Pepperstone Review
Pepperstone
Best for: CFD Trading - Gold, Shares, Oil, Perpetuals
Pepperstone holds it's place as our top rated CFD broker in Australia, coming up particularly strong for active traders who value razor spreads, fast execution and the ability to choose between all of the major trading platforms.
Good choice for
- Low Cost ASX Trading
- Active Traders
- Automated Trading
Look elsewhere if
- You are a long term investor
- Want a CHESS sponsored broker
About Pepperstone
Our own experience with Pepperstone has been positive over a long period, but that isn’t enough for a meaningful snapshot of the broker. So we checked them against independent execution and spread tests, App Store feedback and customer-review data alongside our own experience. Layer in a comparison against other ASIC regulated competitors, and our Pepperstone review should help you understand some of the strengths and weaknesses well enough to make an informed decision.
There are some areas where competitors naturally come out ahead, with IC Markets recording marginally tighter raw forex spreads in one recent independent test, while eToro offers a particularly simple mobile-first experience, alongside share investing.
Overall, Pepperstone puts together the strongest all-round CFD package in Australia, but let’s take a closer look at how the broker got here.
Pepperstone Group Limited was founded in Melbourne in 2010 by a team of experienced former traders, and the company has grown rapidly over the last 16 years, expanding globally by opening offices in London, Cyprus, The Bahamas, Kenya, Dubai and Germany. ABN records show Pepperstone Group Limited’s registration active from 27 October 2010, while Pepperstone’s Australian entity currently operates under ASIC AFSL 414530.
There have been a large number of awards bestowed upon the broker along the way, which each year continue to grow larger. We had earlier quoted some of the awards from 2018, but more recently in 2025 the company picked up the ‘Best Overall Broker’ award at the DayTrading awards, as well as the ‘Best Forex Trading Platform’, and ‘Best in forex and CFD Australia’ by TradingView. This year’s ‘Best in Class Trading Fees’, and ‘Best MT4 Broker‘ add further weight to a strong level of esteem across the industry, across more key areas of importance.
When we first reviewed Pepperstone all those years ago, it was mainly a forex broker that offered a few other instruments like commodities and indices as CFDs. A lot has changed, with the range of products now up there along the top multi-asset CFD brokers. After adding shares, ETFs, indices, commodities, cryptocurrencies and newer products such as perpetual CFDs, we can now find 1,400 share CFDs sitting alongside 93 forex pairs, 95 ETFs, 26 indices, 40 commodities, and 31 crypto CFDs.
The Short Answer
Pepperstone is best suited to traders who want low-cost CFD and forex trading without being tied to one trading platform. Its Razor account is particularly competitive for active forex traders, while the availability of MT4, MT5, cTrader, TradingView and Pepperstone’s own platform gives it considerably more flexibility than proprietary-platform-only brokers such as Plus500 or eToro.
Whilst Pepperstone excels for traders; CFDs don’t give you ownership of the shares you trade, and while pricing is competitive across the board, that does not mean it is the cheapest broker in all conditions.
The Pepperstone experience
What a trader can expect from opening an account through to using the platform.
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1
Opening Demo Account
5 minutes
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2
KYC Approval
24 hours
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3
Choose Trading Platform
You have a wide range of platforms to choose from, with MT4, MT5, cTrader, TradingView, or Pepperstone's own Platform/ App. You can test these on demo whilst you are waiting for the KYC approval.
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4
Account Funding
Immediate * Deposit with Apple Pay, Google Pay, Debit Card, Paypal, Skrill/Neteller, PayID. These methods are all usually immediate, but we have been quoted up to 2 business days. Bank transfer can take up to 7 working days.
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5
Trading Ready Account
24-72 hours
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6
Withdrawals
You will need to approve/confirm your withdrawal within 1 hour after receiving a confirmation email for 2FA, and from there, most payments will be processed within 1-3 business days. For bank transfers, it is similar to deposits, where you will be waiting up to 7 business days for the receipt of funds.
Who Pepperstone works for
A broker can be excellent for one type of trader and a poor fit for another.
Where Pepperstone wins — and what you give up
Where Pepperstone wins
- Low trading commissions
- Reliable & rapid execution
- Automated trading
What you give up
- No real share investing
- Guaranteed stop losses not available
- No options trading
What would Pepperstone cost me?
Pepperstone’s commission rates & the fees they charge continue to be one of their main selling points. The pricing schedule is transparent, and with ASX share CFDs at a 0.07%, US shares at US$0.02 per share, and UK/German shares at 0.1%, the pricing works out cheaper than many other stock brokers, particularly for order sizes below A$2,000.
Taking Forex as an example, spreads on the MetaTrader 4 platform are variable, with quotes coming from as many as 22 Major Banks and Electronic Crossing Networks. By developing this relatively large number of connections with other market participants is designed to result in competitive pricing for clients.
What Does Competitive Mean?
Forex
Pepperstone’s own pricing data puts its average Razor spread on EUR/USD and AUD/USD at 0.1 pips, compared with 1.1 pips on Standard. With the round turn lot commission of $7 added in, this compares favourably to another top rated local name in IC Markets.
| October 2026 test | Pepperstone Razor | IC Markets Raw |
|---|---|---|
| EUR/USD raw spread | 0.12 pips | 0.11 pips |
| Eight-pair raw average | 0.36 pips | 0.29 pips |
| AUD MetaTrader round-turn commission | A$7.00 | A$9.00 |
| Eight-pair all-in cost | 0.93 pips | 1.03 pips |
IC Markets Raw account has average spreads of ~0.11 pips, with a round turn commission of $9 for MT4 accounts. Taking an average of eight major pairs, we get a raw average of 0.36 pips on Pepperstone, vs 0.29 on IC Markets, although the commission sways the end result. IC Markets is cheaper on average across the group on Raw spreads, but Pepperstone wins this one when spreads and commissions are combined.
Stock Trading
One of the pricing features that helps keep costs down here is the absence of a minimum commission on most share markets. If you are trading ASX shares, you are faced with a simple 0.07% commission per side (buy/sell), with no minimum commission. That effectively means that for trades of A$1,000, Pepperstone offer the best value on the market right now at A$1.40 in round trip costs. If you are trading US listed stocks, then the commission reduces to US$0.02 per share (again with no minimum commission).
| Trading App | Entry + Exit Cost (A$1,000 trade) |
Calculation (each way) | Approx Overnight Fee (A$1,000 position) | Change with size (A$5,000 trade example) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pepperstone | A$1.40 | 0.07% | ~A$0.20 long, A$0.06 short | A$7 |
| Webull | A$2.00 | A$1 or 0.03% | No | A$3 |
| eToro | A$5.72 | US$2 (~A$2.86) | No | $5.72 |
| Moomoo | A$6.00 | A$3 or 0.03% | No | A$6 |
| Stake | A$6.00 | A$3 flat | No | A$6 |
As you can see from the comparison above, Pepperstone come out top for fees on a A$1,000 trade that is entered and exited within three days or so, but if you are trading larger position sizes regularly, or intending to hold for longer periods, the picture can change somewhat.
So competitive for us means that Pepperstone are a good choice, and up there amongst the top brokers for many conditions, even if they will not always win out.
Markets and products
Traders at Pepperstone have the choice of almost all industry leading trading platforms to choose from, including:
- cTrader: In-house user-friendly trading platform. Advanced order capabilities and customisation.
- MT4: Trade from your phone, tablet or desktop with the world’s most popular trading platform
- MT5: Get more advanced features and access to CFDs, Stocks and Futures with the powerful MT5
- WebTrader: Access to your Metatrader 4 account from the web. No download or install required.
- TradingView: Gain access to TradingView’s advanced charting tools, also with qualifying clients gaining access to a renewable paid TradingView subscription, subject to eligibility criteria.
Both MetaTrader 4 & 5 provide access to Pepperstone’s popular Smart Trader Tools and Autochartist – a suite of expert trading tools designed to support clients looking to learn more about trading and investing.
With its blend of security and an innovative approach to trading, it’s easy to see why Pepperstone is widely regarded as one of the best Australian Forex brokers.
Pepperstone Account Types
Pepperstone offers two main account types in Razor and Standard, keeping things relatively simple:
The Pepperstone Razor account offers tighter spreads than the standard account, starting from 0.0, although the average spread for USD/AUD was 0.1 pips in the most recent data. Raw spreads from 0.0 pips with a commission charge applied ($3.50/lot per side), makes this account type popular with scalpers.
The Standard account, on the other hand, has easier to understand pricing terms. Looking at USD-AUD, a standard account has an average of 1.1 pip mark up on the spread with no commission charges applied, instead commission is built into the spread.
For Australian retail clients, maximum leverage is 30:1 on major currency pairs, 20:1 on gold, major indices and minor currency pairs, 10:1 on other commodities and minor indices, 5:1 on shares and 2:1 on cryptocurrency assets.
The range of instruments has expanded to include :
| Margin FX | 93 |
| Share CFDs | 1,400 |
| ETF CFDs | 95 |
| Commodity CFDs | 40 |
| Cryptocurrency CFDs | 31 |
| Index CFDs | 26 |
Whilst IC Markets quotes 1,700 share CFDs, and also offers some futures CFDs, Pepperstone offers more variety in the other categories above. One area in which Pepperstone has been particularly active is extending the CFD structure into markets that historically weren’t easy for retail traders to access, with its perpetual CFDs.
These have no fixed expiry and can trade 24/7, with the broker setting the funding rate for the upcoming week and applying the adjustment daily. This has allowed Pepperstone to create products referencing synthetic or emerging markets, including pre-IPO companies, such as what we saw leading into the SpaceX IPO this year.
Pepperstone Minimum Deposit
While there is no minimum deposit, and no deposit or withdrawal fees charged by the broker, there are some logical minimums in order to actually trade the minimum position sizes. No deposit or withdrawal fees by Pepperstone does not mean that your own provider also operates fee free.
Cash deposits can be made in various ways, including:
- Debit card,
- Bank transfer
- Broker to broker
- PayPal
- e-Wallets such as Skrill, Bpay, Neteller, Poli and Union Pay.
The main account currencies include: AUD, USD, EUR, GBP, CHF, JPY, NZD, CAD, SGD and HKD.
Trading platforms
Platform features and tools
| Platform | Pepperstone | IC Markets | eToro |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proprietary web/mobile platform | ✅ | — | ✅ |
| MetaTrader 4 | ✅ | ✅ | — |
| MetaTrader 5 | ✅ | ✅ | — |
| cTrader | ✅ | ✅ | — |
| TradingView trading integration | ✅ | ✅* | — |
| Automated strategies/EAs | ✅ | ✅ | Limited compared with MT/cTrader ecosystem |
*provided through its cTrader account.
The ever-popular MetaTrader platforms are available for mobile and tablet through Pepperstone via their WebTrader service or as an app download for Android and iOS devices. If you’re using a desktop computer, you can also use the WebTrader app or download MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 directly.
The web-trader version of the platform mirrors the download+install version, has the same full functionality and is even enhanced by Pepperstone’s in-house trading technology.
MetaTrader is the world’s most widely used forex trading platform. This popularity stems from it satisfying the needs of the traders that use it. It is robust, user-friendly, packed full of powerful charts and indicators.
Most importantly it supports systematic trading, the MQL language it uses allows the traders to program indicators and it’s also possible to take advantage of their automated trading program Expert Advisors (known in the market as EAs).
The cTrader platform has similar functionality to the MT platforms but with a slightly easier on the eye interface. You find Level II pricing, advanced order controls, C# automation and desktop, web and mobile access, with a range of order types.
As with other brokers that provide direct access into the markets, it is not possible to provide guaranteed stop losses. This means there are theoretically instances where the market price could gap over a traders ‘regular’ stop loss. The absence of guaranteed stops requires flagging up because a lot of traders now use them as part of their risk management policy.
Through the use of optical fibre cross-connects, VPS co-location and hosting at the Equinix (NY4) facility, Pepperstone is able to deliver trade execution with latency as low as 50ms of latency (0.05 of a second). In addition, Pepperstone incorporates trade execution, with pricing from 22 banks and liquidity providers and also offers access to dark pool liquidity.
Moving away from the spec sheet, what this means for traders is they have tighter spreads, fewer delays, fewer rejects and fewer requotes when executing.
Mobile trading
Pepperstone has its own trading app, in addition to mobile access through MetaTrader, cTrader and TradingView. The Pepperstone App supports both Demo and Live account trading, and is free to download and available on both iOS and Android Device.
The Meta Trader app allows you to connect to brokers’ servers, receive stock prices and currency quotes, analyse markets use charts and technical indicators, trade, and view the history of your trading operations.
The Australian App Store currently shows the Pepperstone Trading App at ~4.0/5 from just over 100 ratings. Positive reviews frequently mention ease of use, pricing and reliability, while some negative reviews report lagging or freezing and difficulties managing trades during those incidents. Overall, the broker offers a strong all around mobile proposition, with a few areas for improvement.
Automated and algorithmic trading
Pepperstone is a strong broker for automation because traders aren’t restricted to one ecosystem.
MT4 and MT5 support Expert Advisors, cTrader supports C# through cTrader Automate, TradingView allows Pine Script strategies and alerts, and Pepperstone also allows API access for eligible trading setups.
You can use AI for trading inside MT5 or cTrader, whilst TradingView has it’s own assistant built in, keeping Pepperstone at the forefront. There are differences between these assistants, and AI bots, but you can use AI inside each of the platforms to code out your own strategy that will be able to execute to your plan. These are typically much better than ‘black box’ providers where there are a lot of unknowns, and additional risk.
Customer service
Pepperstone also delivers award-winning customer service 24 hours a day Mon-Fri, and 18 hours over the weekend. This is also reflected in the number of awards they have won, including all these from our earlier review:
- #1 for Customer Service (Australia FX Report – Investment Trends, 2016 & 2017)
- Best Forex Trading Support – Europe (Global Forex Awards, 2019)
- Best Forex Trading Support (UK Forex Awards, 2018)
The support starts at registration when new clients are allocated an account manager who helps traders with on-boarding and, refreshingly, this doesn’t actually come with a hard sell.
Ongoing support from the Help Desk can be accessed via telephone, live chat or email and response times during our testing were very good.
During our own analysis, our testers found the Live Chat didn’t work as well as expected. Chats were closed down prematurely by Pepperstone support staff, meaning our testers had to start some conversations over again with a new member of staff. Despite this, when we did speak with a member of the support team our issues were dealt with promptly and professionally.
Research and education
Our Pepperstone review scores the broker highly in terms of the research and learning materials on offer. There is a wide range of material that comes in various formats.
It starts at ground level by offering user-friendly ‘Learn to trade’ materials that are pitched towards those starting out in the markets. The Webinars and Trading Guides section also introduces more advanced concepts and lay out the basics behind actual trading strategies.
The webinars are of course live events which allow a degree of user interaction but there is also an archive of past webinars to consider. The Trading Guides are in written format and cover topics such as, ‘A three-pillar strategy to set up your forex trading’ and ‘Five rules around managing risk’.
Day-to-day trading activity is supported by an Economic Calendar, a Market Review research note and Autochartist. Those that haven’t come already come across Autochartist are in for a treat. It’s a powerful piece of software that recognises trade setups in the market and helps traders make more informed decisions.
Clients of Pepperstone get access for free and can set themselves up to receive notifications of emerging and completed chart patterns such as Fibonacci retracements, support and resistance levels and volatility indicators. It’s a very flexible system which takes a lot of the leg-work out of market analysis.
This is broker research rather than independent investment research, but we are inclined to use our experience of Pepperstone over the years to say these have been created with good intentions.
Regulation and verification
CFDs and margin FX are leveraged products that carry a high level of risk to your capital. There is also a degree of counterparty risk associated with placing funds with any broker. Pepperstone has set out to manage these risks by complying with the regulatory requirements of top-level regulators.
Pepperstone is authorised and regulated by the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) and in the UK by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). All client funds are segregated in trust accounts with custodian banks including National Australia Bank (Australia) and Barclays (UK). The exact terms and conditions will depend on the domicile of the account holder but these are all clearly laid out in an easy to digest format.
Pepperstone Group Limited is licensed and regulated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission under AFSL 414530, ACN 147 055 703, at 727 Collins Street in Melbourne. Those protections should not be mistaken for a guarantee that CFD trading is easy or safe, as ~68% of traders lose money with this type of trading. That is not limited to the broker, but to CFDs in general.
There is also one historical matter from back in 2023, when ASIC named the broker among seven that had self-reported instances where CFDs were issued above ASIC’s permitted leverage limits. The seven firms proposed remediation programs and collectively paid or agreed to pay compensation to affected retail clients.
With seven brokers all being reported simultaneously, there may well have been some misinterpretation across the industry that has since been worked through. The leverage restrictions are clearly here to stay for consumer protection, with the 2021 implementation being proposed for extension out to 2037.
What other traders say
“With cTrader, you get robust trading infrastructure, lightning-fast speed, and top-tier liquidity. cTrader was designed by and for traders and has a highly customizable user-friendly interface with order management systems and enhanced charting abilities.” – blockonomi
The Pepperstone review by the site blockonomi highlights some of the best features of the cTrader platform. Considering clients are also offered TradingView, MT4 and MT5 its clear to see the platform choices cover most bases.
“Pepperstone covers everything an expert Forex/CFD trader could possibly need.” – forexfraud.com
In their Pepperstone review, forexfraud.com highlights the fact that the platform caters to traders at all levels, especially expert traders:
“The combination of fast execution fees, low trading costs and enhanced features which is why Pepperstone is the fastest growing in Australia.” – compareforexbrokers.com.au
What Do Current Traders Say?
Pepperstone’s Trustpilot profile currently shows 4.2/5 from 3,686 reviews. You can pick through the reviews and find users highlighting the helpful and responsive staff, clear interface and generally positive trading conditions. Negatives include occasional technical problems, support delays, verification friction and withdrawal complaints. This is par for the course we would say. The scoring is in line with other major brokers, with 4.2 scores also noted for IC Markets, and Plus500.
Our final verdict
Award-winning Australian broker
Pepperstone has evolved into a more interesting all around broker than the low-spread forex broker we used to know it as. Having reviewed Pepperstone for the best part of a decade, there have been more changes than we can list, yet that low-spread angle has still not gone away.
Forex pricing continues to sit amongst the best, whilst the stock CFD offering has also expanded into one of the cheapest on the market for trades under $2,000. Our latest spread comparison found IC Markets looked tighter on raw spreads across a range of eight pairs, before the commission swung the prize back over to Pepperstone. A separate 36 broker test also ranks Peppetstone near the top of fastest brokers for execution.
The actual trade execution is fast, reliable and low-cost, plus you are getting access to all of the major trading platforms under one roof. If you want to trade forex on MT4, but stocks on TradingView, you can do that without having to wait for account withdrawals and subsequent deposits to hit different accounts.
Overall, Pepperstone consistently rank near the top of our major comparisons across a variety of topics, and whilst they should not be your choice if you are looking for long term share investing, for trading the ASX, gold, or many other instruments, you will struggle to find a better all around ASIC broker today.
Pepperstone FAQs
Is Pepperstone regulated in Australia?
Yes, Pepperstone is regulated by ASIC, and also hold licenses with major financial regulators such as the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK and Cyprus Securities And Exchange Commission (CySEC). Australian accounts are offered by Pepperstone Group Limited, ACN 147 055 703, which holds Australian Financial Services Licence 414530
Is Pepperstone good for beginners in Australia?
Pepperstone is a good choice of broker for beginners as they are very well regulated, their fees are low and accounts are easy to setup. But we would not say the CFD product set is the most suited for beginners. There is a big learning curve for those who are new to trading, and whilst the broker is better than many at trying to bridge the gap, it is not easy to trade CFDs. If you are new to trading and sure that this is the right fit, try the demo account first.
What is the minimum deposit amount on Pepperstone in Australia?
There is no minimum deposit amount at Pepperstone - you can start trading with as small an amount as you like. However, Pepperstone recommends taking into account your trading experience and financial situation before deciding how much to deposit.
Do Pepperstone charge for withdrawals?
No, it is free to withdraw funds from your Pepperstone account. However, there may be charges applied by your bank.
Does Pepperstone offer zero spreads?
Yes, Pepperstone offers zero spreads in it's Razor account, but that is not the spread you will get most often, with averages from 0.1 pips for UER/USD and AUD/USD. Pepperstone also charges commission, which is typically $7 per round turn lot on MT4/MT5
Is Pepperstone safe?
Pepperstone is an established ASIC-regulated provider, and Australian retail client money is held separately from company operating funds. Retail clients also receive negative balance protection. That does not make CFD trading itself the right product for you, with ~68% of retail CFD clients losing money.
Which platform is best at Pepperstone?
TradingView is excellent for chart driven trading, or for share trading. cTrader is strong for market depth and C# automation. MT4 is better for established forex EAs. MT5 is the better MetaTrader choice for multi-asset CFD trading.
Trading disclaimer
Trading CFDs and FX is risky. It isn't suitable for everyone and if you are a professional client, you could lose substantially more than your initial investment.
