Pepperstone Review: Is It a Good Broker for Beginners?

The objective is to provide a balanced overview of how Pepperstone operates and help traders decide whether it aligns with their trading style and experience level.

Pepperstone is an online forex and CFD broker that specialises in low-latency execution and competitive trading conditions. The company was founded in 2010 and is headquartered in Melbourne, Australia. Since its launch, Pepperstone has grown into a global brokerage serving retail and professional traders across more than 170 countries under multiple regulatory licences.

Basic Information About Pepperstone

Pros and Cons

Pepperstone Trading Platforms

Pepperstone places strong emphasis on platform choice and execution quality. The broker offers five different trading platforms to suit various trading styles. Specifically, this broker offers MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, TradingView, cTrader, and its proprietary Pepperstone Trading Platform.

MetaTrader 4 is the most popular retail trading platform globally and remains a core offering at Pepperstone. It supports advanced charting, Expert Advisors (EAs), custom indicators, and one-click trading. Its stability, low system requirements, and intuitive interface have helped it remain one of the most popular retail trading platforms worldwide.

MetaTrader 5 is the advanced successor to MT4. It features enhanced charting with more timeframes and indicators, an improved strategy tester, additional order types, and built-in economic calendar tools. MetaTrader 5 also features Depth-of-Market capabilities, which give traders better insight into order flow and overall market liquidity.

For traders who prioritise cutting-edge charting and social features, Pepperstone offers direct integration with TradingView. This platform is renowned for its exceptional, web-based charting tools, a massive community for sharing ideas, and a user-friendly interface that appeals to both new and experienced traders.

cTrader is a premium, intuitive platform favoured by traders seeking professional-grade execution and transparent pricing. It features a sleek interface, advanced order types and sophisticated automated trading capabilities. cTrader also provides Level II pricing data, which is a feature that provides a detailed view of the order book, showing real-time buy and sell orders, at different price levels beyond the best available price. Further, cTrader’s fast execution speeds and institutional-style tools make it well-suited for active and high-frequency traders.

Rounding out the selection is the broker’s proprietary Pepperstone Trading Platform. This is the broker’s proprietary, web-based solution designed for simplicity and efficiency. It combines intuitive navigation with essential trading tools, including advanced charting, risk management features, and integrated account controls.

Comparison of features across Pepperstone trading platforms

Trading Instruments Available on Pepperstone

Pepperstone offers its traders a vast collection of over 1,400 instruments, all as CFDs. This allows traders to speculate on the price movements of various global assets without owning the underlying instrument. The asset selection includes:

• Forex – Pepperstone provides access to over 90 currency pairs, including major, minor, and exotic pairs.
• Indices – Traders can speculate on global stock indices such as the S&P 500, NASDAQ, DAX, FTSE 100, Nikkei 225, and ASX 200 with competitive spreads.
• Commodities – Pepperstone supports trading in commodities, including gold, silver, crude oil, natural gas, and agricultural products. These are available as CFDs and are commonly used for diversification and hedging.
• Shares – Traders have access to shares of companies in the US, UK, AU and Germany, among others, on this broker site.
• ETFs – Exchange-traded funds are also available to invest in on Pepperstone. These come from a variety of markets, including Asia and the Pacific, North America, Africa, Emerging Markets, and others.
• Cryptocurrencies – Pepperstone offers 21 different cryptocurrency CFDs for clients to invest in. Some of the crypto assets available for trading 24/7 include Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, Ethereum, Ripple, Polkadot, and more.

Pepperstone Account Types and Fees

Pepperstone provides a straightforward choice between two main account types. These include the Standard and the Razor accounts. The Standard account features a minimum spread of 1.0 pips for major currency pairs, with no commission charged. In comparison, the Razor account offers raw spreads from 0.0 pips with a commission that depends on the trading platform that a trader uses.

For MetaTrader 4 and 5 users, the commission sits at $3.5, € 2.60, or £ 2.25 per side per lot. TradingView and the Pepperstone Trading Platform users also pay a commission of $3.5 per side per lot. Meanwhile, traders using cTrader pay a slightly lower commission of $3.00 per side per lot. For non-USD accounts on TradingView, cTrader, and the Pepperstone Trading Platform, the commission is converted to the account base currency at the prevailing spot exchange rate.

Pepperstone also charges swap fees for positions left open overnight. The exact charge depends on the asset class and the size of the position left open. Fortunately, Pepperstone offers an Islamic (swap-free) account for traders who cannot pay swap charges due to religious beliefs. However, in this case, Pepperstone charges an admin fee for positions held for 5 days or more. The admin charge is $100 per standard lot for forex and metals, which are the only instruments available on the Islamic account. Further, Pepperstone does not charge any inactivity fees, and deposits and withdrawals are free.

Pepperstone Copy Trading

Pepperstone Customer Support

Reliable customer support is critical for any company that handles people’s money. Fortunately, Pepperstone is widely praised for its high-quality customer support. The broker offers 24/5 customer support via various channels, including live chat, phone, and email.

Support is available in multiple languages, and response times are generally fast, especially through live chat. The broker also maintains an active presence on social media platforms such as X (Twitter), LinkedIn, and Facebook. In addition, traders can access an extensive help centre with FAQs and platform guides.

The Credibility of Pepperstone

Pepperstone is widely regarded as a credible and transparent broker. It is regulated by multiple financial authorities, including the FCA in the UK, the ASIC in Australia, the CySEC in Cyprus, the DFSA in Dubai, the BaFin in Germany, and the CMA in Kenya, among others.

Customer reviews for Pepperstone are generally positive. The broker holds a strong Trustpilot rating, with traders frequently praising its low spreads, execution speed, and platform stability. It holds a 4.3-star rating out of 5 after over 3,100 reviews. Overall, Pepperstone has built a solid reputation over more than a decade of operation.

Pepperstone Education Section

Pepperstone provides a structured education section designed to support traders at different experience levels. Educational resources provided by the broker include articles and webinars, with past webinars archived for traders to access whenever. These help traders get familiar with market dynamics so they can build their strategies with confidence.

The broker also publishes daily market commentary and technical analysis. This is more focused on trading execution and market insights as they develop rather than long-form investment education. These insights are produced by several experts who specialise in various market areas.

How Pepperstone Compares With Competitors

In collaboration with a colleague, we prepared a detailed comparison of Pepperstone with some key competitors. We evaluated it against Saxo Bank, XTB, eToro, and Interactive Brokers. Pepperstone positions itself as a performance-driven broker, with a strong focus on low-latency execution, tight spreads, and broad platform choice. Nonetheless, each competitor brings distinct strengths.

Compared with Saxo Bank, Pepperstone is more accessible in terms of account opening and pricing, and it offers a wider range of third-party platforms such as MetaTrader, cTrader, and TradingView. Saxo, on the other hand, stands out with its proprietary platforms and institutional-grade research tools. Against XTB, Pepperstone generally appeals more to algorithmic and high-frequency traders due to its raw spreads on the Razor account. Meanwhile, XTB differentiates itself with a polished proprietary platform and a stronger educational section.

When compared with eToro, Pepperstone stands out for offering more platform choices and, again, access to raw spreads. In contrast, eToro excels in social and copy trading through its integrated CopyTrader ecosystem. Finally, versus Interactive Brokers, Pepperstone provides a simpler and more user-friendly experience. However, Interactive Brokers tends to win on ultra-low commissions for high-volume traders and vast real asset selection.

Pepperstone review conclusion

Pepperstone stands out as a well-rounded, performance-driven broker that prioritises execution speed, pricing transparency, and platform flexibility. Its tight spreads, fast execution, and wide platform support make it one of the most competitive forex and CFD brokers globally. The broker’s strong regulatory framework, global presence, and consistently positive client feedback further reinforce its credibility.

While Pepperstone’s exclusive focus on CFDs may not appeal to investors seeking real asset ownership, these trade-offs are offset by its overall positive reputation. In summary, Pepperstone is an excellent choice for retail and professional traders seeking low-cost, high-speed CFD trading in a well-regulated environment.

Josef Kuchař

investment expert at Forbino.com

Pepperstone Rating

87%

71.9% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.