eToro vs Saxo Bank (2026): Fees, Safety and Which One Suits You

The short answer

These two brokers are built for different people. eToro is an app-first platform that made its name with CopyTrader, which lets you automatically mirror other investors, and it keeps things simple: no commission on ETFs, a small flat charge on shares and a clean interface. Saxo Bank is a Danish bank that gives investors and active traders direct access to tens of thousands of instruments, from European bonds to US options, through professional-grade platforms. For a beginner putting a few hundred euros a month into a handful of ETFs, eToro is easier. For anyone converting currency often, trading larger amounts, or wanting bonds, listed options or futures, Saxo is usually cheaper and far broader.

Who they are and how they are regulated

eToro was founded in 2007 and has been listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange under the ticker ETOR since May 2025, so it publishes audited results like any listed company. It works through separate regulated companies depending on where you live: eToro (Europe) Ltd is authorised by CySEC in Cyprus, eToro (UK) Ltd by the Financial Conduct Authority, eToro AUS Capital by ASIC in Australia, and a US broker-dealer serves American clients. EU clients of the Cyprus company are covered by Cyprus’s Investor Compensation Fund up to €20,000 if the firm fails and cannot return assets, and UK clients by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme up to £85,000. Crypto held on the platform is not covered by either scheme.

Saxo Bank was founded in 1992 in Copenhagen and holds a full Danish banking licence, supervised by Finanstilsynet, the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority, with locally licensed companies in markets such as the UK, Switzerland and Singapore. Cash held at Saxo Bank in Denmark is covered by the Danish deposit guarantee up to €100,000, and securities are held in custody separately from the bank’s own assets, with the Danish guarantee scheme also covering up to €20,000 of securities that could not be returned. Which company holds your account, and so which protection applies, depends on your country, at both brokers.

Fees compared

• Shares: eToro charges $1 or $2 when you open a position and again when you close it, depending on your country and the exchange. Saxo’s Classic tier charges 0.08% of the trade value, with minimums of $1 on US shares, £3 in London, €2 on Euronext Paris and Amsterdam and €3 on Xetra and Borsa Italiana.
• ETFs: no commission at eToro. At Saxo, ETFs cost the same as shares, but its AutoInvest monthly ETF plans carry no commission.
• Currency conversion: 0.75% at eToro for UK and European clients converting to and from US dollars, with discounts for higher Club tiers and no fee on euro assets bought from a euro account. Saxo adds up to 0.25% either side of the mid-market rate, the same on every tier.
• Larger accounts: Saxo’s Platinum tier, from about €200,000 of funded assets, cuts commissions by roughly 30%, and VIP from €1 million cuts them further. eToro’s Club tiers mainly reduce currency and crypto fees.
• Other charges: eToro’s September 2026 price list showed no inactivity fee, free withdrawals from local-currency accounts and $5 from US-dollar accounts. Saxo charges no inactivity fee and has removed custody fees in several countries, including Switzerland in February 2025; check the price list for your own country.
• Crypto: eToro charges 1% per crypto position for standard members. CFDs at eToro carry spreads and overnight financing charges.

A worked example shows where the money goes. Take a euro investor who buys €10,000 of US shares and later sells them, with no change in price. At eToro, two commissions cost a few dollars, but converting euros to dollars and back at 0.75% each way costs about €150. At Saxo, two commissions at 0.08% cost about €16 and conversion at 0.25% each way about €50, so roughly €66 in total. The order flips for small, regular investing in a euro-listed ETF: €200 a month costs nothing in explicit fees at eToro, which charges no commission on ETFs and no conversion on euro assets bought from a euro account, and nothing at Saxo through AutoInvest, but manual €200 purchases at Saxo would pay a €2 or €3 minimum each time.

Products and platforms

Saxo’s range is the widest of any broker we review: more than 19,000 stocks and 6,500 ETFs across dozens of exchanges, plus government and corporate bonds, listed options, futures and forex, all owned directly in one account. It offers two platforms, SaxoInvestor for simple buying and holding and SaxoTrader for active trading, with research, screeners and analytics that most app brokers do not attempt. eToro’s menu is narrower: thousands of stocks and ETFs on the main US and European exchanges, real cryptocurrencies, ready-made Smart Portfolios and a large range of CFDs on indices, commodities and currencies. What eToro has that Saxo does not is the social layer: you can follow, discuss and copy other investors, which some beginners find a helpful way in and others find a distraction.

eToro competes on simplicity and community; Saxo competes on breadth and depth. The cheaper one depends on how much you trade and in which currency.

Ease of use and service

eToro is one of the easiest platforms to start with: opening an account takes minutes, the minimum first deposit is $50 in many countries, and the app is designed for people who have never invested before. Its main trap for beginners is the CFD range, which sits one tap away from ordinary share purchases. eToro’s own risk warning in September 2026 said that about half of retail accounts lose money trading CFDs with it. Saxo takes longer to open, asks more questions and can feel complex at first, especially on SaxoTrader’s desktop version, but it gives larger clients relationship managers and, as a bank, a more traditional service model.

Which one suits whom

eToro tends to suit beginners, small portfolios, investors who want to try copy trading, and people who want stocks, ETFs and real crypto in one simple app, as long as they stay clear of leveraged CFDs. Saxo tends to suit investors with larger sums, people who buy assets in several currencies, anyone who wants bonds, listed options or futures, and investors who value bank-grade regulation and deep research over the lowest headline fee. If you mainly buy euro-listed ETFs every month, both can be close to free, and the deciding factors are the rest of what you want to do. Fees were checked against both brokers’ published price lists in October 2026 and vary by country and account type; this article is general education, not a recommendation of either broker.

This article is educational and general in nature. It isn’t personalized investment, tax, or legal advice — always weigh your own circumstances, or talk to a licensed professional, before making financial decisions.

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