This page is also available in:
Deutsch
Comparing brokers rather than reading about one? See the best trading platform in Switzerland, where every broker on this site is ranked on cost.
At Investing Hero, I aim to provide the best investing platform reviews. To support this, some of the providers featured in reviews will generate an affiliate commission which helps pay to run this website. However, this doesn’t influence my reviews. My opinions are my own. The information provided on Investing Hero is for informational purposes only. Please read the disclaimer.
eToro is the broker I point beginners at: opening a position takes three taps, share dealing costs nothing in commission, the CHF 100’000-style demo account lets you practise with zero risk, and you can see what forty million other users are actually holding. It is not the cheapest broker in Switzerland, and its CFD side deserves a clear warning, but nothing makes the first year of investing easier.
The friendliest on-ramp to owning real, unleveraged assets. A full-featured demo account, fractional investing and copy trading make the learning curve gentle. How regulation and account protection work is covered in the safety section below.
Please note that CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 51% 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.
This communication is intended for information and educational purposes only and should not be considered investment advice or investment recommendation. Past performance is not an indication of future results.
Copy Trading does not amount to investment advice. The value of your investments may go up or down. Your capital is at risk.
Crypto investments are risky and may not suit retail investors; you could lose your entire investment. Understand the risks here https://etoro.tw/3PI44nZ
⚠ CFDs are a different product, and I do not rate them.
CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 51% 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.
A contract for difference is not a share. You do not own anything, the position is leveraged, and it is built to be opened and closed quickly rather than held for years. Leverage cuts both ways: a small move against you can wipe out the whole position.
Why eToro is the beginner pick
Three things make eToro the easiest place to start. First, the practice account: every registered user gets a USD 100’000 virtual portfolio with the full real interface, so your first mistakes cost nothing. Second, fractional investing means you can own a slice of a listed asset with small amounts, no need to save up for a full share. Third, the social layer: you can see what forty million users hold, follow real portfolios, and copy an investor automatically at no extra fee. None of that exists at a traditional Swiss broker.
The trade-off is cost precision. eToro runs in US dollars: there is no CHF account, so every franc you deposit is converted on the way in and again on the way out, on top of the USD 5 withdrawal fee. For long-term buy-and-hold the total is still reasonable; for frequent trading, DEGIRO is meaningfully cheaper.
eToro fees for Swiss investors
| Fee | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| ETF trades | USD 0 | No commission on ETFs, any size |
| Stock trades | USD 1-2 per side | Depends on exchange and residence |
| Crypto | 1% per position | Flat, discounts for high Club tiers |
| Custody / inactivity | USD 0 | Inactivity fee abolished |
| Withdrawal | USD 5 | From the USD account, minimum USD 30 |
| Currency conversion | Varies | Charged on every CHF deposit and withdrawal; no CHF account exists |
| Copy trading / Smart Portfolios | USD 0 | No extra fees beyond the underlying trades |
Source: eToro’s fee schedule, checked 8 August 2026. Worth knowing: the old USD 10 monthly inactivity fee is gone, which removes my biggest historic complaint for occasional investors.
The conversion catch: because everything runs in USD, the real cost of eToro for a Swiss investor is the FX conversion on deposits and withdrawals, not the trading fees. Deposit once or twice a year in larger chunks rather than monthly drips, and the drag stays small.
How eToro compares with other brokers open to Swiss investors, from source-verified data. Pick another to switch the comparison.
eToro comparison
| eToro | DEGIRO | |
|---|---|---|
| Swiss trade (CHF 2’000 on SIX) | USD 1 per side | CHF 6 (CHF 5 + CHF 1 handling) |
| US trade (USD 2’000) | USD 1 per side (ETFs free) | EUR 2 + currency exchange |
| Custody and account fees | None; no inactivity fee | None; foreign exchanges up to EUR 2.50 a year each (SIX free) |
| Currency exchange | No CHF account: about 1% on card and bank deposits; USD withdrawals USD 5 | 0.25% (AutoFX) |
| Swiss stamp duty charged | No | No |
| Savings plan | Recurring investments, but not for ETFs in Switzerland | No savings plan |
| Who holds your account | eToro (Europe) Ltd, CySEC (Cyprus) | flatexDEGIRO Bank SE, BaFin (Germany) |
| Notes | Share trades are no longer commission-free for Swiss clients: USD 1 per side since March 2025. | Most fees are billed in euros, even on the Swiss site. |
| My rating | ★ 4.5 | ★ 4.0 |
| Full review | – | Read the full DEGIRO review → |
Checked at source: eToro 23 September 2026 · DEGIRO 23 September 2026
Is eToro safe for Swiss users?
Swiss clients are served by eToro (Europe) Ltd, regulated by Cyprus’s CySEC under licence 109/10, with all retail clients given the highest MiFID protection level. Client funds sit in segregated accounts at partner banks, securities claims are covered by the Cyprus Investor Compensation Fund up to EUR 20’000, and cash held at EEA partner banks can carry bank deposit protection up to EUR 100’000. eToro Group has been running since 2007 and is Nasdaq-listed.
Know the limits: the EUR 20’000 compensation ceiling is far below Swiss esisuisse’s CHF 100’000, and crypto holdings sit outside every compensation scheme entirely. Real, unleveraged assets are segregated either way; keep the crypto sleeve small.
Opening an account with eToro
Fully digital, around ten minutes. The screens below are from my own account opening; eToro has restyled since, but the flow is identical: register, verify your identity, answer the appropriateness questions, deposit.
eToro asks a set of appropriateness questions during sign-up. They are a regulatory check on whether a product suits you, not a form to be optimised. Answer them honestly about your own knowledge and circumstances. I do not show the answers here, and you should not copy anyone else’s.
First login and the demo account
On first login, switch to the virtual portfolio before anything else. It is the full platform with USD 100’000 of practice money: place trades, follow investors, break things. Nothing is real until you toggle back.
Funding the account
Card, bank transfer and Apple/Google Pay all work. Remember the currency note above: your francs convert to dollars on arrival, so fewer, larger deposits beat many small ones.
eToro pros and cons
| Pros | Cons |
|
|
My rules for the first year of trading
- Demo first, a month minimum. The practice portfolio exists so your tuition fees are virtual.
- Real assets only. If the ticket says CFD, leverage, or short, keep in mind that 51% of retail accounts lose money trading CFDs with this provider. That is not the approach this review describes.
- Deposit in chunks. The FX conversion is the real Swiss cost; twice a year beats twelve times.
- Graduate when ready. Once you trade confidently and care about every franc of cost, move to DEGIRO. eToro is the school, not necessarily the career.
This is the rare broker you can genuinely test-drive: registering unlocks the USD 100’000 virtual portfolio with no deposit at all. Spend a month in it. If you still like investing afterwards, fund the account and place your first real, unleveraged trade.
eToro FAQ
Is eToro safe for Swiss investors?
Structurally yes: Swiss clients sit with CySEC-regulated eToro (Europe) Ltd, funds are segregated at partner banks, and eToro Group is Nasdaq-listed and has run since 2007. The compensation ceiling of EUR 20’000 is real but thin; your actual holdings are segregated assets in any case.
What does eToro really cost from Switzerland?
Stocks cost USD 1 to 2 per side. The costs that matter are the USD 5 withdrawal fee and, above all, currency conversion: there is no CHF account, so every deposit and withdrawal converts between francs and dollars.
Should I trade CFDs on eToro?
No. By eToro’s own disclosure, 51% of retail investor accounts lose money trading CFDs with them. Every leveraged or short position on eToro is a CFD. Check what your trade says before you confirm. If it says CFD, it is a leveraged contract, not the underlying asset.
Is there really a free demo account?
Yes, and it is the best in the business: USD 100’000 of virtual money in the full production platform, available to any registered user with no deposit. Use it before you fund anything.
eToro or DEGIRO?
eToro for your first year: easier, friendlier, demo account. DEGIRO once costs matter more than hand-holding: cheaper overall, CHF-denominated, but a colder platform. My full take: DEGIRO review.
How are eToro profits taxed in Switzerland?
For private buy-and-hold investors, capital gains are generally tax-free in Switzerland; dividends are taxable income, and you declare your holdings in your wealth tax. Frequent leveraged trading risks classification as a professional trader. See my Swiss tax guide.
What is copy trading and does it cost extra?
CopyTrader mirrors another investor’s trades automatically, with no extra fee beyond the normal trading costs. It is a learning tool more than a strategy: past performance of the people you copy is no guarantee of anything.
Can I hold Swiss francs on eToro?
No. Accounts run in US dollars, with local-currency accounts limited to GBP, EUR, AUD and DKK. Swiss investors convert on every deposit and withdrawal, which is the platform’s biggest hidden cost.
Compare & choose
The other comparisons on Investing Hero, each built the same way: every fee read from the provider’s own pricing page.
How this review is kept current. Every eToro figure on this page was read from etoro.com on 8 August 2026, not from a comparison site, and reconciles with my provider data file. The CFD loss disclosure is re-checked on every update because eToro adjusts it quarterly.
Sources. All figures were read from eToro’s own pages on 8 August 2026: the fee schedule (trading commissions, USD 5 withdrawal, conversion fees, inactivity fee abolished), the regulation page (CySEC licence 109/10, EUR 20’000 ICF, the 51% CFD loss disclosure) and the platform’s own demo-account documentation. Nothing is quoted from a comparison site. Educational content, not financial advice.
