Traders consistently seek trusted and reliable trading platforms that suit their trading styles and preferences. Etoro and CMC Markets are top-tier regulated brokers providing online trading services worldwide. Etoro is known for its social trading and multi-asset platform, regulated in four tier-1 jurisdictions and one tier-4 jurisdiction including CySEC, FCA, Finra, FSA-S, and SIPC. On the other hand, CMC Markets specializes in online forex and CFD trading, regulated by five tier-1 jurisdictions, including FCA, MAS, ASIC, IIROC, FMA.. While these brokers offer similar services, they each have their own strengths and weaknesses.
In this article, I have compared Etoro and CMC Markets in terms of trading platforms, Pros, Cons, regulations, tradable assets, fees, customer support, and overall trading experience score. This analysis aims to help you determine which broker better suits your trading style and preferences.
eToro vs CMC Markets: In a Nutshell
eToro:
eToro is a multi-asset investment company that offers 5000+ trading instruments for clients worldwide. Its headquarters are located in Central Israel. The platform is known for its advanced proprietary social investing and copy-trading platform. eToro is regulated by multiple regulatory authorities including FCA, ASIC, CySEC, FINRA, SEC, and SIPC. etoro is also available on NASDAQ with the FTCV ticker. It has built a huge community comprising over 30 million traders who interact with each other while investors automatically copy the trades of expert traders. Additionally, you can trade real stocks, ETFs, and cryptos with eToro. To learn more, you can read our review on Etoro. .
Etoro Overview
- Founded In: 2007
- Founder: Yoni Assia, Ronen Assia
- Headquarters: UK
- Minimum Deposit: $50
- Maximum Leverage: 30:1 EU, 50:1 USA
- Regulations: SEC, FINRA, FCA, CySEC, FSA-S, SIPC
- Trading platform: eToro Trading Platforms
- Account Types: Standard, Professional, Corporate
- Payment Options: Bank Wire (BankTransfer/SWIFT), VISA, MasterCard, Giropay, Local Bank Deposits, Local Bank Transfers, Neteller, PayPal, Skrill, UnionPay, WebMoney, Yandex Money
CMC Markets:
Founded in 1989, CMC Markets is a publicly traded broker (Ticker: CMCX). The broker is regulated in the UK, Australia, Canada, and Singapore. It offers over 9800 trading instruments, including Forex, Indices, Cryptocurrencies, Shares & ETFs, and Commodities. There is no minimum deposit requirement on IC Markets; you may deposit as low as $1. CMC Markets allows EA trading and news trading. The broker uses the most popular trading platform, MetaTrader (MT4), as its trading platform. To learn more, you can read our review about CMC Markets.
CMC Markets Overview
- Founded In: 1989
- Minimum Deposit: $0
- Maximum Leverage: 1:500
- Regulations: FCA, ASIC, BaFin, IIROC, FMA, MAS
- Trading platform: MT4, MT5, TradingView, Share trading platforms
- Account Types: SPREAD BETTING, Fx Active, CFD Trading
- Payment Options: Bank Wire (BankTransfer/SWIFT), VISA, MasterCard
- US Traders: Not Accept
eToro vs CMC Markets: Features
eToro
- Trading Instruments: Stocks, Indices, ETFs, Currencies, Commodities, Crypto
- Maximum leverage: 1:3000
- Minimum Deposit: $5
- Account Types: Personal (retail) account, professional account, corporate account, and Islamic account
- Trading Fees: Spread starting from 1 pip
- PAMM/ MAM: Not available. A dedicated Copy trading Platform is available
- Scalping: Not Allowed
- News Trading: Allowed
- EA/ Robot Trading: Not Allowed
CMC Markets
- Trading Instruments: 12000+ trading instruments including forex, indices, Cryptocurrencies, Commodities, Shares, Share baskets, Treasuries, etc
- Maximum leverage: Up to 30:1 ( FCA, ASIC), up to 1:50 (IIROC), and up to 500:1 for a professional account.
- Minimum Deposit: No Minimum Deposit. However, Pepperstone recommends $200 or equivalent for the margin requirement.
- Account Types: Three (Spread Betting Account, CFD Account, Corporate Account)
- Trading Fees: only Spread is charged (Commission is only for Shares account). Variable spreads from 0.3 pips. A rollover commission is applied on open positions overnight. For the Shares account commission starts from $7.
- PAMM/ MAM: Not Available
- Scalping: Allowed
- News Trading: Allowed
- EA/ Robot Trading: Allowed
eToro vs CMC Markets: Pros and Cons
eToro:
- Regulated in numerous jurisdictions including CySEC, FCA, ASIC, FinCEN, MSB, FSA Seychelles, FSC Gibraltar, and FSA Malta.
- Trading over 5,000 forex and CFD assets plus real stocks/ETFs and Cryptocurrencies.
- A large community of social traders
- Trading tools like market sentiments, news feed, Trading Central analysis, etc.
- Investors can copy the trades of expert traders or invest in ‘CopyPortfolios’
- Real Stocks and ETFs are Available
- Negative Balance Protection
- Traders pay withdrawal fees, inactivity fees, and conversion fees.
- You have no other platform choice than the eToro platform.
- You cannot automate your strategies via trading robots.
- No multiple account types; you can only have a retail account or a professional account.
- Margin trading is not available to U.S. users
- No limit orders for stocks.
- Not Available in American Samoa, Guam, Hawaii, Nevada, New York, Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands
CMC Markets:
- Regulated by FCA, ASIC, IIROC, MAS, FMA
- Founded in 1989, CMC Markets is publicly traded company
- The minimum deposit is as low as $1
- Comparatively low spread starting from 0.7 pips
- Allows news trading, EA/Robot trading
- Extensive range of tradable assets
- Excellent education and research resources
- Offered only MT4, no MT5, cTrader trading platforms
- Maximum leverage is only 1:300
- No passive investment programme or social trading platforms ( No PAMM, MAM accounts)
- Does not accept US clients
- Only CFD Trading
- High CFD spreads for certain Indices
- Spread betting only for UK residents
eToro vs CMC Markets: Side-by-Side Comparison
eToro Vs CMC Markets: Our Scores and Ratings
We rated both brokers, eToro and CMC Markets, on a scale of 1 to 10, with 0.1 increments. To achieve a comprehensive rating, we broadly grouped all services offered by brokers into 6 macro categories and assigned percentage weights to them. Each macro category is subdivided into several data points which contributes to the total score of 1.0-10.0 assigned to each macro category. Since all categories are not equally important, our weight percentage plays a significant role in assessing the broker accurately. For example, Regulation and Security contributes a total weight of 40% to the whole ratings because this is the most important rating category. To learn more, read our methodology.
eToro:
CMC Markets:
Final Verdict:
Both eToro and CMC Markets are regulated online trading platforms in the industry, offering services to traders and investors. However, there are some differences between them. eToro is a multi-asset and social trading platform, providing over 5000+ trading instruments, including Forex, CFDs, real stocks, and cryptocurrencies. It offers both leverage and non-leverage tradable assets. On the other hand, CMC Markets is a forex and CFD broker that offers Forex, Indices, Share &ETFs, Commodities, Cryptocurrencies, and Treasuries.
Our score for eToro is 8.5, and for CMC Markets, it is 9.0 (based on our research; a score above 8 is considered safe and trustworthy). If you are seeking a social trading platform where you can copy other successful traders and have a one-stop solution for various types of trading, you may choose eToro. However, if you want to trade forex and CFDs, you may choose CMC Markets.
Risk Disclaimer: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. Between 74-89 % of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
