Best Copy Trading Platforms
Once again, the world is in disarray, and as always, it’s taking financial markets along for the ride. If you’re looking for a safe way to invest your hard-earned cash, the legendary investor Warren Buffett would advise you to invest in a business, not a stock.
But what if you can’t choose a business or are not even after stocks? This is where copy trading could come in handy. It works almost like cheating in high school - you select a successful trader or group of traders and copy the trading strategies they used for a portion of funds.
In this article, we will look at how the industry greats do it. Then, after you’ve assessed all of them, you can select the copy trading platform for your needs.
Best Copy Trading Platforms in December 2024
eToro
Fortunly's Rating: Our editorial team determines the rating based on a set of evaluation criteria developed for each product and service category.
eToro
- The largest network of users
- Easy-to-use dashboard
- Copy trade up to 100 traders simultaneously
- $100,000 virtual portfolio
ZuluTrade
Fortunly's Rating: Our editorial team determines the rating based on a set of evaluation criteria developed for each product and service category.
ZuluTrade
- Supports more than 70 brokers
- Helps you create a diversified portfolio
- 24/5 customer support
- The oldest copy trading platform with over 2,000,000 investors globally
- Regulated in Greece by the Hellenic Capital Market Commission (HCMC) and Japan (2014 – No. 1058 Member of Associations / General Japan Investment Advisers Association)
- More than 90k traders from different countries for investors to choose from
- Easy registration, free to open an account
- Award-winning platform
Pepperstone
Fortunly's Rating: Our editorial team determines the rating based on a set of evaluation criteria developed for each product and service category.
Pepperstone
- Free demo account
- Collaborates with top-rate copy trading platforms
- Offers MetaTrader, TradingView, and cTrader trading platforms
AvaTrade
Fortunly's Rating: Our editorial team determines the rating based on a set of evaluation criteria developed for each product and service category.
AvaTrade
- Automated copy trading
- Connects you with expert brokers
- Demo account
FXTM
Fortunly's Rating: Our editorial team determines the rating based on a set of evaluation criteria developed for each product and service category.
FXTM
- Manual, semi-automated, and automated copy trading
- Over 4 million users
- User-friendly dashboard
OctaFX
Fortunly's Rating: Our editorial team determines the rating based on a set of evaluation criteria developed for each product and service category.
OctaFX
- Real-time executions
- Mobile app for Android
- Copy unlimited traders
Top 5 Copy Trading Platforms - Our Picks for 2024:
eToro - The largest community of copy traders
ZuluTrade - Best for beginners
Pepperstone - Best selection of third-party copy trading platforms
AvaTrade - Best for connecting with expert brokers
FXTM - Best semi-automated copy trading
How We Evaluated Copy Trading Brokers
Social forex trading doesn’t come without its own risks, so choosing a trustworthy yet easy-to-use copy trading platform is almost as essential as selecting the right bank or a dependable tax consultant.
The list we have compiled features both brokers and copy trading software providers, most of which are suitable for novice investors and seasoned traders looking to copy successful peers’ strategies.
Below is an overview of the aspects we looked at.
Broker License and Regulation
To paraphrase real estate brokers: license, license, license. It should go without saying that only brokers regulated and licensed by the relevant government authorities should make it on your shortlist. Only such made ours.
User-Friendliness
Just like a good math teacher needs to be both a competent mathematician and capable of explaining math, so the broker must offer a solid selection of traders and make it easy for less experienced traders to find them.
Therefore, we’ve selected those platforms that are easy to navigate and offer multiple search filters, such as profit, investment risk, and follower numbers.
Only such platforms make it possible for users to find traders who fit their preferences and invest their money as they see fit.
Community
A copy trading platform brings together traders who are willing to share their investment strategies and signals with followers seeking to copy their strategies.
It is advisable to go for a platform with a large community of expert traders, especially one that supports communication with them, so you can ask them for advice.
Customer Service
Even traders with a track record in a particular asset class sometimes explore other products and go for copy trading for, say, forex.
And when something goes wrong, they need to contact support. That is even more frequent when it comes to inexperienced traders.
So, customer support is an important feature to consider, especially if you can contact agents through more than one channel (phone, email, live chat).
Mobile App
A native mobile app for iOS and Android devices allows users to trade on the go, which helps save time, and we all know time is money, sometimes quite literally, when it comes to copy trading.
Price
Copy trading itself is free, and most providers won’t charge you for this service since they earn money from the sell/buy spread.
Of course, you’ll need to deposit funds to open an account and start trading.
Further Reading
FAQ
Is copy trading good for beginners?
Yes, being able to copy seasoned traders’ investment strategies can help beginners effectively learn about stock or even forex trading.
Copy trading platforms link so-called copycat investors with expert traders, allowing them to copy successful strategies and signals.
Still, you should be aware of potential risks: Every time the copied investor loses money, so does the copying trader.
Is copy trading profitable?
Whether you copy a forex trading or stock trading strategy from a successful investor, you should turn a profit yourself.
Of course, even the most successful trader will occasionally lose money, and so will those copying them, so be aware that this investment strategy is not foolproof.
Is copy trading automated?
As it is often used by novice traders, copy trading can be automated, employing algorithms to select the copied investors and auto-trading to execute trades. It can also be semi-automatic or manual.