Pepperstone vs Tickmill

Which Broker Has The Best Spreads?

Commission-based Spreads

Both Pepperstone and Tickmill offer competitive spreads for their commission-based accounts. To achieve pricing similar to ECN spreads, both brokers use top-tier liquidity providers and use no dealing desk execution. The table below measures the averages spreads offered by Tickmill and Pepperstone compared to other top forex brokers.

When average spreads for major currency pairs are compared, Pepperstone offers the lowest spreads for most fx pairs. For example, if you want to trade the EUR/JPY, Pepperstone’s Razor Account provides average spreads of 0.34 pips, while Tickmill and broker’s such as XTB and FXTM offers 0.50 pips.

Likewise, for the EUR/GBP, Pepperstone Razor Account holders can access average spreads of 0.35 pips, while Tickmill Pro and VIP accounts are offered wider average spreads of 0.4 pips.

ECN-Style Commission Spreads	EUR/USDAUD/USDEUR/GBPEUR/JPYUSD/CADAUD/JPYGBP/USDUSD/JPYUSD/SGD	EUR/USDAUD/USDEUR/GBPEUR/JPYUSD/CADAUD/JPYGBP/USDUSD/JPYUSD/SGD	EUR/USDAUD/USDEUR/GBPEUR/JPYUSD/CADAUD/JPYGBP/USDUSD/JPYUSD/SGD	EUR/USDAUD/USDEUR/GBPEUR/JPYUSD/CADAUD/JPYGBP/USDUSD/JPYUSD/SGD	EUR/USDAUD/USDEUR/GBPEUR/JPYUSD/CADAUD/JPYGBP/USDUSD/JPYUSD/SGD
	0.09	0.17	0.40	0.43	0.35
	0.10	0.10	0.40	0.50	0.20
	0.30	0.50	0.50	0.50	0.60
	0.28	1.09	0.81	0.53	1.18
	n/a	0.50	0.60	0.40	0.30
	0.50	0.70	0.60	0.80	0.80
	0.20	0.40	0.50	0.70	0.70

Data taken from broker website. Accurate as at 01/01/2022

No Commission Spreads

Pepperstone’s Standard Account and Tickmill’s Classic Account both offer commission-free trading. Overall, Pepperstone’s Standard spreads are significantly tighter than Tickmills. While Tickmill offers no-commission spreads starting from 1.6 pips, Pepperstone’s minimum spreads of 1.0 pip are much lower, resulting in lower overall trading costs.

Winner – Spreads

When Pepperstone and Tickmill’s average spreads are compared, Pepperstone offers the lowest spreads overall. Both Pepperstone’s Standard and Razor Account holders gain access to average spreads significantly lower than Tickmill’s Classic, Pro and VIP spreads. Therefore, Pepperstone is the lowest cost broker overall.

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What Leverage Is Offered?

Understanding Leverage

Leverage is a tool used in trading that allows you to borrow money to trade with. The purpose of this is to accentuate the trade position on relatively small price movements. By borrowing capital from the broker, you can magnify the trading position and increase the potential profit or loss of the trade.

For example, if you have $1,000 in your account and trade with 1:100 leverage, you can trade up to $100,000 worth of funds. When trading with leverage, as you are magnifying both gains and losses, as well as increasing the high risk of forex and CFDs.

Maximum Leverage Provided

Maximum leverage limits vary between the country and its financial regulator. Many brokers are regulated by multiple financial authorities around the world, and the maximum leverage you can trade with depends on the subsidiary you sign up to.

Tier-1 regulators in the UK, Australia and throughout Europe cap leverage due to the high-risk nature of CFD trading, yet if you want high leverage, both broker’s operate offshore entities. Below shows the leverage limits available in different locations.

Pepperstone:

• Australia (ASIC) – 1:30 (retail)
• Europe (CySEC, BaFin) and the UK (FCA) – 1:30 (retail) and 1:500 (professional)
• UAE (DFSA) – 1:30 (retail and professional)
• Kenya (CMA) – 1:400
• The Bahamas (SCB) – 1:500

Tickmill:

• Europe and the UK – 1:30 (retail) and 1:500 (professional)
• South Africa (FSCA), the Seychelles (FSA) and Malaysia (FSA) – 1:500 (retail professional)

Winner – Leverage

Both Pepperstone and Tickmill offer the maximum allowable leverage for each location. However, since Pepperstone operates more subsidiaries than Tickmill, there is a greater variety of leverage on offer. As leverage increases the high risk of trading forex and CFDs, traders should be cautious of how leverage magnifies both gains and losses.

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How Are The Brokers Regulated? Are They Safe?

Pepperstone Global Regulation

Pepperstone operates different subsidiaries around the world:

• Pepperstone Australia – Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) AFSL 414530
• Pepperstone UK – Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) Licence No. 684312
• Pepperstone Europe – The Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) and Germany (BaFin)
• Pepperstone UAE – Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) DIFC Registration No. 3460
• Pepperstone UAE – The Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA)
• Pepperstone Kenya – The Capital Markets Authority (CMA)
• Pepperstone Global – The Seychelles Financial Services Authority (FSA)

Given the high level of regulation, the forex community considers Pepperstone a safe and trusted CFD broker.

Tickmill Global Regulation

Tickmill operates in five different locations around the globe:

• Tickmill UK – Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) Licence No. 717270
• Tickmill Global – The Seychelles Financial Services Authority (FSA) Licence No. SD008
• Tickmill Europe – Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) Licence No. 278/15
• Tickmill Asia – Malaysia, Labuan Financial Services Authority (LFSA) Licence No. MB/18/0028
• Tickmill South Africa – Financial Sector Conduct Authority (FSCA) Licence No. FSP 49464

Winner – Regulation

Pepperstone and Tickmill are both regulated in several countries and are safe to trade with. Pepperstone have higher tier regulation, but either broker would be a safe and suitable choice.

View Tickmill Review >>Visit Tickmill >>

What Trading Platforms Are Available?

Pepperstone offers three trading platforms being MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, and cTrader, while Tickmill traders are restricted to MetaTrader 4. Both brokers use VPS hosting for these platforms.

MetaTrader 4 (MT4)

MT4 is one of the most popular platforms worldwide, known for its algorithmic trading tools (Expert Advisors) that allow you to fully automate trading.

• Comprehensive charting tools for technical analysis.
• Automated trading features with Expert Advisors (trading robots) and social-copy trading tools.
• Single-currency backtesting of Expert Advisors.
• Risk management tools with order types.
• Access to a large forex trading community and MarketPlace.
• Fast order execution speeds.
• Available as a desktop and webtrader platform, as well as mobile apps.

Both Tickmill and Pepperstone offer the above MT4 features, yet Pepperstone goes one step further and offers an add-on package of Smart Trader Tools. The broker’s Smart Trader Tools are available on both MT4 and MT5 and provide an additional 28 Expert Advisors and technical indicators.

MetaTrader 5 (MT5)

MT5 offers many similar features to MT4 in regards to automated trading, advanced charting, and a user-friendly workstation. Yet, unlike MetaTrader 4, MT5 is a multi-asset trading platform where you can trade Share CFDs in addition to currencies, commodities, indices and cryptocurrencies. Key features of MT5 include:

• Algorithmic trading using Expert Advisors (EAs).
• Multi-currency backtesting to optimise EAs.
• Proprietary and third-party social-copy trading tools.
• An inbuilt advanced charting package.
• A larger selection of order types than MT4.
• Fundamental analysis tools including an inbuilt economic calender.
• MT5 platform MetaQuotes customer support.
• Quick execution speeds.
• Desktop platform, webtrader and mobile trading apps for iOS and Android devices.

Pepperstone offers MT5, while Tickmill only offers MT4.

cTrader

cTrader provides access to algorithmic trading systems, a personalized interface, and extensive back-testing facilities. The trading platform offers enhanced modification options and advanced order placement, providing you with an institutional-grade trading environment.

The software is available as trading apps for mobile and tablet devices, a webtrader platform, or a desktop trading platform. Currently, only Pepperstone offers the cTrader trading platform.

Winner – Trading Platforms

As Pepperstone offers a greater selection of trading platform options, they win this round. As a Pepperstone client, you can choose between the world’s three most popular trading platforms – MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5 and cTrader, while Tickmill only provides access to one trading platform – MetaTrader 4. Additionally, Pepperstone offers an add-on package of 28 EAs and technical indicators, greatly enhancing your MT4 and MT5 trading experience.

View Pepperstone Review >>Visit Pepperstone >>

What Financial Products Can I Trade?

Pepperstone Financial Products

Pepperstone offers a range of tradeable instruments from various asset classes. As well as forex, you can trade a diverse collection of CFDs derived from indices, commodities, cryptocurrencies and shares. As MT4 and cTrader are forex trading platforms and MT5 a multi-asset platform, share trading is only available on MT5.

Forex is the most popular financial markets to trade as CFDs due to the volatile price movements and 24/5 availability. When trading forex with Pepperstone, you have over 60 different currency pairs that you can use to develop trading strategies. Spreads on major forex pairs such as the EUR/USD can be as low as 0.0 pips through the brokers’ Razor Account, with minor and exotic currency pairs also offering tight spreads.

As well as 60+ currency pairs, you can trade the following CFD financial instruments as a Pepperstone trader:

• Indices: Pepperstone offers 14 global indices as CFDs to trade.
• Commodities: Energies, precious metals and soft commodities are available.
• Cryptocurrencies: You can trade 6 major cryptos – Bitcoin, Ripple, Ethereum, Litecoin, Dash and Bitcoin Cash*.
• Shares: 60 different major US shares such as Apple, Facebook, Boeing and Tesla.

*Note: Under new FCA guidlines, UK retail traders are no longer permitted to trade cryptocurrencies.

Tickmill Financial Products

Over 60 forex currency pairs are available through Tickmill including all the popular major, minor, and exotic pairs. You can trade currency pairs that include the USD, EUR, and GBP from spreads of 0.0 pips and a trade execution speed of 0.20 seconds.

Tickmill also offers an extensive range of tradeable instruments in addition to forex including stock indices, oil, precious metals, and bonds. Unfortunately, Tickmill does not currently provide access to cryptocurrencies.

• Stock Indices: 14 major global stock indices i.e. UK100, US500, AUS200 and JP225.
• Oil: Crude Oil, Brent Crude Oil and WTI Crude Oil.
• Precious Metals: Gold and Silver against the US Dollar.
• Bonds: German Government Bonds – Euro Bobl, Bund, Buxl and Schatz.

Winner – Financial Products

Pepperstone has a more diverse range of CFDs to trade than Tickmill and therefore has a better selection of complex instruments. A major benefit Pepperstone offers compared to Tickmill is the selection of Cryptos available.

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Risk Management: Keeping Your Investment Safe

Trading forex and CFDs comes with a high risk of losing money due to volatile financial markets and the ability to trade with high leverage. It is important to be aware of the risk management strategies that brokers offer to protect yourself against large losses.

Pepperstone Risk Management

Pepperstone offers a selection of free basic order types that can be used to manage the high risk of trading forex and CFDs. If you live in the United Kingdom or Ireland and are trading with the broker’s FCA regulated branch Pepperstone provides negative balance protection that further reduces the risk of trading.

Order Types

You can pre-set prices at where you want to enter or leave the market to cap losses and collect gains.

• Limit Orders
• Stop-Loss Orders
• Trailing Stop-Loss Orders.

A downside to Pepperstone’s risk management tools is that premium order types such as guaranteed stop-loss orders (GSLO) are not available. The broker’s free basic order types do not guarantee exit and entry prices, and slippage and gapping may occur if financial markets are extremely volatile.

Tickmill Risk Management

Similarly to Pepperstone, Tickmill offers three main basic stop orders – stop-loss, take profit and trailing stop orders. While the broker does not offer any premium order types like GSLO’s, Tickmill provides negative balance protection to all clients, regardless of where you reside.

Negative Balance Protection

Negative balance protection (NBP) is a risk management policy that ensures your trading account does not enter a negative balance. NBP means if your balance drops below zero, the Tickmill will wipe your negative balance and you will not end up in debt to the broker.

Tickmill offers Negative Balance Protection to all clients regardless of which Tickmill subsidiary you are a client with or if you are a professional trader. This differs from Pepperstone who only offer it to the UK and European retail traders.

Research and Educational Resources

Tickmill also provides a wide library of resources to help improve your trading skills. By providing this, Tickmill ensures that clients are well-prepared and knowledgeable before testing their skills with a trading account.

Winner – Risk Management

Both broker’s offer the same basic order types, yet Tickmill provides negative balance protection to all traders, while only UK Pepperstone clients receive NBP.

Funding: What Deposit and Withdrawal Methods Can I Use?

Options for Funding Methods

Pepperstone provides a comprehensive range of options for deposits and withdrawals. The broker also charges no transaction fees and no account inactivity fees.

• Visa and MasterCard (debit or credit card)
• PayPal
• FasaPay
• Union Pay
• Skrill
• POLi & BPay
• Wire Transfer

Tickmill also provides several options to deposit into or withdraw from your account. Tickmill covers any transaction fees up to $100 and the broker charges zero fees for any minimum deposit made by bank transfer over $5,000. In certain circumstances, Tickmill will charge an account inactivity fee.

• Bank Transfer
• Visa and MasterCard (debit or credit card)
• Skrill
• Neteller
• DotPay
• PaySafeCard
• Sofort
• Rapid Transfer
• PayPal

Minimum Requirements

• Pepperstone: Pepperstone recommends making an initial deposit of $200, but no specific minimum deposit is enforced. There are no minimum withdrawal amounts.
• Tickmill: Pro and classic accounts require a minimum deposit of $100. To qualify for a VIP account, a trading account balance of $50,000 is required. While you are charged no deposit and withdrawal fees, you must withdraw at least $25 at a time.

Winner – Funding

As Pepperstone requires no specific initial minimum deposit and charges no funding fees, the broker is the clear winner when it comes to funding your trading account.

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Which Broker Has Better Customer Service and Support?

Contact Hours

Pepperstone provides customer support 24-hours a day, 5 days a week via phone, live chat, and email.

The broker has a global presence throughout the world with head office in Melbourne and other offices in Shanghai, Dallas, Bangkok, and London. With years of experience in the financial services industry, Pepperstone holds many awards for benchmark customer service and support.

Tickmill phone support operates between 7:00 and 16:00 GMT Monday to Friday. Contact methods such as email and live chat are available and respond within 24 hours on business days. One good thing about the live chat accounts is the range of languages available.  While you can choose from 18 different languages, these languages include European and Asian languages, not all languages are available at all times. English for example appears to be only available during UK business hours.

Resources and FAQ

Both Pepperstone and Tickmill have a wide variety of educational and research resources to help you improve your knowledge and skills. These resources include webinars, seminars, eBooks, video tutorials, advanced analytics, economic calendars, news, glossaries, FAQ and live updates. F

Winner – Customer Service and Support

While both providing phone, email, live chat, and an array of useful resources, Pepperstone is slightly more reliable for contact and has received many awards for its high-quality customer service.

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