Social Trading Tools Review – Copy Trades Between Platforms Instantly

Social trading has exploded in popularity in recent years. It allows traders to follow and automatically copy the trades of experienced investors. However, most social trading platforms only allow you to copy traders within their closed ecosystem. This limits your options as an investor.

Fortunately, a new category of social trading tools now enables you to instantly copy trades between platforms. These tools unlock a world of new trading opportunities.

In this comprehensive review, we will compare the top social trading tools for copying trades between platforms. We’ll analyze their features, supported platforms, pricing, and more. Read on to find the best solution for your investment strategy.

An Overview of Social Trading and Copy Trading

Social trading platforms like eToro and ZuluTrade allow inexperienced investors to mirror the trades of seasoned market veterans. This copying is also known as “copy trading” or “mirror trading”.

The major benefit is that anyone can now trade like an expert. You get to leverage their knowledge, experience, and proven trading strategies. Social trading makes investing accessible to complete beginners.

However, most social trading platforms only allow copying within their closed environment. For example, you can only copy ZuluTrade’s strategy providers. Or eToro’s Popular Investors if you have an eToro account.

This limits the trading talent you can access. Now, cross-platform social trading tools break down these walled gardens. You can copy trades from multiple platforms to one account.

Why Copy Trading Between Platforms Opens New Opportunities

Copying trades between platforms gives you more options and control. Here are some of the key benefits:

• Access More Trading Talent: Each platform has unique top traders. Combining them expands your opportunities. No single platform has a monopoly on the best trading talent.
• Mitigate Risk: Copying traders across platforms diversifies your portfolio. If one trader has a bad stretch, others can balance it out.
• Compare Performance: You can pit traders from different platforms against each other. This helps you determine who is best over time.
• No Long-Term Commitments: If a trader has a cold streak, you can simply stop copying them. You’re not locked into any single platform ecosystem.
• Automate Entire Strategy: You can bring together traders, signals, copy portfolios from across platforms into one cohesive strategy.

The top cross-platform social trading tools make copying trades between platforms quick and seamless. Next, let’s look at the leading options.

Leading Social Trading Tools to Copy Between Platforms

Several platforms now enable cross-platform copy trading. Here are the top contenders:

1. ZuluTrade

ZuluTrade is one of the pioneers in social and copy trading. They recently launched a new Copy Between Accounts feature.

This lets you copy trades from a connected account on another platform to your ZuluTrade account. Supported platforms include MT4, MT5, cTrader, and NinjaTrader.

Key Features:

• Copy from MT4, MT5, cTrader, NinjaTrader accounts
• Supports Forex and CFDs trading
• Free to use for copying trades
• ZuluGuard risk management
• Advanced backtesting

Overall, ZuluTrade is a great option thanks to the mature platform and risk controls. The focus is on Forex and CFDs. You’ll need to open a ZuluTrade account and connect brokerage accounts.

2. Mirror Trader

Mirror Trader takes a different approach. It copies trades between platforms via synchronized trading accounts.

For example, you can link a ZuluTrade account to automatically copy trades to a connected eToro account. This keeps everything neatly synced and managed from their dashboard.

It supports copying between all major social trading platforms including:

• eToro
• ZuluTrade
• Naga Trader
• Darwinex
• Collective2
• Tradeo
• Myfxbook AutoTrade

The key advantages of Mirror Trader are the breadth of platforms covered and the synchronized accounts model. You don’t need to move funds between accounts to copy trades.

Pricing starts at $14.99 per month for two synced accounts. Additional accounts are $4.99 each.

3. Social Trader Tools

Social Trader Tools focuses on copying from MetaTrader (MT4 and MT5) accounts. This allows you to mirror trades from any MT4/5 broker.

You can copy trades to your account with any other broker that supports MetaTrader. This makes it broker-agnostic.

Top features include:

• Copy MT4 and MT5 trades between brokers
• Supports Forex and stock CFDs
• Free version available
• MT4 and MT5 trade copiers

Social Trader Tools is a great choice if you use MetaTrader for trading. The free version lets you copy a single trade feed. Paid plans start at $7 per month.

4. QuantConnect

QuantConnect offers social trading capabilities in addition to algorithmic trading.

You can follow and replicate strategies shared by other members. It also supports importing trades from MT4 accounts.

The focus is mainly on stock and crypto trading. But QuantConnect also supports Forex and CFDs.

Key features:

• Stocks, crypto, Forex and CFDs trading
• Import trades from MT4 accounts
• Follow and replicate shared strategies
• Automated trading and backtesting
• 14 day free trial

QuantConnect is ideal if you want social trading alongside algorithmic strategies. Subscription plans start at $25 per month.

5. Tradeo CopyKat

Tradeo offers social trading across multiple asset classes including stocks, ETFs, options, futures, and Forex.

Their CopyKat feature allows you mirror trades from external accounts and signal providers. You can import manual or automated strategies.

Supported platforms for copying include:

• MetaTrader 4 & 5
• TradingView
• NinjaTrader
• Tradovate

Tradeo charges a 20% profit share to copy external trades through CopyKat. But there are no monthly subscription fees.

Overall, Tradeo is a good choice for cross-platform copy trading focused on US markets.

Key Features to Look for in Cross-Platform Trading Tools

When evaluating social trading tools for copy trading between platforms, here are the most important features to consider:

Breadth of Supported Platforms

Look for tools that integrate all the major platforms – eToro, ZuluTrade, Tradeo, NinjaTrader, TradingView etc. This gives you the most trading talent to copy.

Supported Asset Classes

Make sure the tool covers your preferred trading markets – Forex, stocks, crypto, commodities, ETFs.

Risk Management and Allocation

The ability to limit risk exposure to copied traders and allocate capital selectively is vital.

Sync vs. Auto-Copy Models

Syncing accounts provides seamless copying without manually moving funds. But auto-copy may offer more flexibility. Evaluate which model best fits your needs.

Pricing Model

Subscription, profit share, transaction fees, or free. Pick an affordable option aligned with your copying activity.

Social Community

An engaged community helps evaluate traders to copy. Social features are also nice to have.

Backtesting and Analytics

Robust analytics and backtesting help identify the best traders to copy over time.

By evaluating tools against these criteria, you can determine which is the best fit.

6 Frequently Asked Questions About Copy Trading Between Platforms

Can I really copy trades from any trading platform to another?

Yes, cross-platform social trading tools allow you to copy trades from multiple sources to a single account. You can combine signal providers, copy traders, robot advisors, and copy portfolios across platforms. Top tools like Mirror Trader sync accounts while others use trade copying or import functionality.

Is copy trading between platforms riskier than copying internally?

There’s no significant difference in the risks if you use proper position sizing and risk management. The key is limiting exposure to any single trader you copy and diversifying across multiple sources. Also analyze their historical performance. Internally, externally, all copied trades carry inherent risks.

What happens if I close a position that was opened by a copied trade?

With most tools, closing the position in your account will not close it in the source account. Your accounts are fully independent, the tool only copies new trades. However, a synced accounts model will close positions across all connected accounts if you manually intervene.

Can I copy portfolios or just individual traders?

Many of the top tools allow copying pre-made portfolios that combine multiple traders and strategies. This provides an easy hands-off approach. You get diversification without the legwork of individually analyzing traders.

How quickly do these tools copy trades between platforms?

The speed depends on the specific tool, but most copy trades within 1-2 seconds after they are opened in the source account. A sync model is fastest since both accounts execute the trade simultaneously. Auto-copy tools have a slight lag but are still very quick.

Can I automate an entire trading strategy by combining signals, robot advisors, and copy trading across platforms?

Absolutely. By linking accounts and tools on Mirror Trader or QuantConnect, you can automate end-to-end trading strategies. You can combine the best elements from different platforms – entry signals, risk management, auto-trading bots, copy traders – to create a hands-off automated strategy. The flexibility is endless.

The Takeaway – Combine the Best of All Platforms

In summary, cross-platform copy trading unlocks a whole new world of social investing opportunities. You’re no longer limited to the traders on any single platform.

Leading tools from Mirror Trader, ZuluTrade, and Social Trader Tools make it easy to diversify and find your perfect trading recipe.

Consider combining proven veterans, up-and-coming new talent, complementary strategies, and specialized signals across platforms. With the right mix, your copied portfolio can outperform anything on any single platform.

The time is now to take advantage of these innovations in social and copy trading. Sign up for a free trial of Mirror Trader or ZuluTrade to start expanding possibilities today.