eToro in Germany – All you need to know!

Is eToro legal in Germany?

Yes. eToro publishes a list of restricted countries on its website, and Germany is not on it. Using eToro as an investment platform is fully legal for German residents.

German clients are typically onboarded under eToro (Europe) Ltd, a CySEC-regulated entity (Licence No. 109/10) that passports its services across the EU under MiFID II – including into Germany. The platform’s operations in Germany are notified to and supervised in cooperation with BaFin (Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht) through this EU passporting arrangement, and German retail clients benefit from the Cyprus Investor Compensation Fund (ICF) up to €20,000 per client. eToro is also registered with BaFin specifically as a Crypto Asset Service Provider under MiCA, which has been in force across the EU since December 2024.

eToro Germany highlights

How safe is eToro?

Safety is usually the first concern that comes to mind when choosing an investment platform – and rightly so. eToro provides multiple layers of protection for client funds and assets:

• Segregated client assets: when you open a non-leveraged “Buy” position in a stock or ETF, you acquire the actual underlying asset, which is held in a segregated custodian account separately from eToro’s own balance sheet. If anything were to happen to eToro as a business, your securities would remain yours and could be transferred to another broker.
• Statutory investor protection (CySEC / ICF): as a German investor, you open your account through eToro (Europe) Ltd, regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC, Licence No. 109/10). As a regulated investment firm, eToro is a member of the Cyprus Investor Compensation Fund (ICF), which provides cover of up to €20,000 per client per account in the event of insolvency.
• Private insurance: eToro maintains a private insurance policy underwritten by Lloyd’s of London, providing additional coverage of up to £1 million per client. This is automatically granted to every eToro client at no extra cost, on top of the statutory ICF protection.
• NASDAQ-listed parent company: since May 2025, eToro Group Ltd has been publicly listed on NASDAQ (ticker: ETOR), which imposes additional disclosure, audit, and corporate governance requirements – a meaningful credibility signal beyond what private brokers face.

For a deeper analysis, check our full piece on the safety of eToro.

What financial instruments and features will I find?

You can trade a wide range of financial products on eToro:

• Stocks: trade across 20+ stock exchanges, including Frankfurt and Xetra (for German equities), Zurich, Amsterdam, London, Madrid, Milan, Paris, Stockholm, Copenhagen, Helsinki, NYSE, and NASDAQ. Fractional shares are supported (from as little as $10), making it easy to invest in expensive shares without committing to a full share.
• ETFs: hundreds of ETFs from leading providers including iShares (BlackRock), Vanguard, SPDR (State Street), Invesco, Amundi, Xtrackers (DWS), and others – commission-free.
• Real cryptocurrencies: 100+ cryptocurrencies available to buy and hold directly (1% spread on buy/sell), with eToro registered as a Crypto Asset Service Provider under MiCA across the EU.
• Commodities: exposure to gold, silver, copper, platinum, palladium, and energy commodities, primarily through CFDs.
• Forex: exposure to the foreign exchange market through 40+ currency pairs (majors, minors, and selected exotics) – via CFDs.
• CFDs: eToro lets you trade leveraged CFDs across stocks, ETFs, commodities, forex, indices, and crypto. CFDs are complex, leveraged instruments and a majority of retail investor accounts lose money trading CFDs – they should only be used by experienced traders who fully understand leverage and the risk of total account loss.

Beyond the product range, eToro’s signature features include:

• CopyTrader: automatically copy other investors’ trades in real time, mirroring their positions and trades in proportion to your allocation. You can follow up to 100 traders simultaneously.
• Smart Portfolios: thematic baskets curated by eToro (or by select institutional partners) around specific strategies – AI, clean energy, semiconductors, dividend stocks, top traders, etc. – giving you diversified exposure in a single allocation.
• eToro Academy: educational content, courses, and webinars for beginners and intermediate investors.
• Demo account: $100,000 in virtual funds to practise the platform risk-free before committing real capital.

eToro’s fees

Like any business, eToro needs to generate revenue. Its primary income sources are spreads (the difference between bid and ask prices), commissions on real stock trades, FX conversion fees, and overnight financing on leveraged CFD positions.

Here’s how the fee structure breaks down:

• Real stocks: $1 commission per trade on most major exchanges including UK (LSE), EU (Frankfurt, Xetra, Euronext, Madrid, Milan, etc.), and US (NYSE, NASDAQ). $2 per trade on some less-common exchanges.
• ETFs: $0 commission (other fees apply, including the FX conversion if buying in a non-USD currency).
• Real cryptocurrencies: 1% spread on each buy/sell transaction.
• CFDs: charged via spread on every open and close. Spread sizes vary by instrument – tighter on majors like EUR/USD or popular indices, wider on smaller equities and exotic forex pairs. Always check the eToro fees page for the spread on your specific instrument.
• Overnight/swap fees: applied to leveraged CFD positions held overnight. These can compound meaningfully over time and are a frequent oversight for newer CFD traders.
• Currency conversion fee: applies on all non-USD deposits and withdrawals, since eToro’s base currency is USD. For German clients funding in EUR, this means an FX cost on every deposit and withdrawal.
• Inactivity fee: $10 per month after 12 consecutive months without logging in.
• Withdrawal fee: a flat $5 per withdrawal, with a $30 minimum withdrawal amount.

How to open an account?

To open an account, you need to go to eToro’s website, click on “Join now”, and provide the required information, as shown in the following image:

In the first check box (underlined in red), confirm in which subsidiary you are registering.

After this step, you need to verify your identity and address. Your proof of identity could be your ID or your passport. Meanwhile, your proof of residency could be your driving licence, a copy of a bank statement or a utility bill.

We suggest you submit all the remaining documents as soon as you open an account to prevent delays when withdrawing your money! We have witnessed no issues in taking money out of the platform, but it may take a more extended period if your account is not fully updated or verified.

Once everything is correctly set up, you’ll be able to deposit money to start trading with your real account on the eToro platform:

It is effortless to navigate through all the sidebars and the search function on the top. We are confident that you will find what you came looking for in less than a minute.

How to deposit and withdraw?

Before answering this question, let us remind you that you have the option to use a Demo Account before deciding whether to deposit funds or not.

Deposits: On your eToro dashboard, you will find “Deposit Funds”. When clicking on it, you will notice a pop-up window with six types of deposit options. The eToro minimum deposit in Germany is $50.

Withdraws: You will also find a tab called “Withdraw Funds”. The method you used for depositing should be the same for withdrawing money from the platform. Keep in mind that the minimum withdrawal amount is $30, and there is a fixed withdrawal fee of $5 (per withdrawal).

Note: Do not forget that you are subject to a currency conversion fee – for both deposits and withdrawals – if you deposit in EUR instead of USD. For example, if you use a bank transfer as a deposit method (from your EUR account), you will be charged 0.50%. Another 0.50% will apply when pulling money out of eToro. An easy way to get around this expense is by using a cheaper option like Wise.

How to trade stocks or any other security?

The process for buying or selling stocks is straightforward, and is similar to other asset classes (ETFs, CFDs or any security).

First, use the search bar to find the company you are looking for and then click on “Trade”, as shown in the image below:

Second, a pop-up will appear where you can buy (or short) the stock. In this case, you are buying the underlying asset, and not a CFD. If you want to leverage your investment, you will need to change the “X1” to “X2” or to any other level of exposure that eToro allows.

Customer support

Our assessment of customer support is based on our own direct experience with the platform. Response times have improved significantly in recent years as eToro has scaled its support operations.

We’ve contacted eToro’s customer support multiple times. In typical circumstances, responses generally come within 1-3 days via the in-app ticket system. During peak periods (volatile market conditions, major product launches), response times can stretch longer. eToro also offers live chat in some regions and a comprehensive help centre with detailed self-service articles, which often resolves common questions without needing to wait for a support agent.

One area where eToro has been frequently criticised historically is the lack of phone support – all interactions are through digital channels (in-app messaging, email, chat). For German clients who prefer phone-based support, this is worth noting before opening an account.

Final thoughts

Overall, eToro is a solid option for German investors – whether you’re a beginner exploring the markets, an intermediate user looking for social trading features, or a more experienced trader who values a wide product range across stocks, ETFs, crypto, and CFDs in a single platform.

Since 2023, eToro has matured significantly as a business – culminating in its NASDAQ IPO in May 2025, which introduced additional disclosure, audit, and corporate governance obligations that benefit all clients. It now serves over 40 million users globally and continues to expand its product range, regulatory footprint, and platform features.

That said, German investors should weigh up a few specific considerations before opening an account:

• USD base currency: EUR deposits and withdrawals carry an FX conversion fee. Larger investors who fund regularly in EUR may find this cost adds up.
• No German tax wrapper or auto tax statements: unlike local brokers (Trade Republic, comdirect, Scalable Capital), eToro doesn’t auto-generate a Steuerbescheinigung. German residents handle Kapitalertragsteuer reporting themselves in EUR.
• Customer support is digital-only: no phone-based support, which some traditional German banking customers may miss.

For a complete overview of how eToro operates globally, check our full eToro review.