Robinhood
Zero commission and a 0.1% currency fee: the lowest verified cost in Britain. The catch: your coins can never leave the app.
eToro
Pricier at 1% each way, but coins can exit to , and its investment side carries FSCS protection no exchange offers.
- Both are FCA-authorised apps that bolt crypto onto a stocks platform; neither carries FSCS protection on the crypto itself.
- And if crypto is the main event rather than a side dish, the honest answer is neither: a real exchange gives near-Robinhood pricing with a cheap exit; see the where-to-buy guide.
Robinhood and eToro are the two big “everything apps” competing for UK customers who want stocks and crypto in one place, and they’ve chosen opposite corners: Robinhood is radically cheap and completely closed, eToro is pricier and half-open. Both launched their pitches at people who would never open a dedicated crypto exchange, which is exactly why the differences deserve plainer language than either’s marketing uses. Facts below were checked against both platforms’ published fee pages in August 2026; our full Robinhood review has the deeper dive. No affiliate relationship with either; if that changes it will be disclosed here.
Head to head
| Robinhood | eToro | |
|---|---|---|
| Crypto cost | Zero commission + 0.1% FX (0.3% weekends) + unpublished spread | 1% each way, buy and sell |
| Coins | 50+ | 150+ |
| Coins out to a wallet? | Never: buy, hold, sell in-app only | Yes, via its own wallet, for a 2% fee, subset of coins |
| Stocks | 6,000+ US stocks, no UK shares | Global including UK shares |
| ISA | Yes, since Feb 2026 | No ISA |
| Account currency | GBP account, trades via USD (hence FX fee) | GBP accounts available: get one; USD accounts add conversion costs and a $5 withdrawal fee |
| Protections | US SIPC/FDIC on stocks and dollars; crypto: none | FCA investment authorisation; FSCS can apply to the investment side; crypto: none |
| Signature extra | 3.35% on uninvested dollars, margin, options | Copy trading: mirroring other users’ portfolios |
The differences that actually matter
Price. Robinhood wins on every published number: a £500 bitcoin purchase costs about 50p in fees there against £5 at eToro, and eToro charges the 1% again when you sell. Robinhood’s asterisk is the unpublished spread inside its quotes and the weekend fee triple; even generously estimated, it stays the cheapest verified route in Britain, as our where-to-buy guide found across the whole market.
Ownership. eToro wins on principle, with caveats. From eToro you can move supported coins to its wallet (2% fee) and on to ; from Robinhood you can never withdraw crypto at all: your position exists only inside the app, and leaving means selling, with the tax consequences our tax guide describes. If holding your own keys is where you’re heading, neither is ideal, but one has a door and the other has a wall, and that’s an overall verdict the facts fully carry: for anyone who may ever want their coins, eToro beats Robinhood by default.
The wrapper question. Robinhood’s ISA and interest on idle dollars make it the stronger *investing* proposition for US-stock fans; eToro counters with UK shares and its social copy-trading, which is either its best feature or its most dangerous one depending on whose portfolio you copy. Neither offers a pension.
So which one?
Pick Robinhood if you want the cheapest crypto price exposure available in the UK, you’re content never withdrawing coins, and the US-stocks-plus-ISA package appeals. Pick eToro if you want more coins, UK shares alongside, or the ability (even at 2%) to eventually take custody of what you bought. Pick neither if crypto is the main event: a real exchange from our where-to-buy guide gives you Robinhood-adjacent pricing (via pro interfaces) and free-or-cheap withdrawal, without the compromises these apps bake in.
Common questions
Is Robinhood’s “free” real?
The commission is genuinely zero and the FX fee genuinely 0.1%, but the exchange rate you trade at contains an unpublished spread, weekend trades cost triple, and the business earns on your idle cash. Cheap is real; free is marketing. eToro’s 1% is at least a number you can see.
Which is safer?
Structurally similar: both FCA-authorised on the investment side, both custody crypto without any compensation scheme, both keep most coins in via their custodians. Robinhood’s US protections (SIPC/FDIC) on stocks and cash are strong but unfamiliar to UK users; eToro’s investment side sits inside the UK’s own FSCS regime. On crypto specifically: neither protects you, so hold accordingly.
What about the tax on all this?
Identical rules for both: selling or swapping at a gain is a taxable disposal, and since January 2026 platforms report UK customers to HMRC. The one wrinkle unique to Robinhood: because coins can’t leave, rebalancing to another platform forces a sale, a disposal you might not have chosen. The tax guide has the full picture.
Checked against both platforms’ published fee schedules and pages in August 2026. Full reviews: Robinhood · eToro. No affiliate relationship with either platform; if that ever changes it will be disclosed here, per our affiliate disclosure.