterly and annual inactivity fees
  • Custumer support is not available 24/7
  • No bonus for EU based clients
  • No US clients accepted
  • Imitated crypto assets

AvaTrade is a CFD Regulated broker with +1,000 financial instruments and multiple trading platforms. It has been operating since 2006.

It offers a 20% welcome bonus up to $10,000, according to regulation and a free 21-day demo account with $100,000.

Instruments include:

  • Metals
  • Commodities
  • Stocks
  • FX Options
  • Oil
  • ETFs
  • Options
  • Crypto currencies
  • CFDs
  • Indexes
  • Shares
  • Spread betting
  • Indices
  • Forex
  • Bonds

AVATrade EU Ltd is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland. (No.C53877) Ava Trade Markets Ltd. is regulated by the B.V.I Financial Services Commission. It is also highly regulated in Australia, South Africa, Japan, Middle East, Cyprus and Israel

You can not trade with AvaTrade in the US, North Korea, New Zealand, Iran or Belgium.

Mínimum deposit of $100, no withdraw limit and no fees.

Visit AvaTrade

3. IG

Pros

  • Highly regulated
  • MetaTrader 4 (MT4)
  • Over 10,000 instruments
  • Available in the UK and US
  • 24/7 customer support

Cons

  • High fees
  • No deposit compensation scheme for US accounts
  • No copy trading
  • Inactivity fees

IG is a great share trading platform for beginners thanks to its user-friendly interface and extensive educational resources.

Pros of IG include a wide range of trading instruments and markets, as well as the ability to access multiple account types and trading platforms. The platform also offers a demo account for beginners to practise trading strategies before investing real money.

However, IG isn’t the cheapest share trading platform, with relatively high trading fees and a minimum deposit requirement of £250 when paying by credit/debit card or PayPal.

In terms of additional fees, IG charges a commission fee for share trading, starting from £8 per trade. There’s also a custody fee of 0.25% per year for holdings of £250 or more.

Overall, IG is a solid choice for beginners looking for a user-friendly platform with extensive educational resources, but investors should be aware of its fees and minimum deposit requirements.

Visit IG

Spread bets and CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 69% of IG retail investor accounts lose money when trading spread bets and CFDs with IG. You should consider whether you understand how spread bets and CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

4. Tickmill

Pros

  • Low trading costs
  • No minimum deposit for some accounts
  • Variety of trading instruments
  • Advanced trading platforms

Cons

  • Limited product portfolio
  • Inactivity fees
  • Geographical restrictions
  • Limited social trading features

Tickmill offers innovative features, allowing traders to connect and engage with a community of seasoned investors and automatically replicate their trading strategies.

These features enable traders, significantly those new to the markets, to benefit from the expertise and insights of experienced traders without the need for extensive market knowledge.

With Tickmill, users can browse a diverse selection of top-performing traders and review their trading performance, risk levels, and historical results. Users can seamlessly copy their trades once a suitable trader is identified, mirroring their investment decisions in real-time.

As a regulated broker, Tickmill prioritizes the security and privacy of its users. The platform's robust security measures and adherence to regulatory standards, are enforced by reputable authorities like the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), CySEC and FSA.

With its user-friendly interface, customizable parameters, and commitment to security, Tickmill empowers traders to participate in a dynamic and collaborative trading community.

Visit Tickmill

CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 70% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with Tickmill UK Ltd. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs or our other products work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

5. Admiral Markets

Pros

  • Highly regulated
  • Advanced trading tools
  • Account protection
  • Low trading fees

Cons

  • No US clients
  • Inactivity fee
  • Minimum deposit of $250

Best for: On demand

Founded in 2001, Admiral Markets, rebranding to 'Admirals', describes itself as a ‘full-spectrum financial hub’.

In practice, Admirals is a broker that offers several forex and CFD trading instruments in most currencies.

With its copy trading feature, you can view successful traders' profit charts, win ratios, average ROI and other relevant details and set your own stop loss, take profit and copy ratio limits.

Admiral Markets is regulated by JSC, FCA, EFSA and CySEC, and offers traders access to both MetaTrader 4 and 5, with the opportunity to have several active accounts with different base currencies to take advantage of price instability.

There are several account types available, depending on the platform that you want to use.

On MT4, you can choose a standard account known as Trade.MT4. The minimum deposit for this account is 100 USD/EUR/GBP or equivalent, and you can trade 37 currency pairs as well as metal, energy, future, stock and bond CFDs.

In this account, the trading fees come from the spread, apart from with single share or ETF CFDs, which have a standard commission of 0.02 USD.

The Zero.MT4 account offers tighter spreads, with more currency pairs (45) but fewer CFD options.

The commission on forex and metal CFDs is 1.8 to 3 USD per lot, cash indices are 0.5 to 3 USD per lot, and energy CFDs are 1 USD per lot.

If you prefer the upgraded MT5, you can also have an Invest.MT5 account, alongside the Trade.MT5 and Zero.MT5. MetaTrader 5 accounts have access to more trading instruments in both Trade and Zero, but the Invest.MT5 is designed purely for buying stocks and ETFs, with more than 4,350 stocks and 200 ETFs available and a minimum deposit of 1 EUR/USD/GBP.

Deposits are free using bank transfer, card, PayPal or Klarna, but there is a 0.9% fee (or $1 minimum) for deposits made using e-wallets like Neteller or Skrill. You can have one free withdrawal a month as a bank transfer, but two if you use PayPal or e-wallets.

Admirals is available as a trading app on mobile as well as web and desktop, and the user interface and real-time trading that is available across platforms offer a seamless user experience.

The research and analytics are extensive, with technical and fundamental analysis alongside trading news, market sentiment and a market heat map. Access to MetaTrader Trading Central and a weekly trading podcast is also provided.

In terms of education, there are articles and tutorials, eBooks, trading videos, webinars and seminars as well as a FAQ and a handy glossary.

If you are not a UK resident, the conditions might change depending on the regulation. Please, check the Admirals website for details.

Please, be aware that if you want to see UK conditions but you don't have a UK IP address, then you must select Admirals Markets UK at the bottom of the home page.

Visit Admiral Markets

Investments involve risks and are not suitable for all investors. Spread bets and CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 74% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading spread bets and CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how spread bets and CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

Copy trading is the process of replicating the trading actions of an experienced trader, either automatically or manually, so that you benefit from their knowledge and strategies.

Your account will follow theirs exactly, whether buying, holding or selling.

Copy trading is similar to social trading; in fact, copy trading is often seen as a form of social trading.

In social trading, a trader may well replicate the trading actions of another more experienced trader, but the main focus of social trading is on communicating with and learning from other traders and sources of trading information.

This could include what to invest in, current events that affect trading markets or understanding the pros and cons of a particular strategy so that you can develop your own trading skills.

The main difference between copy trading and social trading is that the latter assumes you will put in the time to learn about trading, whereas the former is often seen as a shortcut to profit.

Think you might be ready to trade but want to make sure? Read Signs You Are Ready To Live Trade.

How Does Copy Trading Work?

This will largely depend on whether you want to automatically or manually copy trade.

Manual Copy Trading

If you choose to manually copy trade, it will be down to you to keep track of the trader or traders whom you wish to emulate, and then copy their trading actions through a broker or trading platform.

Manual copy trading can be a time-consuming process if you want to catch every purchase or sale a particular trader makes, especially if they have a diverse and substantial portfolio.

Of course, you may decide to simply copy one element of their portfolio, such as forex.

Automatic Copy Trading

If you choose to automatically copy trade, you will generally use a trading platform that offers copy-trading functionality.

Choose the trader or traders you are interested in and copy their portfolio. Your account will continue to copy that trader until you tell it to stop.

Some of the trading platforms and brokers that allow copy trading are subscription-based, requiring a monthly fee.

Alternatively, they may charge a share of your profits to allow you to copy the portfolios of their experienced traders. Other platforms will instead charge a withdrawal fee.

You are free to copy multiple traders, but this may lead to trading actions that are in opposition to each other; for instance, where one trader invests in an asset and the other sells that asset.

This is exactly the kind of situation that demands you have the trading experience to support whatever stance you take.

We mentioned earlier that copy trading is often seen as a shortcut to profit. That ‘shortcut’, however, carries a level of risk, especially if you use it with no knowledge to support the trades you make.

It is always advisable to investigate the trading markets for yourself so that you understand exactly why it is better to copy one trader rather than another.

Remember, a higher likelihood of profit is usually accompanied by a higher risk that you may lose a substantial amount of money.

Interested in learning about stock trading? Read The Best Stock Trading Courses.

Copy Trading Example

Let’s say you are a complete beginner at trading. You have no real idea what you want to trade in (for instance, forex, shares, cryptocurrencies or commodities), but you like the idea of investing in the renewable energy trend.

  • You join a trading platform that offers copy trading and you investigate who the most successful traders are.
  • You then look into which of these individuals trade specifically or predominantly in renewable energy.
  • You research the trading assets in their portfolio. These might include shares, commodities or ETFs.

An ETF (exchange-traded fund) is a basket of assets that can be traded on an exchange. It might include shares, commodities, bonds or any asset that can be exchange-traded.

Each ETF has a marketable price. Generally, the assets contained in an ETF will have a common theme.

In our example, the individuals you are researching trade in renewable energy ETFs, which is perfect for your interests.

Using the mechanism of the trading platform, you copy the trader of your choice.

Each trading action that they make, your account will also make. Your profit, or loss, will reflect their own but at a percentage relative to how much capital you invest.

For instance, if the trader has invested $10,000 and you invest $1,000, your profit or loss will be a tenth of theirs.

Your account will continue to copy that trader until you tell it not to.

Remember that, although a trader’s portfolio may match your trading interests, such as renewable energy or healthcare, or include the type of trading assets you favor, for instance, forex or commodities, it may also include other assets.

If you automatically copy that trader, you will generally invest in their entire portfolio.

Want to learn more about how trends like renewable energy may affect trading? Read What Are Megatrends?

What is Social Copy Trading?
What is Social Copy Trading?

Advantages and Disadvantages of Copy Trading

Copy trading may seem like an ideal way to begin or automate your trading, but what are the pros and cons?

Pros

  • You can learn about markets that you are unfamiliar with
  • You can diversify your portfolio
  • Learn about trading strategy
  • Time-saver
  • Trade in other time zones
  • Removes the emotional responses

Cons

  • You have no control over what trades you make
  • Risk
  • Blindly copying another trader without doing own research
  • Traders may seek to influence market prices
  • May lose confidence
  • May forget to check that the trader you are copying is still successful

Advantages of Copy Trading

  • You can learn about markets that you are unfamiliar with. For instance, if you are interested in trading forex but you have no idea what pairs to invest in, copying a trader who is experienced in the forex market can be an excellent way to learn.

  • You can diversify your portfolio, by copying an experienced trader alongside making your own informed investments.

  • If you start copy trading as a complete beginner to trading, you can use it as a way to learn about trading strategy, the markets and a general trading how-to. Trading is an ongoing learning curve; there is always more to learn at any stage in your trading journey. Copy trading is an excellent tool to further that education.

  • Unless you feel the need to constantly monitor your progress, automatic copy trading through a trading platform can be a real time-saver. In comparison, manual copy trading may still take up as much time as other forms of trading.

  • Copying the actions of another trader, especially one who does not live in the same country as you, may enable you to trade in other time zones.

  • Copy trading removes the emotional responses and knee-jerk reactions that may hinder your trading decisions because the choice of what to trade and when is up to someone else.

If you think your emotional responses might get in the way of your trading success, have a look at our article on mindful trading.

Disadvantages of Copy Trading

  • Copying the portfolio and actions of another trader means that you have no control over what trades you make, other than when you stop copying that trader.

  • Tied in with the lack of control is the element of risk. You are relying on the expertise, watchfulness and general good judgment of another trader. You may find that the price of an asset changes, but the trader does not act on that price change at the point where you would have. You are risking your capital on the success of the trader you copy.

  • Copy trading can tempt traders into blindly copying another trader without doing their own research first.

  • Traders may seek to influence market prices by encouraging other traders to copy their portfolio.

  • Rely too heavily on copy trading and you may lose all confidence in making your own trading decisions.

  • You may forget to check that the trader you are copying is still successful and just let your capital ‘ride’.

Earning an income through investment may seem like a financial dream, but here are our Top 10 Reasons To Invest.

Copy trading is legal in most countries, although it is always worthwhile researching this for your own country.

For instance, the Dodd-Frank Act in the US placed several restrictions on all forms of trading.

However, even though copy trading is legal in a particular country, you may find that trading platforms may not operate or offer copy trading there.

This is generally caused by an inability to obtain financial regulation in that country. Check before you sign up with any trading platform.

Frequently Asked Questions

Copy trading is a type of trading where a trader copies another trader's trades automatically.

The copied trades are executed in the follower's account, in proportion to their account balance.

Copy trading is usually facilitated by a third-party platform or broker, and it allows novice traders to learn from the strategies of experienced traders.

Social trading is a type of trading where traders share their trading activities, strategies and insights with other traders in a social network.

Social trading platforms provide a forum for traders to interact with each other, share knowledge and follow each other's trades.

The best copy trading platform depends on the individual trader's needs and preferences.

Some popular copy trading platforms include eToro, ZuluTrade and NAGA.

These platforms provide a range of features such as automated trading, social trading and the ability to copy trades from multiple traders.

74% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. Don’t invest in unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest.

The best social trading network depends on the individual trader's goals and preferences.

Some popular social trading networks include eToro, Tradeo and Myfxbook.

These networks provide a range of features such as social trading, copy trading and forums for traders to interact with each other.

74% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. Don’t invest in unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest.

To do social trading, a trader needs to sign up for a social trading platform and create an account.

Once the account is created, the trader can search for other traders to follow, interact with them and copy their trades.

Social trading platforms provide a range of tools and features to facilitate social trading, such as copy trading, automated trading and social networking.

To start copy trading, a trader needs to sign up for a copy trading platform or broker and create an account.

Once the account is created, the trader can search for other traders to copy, review their trading history and performance, and select the traders to copy.

The copy trading platform will automatically copy the selected trades into the trader's account, in proportion to their account balance.

Copy trading can be a safe way to invest, but as with any form of investment, there are risks involved.

It's important to choose a reputable and trustworthy copy trading platform and to carefully select the traders you choose to copy.

Additionally, you should diversify your portfolio and manage your risk carefully to avoid losses.

The amount of money you can make with copy trading depends on a variety of factors, such as the performance of the traders you choose to copy, the amount of money you invest and the fees charged by the copy trading platform.

Some traders have achieved significant returns through copy trading, but it's important to keep in mind that there are no guarantees and losses are also possible.

The best way to practice copy trading is to start with a small amount of money and to choose a copy trading platform that allows you to practice with a demo account.

This will give you a chance to familiarize yourself with the platform and test different strategies before investing real money.

Copy trading is legal in most countries, but it's important to check the laws and regulations in your specific location. Some copy trading platforms may also have restrictions on who can use their services.

The main risks of social copy trading are the potential for losses and the risk of copying traders who may not have a successful track record.

It's important to carefully research the traders you choose to copy and to keep your risk management strategies in mind.

When choosing a social copy trading platform, you should consider factors such as the fees charged, the selection of traders available, the level of regulation and security provided, and the user experience of the platform.

It's also important to read reviews and do your own research to find a platform that suits your needs.

Final Thoughts

Copy trading may seem like a quick and easy way to begin trading but it is always advisable to take the time to carry out your own research.

Rather than a shortcut to possible profit, copy trading should be seen as one more way to learn about trading and develop your trading skills.

WikiJob does not provide tax, investment or financial services and advice. The information is being presented without consideration of the investment objectives, risk tolerance or financial circumstances of any specific investor and might not be suitable for all investors. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Investing involves risk including the possible loss of principal.

76% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with eToro. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money. 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 two mins to learn more.


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