The Best Social Investing Platforms

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Social Investing Platforms

Social trading platforms are an interesting concept. They combine online real-time trading in certain financial markets with social networking features. The novel approach of growing an investment portfolio by sharing tips with proficient traders and investors from your own home is an attractive prospect.

In recent years, social trading has become one of the best investment options for new and even experienced investors that want to make extra money.

The hardest part of the process is finding the right traders to follow. But if you focus on the correct platform to meet your needs, you can increase the profit potential significantly. All you need to get started is a funded trading account, an internet connection, and your social trading platform of choice.

The Benefits of Social Investing Platforms 

Four tangible benefits of the best social trading platforms should be understood fully.

1.   Fast and Ready Access to Market Data

All professional traders have access to detailed market insights via their social trading platforms. This information is shared, which cuts down the search for reliable data. On certain platforms, it’s even possible to interact with professional traders for even greater investing insights.

2.   Faster Progress as an Investor

Following on from above, the social trading platform could become your go-to assistant when you want to become a professional investor or experienced trader. Growing your portfolio alongside experienced and sophisticated investors is an efficient way to spend your time.

3.   Earning and Learning

A new investor can raise money by monitoring the trades of skilled investors as you start investing. There’s no need to wait until you fully understand every aspect of investing before you can start earning and growing a portfolio.

Of course, even skilled and experienced investors lose money on their investments at times, so you shouldn’t simply follow what other people are doing. The idea is to observe and learn from others on the social trading platform.

4.   Community-Driven Investing

Becoming part of a social trading community encourages interaction, information sharing, and investing strategy sharing. Collaboration on various ventures is natural, and this is a real boon for any new investor or trader. The best social trading platforms provide a great way to learn about the market environment by observing the trades of top investors and interacting with your peers.

It’s important to note that investing always comes with the risk of losing money. In fact, many retail investor accounts lose money. Being a part of an active community can be helpful, but it certainly won’t guarantee success.

The Best Social Trading Platforms

1. Public.com   

Public

Join Public to get up to $300 of free stock when you make a deposit.*

Public.com is a great social trading platform that allows you to build your portfolio with no minimum deposit. They offer commission-free trades of stocks and funds, and you can follow your favorite investors and watch their portfolios.

The social aspect helps you to learn how to trade and get a better feel for investing in the market. This online broker has easy portfolio arranging, you can divide your assets into short-term and long-term investments. The drag-and-drop feature is easy to use, and all the relevant data is placed at your fingertips. It’s easy to see when a stock price may be rising or falling.

Public.com is an excellent choice for new investors. The interface is beautifully designed and very easy to use. You’ll also appreciate the investing Themes provided by Public.com. Themes are categorized lists of stocks and funds that make it easy to find investment opportunities that interest you. With more than 40 Themes currently available, there’s something for everyone.

In addition to stocks and funds, Public.com also supports the trading of more than 25 different cryptocurrencies. You can also invest in alternative assets, including NFTs, fine art, and collectibles. So if you want to add crypto or alternatives to your portfolio, you can keep everything on one trading platform instead of using separate apps for stocks and crypto.

Top Pick
Get Free Stock from Public.com Get Free Stock from Public.com

Public.com offers fractional shares so anyone can start investing. You'll love the social aspect that makes it possible to connect with other investors. Get a free stock slice worth up to $300 when you open an account through our link.

Features:
  • Commission-free trades of stocks and ETFs
  • Buy and sell 27 different cryptocurrencies
  • Fractional shares
  • Access to alternative investors
  • High-yield Treasury accounts
  • Easy to use and beginner-friendly
  • Connect with a supportive community of investors
  • "Themes" help you to find investments that interest you
Offer valid for U.S. residents 18+ and subject to account approval. This is not a recommendation. You can lose money with any investment. Open To The Public Investing is a member of FINRA & SIPC. Regulatory and firm fees apply. New customers receive free stock with value $3-300; 0.3% receive the max value. Cryptocurrency trading provided by Apex Crypto LLC (NMLS ID 1828849). Apex Crypto is licensed to engage in virtual currency business activity by the New York State Department of Financial Services. See Public.com/disclosures/

2. Moomoo

Moomoo

Join Moomoo and get up to 15 free stocks worth up to $30,000 total.

Like Public.com, Moomoo offers commission-free trades of stocks and ETFs. Moomoo also offers options and American Depository Receipts (ADRs). ADRs allow US residents to invest in foreign companies.

While Public.com takes a simplified approach with a clean user interface that lacks tools for advanced reporting and analysis, Moomoo stands out by providing users with a powerful set of tools while charging no trading fees. Experienced investors, technical traders, and others who prefer to do a lot of research and analysis will love Moomoo and its highly valuable tools.

Every Moomoo user can access free level 2 data and advanced charting tools. There’s also an AI monitor that alerts you in specific situations and AI-powered price forecasts. You’ll also get premium third-party news from a variety of sources.

Due to the wealth of tools available in the Moomoo mobile app, it’s not as simple or user-friendly for beginners. However, the app is well-designed and still provides a good user experience for traders who want access to these powerful tools.

Moomoo also offers extended trading hours (4 am to 8 pm), IPO trading, global markets trading (Hong Kong and China), and 24/7 customer service.

Like other social trading platforms, you can connect with other investors at Moomoo (a community with millions of users) and share ideas through chats within the app. Additionally, Moomoo offers free educational content and tutorials that will be helpful for new investors.

Overall, the social features at Moomoo are not as strong as what Public.com offers. Still, the community can be useful for traders who want access to the tools and data that Moomoo provides to users of this social trading platform.

3. eToro 

eToro

At the time of writing this article, eToro is one of the best social trading platforms. eToro has more than 17 million active users. This platform is known as the best forex broker. It’s heavily regulated with licensing from the FCA, CySEC, and ASIC, and it has FINRA registration too. This gives the new retail investor extra peace of mind because they use the best social trading tools in a safe environment.

eToro offers support for various asset classes, including 250 ETFs from more than 17 different international marketplaces, over 2,400 stocks, cryptocurrencies, forex, commodities, and more. These markets are supported by the social elements of the platform, such as lists of relevant threads related to certain stocks. The input from other eToro traders can be supported with likes, and it’s easy to read and add your own comments.

As an eToro user, you can follow your favorite traders and use the “Copy Trading” tool to trade with them and their trading strategy on a like-for-like basis. There are thousands of verified eToro users using the Copy Trading tool, which makes it easy to find interesting trades that match your risk appetites and financial goals. There’s a lot of data to explore before you copy traders, including risk profiles, trade durations, preferred assets, past performance, historical trades, and more.

Copying an eToro trader requires a $200 minimum investment, and from that point, their trades are reflected in your account. So, if that trader risks 10% of the portfolio to purchase a stock and you’ve invested $1,000 with copy trading, you would add $100 of that stock to your portfolio.

It’s important to remember that you can lose money when trading, even if you’re copying a trader with a history of success. So approach this with caution.

eToro is 100% commission-free when you buy and sell assets, which is equally applicable to the Copy Trading feature. This social trading platform with no trading costs supports a variety of payment methods, including bank transfers, debit/credit cards, and e-wallets. There are no fees if you are an American citizen using USD as payment, but others will need to pay a 0.5% FX charge.

4. Tornado

Tornado

Currently, Tornado is offering a bonus of up to $1,000 cash to invest when you create and fund a new account (terms and conditions listed at Tornado.com). Additionally, all Tornado users with an active account can get up to $50 to invest by completing simple Learn and Earn lessons that teach basic fundamentals of investing.

Tornado is squarely aimed at newer investors and traders that want to learn how to meet their long-term goals. This brokerage combines high-level analysis tools with other options to simplify investing while requiring no minimum deposit. It’s a unique option among the best social trading platforms.

Every subscription includes personalized financial education and the opportunity to earn investable cash through their Learn & Earn program, which offers investing lessons aligned with your experience level.

There is also a one-click portfolio optimization feature that helps investors to generate their ideal asset allocation instantly. This social trading network requires no minimum investment thresholds to meet.

As far as social features are concerned, Tornado allows you to connect with friends and other investors on the social trading platform. You can see what others are buying and selling, what’s in their portfolio (no dollar amounts), how the investments are performing, and where the user ranks compared to other Tornado users.

Users can add pros and cons for any stock. Browsing the pros and cons suggested by other users is a good way to benefit from the insight of others on the platform.

Tornado also provides access to experienced investors called Community Thought Leaders. You can see their thoughts about particular investments or reach out and ask a specific question. No other platform we’re aware of provides this type of one-on-one access.

You can also set up a demo account to get practice or test out strategies with no risk of losing money.

5. Webull

Webull

Webull currently offers new users up to 12 free stocks for trying the platform. You’ll get two free stocks (each worth $3 – $3,000) for signing up. Deposit any amount to get up to 10 more free stocks. Sign up for Webull through this link to be eligible for the bonus.

Webull doesn’t have social trading as a core feature of its platform, but there’s a community where users can share their experiences. This is a great place to explore how other traders and investors feel about potential investment opportunities and issues related to the stock market. This can be a useful learning tool and a way to share your ideas with others on this trading platform.

This popular trading platform has a lot to offer, including commission-free trades, support for fractional shares, no minimum deposit requirement, extended trading hours, access to cryptocurrency, paper trading with a demo trading account, excellent customer support, and tools for advanced research and analysis.

Commission-Free Trades
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Webull is a free investing app that provides advanced reporting tools and allows you to make free trades of stocks, ETFs, and options. Right now Webull is offering up to 12 free stocks when you signup through our link (use the button below) and deposit ANY AMOUNT!

Features:
  • Get 5.0% APY on Webull Now!
  • Commission-free trades of stocks, ETFs, options, and cryptocurrency
  • Buy fractional shares for any amount
  • Extended trading hours
  • Advanced reporting tools
  • IRAs now available
  • 24/7 customer service

6. Commonstock

Commonstock

Commonstock was established with a core vision to make financial literacy accessible to everyone, especially those newer investors still finding their feet.

This is not a brokerage or trading platform with built-in social features. Commonstock is a social media platform that can be used for investing knowledge. This distinction is important, it’s easy to follow other investors to see what they’re trading and how they have split their portfolio amongst various assets. As a user, you only get to see a certain percentage of their portfolio and not an actual dollar amount.

The Commonstock leaderboard displays the top investors by the percentage they’ve returned for their various posts and trades. The platform also can group chats that users can join to share their perspectives and ideas on trading.

One of the standout Commonstock features is the access to detailed analysis that can be seen on the home page. These are investor posts related to companies and the moves that they are planning to make. These posts are often very detailed analysis that goes far beyond a simple social media post that you may find on other platforms. These posts can be very beneficial for any new investor that wants to learn more about a company.

In this respect, Commonstock differs from other investing platforms, such as Robinhood, Public, Webull, and others. This is purely an educational and social tool that is not trying to be all things to all investors. The best way to think of Commonstock is that it’s a platform to share information and get great investment ideas. The exact trading platform you use to make those trades is irrelevant to the core Commonstock user experience.

Many social trading networks have group chat, data access, and social fees that tend to be limited to people that use that specific investment app to make their trades. Commonstock allows anyone to link their brokerage account and interact with other investors on the app.

The investor leaderboard is the central feature where you can see who is getting the best returns. This makes it easy to find experienced traders you want to follow with stock trading. The leaderboard has followers and global filters, which can be adjusted on a percentile basis over different periods of time, such as weekly, monthly, quarterly, annually, and all time.

The founder of Commonstock is David McDonough. He’s an active investor, and his trades can be followed on the leaderboard too. When a user has thirty followers, their follower assets are displayed. They are anonymous and represent the total portfolio of everyone that follows you. This is an easy way to discover which investors are getting the best followers to improve the overall reputation.

At the time of writing this article, the total assets of David McDonough’s followers are $376.5 million. Investors that get better returns are easy to find because they’re higher up the leaderboard, and this is how Commonstock places emphasis on quality over quantity. The true measure of success on the leaderboard is the percent returned and not the dollar value made.

7. FX Junction 

FX Junction

FX Junction is free to join, this platform gives you the capability to follow the forex trading signals of other traders. These can be copied into your own trading account automatically for ease of use.

To use FX Junction, you need a previously registered brokerage account that uses MetaTrader 4 or MetaTrader 5. Once you’ve set up your account, you can choose which trading professionals you want to follow and copy. FX Junction has a system that uses validated “Signal Providers” available to follow with copy trading. There may be an “AutoCopy” fee to pay depending on which provider you choose to follow.

If you decide to become a Signal Provider, you can receive extra profit from people that choose to follow your trading activities. FX Junction is not a deal maker or brokerage platform, there are no advisor or asset management features. The core ethos of the company is that they don’t have any conflict of interest issues that other social trading platforms may have.

Should You Use a Social Investing Platform?

There’s a lot to like about the best social trading platforms, but they’re not for everyone. The community features are ideal for those who are new to stock trading and want to learn more about how to become a successful trader. They’re also excellent for those with some experience who want to learn more by getting insight from others in the community.

Active users of these platforms may gain insight into investment opportunities before deciding. Likewise, users can also interact within the community and share their own thoughts. For the most part, these communities are supportive and encouraging.

However, not everyone needs or wants a community within a social trading platform. Some may find it to be distracting, and, let’s face it, not all of the advice or feedback shared within any community will be advised that you should follow.

You can’t blindly invest based on the advice of others in the community. And when forming your own opinions, it’s possible that bad advice shared within the community could influence your decision-making. As a result, the impact of the community aspect will not always be positive.

Of course, these platforms can be used without participating socially. For example, Public.com, Moomoo, and Webull all have plenty to offer traders, regardless of whether the social features are used.

FAQ About Social Investing

What is a social trading/investing platform?

Social trading platforms offer an innovative form of investing that allows experienced traders to share their insights, knowledge, and trading actions with others. Accessing a large online community that can copy those trades can be helpful for new investors. This form of trading allows users to analyze trading and data with a fresh perspective. Users can compare their trades, copy them and implement trading strategies that successful investors have employed. Social trading has many features that social networks use, which makes them an attractive option for many investors that enjoy those platforms. But, rather than posting pictures or funny memes, people on a social trading platform will share their ideas on the market and investing topics. Having a place where traders can cooperate to analyze professional investing strategies and their results can be invaluable.

What are the best social trading platforms?

In our opinion, Public.com is the best social trading platform at this time. The interface is very user-friendly, and there are no commissions on trades of stocks and funds. Public.com allows access to fractional shares, which allows a new investor to trade high-value shares that may be beyond their reach on other platforms. A new Public.com investor can get started with fractional shares, and it’s easy to follow other investors and watch their portfolios. This is a great way to get a general feel for investing and learn how to make profitable trades.

Is eToro good for beginners?

Yes, eToro is a good choice for new traders because it is easy to use, and the learning curve is shallow. eToro has a set of useful tools, and the mobile trading app and web platform are packed with useful features. Like other social trading networks, you can connect with and learn from other users.

Where can I practice trading?

Tornado is a great option for new investors that want to practice trading and learn more about financial markets. This platform offers paper trading, which is a simulated market environment. Simulated accounts benefit from all of Tornado’s features, so you’ll get a genuine experience without the risk of investing real money.

What is the best app to learn trading?

Public.com is probably the best app for learning how to trade. The social interaction features are excellent, and the investment themes are easy to use.

Should I copy other traders?

A few platforms like eToro and FX Junction allow you to choose experienced traders to copy. While this type of automated trading may work out well, it’s also possible you could wind up losing your money. A better approach is to use the information available within the community to educate yourself and become a better trader. If you do choose to copy the trades of another user, be sure to only use money that you can afford to lose.

Final Thoughts on Social Investing Platforms  

In recent years, there’s been a surge in interest surrounding these social trading platforms. Both new and casual investors are attracted to the easy way that trades can be made without too much effort.

The best social trading platforms have a lot to offer in the long run. When you gain experience, you can learn how to research and make trades yourself. As a result, these platforms can be a key step in your financial progress by helping you to become a better trader.

While these social trading platforms can be very helpful, remember that they are not sources of investment advice. You still need to do your own due diligence before making any investment decision. Many retail investor accounts lose money. If you’re looking for personalized advice, please contact a professional financial advisor.

*Public.com offer valid for U.S. residents 18+ and subject to account approval. This is not a recommendation. You can lose money with any investment. Open To The Public Investing is a member of FINRA & SIPC. Regulatory and firm fees apply. New customers receive free stock with value $3-300; 0.3% receive the max value. Cryptocurrency trading offered by Apex Crypto LLC. See Public.com/disclosures/


Investment Platforms

 
 
 
  • Commission-free trades of stocks and ETFs
  • Buy and sell 25+ different cryptocurrencies
  • Fractional shares
  • Access alternative investments
  • High-yield treasuries accounts
  • Social community of investors
  • User-friendly interface
  • Commission-free trades of stocks, ETFs, options, and ADRs
  • Powerful screening and charting tools
  • Free real-time level 2 data
  • User-friendly mobile app
  • AI monitoring
  • AI-powered price forecasts
  • Free investing courses
  • Commission-free trades of stocks, ETFs, options, and cryptocurrency
  • Buy fractional shares for any amount
  • Extended trading hours
  • Advanced reporting tools
  • Schedule recurring investments
  • IRAs now available
  • 24/7 customer service
  • Commission-free trades of stocks and ETFs
  • Buy and sell 25+ different cryptocurrencies
  • Fractional shares
  • Access alternative investments
  • High-yield treasuries accounts
  • Social community of investors
  • User-friendly interface
  • Commission-free trades of stocks, ETFs, options, and ADRs
  • Powerful screening and charting tools
  • Free real-time level 2 data
  • User-friendly mobile app
  • AI monitoring
  • AI-powered price forecasts
  • Free investing courses
  • Commission-free trades of stocks, ETFs, options, and cryptocurrency
  • Buy fractional shares for any amount
  • Extended trading hours
  • Advanced reporting tools
  • Schedule recurring investments
  • IRAs now available
  • 24/7 customer service

Disclosure: Information presented on Vital Dollar and through related email marketing is intended for informational purposes only and is not meant to be taken as financial advice. Please see our Disclosure for further information.