Pepperstone
- Written By Forex
- Updated:
Pepperstone’s a well-known online place to trade Forex and CFDs. Right now, they have some of the best conditions for Forex trading, whether you’re just starting out or you’re an experienced trader from anywhere around the world. If you trade a lot, they’ve got a special program for you too.
In this review, we’re going to look at the main things about Pepperstone that you should know before you decide to trade with them. People on Trustpilot really like Pepperstone, giving them a good rating of 4.4 stars out of 5 from over 3,000 reviews. Most traders (about 81%) are happy with Pepperstone and give them 5 stars, while only a few (8%) give them 1 star.
Pepperstone Summary | |
Year Founded | 2007 |
Minimum Deposit | $0 |
Tradable Instruments | CFDs in Forex, indices, currency indices, commodities, crypto, stocks, forwards, ETFs, dividends for index and share CFDs |
Open an Account | How to Open an Account at Pepperstone |
Trading Costs | Spreads, Fees, and Commissions at Pepperstone |
Key Pros and Cons
Let us first provide a quick snapshot of Pepperstone’s advantages and disadvantages.
- Key Pros
- Institutional grade liquidity and razor sharp pricing
- Fast, ECN-based order execution with no dealing desk intervention
- No fees on deposits and withdrawals and no inactivity fee
- A good selection of account types, including Razor accounts
- A nice range of trading platforms and advanced trading tools
- Negative balance protection for all clients
- An award-winning customer support service
- Key Cons
- A slightly limited range of tradable asset classes
- No US, Canadian, and Japanese clients
Company Information
The Incorporation of Pepperstone
Established in 2010 and headquartered in Melbourne, Australia, Pepperstone is on a mission to “create a world of tech-enabled trading where ambitious traders could embrace the challenge and opportunity of global markets.” The broker offers its clientele superior technology, narrow spreads, and a genuine commitment to aiding them in mastering the financial markets.
750,000+ Clients Worldwide
With more than 750,000 retail clients worldwide and $320 billion in monthly trading volume, Pepperstone is among the largest Forex and CFD brokers on a global scale.
The Pepperstone Group is comprised of the following corporate entities with their respective regulated offices:
Pepperstone Group Limited, regulated by the ASIC, with office address at Level 16, Tower One, 727 Collins Street, Melbourne VIC 3008, Australia
Pepperstone Markets Limited, regulated by the Securities Commission of the Bahamas, with office address at #1 Pineapple House, Old Fort Bay, Nassau, New Providence, the Bahamas
Pepperstone EU Limited, regulated by the CySEC, with office address at 195, Makarios III Avenue, Neocleous House, 3030, Limassol Cyprus
Pepperstone Limited, regulated by the FCA, with office address at 70 Gracechurch St, London EC3V 0XL, United Kingdom
Pepperstone Financial Services (DIFC) Limited, regulated by the DFSA, with office address at Al Fattan Currency House, Tower 2, Level 15, Office 1502A, DIFC Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Pepperstone GmbH, regulated by BaFin, with office address at Neubrückstrasse 1, 40213 Düsseldorf, Germany
Pepperstone Markets Kenya Limited, regulated by the CMA, with office address at Oval Ring Road, Westlands, P.O Box 2905-00606, Nairobi, Kenya
Pepperstone International Markets Limited, regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) of Seychelles, with registered offices at Room 2, Block B, Global Village, Jivan’s Complex, Mont Fleuri, Mahe, Seychelles
We should note that Pepperstone does not accept clients from certain countries, including the United States, Canada, Japan, Belgium, Spain, South Korea, and New Zealand.
Catering to Traders Worldwide
One of the impressive features of AvaTrade is its truly global reach, which is something that will appeal to traders all around the world. Their website is configured for over 25 separate countries and regions and supports at least 20 different languages.
Multiple Industry Awards
AvaTrade has won multiple industry accolades from reputable outlets, such as The European, International Business Magazine, FXEmpire, and Daytrading.com.
Why Trade with Pepperstone?
Now, let us provide a quick list of the key features that we like about BlackBull Markets.
Aspect | What we like |
Regulation | A respected and highly secure broker, regulated by the ASIC, CySEC, the FCA and BaFin |
Pricing | Razor-thin spreads and competitive commissions |
Execution | Excellent ECN order execution with no dealing desk intervention, no requotes, and minimal risk of slippage. Ultra-fast execution speeds and low latency are guaranteed. |
Risk Management | Negative balance protection for retail clients of all regulated entities |
Platforms | MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, TradingView, cTrader, and the proprietary Pepperstone platform. Additional package of institutional quality trading tools available. |
Customer Support | An award-winning, 24/7 support service via several communication channels |
Regulation
Pepperstone's a Forex and CFD broker that plays by the rules. Back home in Australia, they're legit with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), which is a big deal in the finance world. It means they're open and honest in how they do things. They've also got the thumbs-up from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK, the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) in Germany, and the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) in Europe. Elsewhere, Pepperstone Markets Limited and Pepperstone International Markets Limited handle things. They're good to go with licenses from the Securities Commission of the Bahamas and the Financial Services Authority of the Seychelles, which aren't quite as strict. Here’s a quick look at all their licenses.
Flag | Region | Entity | Authority | License |
 | Australia | Pepperstone Group Limited | Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) | AFSL No.414530 |
| UK | Pepperstone Limited | Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) | Registration Number 684312 |
| EU | Pepperstone EU Limited | Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) | License Number 388/20 |
| Germany | Pepperstone GmbH | Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) | Registration Number 151148 |
| UAE | Pepperstone Financial Services (DIFC) Limited | Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) | License Number F004356 |
| Kenya | Pepperstone Markets Kenya Limited | Capital Markets Authority (CMA) | CMA License No.128 |
| Internationally | Pepperstone Markets Limited | Securities Commission of The Bahamas (SCB) | SIA-F217 |
| Internationally | Pepperstone International Markets Limited | Financial Services Authority of the Seychelles (FSA) | SD108 |
Pepperstone seems to have okay regulatory backing, but it’s not as strict as some competitors like IG Markets, which is watched by six top regulators, such as the CFTC.
Because Pepperstone isn’t approved by the CFTC, it can’t offer online trading to people in the United States. Also, it doesn’t take on clients from places like Belgium, Spain, Japan, New Zealand, Iran, Iraq, South Korea, and Yemen.
Good thing is, since the FCA regulates it, UK customers can get up to £85,000 back from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) if Pepperstone can’t pay up. Also, its CySEC license says that EU customers should get up to €20,000 from the Cyprus Investor Compensation Fund (ICF) if the broker goes belly up.
Regulation
4.5/5
- Multiple licenses increase client trust
- £85,000 compensation per retail client for the UK
- CySEC regulations mandate €20,000 in compensation per client
- Leverage of up to 1:400 in certain jurisdictions
KYC Procedure for Account Creation and Depositing
Getting a live trading account with Pepperstone was quick and easy. Signing up took around 15 minutes, and they verified my account in under a day.
The entire procedure consists of the following steps:
Creating a login: you are required to enter a valid email, select an account type and a password, and specify your country of residence to begin the process.
Inputting personal details: enter your first and last name, date of birth, city of residence, street name and number, postcode, personal number and mobile phone number.
Configuring the trading account: choose a trading platform, an account type (Standard, Razor, or Managed), a base account currency, and a platform password.
Taking a suitability test: Pepperstone will ask you to provide information about your employment and sources of income, trading experience, expected monthly transaction volume in lots, and annual account turnover. If they approve you based on the answers you provide, you will move on to the next step in the process. Note that if many of the answers you provide do not match the broker’s internal requirements, your application will be rejected.
Declaration that you have read and agree with all the legal documentation of Pepperstone, including Terms and Conditions, Order Execution Policy, Privacy Policy and Risk Disclosure Notice.
Providing proof of ID (passport, national ID card, or driver’s license) and proof of residency (utility bill or bank account statement), which Pepperstone will have to verify.
After filling out the profile form and uploading your documents, you’ll need to wait about a business day for the broker to verify your account. Once that’s done, you can add funds using any of the available methods and begin trading.
Account Opening
4/5
- Fast sign-up process (up to 15 minutes)
- The registration process includes a suitability test
Account Types
Like IC Markets and FP Markets, Pepperstone has a few account options so different traders can find what works for them, no matter their style or how much experience they have. The two main accounts you can pick from at Pepperstone are:
Standard Account
Suitable for new traders, this account type keeps things simple as all trading costs are incorporated into the spread. As a result, the available spreads are slightly wider compared to those offered for the Razor account. The broker adds a 1-pip markup to all spreads to compensate for the absence of commissions on most tradable asset classes. In other words, the narrowest spreads for major currency pairs start from 1 pip.
Standard account users pay commissions only when trading ETFs and stocks, with rates starting from $0.02 for US shares and exchange-traded funds. The broker allows position hedging and scalping with Standard accounts. The maximum leverage is restricted to 1:200 under the SCB entity, 1:400 under the CMA division, and 1:30 for retail clients from Europe, Australia, Dubai, and the UK.
Razor Account
This account type is suitable for both scalpers and algorithmic traders. Thanks to Pepperstone’s leading ECN technology and deep liquidity pool, you will be able to access the lowest possible spreads, starting from 0.0 pips on all major currency pairs offered by the brokerage. In exchange for these institutional grade spreads, Pepperstone will charge you a small commission, which depends on the base currency and the trading platform you have selected.
Dollar-denominated MT4, MT5, and TradingView accounts incur a $3.50 commission per side, while euro-denominated accounts attract commissions of €2.60 per side, per standard lot. There are no administrative charges or market data fees.
On MetaTrader 4, the roundturn commission charged will be $7 per standard lot for a USD-denominated Razor Account and €5.20 for a EUR-denominated Razor Account.
On MetaTrader 5, the roundturn commission charged will be $7 per standard lot for a USD-denominated Razor Account and €5.20 for a EUR-denominated Razor Account.
On the TradingView platform, the roundturn commission charged will be $7.00 per one standard lot.
On the cTrader platform, customers incur a roundturn commission of $6 per standard lot. If you are trading 100,000 units in the GBP/USD pair, you will pay $3 to open the position and another $3 to close it.
More active traders will find this account type quite appealing, because it reduces their overall trading costs
Active Trader Program
If you’re a pro client and join our Active Trader program, you get extra perks. We’re talking market info that’s a step up, client support that gets you to the front of the line, free VPS hosting, and lower commissions. To get in, you need to meet these requirements:
- Have a notional monthly volume of at least €20 million in forex.
- For commodities, the minimum monthly trading volume is €10 million.
- Index traders must record a minimum monthly trading volume of €25 million.
If you trade a lot, you can cut costs with rebates. The more you trade each month, the bigger discounts you get. It also depends what you’re trading. You’ll get rebates monthly or even every day, based on your account. To join, just talk to your account manager or email premium@pepperstone.com.
The discounts for high-volume traders vary based on jurisdiction. The table below provides information for the CySEC entity.
Pepperstone Summary | Trading Volume in Forex | Rebate Percentage |
1 | From €20 to €99 million | 15% |
2 | From €100 to €199 million | 20% |
3 | €200 to €299 million | 25% |
4 | €300 million or more | Personally tailored rates |
Multi Account Manager – MAM/PAMM
If you’re a skilled fund manager with the right license or experience in the field, Pepperstone’s MAM and PAMM accounts might be a good fit. To get started, fund managers will need:
- A relevant regulatory license
- At least 3 years of trading experience
The broker’s MAM software lets you easily run tons of sub-accounts all from one spot, and allocating funds is super quick. Fund managers get these perks:
Customizable performance, management and commission fees
Industry standard allocation methods (Lot, Percentage, Proportional)
All unique order types are accepted (Trailing Stop, Close By, and Close All)
Minimum trade volume of 0.01 Lots per client
Algorithmic trading and scalping are allowed
Islamic Account (Swap-Free)
Pepperstone has swap-free accounts for Muslim clients, so they won’t get charged interest for keeping positions open overnight. This follows Sharia law, so no interest or swaps on any trades.
The EUR/USD spread is usually 1.0 to 1.2 pips with the Bahamas entity, and 0.77 pips with CySEC. You can have the account in USD, EUR, GBP, or AUD. Like the Standard account, you can do scalping, hedging, and algorithmic trading.
Just a heads-up: if you keep a forex or metals trade going for 5 days, they’ll charge a $100 fee (or the same amount in your currency) for each standard lot. There are no other commissions because the costs are in the spreads. Trade sizes go from 0.01 to 100 lots. There’s no minimum deposit, but Pepperstone suggests starting with at least €500, AU$200, or the equivalent in another currency they support.
If you’re in Albania, Burkina Faso, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Brunei, Algeria, Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan, Kyrgyzstan, Kuwait, Morocco, Mauritania, Maldives, Malaysia, Niger, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Sierra Leona, Turkey, Uzbekistan, or Kosovo, you can get a swap-free account.
Demo Account
Pepperstone lets you try out a free demo account. It lasts 60 days and has $50,000 in fake cash. MetaTrader 4 and 5 demos stop working after 60 days, but if you put money in a real account and ask support, they can keep the demos going. But if you don’t use those MetaTrader demos for 90 days, the broker might close them. cTrader and TradingView demos don’t expire, though.
The demo account is great for checking out trading ideas without risking money, and learning how the platforms work because it acts like the real market. Just a heads up, you can’t get swap-free accounts as demos. If you’re new and don’t have a live account, you can have up to 5 demos (two for MetaTrader 4, and one each for MT5, TradingView, and cTrader). If you have money in your account, you can open up to 10 demos. You can only make more demos once your old ones are done.
Account Types
5/5
- Two main account types: Standard and Razor
- Islamic accounts are available
- MAM/PAMM solutions are also available
- Standard accounts are suitable for new traders
- Razor accounts offer spreads from zero pips
Trading Fees and Other Costs
Smart traders always check if a brokerage has low fees and good bid-ask spreads. Like other CFD and Forex brokers, Pepperstone has two main kinds of trading fees.
- Trading costs: spreads, commissions, and overnight financing rates (swaps)
- Non-trading costs: account management fees, deposit and withdrawal fees, currency conversion, and inactivity fees
Let us provide a breakdown of these two categories and see how Pepperstone positions itself on this front.
Costs/fees | What is this? | With Pepperstone |
Spreads | The cost incorporated into the price of what you trade. A wider bid-ask spread results in higher costs. | Spreads are razor sharp. Standard Account: The average spread of 1.1 pips on EUR/USD is relatively competitive. Razor Account: The average spread of 0.1 pips on EUR/USD is currently one of the best you will find within the industry. |
Commission | A flat fee paid upon opening and closing positions as an alternative to charging via the spread. | Standard Account: No commissions except for US stocks and ETFs where you pay $0.02 per share. Razor Account: The roundturn commission of $7 per standard lot coincides with the industry average. |
Financing charges | The cost of holding a position open overnight. | The broker does not charge additional fees on top of the daily swap rates. |
Deposit fees | Fees charged by the broker to fund your account. | None (see more in Deposit Methods below) |
Withdrawal fees | Fees charged by the broker to withdraw money from your account. | None (see Withdrawal Methods below) |
Inactivity fees | Fees charged on dormant accounts without any trading activity. | None |
Spreads
Similar to other major brokers, there are two different pricing models on Pepperstone’s main account types:
- Standard Account: all trading costs are included in the spread.
- Razor Account: ultra-thin spreads from 0.0 pips and a small roundturn commission of $7/€5.20 per standard lot on MT4, MT5, and TradingView, and $6 for cTrader.
Let us take a closer look at the average spreads offered on the two account types.
Standard Account | Razor Account | |||
Instrument | Min. | Avg. | Min. | Avg. |
EUR/USD | 1.00 pip | 1.10 pips | 0.00 pips | 0.10 pips |
GBP/USD | 1.00 pip | 1.20 pips | 0.00 pips | 0.20 pips |
USD/JPY | 1.00 pip | 1.20 pips | 0.00 pips | 0.20 pips |
USD/CHF | 1.00 pip | 1.30 pips | 0.00 pips | 0.30 pips |
AUD/USD | 1.00 pip | 1.10 pips | 0.00 pips | 0.10 pips |
USD/CAD | 1.10 pips | 1.40 pips | 0.10 pips | 0.40 pips |
NZD/USD | 1.10 pips | 1.30 pips | 0.10 pips | 0.30 pips |
There is a markup of one pip added to the average spreads on Standard accounts to cover the costs of trading.
Okay, let’s check out how trading costs stack up for these two account types. We’ll use a standard lot in EUR/USD as an example, where 1 pip is worth $10. To keep it simple, imagine we open and close the trade at the exact same price. If we look at the average spreads, here’s what the trading costs would be for each account:
Standard Account
- Spread – 1.1 pips
- TOTAL COST – 1.1 x $10 = $11 per side and $22 in both directions
Razor Account
- Spread – 0.10 pips
- Spread cost – 0.10 x $10 = $1
- Commission – $7 in both directions
- TOTAL COST – ($1 x 2) + $7 = $9 in both directions
Finally, here is a direct comparison of the average spreads for Standard accounts at Pepperstone and those offered by other major brokerages for the three most actively traded currency pairs.
Instrument | Pepperstone | IC Markets | Fusion Markets | IG Markets |
EUR/USD | 1.10 pips | 0.82 pips | 0.95 pips | 1.00 pip |
GBP/USD | 1.20 pips | 1.03 pips | 1.03 pips | 1.66 pips |
USD/JPY | 1.20 pips | 0.94 pips | 1.04 pips | 1.12 pips |
USD/CHF | 1.30 pips | 0.99 pips | 1.13 pips | 2.15 pips |
AUD/USD | 1.10 pips | 0.83 pips | 0.97 pips | 1.01 pips |
USD/CAD | 1.40 pips | 1.05 pips | 1.01 pips | 2.46 pips |
NZD/USD | 1.30 pips | 1.38 pips | 1.03 pips | 2.70 pips |
Pepperstone’s average spreads on Standard accounts are pretty much the same as IG Markets, a big name in Forex. But, Fusion and IC Markets have slightly better average spreads for their commission-free accounts.
Commissions
With Pepperstone, if you have a Razor account and trade forex or metals on MT4, MT5, or TradingView, it costs $7 to open and close a standard lot.
This means that:
- You pay a $7 commission per every 100,000 units of the base currency (1 standard lot).
- A $0.07 roundturn commission is due per micro lot, consisting of 1,000 units of the base currency.
The $7 commission per standard lot is pretty standard, similar to what brokers like IC Markets charge. But, if you trade with a Zero account at Fusion Markets, it’ll only set you back $4.50 each way – which is one of the cheapest deals going right now.
Spreads & Commissions
4/5
- Competitive Standard and Razor account spreads
- Razor commissions are reasonable, but can be lower
Financing Charges
When you keep a currency position open overnight, you’ll have to pay a fee called an overnight financing charge. It’s also known as a swap rate or rollover. This fee depends on the difference in overnight interest rates between the two currencies in the pair, and whether you’re going long or short.
For Forex pairs and spot metals, Pepperstone figures out the swap rate with this formula: Daily swap charge/credit = (One point / exchange rate) x (Trade size x tom next rate). The tom next (tomorrow-next day) rates come from big global investment banks and are updated all the time to stay current with the tom next market.
In order to view the swap rates on Pepperstone’s MetaTrader platforms, you should:
First, select ‘View’
Second, right-click on ‘Market Watch’ and then select ‘Symbols’
Third, select the currency pair you wish to check and then select ‘Specifications’.
In order to view the swap rates on Pepperstone’s cTrader platform, you can:
First, go to the ‘Finder’ tab
Second, type the symbol name in the search bar
Third, click the information icon next to the symbol to view its settings.
Deposit fees
Pepperstone does not charge any deposit fees, a fairly standard practice among major brokerages. For more details see Deposit Methods.
Withdrawal fees
Pepperstone doesn’t charge withdrawal fees, but keep in mind that international banks might charge their own fees for wire transfers. Check out Withdrawal Methods for the full scoop.
Inactivity fees
Pepperstone doesn’t hit you with inactivity fees if you don’t trade for a while, which is cool because many big brokers do. So, Pepperstone gets a thumbs up from us on this.
Inactivity Fees
5/5
- No inactivity fees
Overall on Fees
Pepperstone has good spreads and fair commissions. They don’t add extra fees to the usual overnight financing costs. Plus, there are no non-trading fees, which is a big win in my book. Still, like IC Markets, Pepperstone doesn’t get the best grade for fees. Their commissions are a little more than some other top brokers, like Fusion Markets.
Trading Fees and Other Costs
4.5/5
- Very competitive spreads on Standard and Razor accounts
- No extra fees on top of daily swap rates
- No non-trading fees
- Commissions are a bit higher than those of some competitors
Desktop Trading Platforms
Pepperstone has its own platform that you can get to on any modern browser like Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge. You can trade in over 1,300 CFD markets, and it has charting options, indicators, and risk tools. It’s easy to see how each instrument is doing and make your own watchlists, plus there are public ones you can use. They also work with other platforms like MT4, MT5, TradingView, and cTrader.
MetaTrader 4
Pepperstone’s popular Forex platform works on Windows and Mac. It has live prices, real-time charts, and some decent tools to help you figure things out. You also get 85 built-in indicators to get a feel for the market, plus you can mess with the charts, trade with a single click, use Expert Advisors to automate stuff, and test things out. It’s in 38 languages, which is pretty cool.
What is more, using the MT4 platform at Pepperstone also grants you access to:
28 additional Smart Trader Tools: 12 expert advisors, such as Alarm Manager, Correlation Matrix, Sentiment Trader, Trade Simulator as well as 16 extra indicators, including Candle Countdown, Donchian, Keltner, Gravity, Renko, and Magnifier. This package of extra tools will certainly be useful to traders seeking institutional quality tools on top of what is available on MT4 by default.
The Autochartist market scanner detects statistically significant market events and patterns.
A great VPS hosting service (Check out the Trade Execution section for more details).
Other benefits you can enjoy with Pepperstone’s MetaTrader 4 platform include:
Reliable, ultra-fast order execution (which we will discuss in more detail later in the current review).
Razor-sharp pricing across the broker’s entire Forex and CFD product range.
The ability to trade in micro lots for a better risk management.
No restrictions on orders. Stop Loss and Take Profit orders can be placed at the closest possible pip distance from the current market price. This feature is not available at some other major brokers.
Great funding and withdrawal options.
The MT4 WebTrader accessible in all popular web browsers.
MetaTrader 5
MetaTrader 5, which comes after MT4, gets orders done quicker and has more order options, time settings, tech tools, and drawing tools. It lets people do better EA stuff and test things out in MQL5 code. MT5 is stronger and can do more things, but people just starting might find the older MT4 easier to understand. Also, MT5 lets you trade more types of assets than MetaTrader 4, like stock CFDs.
We should also mention that MetaTrader 5 comes with Depth of Market (DoM) and level II pricing, showing you the entire range of available prices for each currency pair directly from Pepperstone’s liquidity providers.
cTrader
This trading software is easy to use and has a simple layout that you can change. You can even detach the charts! It lets you manage slippage and order fills with some cool options. The platform shows more symbols, has different types of orders, and lots of technical indicators. Plus, it has a way better strategy tester for checking your strategies and seeing how they did. It does things MetaTrader 4 can’t, like use multiple threads and test data tick by tick.
Additionally, cTrader allows you to customize your watchlists, receive email and push notifications, and access cloud-hosted watchlists, workspaces, and price alerts.
Other key advantages of the cTrader platform include:
- Access to full Depth of Market: for every single Forex pair, you will be able to see the available volumes for each price level, at any time.
- Access to cTrader Automate: This feature allows you to develop algorithmic trading systems and custom technical indicators by using the source code editor and C# programming language. You will also have access to FIX API.
TradingView
You can also use TradingView with Pepperstone. It’s a popular platform because of its cool charting tools and huge network of traders. It helps you find good trades fast with tons of indicators and alerts. You can sort markets how you like or practice trading without risking any money. Keep in mind, TradingView only works if you have a Razor account with Pepperstone. Here’s what you can expect it to do:
- Advanced Trading Tools: TradingView shows you detailed information on trading volumes at different price levels.
- Social Trading Community: Users can gain valuable market insights and exchange ideas with other members of the TradingView community.
- A Vast Library of Indicators: The platform provides a choice from more than 400 technical indicators.
- Powerful Charting Capabilities: Pepperstone customers can trade directly through charts and choose from different chart types, including Renko and Heikin Ashi. Multiple timeframes are supported.
Copy Trading with Pepperstone
There are three third-party copy trading services available at Pepperstone:
AutoTrade by Myfxbook: You can replicate the trades of any trading system selected directly into your MT4 account with the broker.
DupliTrade: A popular trading strategy marketplace that provides access to signals from top strategy providers and enables you to trade automatically based on them. DupliTrade can be used with cTrader accounts but is currently unavailable to EU customers due to regulatory restrictions.
MetaTrader Signals: This tool allows you to access thousands of trading strategies and signals in real time without leaving the MetaTrader 4 platform.
Desktop Platforms
4/5
- MT4, MT5, TradingView, and cTrader are available
- Additional tools for advanced charting are available
- Copy trading available via Copytrade by Pepperstone, AutoTrade, DupliTrade and MetaTrader Signals
Mobile Trading Platforms
Pepperstone users can get to their trading platforms on iPhones, iPads, Android phones, and other mobile devices using the apps. We think the MT4, MT5, TradingView, and cTrader mobile apps are as good as the platforms you use on a computer.
The MetaTrader mobile app for Android is simple to use. It has real-time quotes for Forex and CFDs, all order types (like pending orders), real-time charts with zoom and scroll, and the most common technical indicators. You need Android 5.0 or later to use it. The iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch version of MetaTrader has much of the same stuff. You’ll need iOS 12.0 or later.
The cTrader mobile app for Android devices lets you use complex tools for looking at charts, like 5 chart types, 5 chart views, 16 drawing tools, and 65 technical indicators. With the QuickTrade thing, you can trade with just one click. Plus, it links to news and shows how people feel about the market. You can set alerts and get notifications by push or email. You’ll need Android 5.0 or higher for this one.
The same goes for the cTrader app on iOS. The full-screen chart is even easier to read. With a quick tap, you can get to the main stuff, or tap and hold for deeper settings and a closer look. The cTrader iOS app needs iOS 12.0 or later. Also, Pepperstone has simple apps that you can get for free from the App Store and Google Play.
Pepperstone Android App | Pepperstone iOS App | |
Minimum System Requirements | Android 7.0 and up | iOS 15.1 and up |
User Rating | 3.1 / 5 | N/A |
User Reviews | 12 | N/A |
Supported Languages | English | English |
Forex Pairs | 93 | 93 |
Other Tradable Assets | 26 indices, 40 commodities, 31 cryptocurrencies, 1,162 stocks, 95 ETFs | 26 indices, 40 commodities, 31 cryptocurrencies, 1,162 stocks, 95 ETFs |
Features | One-click trading, customizable and public watchlists, demo trading, forex newsfeed | One-click trading, quick chart switch, demo trading, watchlists, forex newsfeed, multiple charting options |
Biometric Authentication | No | Yes |
2-Factor Authentication | Yes | Yes |
Mobile Trading
4/5
- Third-party mobile apps for MT4, MT5, TradingView, and cTrader
- Apps closely replicate the desktop trading experience
- Free native apps are available on Google Play and the App Store
Trading Instruments
Pepperstone is mainly about Forex, but they’ve added more stuff over time and now have 1,400+ markets. That’s cool, but some bigger players like IG offer way more (think 17,000!). Also, Pepperstone doesn’t let you trade bonds, futures, options, or interest rates with leverage right now. To make up for it, they do have CFD forwards though.
Asset Class | Pepperstone | IC Markets | Fusion Markets | |
Forex | 93 | Excellent | 61 | 90+ |
Indices | 26 | Excellent | 25 | 15 |
Commodities | 40 | Excellent | 28 | 17 |
Stock CFDs | 1,162 | Good | 2,100 | 110 |
Cryptocurrencies | 31 | Excellent | 18 | 13 |
Bonds | 0 | N/A | 9 | 0 |
Futures | 0 | Excellent | 4 | 0 |
Options | 0 | N/A | 0 | 0 |
In this section, we will take a closer look at the various financial instruments available at BlackBull Markets
Forex
Right now, Pepperstone has more than 90 currency pairs – major, minor, and exotic. That’s a bit more than what other similar companies offer. They also have CFDs on 3 currency indexes: the US Dollar Index, Euro Index, and Japanese Yen Index.
What’s really cool is how good the trading is with Pepperstone. Because they work with a bunch of different liquidity sources and have a fancy ECN-style system for orders, they can give really tight pricing. With their Razor account, you can trade major Forex pairs with spreads as low as 0.0 pips, and the average spread on EUR/USD is only 0.1 pips.
The most leverage you can get on Forex is 1:200 if you’re under the Bahamas entity and 1:400 if you’re with the Kenya-regulated part. If you’re a regular customer in Europe, Australia, Dubai, or the UK, the most leverage you can get is 1:30 for major and 1:20 for minor currency pairs. You can access a maximum leverage of 1:100 on currency indexes. Overall, trading Forex with a well known broker like Pepperstone can be a solid move for traders who use all sorts of plans, like scalping, swing, and day trading.
Index CFDs
Stock indices are known around the world as a way to lower risk when you want to get into the stock market. Economic stuff like earnings and news can really change stock prices.
At this broker, you can trade over 20 stock indices, such as US30, UK100, AUS200, and GER30. Customers in Europe, Australia, and Britain can use leverage up to 1:20 for main indices and 1:10 for others. We also give cool trading conditions, with spreads starting at one point for major indices.
Stock CFDs
Pepperstone lets you trade over 1,100 stocks from big companies in the US, UK, Germany, and Australia. These stocks are traded on major exchanges like the NYSE, NASDAQ, LSE, ASX, and the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. If you’re a regular customer in the UK, EU, or Australia, the highest leverage you can use is 1:5. But, if you’re registered with their offshore branches, you can get higher ratios. They also have CFDs on more than 90 ETFs tracking things like mining, energy, tech, and retail. It’s pretty much what other big brokers offer. Here’s what Pepperstone charges in commissions for each stock CFD:
- 0.07% for Australian stock CFDs
- $0.02 per share for US stocks
- 0.10% for UK stocks
- 0.10% for German stocks
Commodity CFDs
Right now, you can trade over 40 different commodity CFDs, covering precious metals like gold, silver, platinum, and palladium. Plus, you can get into energy trading with stuff like natural gas and crude oil. And if you’re into it, there’s also soft commodities like cocoa, cattle, corn, sugar, and lean hogs. Keep in mind that with contracts for difference, you’re trading on the price change; you don’t actually own the physical stuff. You can use leverage to get more exposure, but the max amount you can use depends on where you live. For people in the UK, EU, and Australia, the maximum leverage is:
- 1:20 for gold
- 1:10 for other metals, energies, and soft commodities
Cryptocurrency CFDs
You can get into 31 different crypto markets, trading digital coins matched with regular money like US dollars, Australian dollars, euros, and British pounds. There are 3 crypto indexes to look at: Crypto 10, Crypto 20, and Crypto 30. Regular customers can leverage up to 1:10, but in places like Europe and Australia, it’s capped at 1:2. At this broker, you’ll see well-known cryptos such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Ripple, plus some others like Polkadot and Chainlink. If you’re in the UK, you can’t trade crypto derivatives at Pepperstone because of the rules.
On the other hand, what you cannot trade at Pepperstone are futures, options, interest rates, and other more complex instruments, suitable for professional traders in particular.
Traded Instruments
3/5
- A limited range of tradable asset classes
- An above-average forex, ETF, and index offering
- Competitive raw pricing on Forex, spot metals and indices
- No options and futures
Trade Execution
At Pepperstone, you get solid ECN-style order execution without a dealing desk getting in the way. This ECN pricing builds trust with clients and makes trades happen super fast. Pepperstone claims most client orders go through in just 30 to 60 milliseconds, give or take, depending on who you trade with.
99.88% for Forex orders
99.62% for commodities, cryptocurrencies, and indices
Pepperstone, like IC Markets, gets its prices from a bunch of top-tier providers. They send these prices straight to clients, no messing around. This mix lets them give really tight spreads on their Forex and CFD stuff. Fast order execution with hardly any slippage, along with great prices, makes it perfect for scalpers, high-speed traders, and people using automated systems.
Pepperstone utilizes a market execution model. This means all your trades and pending orders will be filled at the price streamed on the broker’s trading platform at the moment you place an order. It also means you will experience no requotes.
We should not forget to mention that the online broker offers high-quality Virtual Private Server (VPS) services, which enables you to run Expert Advisors 24/7 with the fastest possible connectivity to its trading servers. When you join Pepperstone, you will receive a 20% discount on a VPS subscription (Basic+ Package) with the FXVM provider and a 25% discount on any VPS plan offered by New York City Servers.
The key benefits of using a VPS hosting service with Pepperstone include:
- 1-millisecond latency to the broker’s trade servers
- A 100% uptime guarantee during market hours
- Installation of third-party applications (MT4 platform, Expert Advisors and Signals)
- SSD drive use that allows for much faster data retrieval and execution than standard HDDs
Trade Execution
5/5
- ECN execution with no dealing desk intervention
- Ultra-fast execution speeds and low latency
- Discounts on all VPS plans
Deposits
Pepperstone doesn’t ask for any minimum deposit to start a regular account, and they don’t charge deposit fees. Just keep in mind, if you’re transferring money from overseas, your bank might charge extra, but that’s not something Pepperstone controls.
If you’re in Australia, you can deposit money in ten different currencies, such as Australian dollars, US dollars, euros, Canadian dollars, British pounds, New Zealand dollars, Hong Kong dollars, Singaporean dollars, Japanese yen, and Swiss francs. Having this kind of variety helps you avoid extra money exchange fees.
With Pepperstone, there is also a diversity of account funding methods, including:
Method | Processing Time |
Credit and Debit Cards by Visa or Mastercard | Instant |
PayPal | Instant |
Neteller | Instant |
Skrill | Instant |
UnionPay | Instant |
BPay | Up to 48 hours |
Bank Transfer | Between 2 and 5 business days |
POLi | Instant |
USDT | Instant |
MPESSA | Instant |
Deposits Methods
4/5
- No minimum deposit requirements
- 10 base currencies
- No deposit fees
- A good selection of payment methods
- No deposit bonuses are available
Withdrawal Methods
Pepperstone usually handles withdrawal requests made after 9 PM GMT the next work day. If you submit your request before 7 AM AEST, it’ll get processed that day. Like other regulated brokers, withdrawals usually go back to the same way you deposited.
Good thing is Pepperstone typically doesn’t add extra fees for withdrawals. The only exception is international bank transfers, which have about a AU$20 processing fee (or the equivalent in your currency). Also, for international bank wire transfers, you need to withdraw at least AU$80. Bank transfer withdrawals might take 3 to 5 work days to clear. But sometimes, things happen, and it could take longer.
Withdrawals made via debit or credit cards may take up to 5 business days to clear, while if you withdraw via PayPal, Skrill, Neteller, or UnionPay, the funds will usually reach your bank account within 1 business day.
Withdrawal Methods
4/5
- No withdrawal fees with most payment methods, except international bank transfers
- Minimum withdrawal amount requirement for bank transfers
- Timely withdrawal processing
Customer Support Contacts
Pepperstone’s customer support is top-notch and available all week, though they have shorter hours on weekends. You can reach them in a few different ways.
Support Contact | Available | Response |
Live Chat | 24 hours Monday through Friday, 18 hours on weekends | Less than 30 seconds |
Telephone contact | 24 hours Monday through Friday, 18 hours on weekends | Within several minutes |
Email contact | 24 hours Monday through Friday, 18 hours on weekends | Within several hours |
FAQs | 24/7 | On the website |
Live Chat: The quickest way to reach someone at the brokerage is probably through live chat. You'll see the chat box in the bottom right corner of their website. When we used it, they got back to us super fast – in under 30 seconds! The team was really professional and nice, and they knew their stuff. We asked them about Pepperstone’s liquidity providers and the Active Trader program, and they gave us clear, helpful answers.
Telephone contact: The broker’s support team can be contacted over the phone only during local business hours, depending on the office location.
We reached out to the broker’s UK office during their working hours and got a reply in less than 3 minutes. Again, we saw how good their company is – they were super polite and gave us all the info we needed.
Email contact: You can send specific inquiries to several email addresses that the broker has provided:
We got quick, helpful email replies (in about 2 hours!) when we contacted support during UK business hours. You can also send a message through the form on their site. Just enter your info, and they’ll email or call you within a day.
FAQs: Check out the FAQs! You'll probably find what you're looking for there. Pepperstone's Help Center has FAQs about stuff like how to deposit and withdraw , how to handle your account, how to open an account, trading basics, platforms and tools, and trading conditions like spreads, commissions, swaps, margin, and leverage.
We should also mention some of the awards Pepperstone has earned for the quality of its support service:
- Best Client Relationship Manager Service at the Professional Trader Awards, 2019
- Best Forex Trading Support in Europe at the Global Forex Awards, 2019
- Best Forex Trading Support at the UK Forex Awards, 2018
- #1 for Customer Service from Investment Trends, 2016 and 2017.
Support Contact
4/5
- The Live Chat service is outstanding
- An extensive FAQs section
- Phone contacts during local business hours
- Toll-free numbers are available
- No 24/7 support on weekends
Research and Educational Materials
Okay, so our reviewers found that Pepperstone has a really helpful learning center. It’s got good articles, videos, and even webinars from Pepperstone people and others. Here’s a look at what they offer:
Comprehensive educational content in written form, structured in separate categories for beginners, intermediate, and advanced traders. The articles cover a range of topics about Forex trading, including technical analysis and indicators, fundamental analysis, risk management, trading terms, and more. Some topics cover the specifics of cryptocurrency trading and stock CFD trading.
A 10-chapter MetaTrader 4 guide in the form of video tutorials, presented by the market expert Boris Schlossberg. Beginners and intermediate traders both may find it quite useful.
Free webinars hosted regularly that provide you with live analysis from Pepperstone’s experts and help you acquire new skills in real-time.
On the other hand, Pepperstone lacks ebooks, at least for the time being.
For research, the brokerage gives you trading tips and daily market updates, but you can’t get basic stock data from them. You will find:
- Trading ideas based on technical analysis via the Autochartist pattern recognition tool. It can be accessed from the Secure Client Area, or downloaded and integrated into the MetaTrader software.
- A daily newsletter, “The Daily Fix”, by Pepperstone expert Chris Weston.
- Market commentary in several languages on Pepperstone’s YouTube channel.
- An Economic Calendar featuring the most important reports and events that could affect global markets.
Research & Education
3.5/5
- Good educational content
- Trading ideas based on technical analysis
- Daily analysis by Pepperstone’s research team
- No E-books
- No fundamental data on Equities
Security and Money Guarantees
At Bestbrokers.com, we believe that your funds are safe with a reputable global Forex provider like Pepperstone. Our key findings about this broker include:
- Over 15 years of business history and growth
- Solid regulatory background, with licenses from tier-1 watchdogs like the FCA, ASIC, and CySEC
- Investor compensation schemes for UK and EU clients
- Negative balance protection for clients across all Pepperstone divisions
- An award-winning brokerage with a high Trustpilot user rating
Having solid regulations from places like ASIC, CySEC, and the FCA means you can be pretty sure a company is open and honest. These top-level regulators make sure your money is kept separate from the company’s in different accounts at good banks. That way, there’s almost no chance of anything fishy happening on the company’s end.
Also, if you’re trading from the EU, the Investor Compensation Fund in Cyprus covers you for up to €20,000. And if you’re in the UK, you could get back as much as £85,000 from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme if something goes wrong.
Another advantage is the availability of negative balance protection, offered to retail clients across all Pepperstone entities. Clients’ losses cannot exceed their initial deposits. If a negative balance occurs as a result of dramatic market fluctuations and high leverage, Pepperstone will absorb the excess losses and automatically reset the client’s balance to zero.
And finally, we should mention that Pepperstone has received over 25 prestigious awards from Investment Trends, Deloitte, InvestinGoal.com, and International Business Magazine, among others. Some of the awards include Best Forex ECN Broker, Best Forex Trading Conditions, Top Broker for Customer Service, and #1 Value for Money.
Security of funds
5/5
- Stringent ASIC, CySEC, and FCA regulation
- Investor compensation under FCA and CySEC regulations
- Negative balance protection for all retail clients
- Multiple industry awards
Conclusion
Our team of experts believes that Pepperstone is a great choice for both retail and professional traders looking for competitive conditions. Here is why.
- Institutional grade liquidity and razor-sharp spreads
- Award-winning ECN order execution without dealing desk intervention, requotes, and slippage
- No non-trading costs and many account funding methods
- MT4, MT5, TradingView, and cTrader offer additional tools and functionalities
- A great database of educational content and learning materials
- An award-winning customer support service, available throughout the week
- A nice range of account types for clients with different financial objectives and trading styles
Overall
4.5/5
- ECN brokerage, which translates into fast execution and improved trust for clients
- Low trading costs and no non-trading costs
- A good selection of trading platforms and additional tools
- Negative balance protection for retail clients worldwide
- Limited selection of asset classes available for trading
