Pepperstone Broker Review

Written by Richard Perry

Richard Perry

Richard Perry is a recognised expert in technical analysis and market strategy, with significant experience in currency and equity markets. He has set up his own shingle called Perry Market Analysis, providing consultancy analysis of major markets, including research via webinars, videos and written analysis.

, | Updated: June 12, 2025

Pepperstone is a reputable online Forex and CFD provider, which currently offers some of the best Forex trading conditions for both novice and advanced traders worldwide. The broker also caters to high volume traders with its Active Trader program.

In the current broker review, we will pay attention to the key aspects of Pepperstone, which you should consider before deciding whether to trade with this online brokerage. Pepperstone is highly rated by Trustpilot users, boasting an excellent 4.4-star rating from 3,019 reviews in total. Around 81% of all traders are pleased with Pepperstone and rate it as a 5-star broker, with only 8% giving it a 1-star rating.

Key Pros and Cons

Let us first provide a quick snapshot of Pepperstone’s advantages and disadvantages.

Company Information

The Pepperstone Group is comprised of the following corporate entities with their respective regulated offices:

1. Pepperstone Group Limited, regulated by the ASIC, with office address at Level 16, Tower One, 727 Collins Street, Melbourne VIC 3008, Australia
2. 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
3. Pepperstone EU Limited, regulated by the CySEC, with office address at 195, Makarios III Avenue, Neocleous House, 3030, Limassol Cyprus
4. Pepperstone Limited, regulated by the FCA, with office address at 70 Gracechurch St, London EC3V 0XL, United Kingdom
5. 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
6. Pepperstone GmbH, regulated by BaFin, with office address at Neubrückstrasse 1, 40213 Düsseldorf, Germany
7. Pepperstone Markets Kenya Limited, regulated by the CMA, with office address at Oval Ring Road, Westlands, P.O Box 2905-00606, Nairobi, Kenya
8. 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.

Why Trade with Pepperstone?

Now, let us provide a quick list of the key features that we like about Pepperstone.

Regulation

Pepperstone is a multi-regulated Forex and CFD broker. In Australia, its home market, it is authorized as a financial services provider and regulated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), which is a top-tier industry regulator. This means the brokerage conducts its business operations transparently and ethically.

Pepperstone also has licenses from three more Tier 1 regulators – the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to service the UK market and the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin) in Germany. In the EU, the brokerage is authorized and regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), another first-tier financial watchdog.

Pepperstone’s operations in other parts of the world are managed by Pepperstone Markets Limited and Pepperstone International Markets Limited. These two entities are licensed and regulated by the less strict Securities Commission of the Bahamas and Financial Services Authority of the Seychelles.

A breakdown of the all Pepperstone licenses is presented below.

We can say that the broker’s regulatory background is solid, but not that rigorous compared to rivals like IG Markets, for example, which is overseen by six top-tier industry regulators, including CFTC.

The lack of CFTC authorization prevents Pepperstone from offering online trading services to residents of the United States. The Forex broker also does not accept clients from Belgium, Spain, Japan, New Zealand, Iran, Iraq, South Korea, and Yemen, among others.

But still, it is important to note that its FCA regulation means that UK-based retail clients can receive compensation of up to £85,000 from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) if the broker fails to meet its financial obligations.

Its CySEC license mandates that EU retail clients should be compensated by the Cyprus Investor Compensation Fund (ICF) with up to €20,000 per person in the event of a broker failure.

KYC Procedure for Account Creation and Depositing

Opening a live trading account with Pepperstone turned out to be a fast and trouble-free process. It took us about 15 minutes to complete the registration and our trading account was verified within 24 hours.

The entire procedure consists of the following steps:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Configuring the trading account: choose a trading platform, an account type (Standard, Razor, or Managed), a base account currency, and a platform password.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. 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.

Once you fill the profile form and upload your documents, you must wait for the broker to verify your account. This procedure takes one business day. Once the review is complete, you can fund your account by using one of the flexible options available and start trading.

Account Types

Similar to its closest competitors like IC Markets and FP Markets, Pepperstone offers a diverse range of account types to meet the needs and financial objectives of its versatile client base, catering to different trading styles and experience levels. The two main account types you can open with Pepperstone include:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. On the TradingView platform, the roundturn commission charged will be $7.00 per one standard lot.
4. 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

Professional clients who join the Active Trader program are eligible for additional benefits, such as advanced market insights, priority client support, complimentary VPS hosting services, and discounted commissions. To join the program, professional traders are required to satisfy the following conditions:

• 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.

High-volume traders can reduce their trading costs with rebates but the percentages vary based on their monthly trading volume and the asset class. The more you trade, the higher the rebate percentage. The rebates are credited monthly or daily, depending on the account type active traders use. You can apply for joining the program by contacting your dedicated account manager or emailing your application at premium@pepperstone.com.

The discounts for high-volume traders vary based on jurisdiction. The table below provides information for the CySEC entity.

Multi Account Manager – MAM/PAMM

Qualified and experienced fund managers who have a relevant license or sufficient industry experience may find Pepperstone’s Multi Account Manager (MAM) and Percentage Allocation Management Module (PAMM) accounts appealing. Fund managers are required to have:

• A relevant regulatory license
• At least 3 years of trading experience

The broker’s MAM software allows for an easy management of hundreds of sub-accounts from one centralized place with virtually no delay in allocation. More precisely, fund managers can take advantage of the following benefits:

1. Customizable performance, management and commission fees
2. Industry standard allocation methods (Lot, Percentage, Proportional)
3. All unique order types are accepted (Trailing Stop, Close By, and Close All)
4. Minimum trade volume of 0.01 Lots per client
5. Algorithmic trading and scalping are allowed

Islamic Account (Swap-Free)

Pepperstone also offers a swap-free account suitable for clients of the Muslim faith, as there will be no interest fees credited or debited when holding positions overnight. Trades in all available instruments do not attract interest or swaps in line with the Sharia law.

The average spread offered on major currency pairs such as EUR/USD ranges between 1.0 and 1.2 pips at the Bahamas-regulated entity and 0.77 pips at the CySEC division. This account type is available in four different base currencies, namely USD, EUR, GBP, and AUD. Similar to the Standard account, scalping, hedging, and algorithmic trading are allowed.

We should note that if you hold an active trade in forex and metals for 5 days, the broker will charge you an administrative fee of $100 or the currency equivalent per standard lot. There are no additional commissions on this account type as all costs are covered by the spreads. The trading size ranges from 0.01 to 100 lots. Pepperstone has no minimum initial deposit requirements for swap-free accounts but recommends starting with a balance of at least €500, AU$200, or the equivalent in the other supported base currencies.

The broker offers swap-free accounts to clients based 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, and Kosovo.

Demo Account

With Pepperstone, you can also open a free demo account, which has a 60-day trial period and comes with 50,000 in virtual funds. MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 demo accounts will automatically expire after 60 days, unless you fund your live trading account and ask the support team to set those demos to non-expiry. The broker may still archive non-expiry MetaTrader demo accounts if they remain inactive for 90 or more days. Meanwhile, cTrader and TradingView demo accounts do not expire.

Since it mimics real-time trading conditions, the demo account is very appropriate for testing a range of strategies in a risk-free environment, while you can also get acquainted with platform features and tools. We should also mention that swap-free accounts are unavailable in a demo format. Onboarding customers without live accounts are eligible for up to 5 demo accounts (two for MetaTrader 4 and one for MT5, TradingView, and cTrader each). Clients with a funded balance can open up to 10 demo accounts. Keep in mind you can create additional demo accounts only after your existing demos expire.

Trading Fees and Other Costs

Savvy traders should always consider whether a particular brokerage has low fees and competitive bid-ask spreads. As with any other CFD and Forex broker, Pepperstone charges two main types 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.

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.

There is a markup of one pip added to the average spreads on Standard accounts to cover the costs of trading.

Now, let us compare the trading costs for the two account types, using an example with one standard lot in EUR/USD where 1 pip equals $10. We shall assume that the trade is opened and closed at the same price. By using the average spreads, the trading costs for the two accounts will be:

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.

It is evident that Pepperstone largely aligns with IG Markets, another leading global Forex brokerage, in terms of average spreads on Standard accounts. Meanwhile, both brokers trail behind other leading brands like Fusion and IC Markets where the average spreads for commission-free accounts are slightly narrower.

Commissions

Pepperstone charges a roundturn commission of $7 per standard lot in forex and metals on Razor accounts connected to MT4, MT5, and TradingView.

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 generally aligns with the charges imposed by other prominent brokers like IC Markets. However, an equivalent trade with a Zero account at Fusion Markets will cost you only $4.50 in both directions, which, at present, is among the most competitive offers in the industry.

Financing Charges

If you hold a currency position overnight, you will incur an overnight financing charge, also known as a swap rate or rollover. This charge is determined by the overnight interest rate differential between the two currencies included in the particular pair and the direction of your position (long or short).

For Forex pairs and spot metals, Pepperstone’s swap rate is calculated by using the following formula:

Daily swap charge / credit = (One point / exchange rate) x (Trade size [or notional amount] x tom next rate).

The tom next (tomorrow-next day) rates are sourced from top-tier global investment banks and are updated regularly to reflect the dynamic tom next market.

In order to view the swap rates on Pepperstone’s MetaTrader platforms, you should:

1. First, select ‘View’
2. Second, right-click on ‘Market Watch’ and then select ‘Symbols’
3. 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:

1. First, go to the ‘Finder’ tab
2. Second, type the symbol name in the search bar
3. 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 also does not charge any withdrawal fees on the payment methods it works with. The broker, however, will not be responsible for any fees that may be charged by international banks for wire transfers. For more details see Withdrawal Methods

Inactivity Fees

Pepperstone does not charge an inactivity fee after long periods of no trading activity on your account. With many of the large brokerages, you will usually incur such a charge. Therefore, we give Pepperstone the top mark in this area.

Overall on Fees

Pepperstone offers sharp spreads and reasonable commissions, and charges no additional fees on top of daily overnight financing rates. Also, you will incur no non-trading costs, which we consider a huge advantage.

Yet, as was the case with IC Markets, we do not give Pepperstone the top overall mark on fees, since its commissions are a bit higher compared to those of other leading brokers like Fusion Markets, for example.

Desktop Trading Platforms

Pepperstone offers a proprietary platform accessible through all modern, up-to-date browsers, including Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Microsoft Edge. The platform facilitates trading in over 1,300 CFD markets and provides multiple charting options, technical indicators, and risk-management tools. Customers can conveniently track the performance of each instrument and create customized watchlists, although public watchlists are also available. Additionally, third-party platforms like MT4, MT5, TradingView, and cTrader are supported.

MetaTrader 4

At Pepperstone, the most popular Forex trading platform is available for both Windows PCs and Mac. The software features live price quotes, real-time charting, good analytical tools for better-informed decisions, 85 pre-installed technical indicators for a better market insight, flexible chart setups, one-click trading, Expert Advisors for automated trading, and backtesting. The platform is available in 38 different languages.

What is more, using the MT4 platform at Pepperstone also grants you access to:

1. 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.
2. The Autochartist market scanner detects statistically significant market events and patterns.
3. 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:

1. Reliable, ultra-fast order execution (which we will discuss in more detail later in the current review).
2. Razor-sharp pricing across the broker’s entire Forex and CFD product range.
3. The ability to trade in micro lots for a better risk management.
4. 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.
5. Great funding and withdrawal options.
6. The MT4 WebTrader accessible in all popular web browsers.

MetaTrader 5

MT4’s successor, MetaTrader 5, delivers faster order execution, more order types, timeframes, technical indicators, and drawing objects. It grants users access to a more comprehensive environment for EA development and backtesting in the MQL5 coding language. We should note that while MT5 is a more powerful and versatile platform, beginners might find its predecessor more intuitive and accessible.

In addition, MT5 allows you to trade more asset classes compared to MetaTrader 4, including 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

With its intuitive and user-friendly interface which you can customize with different presets and detachable charts, this trading software allows you to control slippage and order fills with advanced features. The platform offers an expanded symbol display, advanced order types, and multiple technical indicators.

It provides a significantly more advanced strategy tester for backtesting and detailed performance analysis, offering capabilities beyond those found in MetaTrader 4, such as multi-threaded optimization and tick-by-tick data testing.

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

Using TradingView is also possible at Pepperstone. The platform is renowned for its advanced charting tools and social network comprising over 100 million users worldwide. It enables customers to instantly spot lucrative trading opportunities by providing them with hundreds of technical indicators and price alerts. Users can screen and filter their preferred markets based on multiple factors or hone their skills by engaging in risk-free paper trading. It is worth noting that using TradingView is an option only for Pepperstone customers who set up Razor accounts. Here is what you can anticipate from this platform in terms of features:

• 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:

1. AutoTrade by Myfxbook: You can replicate the trades of any trading system selected directly into your MT4 account with the broker.
2. 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.
3. MetaTrader Signals: This tool allows you to access thousands of trading strategies and signals in real time without leaving the MetaTrader 4 platform.

Mobile Trading Platforms

Pepperstone customers can also access the available trading platforms on a range of mobile devices via dedicated apps for iOS and Android.

We found that the MT4, MT5, TradingView, and cTrader mobile apps are just as good as the desktop versions of the platforms.

The MetaTrader mobile app for Android devices is very user-friendly, providing access to real-time Forex and CFD quotes, all order types (including pending orders), real-time interactive charts with zoom and scroll, and the most popular technical indicators. The app requires Android 5.0 or later.

Similar features can be seen in the iOS version of MetaTrader for iPhones, iPads, and iPod Touch. The app requires iOS 12.0 or later.

Meanwhile, the cTrader mobile app for Android devices will give you access to sophisticated technical analysis tools, including 5 chart types, 5 chart view options, 16 drawing objects, and 65 technical indicators. The QuickTrade feature enables one-click trading. There are also links to various news sources and a market sentiment indicator. You can set price alerts and receive push and email notifications. The app requires Android 5.0 or higher.

These functionalities and features are also available on the cTrader app for iOS devices, which offers an improved full-screen chart panel. You can quickly access major chart features and options with a short tap. Use a long tap for advanced customization and a more detailed view. The cTrader iOS app requires iOS 12.0 or later.

We should also point out that Pepperstone offer highly intuitive native apps you can download for free from the App Store and Google Play.

Trading Instruments

Although Pepperstone focuses mostly on Forex trading, the company has gradually expanded its product lineup over the years, currently offering more than 1,400 financial markets. This product range is not as impressive compared to other major brokers like IG, where you can trade as many as 17,000 markets. We also found that Pepperstone has slightly limited coverage in terms of asset classes as it presently does not offer leveraged trading in bonds, futures, options, and interest rates. However, the broker partially compensates for this omission with the availability of CFD forwards.

Let us now take a closer look at the product list.

Forex

Currently, Pepperstone offers over 90 major, minor, and exotic currency pairs, which is slightly above the average offered by its closest competitors. The broker also offers CFDs on 3 currency indices, namely the US Dollar Index, Euro Index, and Japanese Yen Index.

What truly impresses us are the competitive trading conditions at Pepperstone. The broker delivers razor sharp pricing thanks to its partnership with multiple liquidity providers and advanced ECN-style order execution. You can trade major Forex pairs with spreads of as low as 0.0 pips via the Razor account, where the average spreads are also very tight at 0.1 pips on EUR/USD.

The maximum Forex leverage is 1:200 under the Bahamas entity and 1:400 at the Kenya-regulated division. The maximum leverage for retail clients from Europe, Australia, Dubai, and the UK is capped at 1:30 for major and 1:20 for minor currency pairs. At the same time, the maximum leverage you can access on currency indices is 1:100. Overall, we can say that Forex trading with a leading broker like Pepperstone is quite advantageous for traders employing different strategies, from scalping to swing and day trading.

Index CFDs

Globally, stock indices are renowned for being a great way to mitigate risk while gaining exposure to the stock markets. Economic events, such as earnings and news reports can affect the prices of stock indices to a large extent.

At this broker, you can trade over 20 stock indices, including US30, UK100, AUS200, and GER30. European, Australian, and British customers can take advantage of maximum leverage of 1:20 for major and 1:10 for non-major indices. The broker provides excellent trading conditions, with spreads as low as one point for major indices.

Stock CFDs

Pepperstone gives you access to over 1,100 stocks of major US, UK, German, and Australian companies that trade publicly on the world’s largest exchanges, including NYSE, NASDAQ, LSE, ASX and the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. The maximum leverage allowed for retail clients from the UK, EU, and Australia is capped at 1:5, but the ratios are higher for those registered under the offshore divisions. Pepperstone also offers CFDs on over 90 ETFs, which track the performance of sectors such as mining, energy, technology, and retail. This selection aligns with what most other major brokers offer. Pepperstone charges the following commissions per 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

There are currently more than 40 CFDs on commodities available to trade, including precious metals like gold, silver, platinum, and palladium. Additionally, customers have access to energies like natural gas and crude oil. Trading soft commodities like cocoa, cattle, corn, sugar, and lean hogs is also an option. All commodities are tradable through contracts for difference and do not entail physical ownership of the underlying materials. You can use leverage to increase your market exposure but the maximum ratios are jurisdiction-specific. The maximum leverage for UK, EU, and Australian customers is:

• 1:20 for gold
• 1:10 for other metals, energies, and soft commodities

Cryptocurrency CFDs

You can access 31 different cryptocurrency markets where digital coins are traded in pairs against fiat currencies like the US dollar, Australian dollar, euro, and pound sterling. Three crypto indices are available, including Crypto 10, Crypto 20, and Crypto 30. The maximum leverage allowed for retail clients is 1:10, but the cap is five times lower at 1:2 in certain jurisdictions like Europe and Australia. At this crypto broker, you will find popular cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Ripple, along with some altcoins like Polkadot and Chainlink. Crypto derivatives are unavailable at the UK-facing version of Pepperstone due to regulatory restrictions.

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.

Trade Execution

With Pepperstone, you will be able to take advantage of reliable ECN-style order execution without dealing desk intervention. The ECN pricing model not only boosts client trust, but also allows for an exceptionally fast execution speed. According to Pepperstone, the majority of client orders are filled in either 30 or 60 milliseconds, depending on the entity customers trade with. The broker advertises the following fill rates for different asset classes.

1. 99.88% for Forex orders
2. 99.62% for commodities, cryptocurrencies, and indices

Similar to rival brokers like IC Markets, Pepperstone sources its pricing from a deep pool of Tier 1 liquidity providers and then passes the prices directly to its clients without any dealing desk intervention. This diverse mix of liquidity providers enables the brokerage to offer razor-thin spreads across its Forex and CFD products.

The ultra-fast order execution with minimal risk of slippage, coupled with razor sharp pricing, ensures perfect conditions for scalpers, high-frequency traders, and clients who use automated trading strategies.

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

Deposits

Pepperstone has no minimum deposit requirements for live retail accounts and does not charge any fees on deposits. However, you should be aware that there may be additional charges for international bank transfers, but these fees are beyond Pepperstone’s control.

The Australian division of the brokerage accepts deposits made in 10 different base account currencies, including the Australian dollar, US dollar, euro, Canadian dollar, pound sterling, New Zealand dollar, Hong Kong dollar, Singaporean dollar, Japanese yen, and Swiss franc. This variety of base currencies reduces the likelihood of incurring additional fees for currency conversion.

With Pepperstone, there is also a diversity of account funding methods, including:

Currently, there are no deposit bonuses available at this brokerage.

Withdrawal Methods

Pepperstone usually processes withdrawal requests, received after 21:00 GMT, on the following business day. If you submit your withdrawal request before 07:00 AEST, it will be processed on the same day.

Withdrawals are typically returned to the same method customers have deposited with, as is the case with other regulated brokers.

Pepperstone generally does not charge any additional fees on withdrawals, which is a plus. International bank transfers are the only exception as they incur a processing fee of AU$20 or the currency equivalent. Pepperstone also has a minimum withdrawal amount requirement of AU$80 for international bank wire transfers.

Withdrawals made via bank transfer may take between 3 and 5 business days to clear, but if there are unforeseen circumstances withdrawal times could be 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.

Customer Support Contacts

Pepperstone offers an award-winning customer support service throughout the week, with shorter working hours on weekends. You can contact the broker’s support team through several communication channels.

1. Live Chat: You may find this option is the fastest way to contact a representative of the brokerage. The live chat box is located in the bottom right corner of the website. We were left with a very positive impression after we contacted the team via live chat, as they responded in less than 30 seconds. We were treated in a truly professional, respectful manner and received precise, relevant answers to all queries we had. We asked about Pepperstone’s liquidity providers and Active Trader program.
2. Telephone Contact: The broker’s support team can be contacted over the phone only during local business hours, depending on the office location.
   • The Bahamas: +1 786 628 1209
   • Australia: +1300 033 375 (toll-free)
   • Cyprus: +357 25 030573
   • Dubai: +971 (0) 4 573 4100
   • Germany: +49 (0)211 81999940 (toll-free)
   • The UK: 0800 046 5473 (toll-free)
   • Kenya: +254 20389 3547/8/9

   We contacted the broker’s UK office during local business hours and received a response in under 3 minutes. Once again, we experienced the broker’s outstanding corporate culture, as we were treated in a very polite manner and obtained all the information we were looking for.

3. Email Contact – You can send specific inquiries to the following email addresses:
   • Support: support@pepperstone.com
   • Marketing: marketing@pepperstone.com

   We received relevant and timely (in about 2 hours) emailed answers to our queries, after contacting the support team during UK business hours.

   Another contact option includes filling the “Send us a message” form on Pepperstone’s website where you can enter some of your details and the support team will either send you an email or contact you over the phone within 24 hours.

4. FAQs – There is also an extensive list of Frequently Asked Questions, where you may find the information you need. Pepperstone’s Help Center includes FAQs regarding deposits and withdrawals, account management and account opening, basic trading terms, trading platforms and tools as well as trading conditions (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.

The only reason we did not give Pepperstone the top mark in this area is because the broker has no 24/7 support over the weekends.

Research and Educational Materials

Our reviewers established that Pepperstone has a versatile educational database, which includes quality written content, video tutorials, and webinars from in-house and third-party sources. Here is what you will find:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.

When it comes to research, the brokerage offers trading ideas and daily market analysis, but does not provide access to fundamental data on stocks. 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.

You can also access a news feed through the MetaTrader software, but it is a bit basic.

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

High-trust, top-tier regulation by authorities like ASIC, CySEC, and the FCA provides assurance that the company is fully transparent and ethical in its business practices. These Tier 1 regulators mandate that all client funds should be segregated from the broker’s own corporate funds in separate trust accounts at top-rated banks. This eliminates the risk of fraudulent behavior on Pepperstone’s behalf.

At the same time, EU-based retail clients are covered by the Investor Compensation Fund (ICF) in Cyprus up to €20,000 per customer, while UK-based retail traders are eligible for a maximum reimbursement of £85,000 under their local Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

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.

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

Written by R. Perry