How To Sell On eToro

Closing A Trade vs Opening A Short On eToro

Closing a position means selling something you already own. Shorting, on the other hand, means opening a new position to profit if the price falls.

If you close a Buy position on a real stock, you no longer own those shares. The money from your sale, including any profit or loss, goes back into your balance and you can withdraw or reinvest it right away.

It’s worth noting that eToro charges a fixed commission of $1 or $2 USD per trade action (including both opening and closing) for real, underlying stock positions. This fee does not apply to CFDs, which instead use a spread (i.e., 0.15%).

How To Sell (Close) A Position On eToro

I’ve traded with real money at eToro for years – the steps are almost identical on the web platform and the eToro app:

1. Open your Portfolio. On the web, click Portfolio in the left-hand menu. In the app, tap Portfolio at the bottom of the screen.
2. Pick the asset. Click or tap the asset to see each position you hold. If you buy the same asset multiple times, you’ll see three rows, each with its own open price.
3. Choose the position. On the web and the app, click the red ‘Close’ button next to it.
4. Review the summary, then confirm your choice. The close screen shows your position’s current value and the profit or loss you will get. eToro does not give a second warning after you click. Press ‘Close’ to finish selling.

If you try to close a position while the market is closed, it will move into a pending close state and sell when the market opens again. You can cancel it before then, as eToro explains in its closing tutorial.

You cannot sell a stock if its exchange has halted trading. Instead, you have to wait until trading resumes before you can close those positions.

Selling Part Of A Position, Or Everything At Once

If you want to sell just part of your holding, select ‘Close only part of the trade’ on the close screen and enter the amount or number of units. eToro allows this only if both the part you sell and the part you keep are above the asset’s minimum trade size. The Stop Loss and Take Profit for the remaining part will adjust automatically.

If you have more than one position in the same asset, you can use the ‘Close All’ button to sell them all at once, both on the web and in the app.

You can also have eToro sell for you automatically. Setting a Stop Loss or Take Profit will close your position at the level you choose. However, eToro does not guarantee Stop Losses. If there is a price gap, your trade will close at the next available price.

How To Sell Copied Positions On eToro

When you copy trades, they close automatically when the investor you follow closes them. But you can also sell them yourself. eToro lets you close a single copied trade without stopping the whole copy. Just click the investor’s name in your Portfolio to see their trades, then close one as explained above.

To sell the whole copy:

1. Open the copy. Go to your Portfolio and click the investor you want to stop copying.
2. Open the menu. Click the three-dot icon next to their name and choose ‘Stop Copying’.
3. Pick ‘Close All’. This sells every copied position and moves the money to your Cash Available balance. ‘Keep All’ ends the copy without selling, turning the positions into manual trades in your own portfolio.
4. Confirm. Press ‘Confirm’ to finish.

A Copy Stop Loss is different: if your copy’s losses reach the percentage you set, eToro will automatically sell every position in that copy.

How To Short Sell On eToro

On eToro, short selling means opening a Short CFD, so you do not borrow or own the shares. Older guides say to press ‘Sell’, but the button is now labeled ‘Short’.

1. Find the asset. Search for the stock, ETF, index, commodity, or currency you expect to fall.
2. Open the trade ticket. Click ‘Trade’ on the asset’s page.
3. Switch to Short by selecting ‘Short’ on the trade ticket. If this option is greyed out, eToro has blocked shorting for that asset. This usually happens if there are no shares to borrow, the market is very volatile, or local rules do not allow it.
4. Set the amount, choose your leverage, and add a Stop Loss and Take Profit. The trade ticket will show that it is a “CFD” and list the spread and overnight fees.
5. Press Short. The position opens at the bid price and appears in your Portfolio. To close a Short, close it like any other position. Note for UK Clients: Retail clients cannot short crypto, since all eToro shorts are CFDs and the FCA still bans authorized firms from offering crypto CFDs for retail investors.

The Risks Of Short Selling On eToro

Short selling has unlimited loss potential because prices can keep rising. eToro’s risk disclosure makes clear a CFD can lose more than you invested in that trade, but never more than your account equity.

eToro may also automatically close a short position. If your account does not meet margin requirements, eToro can close one or more positions, and you are responsible for any losses. Dividends work the opposite way too: if a company pays a dividend while you are short, eToro will deduct that amount from your cash.

Bottom Line

Selling what you own on eToro is quick and easy, and the only real trap is the Short button, which opens a new CFD instead of cashing you out.

Shorting is a whole different scenario. Every short is a CFD in regions where it offers CFDs (not the US), losses have no ceiling, and retail clients in certain jurisdictions like the UK can’t short crypto at all. eToro makes selling what you own easy. Betting against what you don’t is a CFD trade with CFD risks, and should be treated that way.

To learn more about eToro’s fees, features, and platforms, read our full eToro review. If you want to know how your money is protected, see our guide on is eToro safe or not?