Overall, E*TRADE can be summarised as a credible and trustworthy broker and bank and is considered low-risk. E*TRADE has an overall trust score of 80 out of 99. E*TRADE offers brokerage accounts, bank accounts & retirement accounts.
E*TRADE At a Glance
| Broker's Name | eTrade |
| 🏛️ Headquarters | Arlington, United States |
| 📅 Year Founded | 1982 |
| ⚖️ Regulating Authorities | Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (FINRA) |
| 🌐 Countries not accepted for trade | Not indicated |
| 📌 Accounts | Brokerage account Core Portfolios Premium Savings Account Traditional IRA Roth IRA1 Rollover IRA |
| ☪️ Islamic account (swap-free) | No |
| 📒 Demo Account | No |
| ✴️ Institutional Accounts | Yes |
| 👨🏼💼 Managed Accounts | Yes |
| ⬆️ Maximum Leverage | Not indicated |
| 👉 Sign Up Bonus | No |
| 💰 Minimum Deposit | Zero |
| 💳 Spread | Not indicated |
| 💳Fees | No Deposit or withdrawal fees |
| 💳 Deposit Options | Check ACH, Wire transfers |
| 💳 Withdrawal Options | Check ACH, Wire transfers |
| 📊 Platform Types | Power E*TRADE E*TRADE web platform E*TRADE's mobile trading platform |
| 📶 OS Compatibility | Web Based, iPhone App, Apple Watch, Android App, |
| 📈 Tradable assets offered | Stock, ETF, Fund, Bond, Options, Futures |
| 💬 Languages supported on Website | English |
| 💬 Customer Support Languages | English, Chinese |
| ⏲️ Customer Service Hours | 24/7 |
| 🔎 Open an Account | 👉 Click Here |
Min Deposit
USD 0
Regulators
SEC, FINRA
Trading Platform
Power E*TRADE, E*TRADE Web Platform, E*TRADE’s Mobile Trading Platform
Crypto
No
Total Pairs
0
Islamic Account
No
Trading Fees
Low
Account Activation
24 Hours
Choose your quick section of our eTrade below.
E*TRADE review – 19 key point quick overview:
E*TRADE At a Glance- E*TRADE Overview
- E*TRADE Safety and Security
- E*TRADE Sign-Up Bonus
- E*TRADE Minimum Deposit
- E*TRADE Demo Account
- E*TRADE Accounts
- E*TRADE Market instruments
- E*TRADE Fees, Spreads & Commissions
- E*TRADE Deposit and withdrawal
- E*TRADE Trading platforms
- E*TRADE Best Countries by Traders
- E*TRADE Current Popularity Trend
- E*TRADE vs Exness vs XM – a Comparison
- E*TRADE Customer Reviews
- E*TRADE Pros and cons
- E*TRADE Conclusion
- E*TRADE Disclaimer
- Frequently Asked Questions
E*TRADE Overview
According to research in South Africa E*TRADE was founded in 1982 and has its headquarters in Arlington, VA, United States. It has 30 retail branches across the United States.
Today, E*TRADE specializes in a first-class experience for digitally inclined investors and traders, backed by personal professional guidance. The company has a high-tech custody platform for advisors and the industry’s top-rated stock plan administration platform.
In February 2025, E*TRADE was acquired by Morgan Stanley.
E*TRADE is regulated by top-tier regulators like the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).
E*TRADE Safety and Security
One of the best benchmarks to measure the safety of a broker like ETRADE is to establish which regulating authorities are watchdogs over its actions.
ETRADE E*TRADE is regulated by top-tier US regulators, like the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) therefore clients are protected by an investor protection amount of $500,000 which includes $250 000 for cash. There is no negative balance protection.
E*TRADE does not provide negative balance protection.
E*TRADE is considered safe because it has a long track record, is listed on a stock exchange, has a banking background, discloses its financials and is regulated by top-tier regulators.
E*TRADE Sign-Up Bonus
eTrade does not offer new traders a sign-up bonus or also known as a welcome bonus when signing up.
E*TRADE Minimum Deposit
| ⭐ Features | ℹ️ Information |
| 💰 Minimum Deposit | $0 USD / R0 ZAR |
| 💳 Deposit / Withdrawal fees | None |
| 📊 Maximum leverage | Not indicated |
| 🔥 Bonus | none |
| ☎️ Customer support | 24/5 |
The minimum deposit amount required to register an eTrade trading account is $0. This minimum deposit is equivalent to R0 ZAR at the current exchange rate between the South African Rand & United States Dollar.
Min Deposit
USD 0
Regulators
SEC, FINRA
Trading Platform
Power E*TRADE, E*TRADE Web Platform, E*TRADE’s Mobile Trading Platform
Crypto
No
Total Pairs
0
Islamic Account
No
Trading Fees
Low
Account Activation
24 Hours
E*TRADE Demo Account
eTrade doesn’t offer a free demo account to traders to practice trading on.
E*TRADE Accounts
| 💠Feature | 📈 Individual Account | 📈 Joint Account | 📈 Business Account |
| 📊 Minimum Deposit | $ 0 USD / R 0 ZAR | $ 0 USD / R 0 ZAR | $ 0 USD / R 0 ZAR |
| 💵 Fees | No Deposit fees / No withdrawal fees | No Deposit fees / No withdrawal fees | No Deposit fees / No withdrawal fees |
| 💳 Best Suitable | The account is owned by a single individual. | Two or more account owners. | Account is owned by a legal entity. |
| 👉 Open an Account | 👉 >Click Here | 👉 Click Here | 👉 Click Here |
A forex account at E*TRADE is a trading account that you will hold and that will work similarly to your bank account, but with the difference that it is primarily issued with the purpose of trading on currencies.
Forex Islamic accounts are also known as swap-free accounts as they imply no swap or rollover interest on overnight positions, which is against the Islamic faith.
Often, the number and type of accounts that a trader can open with a broker company differ depending on the country in which it operates and the regulatory authorities under whose jurisdiction it falls.
ETRADE offers the following types of accounts:
Individual – The account is owned by a single individual.
Joint accounts – Two or more account owners.
Business accounts – The account is owned by a legal entity.
The retail brokerage branch of E*TRADE is available for US-based clients only.
How to open an E*TRADE account
1. Step 1 – Register an account
Navigate to the ETRADE website and select the option to “Open an account”
2. Step 2 – Select an account option
Select the account option and click on continue. After which traders will be requested to complete their personal information to open an account. Once KYC process has been completed account verification will be sent
3. Step 3 – Verify your account
Once the KYC process has been completed the account verification email will be sent to trader. A trader can select the link on the email and create login details, log into the account and start building your account.
E*TRADE Market instruments
The most popular market instruments available from most brokers for trading include:
Forex
Forex trading describes the currency exchange market which refers to the global, decentralized marketplace where individuals, companies, and financial institutions exchange currencies for one another at floating rates.
Commodity markets offer many investment opportunities for traders. Soft commodities have been traded for centuries and play a major role in portfolio diversification and risk management. Investing in contract-based tradable goods is a reliable way to mitigate risk during times of economic uncertainty.
Indices
Equity, or stock indices, are actual stock market indexes that measure the value of a specific section of a stock market. They can represent a specific stock market or a specific set of the largest companies of a nation.
Precious metals
The trading of gold and other precious metals, along with crude oil, copper or petroleum, are hard commodities that play a major role in the commodities market and are contract-based tradable goods.
Energy
The typical feature of energy prices is high volatility due to the influence of political and environmental factors, supply and demand, extreme weather conditions and global economic growth.
ETRADE offers the following:
You can trade with stocks on the following stock exchanges: NYSE, NASDAQ, AMEX, OTCBB, other OTCs.
E*TRADE has a good bond selection and you can trade with options only on CBOE exchange.
You can trade with futures on three exchanges: CME Group, ICE US, CFE.
E*TRADE’s forex trading offers only 9 currencies. You won’t trade actual currencies, only futures contracts. E*TRADE forex futures can only be traded a few months a year, too, depending on the currency.
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E*TRADE Fees, Spreads & Commissions
Cost depends on different factors, like spread and margins, and ETRADE clients may also experience different fee structures according to their country or place of residence.
The spread of a currency pair is the difference between the bid and the asking rate. A pip represents the smallest increment that an exchange rate can move.
Margin is the amount of money required in your account in order to open a position. Margin is calculated based on the current price of the base currency against USD, the size (volume) of the position and the leverage applied to your trading account.
ETRADE offers low trading fees.
The commission for all E*TRADE stocks and ETFs is free due to the introduction of commission-free trading in the US at several brokers in 2019.
E*TRADE financing rate applies a base rate plus a premium/discount depending on the financed amount.
E*TRADE fund fees are generally high, $19.99 per trade. E*TRADE does not charge a commission for ca. 4,500 mutual funds. If you sell these no-transaction-fee funds within 90 days after the purchase, a $49.99 fee is charged.
E*TRADE charges no fee to trade stocks, ETFs and most mutual funds. Options contracts are an industry-standard $0.65. Futures contracts are $1.50 per side.
E*TRADE Deposit and withdrawal
Accounts usually require a certain minimum initial deposit, which can be paid in several ways. Withdrawals can usually be done with the same ways, but sometimes differ.
In the case of ETRADE, no minimum deposit is required for basic accounts and no withdrawal fees are charged.
US clients can use checks, ACH, and wire transfers for deposit cash, while for non-US clients wire transfers and checks are the available deposit options.
Credit/debit cards and electronic wallets are not provided.
Withdrawals take two business days and you can only withdraw money to accounts in your name.
E*TRADE Trading platforms
The forex trading platform provided by ETRADE to its clients is in essence the software to carry out their trades. Some brokers provide only one, others quite a few platforms.
A multi-asset trading platform is one that allows clients to trade forex as well as other asset classes. The decision about which platform to choose will usually depend on what a client would like to trade.
ETRADE provides two trading platforms that differ in the tradable products and the clients they are best for E*TRADE and Power E*TRADE. There is also a desktop trading platform, called E*TRADE Pro.
The E*TRADE web platform is the default trading platform and is available in English and Chinese.
E*TRADE’s mobile trading platform is very easy to use and offers a lot of features.
E*TRADE Best Countries by Traders
| 🌎 Country of Trade | 📌 % of Traders |
| 🥇 United States | 92.51% |
| 🥇 India | 1.89% |
| 🥇 Canada | 0.75% |
| 🥇 United Kingdom | 0.35% |
| 🥇 Taiwan | 0.34% |
| 🥇 Others | 4.15% |
E*TRADE Current Popularity Trend
According to Google Trends, here is an overview of how frequently the search term – “eTrade” is entered into Google’s search engine over a given period of time.
E*TRADE vs Exness vs XM – a Comparison
| 🔎 Broker | 🥇 eTrade | 🥈 Exness | 🥉 XM |
| Established | Established in 1982 | Established in 2008 | Established in 2009 |
| 💵 Min. Deposit | $0 USD / R0 ZAR | $1 USD / R16 USD | $5 USD / R80 ZAR |
| 💳 Inactivity Fee | No | Yes | Yes |
| ☪️ Islamic Account | 📌 No | Yes | Yes |
| 🎉 Demo Account | No | Yes | Yes |
E*TRADE Customer Reviews
Non-existant customer service
Non-existant customer service. 90-minute call wait time & no option to contact customer service via chat or e-mail.
Gone so bad
Gone so bad. I’ve been a happy customer for years but their recent attitude made me close my account. Let us all use my headline. I’ve made a lot from them
I have been with ETRADE for six years…
I have been with ETRADE for six years with no issues not until february this year when i started having issues of a failed transactions, missing funds, and all but it all sorted out through v e s t i g a ne t i think im moving already.
E*TRADE Pros and cons
| ✅ Pros | ❎ Cons |
| Low trading fees | Only US markets covered |
| User-friendly mobile trading platform | Slow account verification |
| Great research tools | No forex |
| Free stock and ETF trading | Higher fees for non-free mutual funds |
E*TRADE Conclusion
E*TRADE is one of the most prominent US stockbrokers regulated by top-tier regulators.
E*TRADE introduced zero commission on stock and ETF trades. E*TRADE’s research functions are high-quality and offer a lot of tools.
Min Deposit
USD 0
Regulators
SEC, FINRA
Trading Platform
Power E*TRADE, E*TRADE Web Platform, E*TRADE’s Mobile Trading Platform
Crypto
No
Total Pairs
0
Islamic Account
No
Trading Fees
Low
Account Activation
24 Hours
E*TRADE Disclaimer
ETRADE warns potential customers that Forex and CFDs trading always carries a high risk and may not be suitable for all investors.
Before deciding to trade with ETRADE, potential traders are advised to carefully consider their investment objectives, financial situation, needs, and level of experience before investing money they cannot afford to lose.
ETRADE warns that margin trading involves the potential for profit as well as the risk of loss and that movements in the price of foreign exchange and commodities are very unpredictable, hence ETRADE cannot guarantee a maximum loss that a trader may suffer, according to research in South Africa.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is E*TRADE a fake or a scam broker?
No, E*TRADE is not a fake or scam broker is it adheres to supervision and regulation by the top-tier regulatory financial authorities – (SEC) Securities and Exchange Commission and (FINRA) the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority in the US.
What is the overall rating for E*TRADE out of 10?
The overall rating is 8/10
What type of accounts does E*TRADE have?
E*TRADE offers 6 account types – Brokerage account, Core Portfolios, Premium Savings Account, Traditional IRA, Roth IRA1 and Rollover IRA
Which platforms are supported by Etrade?
ETRADE support the following popular trading platforms:
- Power E*TRADE
- E*TRADE web platform
- E*TRADE’s mobile trading platform
Does Etrade have a demo account?
No demo account option is available.
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