Pepperstone is the best-rated forex broker based on trading experience, low fee structure, and customer support levels. The popular Pepperstone razor account offers minimum spreads starting from 0 pips for the EUR/USD currency pair plus a $3.50 commission per lot charged.
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In April 2024, Pepperstone was considered the best forex broker globally based on their execution speeds, customer service and brokerage. Their standard account has the lowest spreads of any non-commission broker and with advanced trader tools was rated the best MetaTrader 4 broker overall.
Pepperstone is an Australian-based CFD and forex broker with their headquarters based in Melbourne. From a humble beginning, they now have a global presence from the UK, Europe to Asia. Since its inception, they have focused on providing the best trading experience from offering the best trading platforms, and execution speeds to customer service. Their sweet spot has always been their Razor Account which has had some of the lowest spreads of any trading account worldwide.
As a mid-sized broker, they are not suitable for all traders. Their education, platforms and customer service are all geared towards medium to expert traders. We therefore don’t recommend the broker to beginner traders.
Pepperstone offers two pricing options, a Razor Account with low spreads and commission, or a Standard Account with no commissions but higher spreads. The Razor Account is ideal for experienced high volume traders, while the Standard Account is traditionally favoured by beginner traders who don’t mind higher trading fees overall.
A Swap Free Account is also available for Muslim traders that cant pay or receive interest rates due to Islamic finance practises. The Islamic Account offers the same spreads as the standard account but with swap-free brokerage.
Pepperstone’s Standard Account offers consistently low spreads, with the EUR/USD averaging around 1.1 pips. To determine this, we analysed spreads from over 40 leading brokers comparing both published data and actual spread values obtained through live testing. This methodical approach to collating the spread data, as illustrated below, confirms Pepperstone’s competitive position in the forex market.
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Standard Account Spreads
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1.10 | 1.20 | 1.40 | 1.40 | 1.40 |
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1.13 | 1.01 | 1.71 | 1.66 | 1.12 |
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1.20 | 0.90 | 1.50 | 1.80 | 1.80 |
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1.20 | 1.40 | 1.50 | 1.60 | 1.50 |
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1.10 | 1.20 | 1.40 | 1.50 | 1.20 |
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1.10 | 1.20 | 1.30 | 1.30 | 1.30 |
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1.20 | 1.80 | 1.90 | 1.90 | 1.60 |
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1.32 | 1.95 | 1.37 | 1.70 | 1.40 |
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1.60 | 1.60 | 1.80 | 1.90 | 1.50 |
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1.50 | 1.50 | 1.70 | 1.60 | 1.50 |
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1.30 | 1.70 | 2.10 | 1.40 | 1.50 |
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1.60 | 1.60 | 1.60 | 1.60 | 1.60 |
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1.20 | 1.40 | 1.90 | 1.90 | 1.40 |
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1.40 | 1.40 | 1.70 | 2.00 | 1.40 |
Avg. spreads are taken from each broker's website and updated monthly. Last update on 04/01/2024
Compare Lowest No Commission Spreads
The Razor Account is also incredibly competitive with spreads as low as 0.1 pips for EUR/USD and 0.2 pips for AUD/USD. This ECN-style pricing structure is ideal for trading strategies like hedging and scalping, where tight spreads can significantly impact trading costs.
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ECN Broker Spreads
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0.40 | 0.60 | 0.10 | 0.40 | 0.20 |
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0.20 | 0.30 | 0.10 | 0.30 | 0.20 |
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0.20 | 0.30 | 0.20 | 0.40 | 0.20 |
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0.30 | N/A | 0.30 | 0.50 | 0.40 |
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0.24 | N/A | 0.17 | 0.54 | 0.30 |
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0.30 | 0.70 | 0.20 | 0.50 | 0.40 |
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0.30 | 1.10 | 0.10 | 0.60 | 0.50 |
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0.77 | 1.41 | 0.44 | 1.13 | 1.23 |
Avg. spreads are taken from each broker's website and updated monthly. Last update on 04/01/2024
Commission Costs
Pepperstone’s Razor Account charges a commission of $3.50 per side (per 100k traded) for AUD and USD accounts. For GBP accounts, the fee is £2.25, and for EUR, it’s €2.60. Compared to other brokers like IC Markets or XTB, Pepperstone’s fees are competitive and often lower, especially for GBP and EUR account base currencies.
| Commission Fee | USD | AUD | GBP | EUR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pepperstone | $3.50 | $3.50 | £2.25 | €2.60 |
| IC Markets | $3.50 | $3.50 | £2.50 | €2.75 |
| FXCM | $4 | $4 | NA | NA |
| XTB | $4 | NA | £3 | €3.50 |
| Global Prime | $3.50 | $3.50 | £2.70 | €3.10 |
| Dukascopy | $5 | NA | £3.50 | €4.00 |
Use the calculator below to compare Pepperstone’s trading costs with competitors such as IC Markets and City Index, adjusting for trade size, currency pair, and base currency.
Calculate Your Trading Costs Below
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Discounts for Active Traders
Pepperstone has an active trader programme for high volume traders where you can receive rebates or discounts if you reach monthly volume targets.
Verdict on Pepperstone Spreads
When combining the 2024 average spreads and commissions of the leading ECN accounts, Pepperstone provides some of the best pricing worldwide.
Yes, Pepperstone is a safe broker with a trust score of 81 out of 100.
Regulation
Pepperstone is regulated by four ‘tier 1’ financial authorities including the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC), the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), and the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC).
| Pepperstone Safety | Regulators |
|---|---|
| Tier-1 | ASIC, FCA, BaFin, CySEC |
| Tier-2 | DFSA |
| Tier-3 | SCB, CMA |
Each Pepperstone branch offers varying levels of protection and risk management tools for retail investors, including features to handle market volatility. Importantly, across all jurisdictions, traders are assured of negative balance protection, safeguarding them in volatile trading conditions.
Reputation
Pepperstone was established in Melbourne, Australia in 2010, and therefore has over a decades experience in the forex industry.
Over 90,500 people search for Pepperstone monthly online, with no major regulatory issues on record since the broker was founded.
Reviews
Pepperstone has a TrustPilot score of 4.4 out of 5 with 2,106 reviews, demonstrating a strong level of client satisfaction and trust.
Verdict on Pepperstone’s Trustworthiness
Pepperstone’s high trust score of 81, combined with oversight from multiple tier-1 regulators, solidify its position as a trustworthy and reliable online broker.
Pepperstone offers CFD trading on 1,200+ financial markets including forex pairs, indices, commodities, stocks, ETFs, and cryptocurrency.
When trading CFDs (Contract for Difference) you speculate on the movements of financial markets without owning the underlying asset outright.
FX Trading
There are 62 currency pairs available consisting of 7 major, 9 minor, 17 exotics and 30 cross pairs. Major pairs consist of United States Dollar (USD) pegged currencies.
Indices
Pepperstone offers index CFDs that cover 6 indices in North America, 7 across Australia, Asia and Africa and 10 across Europe and the UK. All indices are spread only products meaning there are no commission costs.
Commodities
All commodity products are spread only, meaning traders pay no commission costs.
Cryptocurrencies
There are 18 cryptocurrency CFD options available and have no commission costs in addition to the spread. As well as popular cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ethereum, Dash and Litecoin, Pepperstone offers three crypto baskets:
Disclaimer: cryptocurrency trading is not permitted in the UK.
ETFs
Pepperstone also offers over 100 ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds) across over 35 countries. ETFs are a type of investment fund which focus on a particular sector such as mining, energy, technology, bond markets and retail.
Shares
Share CFDs are available on the Australian (ASX), US (NASDAQ and NYSE), UK (LSD), German (XETRA.DE) and Hong Kong (HKEX) stock exchanges. All markets charge a commission per trade, except for US shares where the fee is $0.02 cents per share purchased.
Spread Betting
Pepperstone offers spread betting for its UK clients, presenting a tax-efficient alternative to traditional CFD trading. This form of derivative trading allows you to bet on market movements without owning the underlying asset, yet profits are not subject to Capital Gains Tax (CGT) like with CFD profits.
You can read more about Pepperstone’s Spread Betting Offering here.
Verdict On Pepperstone Trading Products
For those interested in trading more than the forex markets, Pepperstone does not disappoint. In addition to currencies and currency CFDs, traders can explore ETFs, equities, commodities and cryptocurrency.
Pepperstone offers a suite of trading platform options including MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, cTrader, TradingView and proprietary Pepperstone software.
Each platform suits a different level of trading experience and style:
While the Pepperstone platform is only currently accessible through a webtrader platform and mobile apps, all other options are available as desktop apps (Windows and Mac OS), trading apps (Android and iOS), and a webtrader platform online.
Additionally, free demo accounts are available to test platforms and strategies in a risk-free environment first.
1. MetaTrader 4
Pepperstone’s MT4 offering has many advantages including:
One consideration when choosing this platform is that one cannot trade CFD stocks.
2. MetaTrader 5
Unlike MT4, which is designed for trading via decentralised exchanges (e.g. foreign exchange), MT5 is a multi-asset platform that offers more diverse market access. In Pepperstone’s case, its the addition of stock market CFDs.
Additional features included with MT5 (in addition to those found on MT4):
If you’re unsure which MetaTrader platform best suits you then view our exclusive MT4 vs MT5 guide.
3. cTrader
cTrader is popular with experienced traders since it has extra charting tools that can be customised and with scalpers since some believe processing is faster.
Major benefits of the cTrader platform include:
4. TradingView
TradingView allows you to analyse and trade directly using TradingView’s advanced charting capabilities. With over 30 million users this platform is useful for technical analysis and screening.
Depending on whether you use the basic or the advanced version, you can use up to 8 charts with different symbols, indicators and time frames simultaneously per screen. You can even distribute these charts over up to 6 monitors with up to 8 charts each.
All charts have up to 90 drawing tools and hundreds of trading indicators, and can be divided into second, minute, hour, day, week and year intervals, as well as by number ranges.
5. Pepperstone Trading Platform
he Pepperstone Trading Platform is tailored for streamlined and efficient trading, offering features like Quick Switch for seamless chart navigation and live streaming prices for immediate trading decisions.
It provides multiple charting options and technical indicators for in-depth market analysis, along with updates on instrument performance, spreads, and margins. This platform is particularly user-friendly, making it easy to search and find instruments and build customised watchlists.
To enhance your trading experience, Pepperstone also provides a range of add-ons and integrations compatible with the aforementioned platforms.
Capitalise.ai
Pepperstone also provides access to Capitalise.ai exclusively for MetaTrader 4 (MT4) account holders. This software allows traders to automate their strategies effortlessly without the need for complex coding skills.
Social Trading
Pepperstone enhances its offerings with a variety of social trading platforms, each providing unique benefits:
Pepperstone enhances its trading platform suite with mobile apps for MT4, MT5, cTrader, TradingView, and their proprietary platform, offering traders the flexibility to manage their trades on the go.
With user-friendly interfaces, these apps ensure that traders can monitor markets, execute trades, and manage their accounts efficiently from their smartphones or tablets, ensuring they never miss a trading opportunity.
Pepperstone provides excellent trading conditions with fast execution and top-tier liquidity providers. By using tier-1 banks and institutions, Pepperstone is able to avoid partial orders and still achieve an impressive 99.92% fill rate for trades executed.
Trades are executed using Straight Through Processing (STP), with no dealing desk intervention, ensuring market execution with no requotes.
Market execution, while efficient, can sometimes lead to slippage or gapping. However, in our comprehensive testing, Pepperstone demonstrated remarkable performance, ranking as the third fastest broker globally for overall execution speeds.
| Overall Rank | Broker | Market Order Execution Speed (ms) | Limit Order Execution Speed (ms) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Blackbull Markets | 90 | 72 |
| 2 | Fusion Markets | 77 | 79 |
| 3 | Pepperstone | 100 | 77 |
| 4 | Hugo’s Way | 94 | 104 |
| 5 | TMGM | 129 | 94 |
Our tests revealed that while the industry average for market orders is 141ms, Pepperstone’s average is significantly quicker at 90ms. This represents a 36% increase in speed over the industry average, underscoring Pepperstone’s efficiency in executing trades.
Pepperstone is able to achieve these speeds by using fibre optic cables and strategically located data centres in New York and London.
Verdict on Pepperstone Trading Platforms
Pepperstone clients benefit through the availability of the most popular forex and CFD platforms from MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5 and cTrader to charting platform, TradingView and algorithmic platform, Capitalise.ai.
Pepperstone provides a selection of fee-free funding methods and is accessible with no initial deposit required.
There is no minimum deposit to open a Pepperstone account, but the broker recommends that you deposit at least 200 USD/AUD or 500 GBP/EUR. Regardless, you must ensure that your account has sufficient funds to meet the margin requirements for opening a trading position.
Base currencies available include USD, AUD, NZD, CAD, HKD, SGD, GBP, EUR, JPY and CHF. The base currency matters because this is the currency in which your commission is calculated.
Pepperstone charges no deposit fees. Payment methods include the following, yet availability varies between regions as shown below.
For instance, PayPal is available with Pepperstone’s Australian and UK branches, but not in the Middle East.
Visa and Mastercard debit and credit cards, as well as bank transfers, are available with all Pepperstone subsidiaries.
| Payment Method by Location | Australia (ASIC Regulated) | UK (FCA Regulated) | Europe (CySEC & BaFin Regulated) | Kenya (CMA Regulated) | Dubai (DFSA Regulated) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Visa Debit/Credit Card | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Mastercard Debit/Credit Card | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Bank Transfer | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Online Bill Payment | ☓ | ☓ | ☓ | ☓ | ☓ |
| Union Pay | ✓ | ☓ | ☓ | ☓ | ☓ |
| PayNow | ☓ | ☓ | ☓ | ☓ | ☓ |
| PayPal | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ☓ |
| Neteller | ✓ | ☓ | ☓ | ☓ | ☓ |
| Skrill | ✓ | ☓ | ☓ | ☓ | ☓ |
| Rapid Pay | ☓ | ☓ | ☓ | ☓ | ☓ |
| POLi / BPay | ✓ | ☓ | ☓ | ☓ | ☓ |
| Klarna | ☓ | ☓ | ☓ | ☓ | ☓ |
| MPESA | ☓ | ☓ | ☓ | ✓ | ☓ |
| Cryptocurrency / Digital Wallet | ☓ | ☓ | ☓ | ☓ | ☓ |
Pepperstone also charges no withdrawal fees. Payment methods differ between jurisdictions and Pepperstone branches. Other than PayPal, no e-wallet methods are available in the UK or Europe, Africa, or the UAE.
Clients in the UAE are unable use credit cards (only debit) unless they are using a ‘professional trader’ account.
We awarded Pepperstone a flawless score of 15 out of 15 for the account opening process. The entire experience, from beginning to end, was seamless.
During the sign-up process on Pepperstone.com, you are efficiently guided through which documents are required and informed about the various features the broker provides.
Verdict On Pepperstone Funding
Pepperstone stands out by avoiding hidden costs like funding and inactivity fees. With fee-free funding options and no minimum deposit, Pepperstone ranks as a top-value broker overall.
Pepperstone provides award-winning customer support, taking out the Investment Trends “Overall Client Satisfaction Award” in 2022.
Key elements of Pepperstone’s excellent customer support include:
a) Personalised Customer Service
Pepperstone offers a customer service team that has years of forex trading experience. Their support team consists of real traders allowing them to assist beginners, advanced traders, and experts in answering forex trading questions. In many cases, a trader can also be assigned a dedicated account manager to gain a better understanding of the trader’s needs.
b) 24-Hour Support
Pepperstone support is always available when the forex markets are open thanks to five offices in Melbourne, Shanghai, Dallas, Bangkok and London. This also provides local options for those forex traders located outside Australia.
c) Customer Support Channels
Customer support is available 24 hours via a range of methods including phone, email, and live chat on the Pepperstone website.
Verdict on Pepperston Customer Support
A true best-in-class broker when it comes to trader support, Pepperstone goes the extra mile to ensure that, no matter where you are in the world, you receive timely, personal updates and advice on any technical or trading issues you encounter.
Pepperstone’s educational materials cover a wide range of topics, suitable for traders at every level. Beginners can access easy-to-understand guides that introduce the basics of forex trading and technical analysis. For more advanced traders, there are in-depth webinars that explore sophisticated strategies and detailed market analysis.
In terms of market analysis, Pepperstone offers a suite of tools and resources, including fundamental analysis, to help traders make informed decisions:
In our final verdict, Pepperstone earns a high rating of 98/100, thanks to its low spreads, fast execution speeds, and robust tier 1 regulation.
The broker offers a wide range of CFDs, particularly in equities, and accommodates traders of all levels with platforms like MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, and cTrader. These platforms are enhanced with advanced tools, ideal for comprehensive market analysis.
Additionally, Pepperstone’s extensive online educational resources are invaluable for traders looking to expand their knowledge and skills in the markets.
Yes, Pepperstone offers spread betting, exclusively for traders based in the United Kingdom. This form of derivatives trading allows UK clients to speculate on the price movements of financial instruments without directly owning them.
Spread betting with Pepperstone is a tax-efficient alternative to traditional CFD trading, as profits from spread betting are not subject to UK Capital Gains Tax (CGT).
To find out more, you can read our Spread Betting Guide for Beginners.
There is no minimum deposit requirement when opening a trading account with Pepperstone. Yet, the broker recommends a starting deposit of AUD 200 or its equivalent in another currency.
This suggestion is aimed at ensuring traders have sufficient funds to effectively engage in trading activities, but clients are welcome to start with a lower amount if they prefer.
Pepperstone’s demo accounts, lasting for 60 days and offering up to $50,000 virtual funds, are available on platforms such as MT4, MT5, cTrader, and TradingView. These accounts are provided in both standard and razor account pricing.
For clients with live funded accounts, Pepperstone offers up to 10 demo accounts with the option to extend these beyond the typical 60 days.
If you don’t have a live account, you can still access up to 5 demo accounts, which includes two for MT4 (one standard and one razor), and one each for MT5, cTrader, and TradingView.
This arrangement allows both new and experienced traders to practice trading strategies or get acquainted with Pepperstone’s trading platforms in a risk-free environment.
Yes, Pepperstone is a safe broker, evidenced by a high trust score of 81 out of 100.
It’s regulated by top-tier authorities like ASIC, FCA, and CySEC, ensuring strict adherence to financial standards and offering negative balance protection for all traders.
As a retail client at Pepperstone, you can trade with up to 30:1 leverage. However, if you’re trading under the jurisdiction of offshore regulators like CMA (Kenya) or SCB (Bahamas), the leverage can increase up to 400:1.
For professional clients, Pepperstone offers even higher leverage, allowing trading with up to 500:1 leverage, irrespective of the regulatory body.
Pepperstone offers a variety of account types to suit different trading needs, including:
Each of these accounts is designed to cater to all levels of trading experience, from beginners to professional traders.
You can learn more about the difference between Pepperstone’s Razor vs Standard Account Types here.
For the Pepperstone review, our team adhered to our strict methodology for evaluating forex fees. This entailed a detailed examination of Pepperstone’s published fee data and conducting live trading tests to assess the actual costs. By comparing these fees monthly and validating them through hands-on trading experiences using tools like the MT4 Spread Monitor, the review offers a thorough and factual analysis of Pepperstone’s fee structure, ensuring that traders have the most accurate and relevant information.
For more information, click here for our full forex fees methodology. There are also versus pages below including recently created HF Markets and TD Ameritrade.
Ask an Expert
Is Pepperstone the best broker for MetaTrader?
Pepperstone is one of many brokers that offer MetaTrader 4 and one of the few that offers MetaTrader 5.
Pepperstone is a great choice for MetaTrader since they allow expert advisors (EAs) and allow you to integrate 3rd party apps such as MyFxBook for copy trading with the platform
As a bonus Pepperstone also include Smart Trader tools for 28 additional apps to give you even more trading features and their own exclusive Figaro Advanced Traders tools for yet more trading features.
I’m looking to open a Pepperstone account but I’m not sure if the standard or Razor account is better. I’m based in the UK. What account is more popular in my region?
We checked this with Pepperstone, in the UK the standard account is more popular, while in Australia the Razor account is more popular. Which account is better, depends on your needs, many traders don’t want to deal with the added complexity commissions add when trading so prefer the standard account but if you want to he tightest speads, then the Razor account is the way to go
Can I use Pepperstone’s Islamic account if I am based in the UK?
Pepperstone doesn’t make their swap-free account available as part of their 2022 Pepperstone Limited subsidiary which operates in the UK. So officially a swap-free account is not available for traders in the UK. You can always try reaching out and requesting directly with Pepperstone support team and see what happens
I am from India which broker should I choose
I would suggest you choose a broker from out best for beginner page. Check the navigation for the location.
That is up to you but we don’t cover Forex brokers in India so cannot really advise
What is the minimum leverage for pepperstone?
There is no minimum leverage requirement, on minimum margin requirement. The maximum leverage for Forex in Australia, UAE, The UK and Europe is 1:30 and 1:400 in Africa and 1:200 in other regions.
Is Pepperstone a good broker for beginners?
Pepperstone can be a good option for beginners as they have $0 minimum deposit, free demo accounts with all trading platforms and an award winning customer service team to help you get started. The broker also has good education tools to help your learn to trade. While their Razor account is suitable for all traders, their standard account is popular with beginners since the commission is built into the spread.