A Detailed Comparison table for Trading Platforms Plus500, eToro, IG, Coinbase and IronFX
History
Six alumni of the Technion founded Plus500 in 2008. Back then, the platform operated on Windows. The web version launched in 2010, and iPad apps became available in 2011. The London Stock Exchange’s primary market listed Plus500 shares in 2018.
eToro started in 2007. The founders, Yoni Assia and Ronen Assia, are brothers. Another co-founder was David Ring. It entered the U.S market in 2018, offering ten cryptocurrencies. In 2021, eToro had operations in 140 countries.
IG started in 1974. The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority and Germany’s Federal Financial Supervisory Authority oversee IG’s operations. You can find this platform listed on the London Stock Exchange.
Airbnb engineer Brian Armstrong founded Coinbase in 2012. Later he was joined by ex Goldman Sachs trader Fred Ehrsam. Coinbase buys and sells Bitcoins through bank transfers.
IronFx started in Cyprus in December of 2010. CySEC was the first regulatory organization to recognize it. Later, IronFx opened offices in Australia and then London. The Australian authority ASIC recognized IronFx in 2013. The following year, IronFX got authorization from South Africa’s Finacial Services Board.
Who should use it
Plus500 is suitable for traders who want to work with various financial markets at a low cost and through an easy-to-use platform. The platform offers 2,000+ CFDs. There is no commission, and the spread is competitive.
eToro is the best platform for traders looking to do social trading. A beginner trader can shadow other leading and experienced investors on the platform. This helps them to learn directly from the experts and adopt their habits.
IG Trading is a suitable platform for forex traders in the U.S. However, the U.S doesn’t get negative balance protection from IG. So, a client can lose more money than they have in their account and end up in debt to the platform.
Coinbase is a good platform for both advanced users and beginners in cryptocurrency trading. A user can trade in more than 100 cryptocurrencies on this platform. The original Coinbase platform is suitable for beginners due to its less complex buy and sell features. For the advanced user, there is Coinbase Pro.
If you aren’t an advanced trader, spending some time on the platform can be worth your while. You can try various trading styles with their flexible account types. The platform also offers the users a Personal multi-account manager. A trader can use it to trade across several Metatrader accounts.
Cost
Plus500 doesn’t charge any commission fees on transactions. They make money when trades cross the bid or ask spread. Plus, they take a financing charge on overnight positions clients held. Also, there is an inactivity fee if the account has seen no activity in 3 months. Other than that, Plus500 is a cost-free platform.
eToro offers some of the lowest trading fees. If you are a U.S user, you don’t need to pay anything when withdrawing your money. But you cannot withdraw more than $30 at once. Users outside the U.S have to pay a fee of $5 and currency conversion costs. If the account is inactive for over a year, there is a $10 inactivity fee/month.
The ‘spreads’ for American clients start from 0.8 pips. For other European countries, they ranges from 0.9 to 5.4 (depending on the currency). The inactivity fee for a year on the IG platform is $12. If you withdraw your money through the wire, the cost is $15.
If your trade size is $10 or less, you have to pay Coinbase a fee of $0.99. For $10 to $25 trades, the price is $1.49. A trade of $25 to $50 will have you paying $1.99 in fees. And for a $50 to $200 trade, you pay $2.99.
The average spread on the platform is 1.2 pips. Meanwhile, the EUR/USD spread minimum is listed at 0.7 pips. There are also many commissions and fees involved in the trade exchange perform. And if there is no activity in your account for a year, you have to pay an inactivity fee of $50.
User-friendliness
Plus500 provides one of the most user-friendly trading platforms. This is Plus500’s proprietary platform called WebTrader. Users can easily access it from any device or browser. There are thousands of tools and instruments that can help traders conduct their business efficiently. WebTrader is also available as a mobile app.
eToro offers one of the best platforms and mobile apps to its users. A trader can easily pull traditional money from the bank, deposit it and start trading in cryptocurrency. The simple yet sophisticated design of eToro’s user interface makes this a seamless experience.
IG’s web-based platform is relatively easy to use. It is also compatible with all browsers. However, it lacks many of the advanced features of its competitors. Users can also trade on IG using the iOS, and Android apps it offers, which are non-customizable.
Coinbase has an easy-to-use web-based trading platform. It also has a mobile app that users can download from the Play Store. The mobile app has all the necessary features you need to conduct trading from anywhere at any time.
IronFx doesn’t have a dedicated platform. Instead, the user carries out their trading activities via Metatrader 4 and 5. Although not an advanced, user-friendly interface like eToro or Plus500, Metatrader’s dashboard still provides some functionality to the clients. Also, there are Android and iOS versions of Metatrader that users can work from.
Social Trading
Plus500 does not offer a social trading feature, but it has many helpful tools that make it easy for beginners to make intelligent trading decisions.
The social trading feature is one of the main reasons for eToro’s immense popularity among traders. You can copy the trading habits of experienced investors and shadow their moves to find success for yourself.
IG does not offer social trading features. However, you can access IG’s helpful community of traders when you join the platform. These people can help you with trading questions.
Coinbase does not have a copy trading or social trading feature.
IronFx doesn’t have a social trading option. But users can see and compare other traders’ positions (in a limited manner) from Metatrader’s dashboard.
Security
Plus500 is registered with all the essential regulatory authorities in Europe and Asia-Pacific. This makes it one of the most secured trading platforms out there. It also doesn’t commingle client and corporate funds. Plus500 also provides negative balance protection to clients. Its web and mobile apps are very secure too. Depending on the timer setting, users will be automatically logged out in case of prolonged inactivity.
eToro provides one of the most secure online trading platforms. They have secured the majority of clients’ assets in cold storage. As a result, they are immune to hacks and other digital attacks. Plus, users can also set up two-factor authentication for their accounts, which adds an extra layer of protection.
IG (U.K) keeps the client and corporate funds separate. So, if IG goes bankrupt, the clients still get to save their money. IG (U.K) also provides their clients with negative balance protection, so that they can never end up losing more money than they have in their account. However, this protection is not available for U.S clients.
Coinbase has preserved 98 percent of its clients’ assets in an offline safe deposit box network. The website has an encryption standard that rivals most banks. Plus, all their accounts require two-factor authentication to access.
The Financial Services Compensation Scheme provides IronFX default protection up to 50,000 GBP. This applies to U.K traders only. Security of 20,000 Euro is provided for other clients inside the European Union. The Investor Compensation Fund of Cyprus offers this protection. The ESMA also makes it mandatory to provide negative balance protection to the users.
Education
Plus500 has many resources to help the user educate themself. They have a well-written eBook called the Trader Guide. There’s also an educational video series of the same name. Another learning material provided on the platform is the ‘Key Information Document. ‘This contains all the summary information on various financial assets you will deal with on the platform.
eToro’s social trading feature is one of the best tools to learn trading on your own. eToro also has a fully dedicated Trading School where you can learn through classrooms, webinars and Market Watch.
IG Trading has a dedicated educational outlet—the IG Academy. You can find many beginner-level and advanced educational materials to develop your trading skills further. Plus, users can also learn from IG Academy’s various courses.
Coinbase does not provide courses like IG trading, but they have helpful articles and tutorial videos on their website.
IronFX has an impressive collection of educational materials. The educational arm is known as IronFX Academy. Many helpful tutorial-type videos cover all the basic and advanced concepts of trading. Also, there are five eBooks and an encyclopedia that provides a complete and detailed discussion of all relevant topics.
Review
A Detailed Comparison table for Trading Platforms Plus500, eToro, IG, Coinbase and IronFX
History
Six alumni of the Technion founded Plus500 in 2008. Back then, the platform operated on Windows. The web version launched in 2010, and iPad apps became available in 2011. The London Stock Exchange’s primary market listed Plus500 shares in 2018.
eToro started in 2007. The founders, Yoni Assia and Ronen Assia, are brothers. Another co-founder was David Ring. It entered the U.S market in 2018, offering ten cryptocurrencies. In 2021, eToro had operations in 140 countries.
IG started in 1974. The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority and Germany’s Federal Financial Supervisory Authority oversee IG’s operations. You can find this platform listed on the London Stock Exchange.
Airbnb engineer Brian Armstrong founded Coinbase in 2012. Later he was joined by ex Goldman Sachs trader Fred Ehrsam. Coinbase buys and sells Bitcoins through bank transfers.
IronFx started in Cyprus in December of 2010. CySEC was the first regulatory organization to recognize it. Later, IronFx opened offices in Australia and then London. The Australian authority ASIC recognized IronFx in 2013. The following year, IronFX got authorization from South Africa’s Finacial Services Board.
Who should use it
Plus500 is suitable for traders who want to work with various financial markets at a low cost and through an easy-to-use platform. The platform offers 2,000+ CFDs. There is no commission, and the spread is competitive.
eToro is the best platform for traders looking to do social trading. A beginner trader can shadow other leading and experienced investors on the platform. This helps them to learn directly from the experts and adopt their habits.
IG Trading is a suitable platform for forex traders in the U.S. However, the U.S doesn’t get negative balance protection from IG. So, a client can lose more money than they have in their account and end up in debt to the platform.
Coinbase is a good platform for both advanced users and beginners in cryptocurrency trading. A user can trade in more than 100 cryptocurrencies on this platform. The original Coinbase platform is suitable for beginners due to its less complex buy and sell features. For the advanced user, there is Coinbase Pro.
If you aren’t an advanced trader, spending some time on the platform can be worth your while. You can try various trading styles with their flexible account types. The platform also offers the users a Personal multi-account manager. A trader can use it to trade across several Metatrader accounts.
Cost
Plus500 doesn’t charge any commission fees on transactions. They make money when trades cross the bid or ask spread. Plus, they take a financing charge on overnight positions clients held. Also, there is an inactivity fee if the account has seen no activity in 3 months. Other than that, Plus500 is a cost-free platform.
eToro offers some of the lowest trading fees. If you are a U.S user, you don’t need to pay anything when withdrawing your money. But you cannot withdraw more than $30 at once. Users outside the U.S have to pay a fee of $5 and currency conversion costs. If the account is inactive for over a year, there is a $10 inactivity fee/month.
The ‘spreads’ for American clients start from 0.8 pips. For other European countries, they ranges from 0.9 to 5.4 (depending on the currency). The inactivity fee for a year on the IG platform is $12. If you withdraw your money through the wire, the cost is $15.
If your trade size is $10 or less, you have to pay Coinbase a fee of $0.99. For $10 to $25 trades, the price is $1.49. A trade of $25 to $50 will have you paying $1.99 in fees. And for a $50 to $200 trade, you pay $2.99.
The average spread on the platform is 1.2 pips. Meanwhile, the EUR/USD spread minimum is listed at 0.7 pips. There are also many commissions and fees involved in the trade exchange perform. And if there is no activity in your account for a year, you have to pay an inactivity fee of $50.
User-friendliness
Plus500 provides one of the most user-friendly trading platforms. This is Plus500’s proprietary platform called WebTrader. Users can easily access it from any device or browser. There are thousands of tools and instruments that can help traders conduct their business efficiently. WebTrader is also available as a mobile app.
eToro offers one of the best platforms and mobile apps to its users. A trader can easily pull traditional money from the bank, deposit it and start trading in cryptocurrency. The simple yet sophisticated design of eToro’s user interface makes this a seamless experience.
IG’s web-based platform is relatively easy to use. It is also compatible with all browsers. However, it lacks many of the advanced features of its competitors. Users can also trade on IG using the iOS, and Android apps it offers, which are non-customizable
Coinbase has an easy-to-use web-based trading platform. It also has a mobile app that users can download from the Play Store. The mobile app has all the necessary features you need to conduct trading from anywhere at any time.
IronFx doesn’t have a dedicated platform. Instead, the user carries out their trading activities via Metatrader 4 and 5. Although not an advanced, user-friendly interface like eToro or Plus500, Metatrader’s dashboard still provides some functionality to the clients. Also, there are Android and iOS versions of Metatrader that users can work from.
Social Trading
Plus500 does not offer a social trading feature, but it has many helpful tools that make it easy for beginners to make intelligent trading decisions.
The social trading feature is one of the main reasons for eToro’s immense popularity among traders. You can copy the trading habits of experienced investors and shadow their moves to find success for yourself.
IG does not offer social trading features. However, you can access IG’s helpful community of traders when you join the platform. These people can help you with trading questions.
Coinbase does not have a copy trading or social trading feature.
IronFx doesn’t have a social trading option. But users can see and compare other traders’ positions (in a limited manner) from Metatrader’s dashboard.
Security
Plus500 is registered with all the essential regulatory authorities in Europe and Asia-Pacific. This makes it one of the most secured trading platforms out there. It also doesn’t commingle client and corporate funds. Plus500 also provides negative balance protection to clients. Its web and mobile apps are very secure too. Depending on the timer setting, users will be automatically logged out in case of prolonged inactivity.
eToro provides one of the most secure online trading platforms. They have secured the majority of clients’ assets in cold storage. As a result, they are immune to hacks and other digital attacks. Plus, users can also set up two-factor authentication for their accounts, which adds an extra layer of protection.
IG (U.K) keeps the client and corporate funds separate. So, if IG goes bankrupt, the clients still get to save their money. IG (U.K) also provides their clients with negative balance protection, so that they can never end up losing more money than they have in their account. However, this protection is not available for U.S clients.
Coinbase has preserved 98 percent of its clients’ assets in an offline safe deposit box network. The website has an encryption standard that rivals most banks. Plus, all their accounts require two-factor authentication to access.
The Financial Services Compensation Scheme provides IronFX default protection up to 50,000 GBP. This applies to U.K traders only. Security of 20,000 Euro is provided for other clients inside the European Union. The Investor Compensation Fund of Cyprus offers this protection. The ESMA also makes it mandatory to provide negative balance protection to the users.
Education
Plus500 has many resources to help the user educate themself. They have a well-written eBook called the Trader Guide. There’s also an educational video series of the same name. Another learning material provided on the platform is the ‘Key Information Document. ‘This contains all the summary information on various financial assets you will deal with on the platform.
eToro’s social trading feature is one of the best tools to learn trading on your own. eToro also has a fully dedicated Trading School where you can learn through classrooms, webinars and Market Watch.
IG Trading has a dedicated educational outlet—the IG Academy. You can find many beginner-level and advanced educational materials to develop your trading skills further. Plus, users can also learn from IG Academy’s various courses.
Coinbase does not provide courses like IG trading, but they have helpful articles and tutorial videos on their website.
IronFX has an impressive collection of educational materials. The educational arm is known as IronFX Academy. Many helpful tutorial-type videos cover all the basic and advanced concepts of trading. Also, there are five eBooks and an encyclopedia that provides a complete and detailed discussion of all relevant topics.
Review
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