eToro vs XM — which broker is better?

Pros

• CopyTrader is one of the most mature copy-trading products in Europe: no separate fee on top of normal trading costs, a USD 200 minimum per copied trader, and up to 100 traders copied at once.
• Nasdaq-listed since May 2025 under ETOR, which forces quarterly audited disclosure that most retail brokers never publish.
• Licensed by the FCA (583263), CySEC (109/10), ASIC (491139), MAS (CMS101824) and the SEC (8-70212) - a genuinely multi-jurisdictional stack rather than a single offshore licence.
• 300+ ETFs with zero eToro commission and fractional investing from USD 10, so small monthly contributions are not swallowed by minimum ticket sizes.
• The inactivity fee was removed in 2026; dormant accounts now cost nothing to hold.
• 150+ cryptoassets held as real coins on the investing account rather than only as CFDs, with coins transferable out to the eToro Money wallet for a 2% fee.
• The demo account carries all 11,000+ instruments and every platform feature, which makes it a usable rehearsal rather than a stripped-down toy.

Cons

• Currency conversion costs 0.75% each way between a European local-currency account and USD, before Club discounts whose size eToro's own pages state differently - for a broker whose core product is USD-denominated, that is the one number you most need.
• Stock orders cost USD 1-2 in most countries. On a EUR 200 monthly savings order that is a 0.5-1.0% drag before any conversion cost, which is expensive against Trading 212 or XTB at zero.
• Crypto costs 1.00% per position for Bronze, Silver and Gold members - charged on the way in and again on the way out. Only Platinum and above see meaningful discounts.
• No exchange-traded options or futures outside the US entity, no individual bonds and no mutual funds. The range is wide across asset classes but shallow within them.
• Withdrawals from a USD account cost USD 5 with a USD 30 minimum; only local-currency accounts (EUR, GBP, DKK) escape the charge.
• Support is chat and ticket only, with no general retail phone line, and priority routing is tied to Club tier - so the smallest accounts get the slowest service.

Pros

• USD 5 minimum deposit on Micro, Standard, Ultra Low and Zero — one of the lowest entry points among multi-regulated brokers
• Zero account prices EUR/USD at 0.0–0.2 pips for USD 3.50 per lot per side (USD 7 round turn), competitive with dedicated ECN brokers
• Around 1,400 tradable instruments including roughly 1,200 share CFDs, 55 FX pairs, 23 cash indices and 40 crypto CFDs
• Education is not decoration: live webinars and seminars run in 30+ languages, backed by a research desk publishing daily market notes
• No deposit or withdrawal fees on the XM side, and cards and e-wallets settle same day
• Five licences across CySEC (120/10), ASIC (443670), DFSA (F003484), FSCA and Belize FSC, with segregated client money and negative balance protection
• 24/7 live chat in more than 30 languages

Cons

• The default Standard and Micro accounts typically quote EUR/USD at 1.6–2.0 pips against an advertised from-1.0 headline — you pay a beginner tax unless you switch tier
• USD 5 per month inactivity fee after 90 days without a trade, which is unusual for a broker that also sells share CFDs to long-term holders
• Most non-EU retail clients are booked to XM Global Limited in Belize, a tier-3 jurisdiction with no investor compensation scheme
• Platform choice is MetaTrader or nothing — no proprietary desktop terminal, no TradingView order routing, and share CFDs exist only on MT5
• No ETFs, no exchange-traded options or futures, no bonds; the range is broad within CFDs and empty outside them
• Trustpilot sentiment sits near 3.8 with a persistent minority reporting withdrawal delays and spread widening around news