Finding the best copy trading or social trading forex broker that has the features you need can be tough.
While there are a ton of places to trade Forex in the world, some traders find quite a bit of comfort in copying other more experienced traders. Over the last several years, we have seen a significant number of brokers offer this service, where other traders will place trades that you can either follow automatically or choose selectively.
This allows the beginning trader to see how a more advanced trader may look at the markets.
| Top Brokers | Minimum Deposit | Max Leverage | Regulations | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
$200 | 1:30 | ASIC, CySEC, FCA, MiFID | VISIT BROKER 68% of retail CFD accounts lose money. eToro USA LLC does not offer CFDs, only real Crypto assets available. |
 |
$100 | 1:400 | MiFID | VISIT BROKER |
 |
$50 | 1:200 | IFSC | VISIT BROKER |
That being said, it’s crucial that you pay close attention to the risk profile of traders that you are following. It is not uncommon at all to see a trader at the top of the charts when we, only to disappear the next as they blow up their account by over leveraging their position size. As a general rule, if the trader is up some outrageous amount of money in a very short amount of time, they should be avoided. In other words, if something is too good to be true, it probably is.
Let’s check out some of the most popular social copy trading platforms and forex brokers on the market today.
Here’s a list of the best forex brokers for copy trading that have awesome social trading platforms.
eToro
eToro has been around since 2007, and most people look at it as the place where copy trading had begun. They are from Tel Aviv, Israel and have offices around the world. That being said, they do not offer Forex trading to US citizens, as they are only regulated for crypto and that contrary. Their offices include facilities in Limassol, Cyprus and London, England as well. They offer a proprietary platform that is well tested and liked by novice and expert traders like.
As they are one of the first to offer the service, they are considered to be a leader when it comes to copy trading. They have a nice interface that allows you to look at leaders as they have a list of all of the traders and their results of the last week, and then going back various time frames. With that being the case, it’s very likely that you will find this to be an excellent place to do trade copying, if that is something that you are looking for.
Account Stats
Leverage: Forex allows for leverage in trading, while stock CFDs are at 1:5, commodities at 1:10, ETF markets at 1:2, and then finally indices at 1:5 leverage. If you are following another trader, you can adjust your position size accordingly, and therefore use much less leverage if you choose to.
Minimum deposits allowed: The minimum deposit for opening an account at eToro is $200, but just $50 if you are in the United States or Australia, but with the withdrawal fee a $50 account isn’t going to do much for you. The withdrawal fee isn’t outrageous, but it’s much more expensive than other places. If this is a small account that you are opening, eToro will be for you.
Regulations:
- CySEC (Cyprus)
- FCA (UK)
- ASIC (Australia)
Payment Options: Payment options at eToro include Visa, MasterCard, Diners Club International, PayPal, Skrill, Neteller, UnionPay, WebMoney, and Yandex.
US customers: Yes, but only allowed to trade crypto. If you are looking to trade Forex and based in the United States, you will have to look elsewhere.
Pros
- Allows you to follow more experienced traders
- Allows to look at history
- Can choose several different strategies
- Multiple assets to follow
Cons
- Easy to be fooled by lucky traders
- Doesn’t improve your trading by simply following
Bottom Line
The reality is that eToro is one of the longest running trade copying services out there. That being said, the spreads at eToro leave a bit to be desired. Beyond that, eToro tends to attract a lot of newbie traders, so you need to be very cautious about who you follow. While the technology works fairly well, you need to find a trader who is relatively stable with their results, something that you don’t see much on a platform like this.
eToro is a multi-asset platform which offers both investing in stocks and cryptoassets, as well as trading CFDs.
Please note that CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 68% 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.
Past performance is not an indication of future results. Trading history presented is less than 5 complete years and may not suffice as basis for investment decision.
Copy trading is a portfolio management service, provided by eToro (Europe) Ltd., which is authorised and regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission.
Cryptoasset investing is unregulated in some EU countries and the UK. No consumer protection. Your capital is at risk.
eToro USA LLC does not offer CFDs and makes no representation and assumes no liability as to the accuracy or completeness of the content of this publication, which has been prepared by our partner utilizing publicly available non-entity specific information about eToro.
Past performance is not an indication of future results.
Cryptoassets are volatile instruments which can fluctuate widely in a very short timeframe and therefore are not appropriate for all investors. Other than via CFDs, trading cryptoassets is unregulated and therefore is not supervised by any EU regulatory framework.
eToro USA LLC does not offer CFDs and makes no representation and assumes no liability as to the accuracy or completeness of the content of this publication, which has been prepared by our partner utilizing publicly available non-entity specific information about eToro.
ZuluTrade
ZuluTrade is a bit of a different animal than most brokerage firms. This is because it is more of a social trading marketplace than a broker. It simply connects traders to each other through Metatrader 4 and 5 accounts to send signals or follow signals. It gives you access to over 10,000 traders from 192 countries globally. There is a platform, but it’s more or less an online dashboard that gives you an idea as to how traders are doing, what traders you can connect to, and you can even go so far as to connect to multiple traders.
Initially founded in Virginia back in 2007, the company has since moved to Athens, Greece. It’s owned by the Formax Group, as it is a subsidiary. They have even been awarded and EU From folio Management License, bringing forth a bit more in the way of credibility as well.
Account Stats
Leverage: ZuluTrade isn’t a broker, so leverage will be determined by your host broker. The platform simply passes a signal from one account to another, so your leverage will be as high as the broker you use allows. ZuluTrade has no effect on that whatsoever.
Minimum deposits allowed: The minimum deposit for opening an account depends on the broker that you use, as there are different levels that different brokers will ask. However, there are some fees to be aware of when using ZuluTrade, which will be an additional spread based upon each trade that you take. That being said though, it does tend to be relatively small. It is how the signal provider gets paid, as well as the company itself.
Regulations:
- CySEC (Cyprus)
Payment Options: Payment options ZuluTrade are PayPal, bank wire, and ZuluTrade Mastercard.
US customers: Yes, as it isn’t a brokerage.
Pros
- Allows you to follow more experienced traders
- Allows to look at history
- Can choose several different strategies
- Multiple assets to follow
- Allowed to parse out the percentages you follow of multiple traders
Cons
- Easy to be fooled by lucky traders
- Doesn’t improve your trading by simply following
- Adds a bit to spread
- MetaTrader only
Bottom Line
ZuluTrade is a mixed bag in the sense that it depends on who you are following and whether or not they are reliable. The service itself does a great job of connecting traders, and essentially that’s all you are looking for here. Don’t be fooled, this is a simple connection between a couple of terminals. The one issue is that you have to use the Metatrader ecosystem. Having said that though, most of the brokers around the world use that platform so for 90% of you won’t be an issue.
ZuluTrade is very reliable and well-known in the industry. This is a market connection service that has been trusted by thousands of traders around the world and has a bright future as it is one of the leaders in the industry. That being said, the technology is tried-and-true, which of course is a major benefit.
Trade360
Trade360 is a brokerage based in Cyprus that facilitates traders following each other. Social trading is something that the brokerage prides itself on, as the market for trade copying is expanding. The spreads at this brokerage are reasonable, but they’re not necessarily the cheapest. The brokerage allows a web-based interface that requires no download, but they also offer a mobile application as well.
The display of each asset is displayed as a ticker, and the layout is very easy and clean to read. This is one of the best advantages for using Trade360, as beginners can feel comfortable using it. Beyond that though, if you choose to use a more standard platform, then Metatrader 5 is also available to trade assets. They offer Forex, stocks CFD markets, indices, commodities, ETF CFD markets, offering the world at your fingertips.
Account Stats
Leverage: Trade360 is a Cypriot broker, so leverage is as high as 1:400 on Forex, just as it is on commodity CFD markets. Stock CFD markets offer 1:20 leverage, and indices offer 1:50 leverage. Because of this, leverage is very strong and it’s very likely that the trader will find plenty of opportunity with that type of low margin required.
Minimum deposits allowed: The minimum deposit to open an account at Trade360 is $250, which is reasonable and accessible.
Regulations:
- CySEC (Cyprus)
Payment Options: Payment options at Trade 360 include credit card, bank wire, Skrill, PaySafeCard, Neteller, Trustly Group AB, Emerchantpay, and Credorax.
US customers: No, as they offer CFDs.
Pros
- Allows you to follow “the crowd”
- Multiple assets to follow
Cons
- Easy to be fooled by lucky traders
- No Americans allowed
- Doesn’t play out particular traders, only gives overall score
Bottom Line
The bottom line is that this brokerage firm allows you to follow other traders in what they call “crowd trading”, but this isn’t so much in automatic process, it simply shows you where traders around the world that are clients of this brokerage are trading a particular asset.
At this point, it’s very difficult to recommend this brokerage though, because there isn’t as much in the way of transparency as I would like to see. It’s one thing to follow a professional or experience trader with a track record, but to simply look at how many people are buying, and selling isn’t necessarily the best way to go. In fact, most professional traders look at where retail traders are positioned as a contrary indicator. In other words, if they see a large majority of retail traders buying the Euro, they start selling.
FXPro
FXPro was established in 2006, in London, England. They offer not only Forex, but CFD markets in shares, spot indices, futures, spot metals, and spot energies. They have a non-dealing desk approach to the markets, offering floating spreads. They have been regulated in multiple countries and have over €100 million in company capital. In other words, it is extraordinarily well funded, and therefore is going to be here for the duration of your trading career. FXPro has its own social/mirror trading platform that works within the brokerage that allows people to choose who to follow.
They are also sponsors of several major sporting teams, and therefore are highly visible around the world. This includes football, F1, and many of the other major markets. They have gained over 60 international awards, and offer Metatrader 4 and 5, cTrader, and their own platform, FXProEdge.
Account Stats
Leverage: Leverage at FXPro is relatively high, with a maximum leverage of 1:500 for currencies. Spreads are variable, but keep in mind that depending on what you are trading the leverage may change per instrument.
Minimum deposits allowed: The minimum deposit for opening an account at FXPro is $200, and therefore it’s easy to meet the bare minimum to get involved. That being said though, the markets that are offered here should attract much more of your trading capital as you are allowed to trade global assets.
Regulations:
- CySEC (Cyprus)
- FCA (UK)
- FSCA (South Africa)
- MENA (Dubai)
- SIA (Bahamas)
Payment Options: Payment options at FXPro include credit cards, PayPal, Skrill, Neteller, and UnionPay.
US customers: No, as they offer CFDs. They are not regulated in the USA.
Pros
- Multiple assets to follow
- The broker ecosystem allows for great asset allocation
Cons
- Easy to be fooled by lucky traders
- FXPro traders only
Bottom Line
FXPro is one of the largest brokerage firms in the world, and therefore has a long track record of servicing clients. With the reputation that this brokerage has globally, it makes quite a bit of sense that the social trading platform will be somewhat bulletproof, especially considering that the platform itself has been around since Q4 2013. Quite frankly, this is a very strong broker to begin with, and the service of course will only add to the value that you see at FXPro. The wide array of assets that are available also makes it a very attractive proposition.
Pepperstone
Pepperstone has been around since 2010 and is based out of Melbourne, Australia. The brokerage firm allows trade copying through the ZuluTrade system, so in a sense it’s almost like a “introducing broker” situation. That doesn’t mean that you should write it off right away, it’s just a service that Pepperstone offers to their clients. The broker offers a huge amount of tradable assets including Forex, commodities, indices, stocks, crypto, and futures.
They use the Metatrader 4 and 5 platforms, cTrader, and of course the ZuluTrade interface. These are the industry standards, so 99.9% of traders out there will be very comfortable using one of the three major platforms, and you will find that the ZuluTrade interface very easy to use.
Account Stats
Leverage: Leverage at Pepperstone is high, with a maximum leverage of 1:500 for currencies. Leverage changes for other instruments, just as they would anywhere else.
Minimum deposits allowed: The minimum deposit for opening an account at Pepperstone is $500, which is reasonable for opening a brokerage account. Quite frankly, if you are going to trade multiple assets, you need to have enough to trade with to begin with. The smaller trader will continue to be able to trade elsewhere, but quite frankly if you don’t have enough money to diversify, it doesn’t make much sense to follow multiple traders which is the best way to diversify via copying.
Regulations:
- FCA (UK)
- ASIC (Australia)
Payment Options: Payment options at Pepperstone include credit cards, PayPal, Skrill, Neteller, bank transfer, POLi, BPay, and UnionPay. This will allow most traders to get funding and withdraw requests done quickly and easily.
US customers: No, as they offer CFDs. Pepperstone has no plans on entering the US markets.
Pros
- Allows you to follow more experienced traders
- Allows to look at history
- Can choose several different strategies
- Uses the well-known ZuluTrade interface
Cons
- None, as long as you do due diligence on strategies
Bottom Line
Pepperstone is the biggest Australian broker out there, and therefore has been trusted by thousands of traders not only in Australia, but around Asia. Ultimately, it is a well trusted and heavily regulated broker that you should feel comfortable trading at. Beyond that, they also offer the heavily tested ZuluTrade platform, making it a great place to follow others.
Darwinex
Darwinex is a brokerage service that matches traders with investors. Founded in 2012, it is a completely different situation than most of these brokers. Depending on which direction you’re going, you either place trades via the Metatrader ecosystem, or in the case of the investor, you are looking through a long list of potential traders to invest in. You aren’t necessarily trading signals; you are allowing other people to take control of your account. Those who provide systems that are traded get a 20% payout of all the profits from managed accounts that they control.
As an investor, one of the best parts about the Darwinex platform is that it is all driven by AI. The platform allows people to trade currencies, indices, and Forex, but more importantly build up a longer-term track record for you to pay attention to. In that sense, it’s almost like a marketplace of trading strategies. If you are a trader, it’s a great way to build up a reputation.
Account Stats
Leverage: Leverage at Pepperstone is high, with a maximum leverage of 1:20 for currencies. Leverage changes to 1:10 for commodities, 1:1 for crypto, 1:5 for stocks, and 1:10 for indices.
Minimum deposits allowed: The minimum deposit for opening an account at Darwinex is $500, allowing you to build a track record, or start investing. That being said, if you are trying to build up a track record to attract clientele, larger accounts make more sense. Otherwise, if you are an investor you can simply push money into the markets over the longer term and in bits and pieces.
Regulations:
- FCA (UK)
Payment Options: Payment options at Darwinex include credit cards, bank transfers, Trustly, and Skrill.
US customers: No, as they offer CFDs. However, they can invest.
Pros
- Allows you to follow more experienced traders
- History of traders is built up over time before being seen
Cons
- No control over trades, all done automatically
Bottom Line
Darwinex is a bit of a different animal as it is an AI driven marketplace. It does feature a lot of quantitative trading as well, as many of the traders use automatic processes. At this point, Darwinex is only growing in its reputation, as it has over 3000 traders currently helping others make money. It is highly regulated and allows for diversification through various traders. You can put a portion with one trader, while you put another portion of your portfolio with another. Because of this, you have the ability to have a more conservative system running a particular percentage of your investment capital, while a smaller percent might be aggressive.
FXCM
FXCM has been around since 1999, and is currently based in London, England. They offer trading of currencies, indices, crypto, and commodity CFD markets. They have the ability to handle algorithmic trading and offer extensive education and research. They offer the Metatrader ecosystem, as well as Trading Station which is a proprietary platform. Through these, you can follow others. That being said, FXCM has a whole host of issues that comes along with it.
FXCM’s troubles began in the United States after the Swiss National Bank removed the peg to the Euro on January 15, 2015. This was a massive change in value and the brokerage loss $225 million, putting it in breach of regulatory capital requirements in the United States. It did receive a $300 million bailout loan with a 10% interest rate from Leucadia to meet its capital requirements. Long story short, the brokerage was on the other side of several customers trades, and not offering a “no dealing desk” situation as they had advertised. Beyond that, in 2011 the National Futures Association issued a $2 million fine to FXCM for slippage malpractice. In other words, the company has a long history of fraudulent behavior. That being said, there have not been any issues since leaving the United States.
Account Stats
Leverage: Leverage at FXCM is low, due to UK regulations. For currencies, it is 1:30, but is out of the hands of FXCM.
Minimum deposits allowed: The minimum deposit for opening an account at FXCM is $50, which is very small and allows almost anybody to get involved. That being said, $50 will simply be enough to test out the platform, not necessarily make significant profits.
Regulations:
- FCA (UK)
Payment Options: Payment options at FXCM include credit cards, Skrill, bank transfer, Western Union, PayPal, and Neteller.
US customers: No, as they were kicked out of the US markets for committing fraud.
Pros
- Regulated in UK
- 20 years in the business
Cons
- Lost US license due to fraudulent behavior.
Bottom Line
FXCM is a brokerage firm that has been trying to repair its reputation for some time. Having said that, there are far too many brokerages out there that you can get involved with without taking any of the risks that the company has already shown itself to exposure to. Fraud is something that should be taken seriously, and quite frankly there’s no reason to take on the extra risk that comes along with a company that has been caught a couple of times in the past ripping its customers off.
Here are some of the most common copy social trading questions that people have with their forex brokers.
Is Copy Trading Legal?
Yes. Copy trading is legal in most jurisdictions. This includes the United States, but just because it is legal doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s always the smart thing to do. You need to do your due diligence in order to get the right trader to follow, and quite frankly over the longer term it doesn’t necessarily serve you better and less of course you have a significant lack of time. If you have the desire to learn how to trade, this can be a great “stopgap”, but at the end of the day you can find plenty of license professionals in your country that follow much more stringent guidelines. That being said, a small part of your portfolio could be attached to one of these accounts.
How Does Copy Trading Work?
Essentially, what happens is that a trader places a trade in their own account, and your account will either follow, or you will get some type of email or signal as to what they are doing. Ultimately, this is a “lazy way” to take advantage of someone else’s talents, when you think about it it’s the same thing as investing anywhere else. Looking at the various brokers and venues in this article, you can see that there are a plethora of ways to do this, either automatically or simply following signals.
What is Copy Trading in Forex?
Copy trading in Forex is simply using another traders skill in order to profit. Some traders will use it to “pad their account” as they learn how to trade the Forex markets. Some investors will allocate a certain amount of investing capital into those traders that are leading the way. Ultimately, this is another way to invest in a diversified portfolio for those looking to benefit from fluctuations in markets.
Who Would I Recommend?
The ZuluTrade platform is one of the most trusted platforms that you can use when it comes to copy trading. eToro is a reasonable choice, but only if you are just starting out. I also like Darwinex, as it is a bit of a “marketplace” of artificial intelligence and those traders that have been building up a record that you can plainly see. It is because of this that I believe Darwinex is head and shoulders above the rest.
However, that doesn’t mean that you can’t use FXPro, eToro, ZuluTrade, or the others, with the exception of FXCM because of obvious issues.