Pepperstone is an Australian brokerage firm with its headquarters in Melbourne. Founded in 2010, the company supports trading of multiple assets across different platforms, with lots of trading tools available. Pepperstone is designed to facilitate easy trading for both newbies and experienced traders.
Regulation
Several regulatory bodies have granted Pepperstone operation licences. They include ASIC in Australia, CySEC in Europe, the FCA in the UK, DFSA in the UAE, CMA in Kenya, BaFin in Germany, and the SCB in The Bahamas.
Pepperstone accounts
Several different kinds of accounts are available at Pepperstone:
- Standard account: The standard account requires a minimum deposit of $200 and offers variable spreads.
- Razor account: You need $200 minimum deposit to open an account with Razor, which features commission-based pricing and exceptionally tight spreads.
- Sharpe account: The Sharpe account is suitable for scalpers, and for a minimum deposit of $200, you can enjoy features such as tight spreads and cheap commissions.
Trading fees
Pepperstone uses commission and spread approach for its pricing strategy. For new accounts, one needs to deposit a minimum opening balance of $200 AUD. However, you are not limited to that amount and can start trading with a smaller amount.
Spreads are in-built in the CFD trading fees, but the fees for FX trading vary depending on the type of account. When trading CFDs on Forex, only Razor accounts are subject to commissions.
Tradable instruments
Pepperstone gives traders access to a wide variety of markets with its extensive catalogue of tradable assets. The primary assets include 90+ forex pairs and more than 1200 CFDs on a wide variety of assets like stocks, indices, commodities, cryptocurrency, energy, and spread betting.
Deposits and withdrawals
You can fund your Pepperstone account with a number of different methods, including debit/credit cards, bank transfers, MPESA, PayPal, Flutterwave, Neteller, and Skrill. Pepperstone does not charge transaction fees for deposits, but traders may incur charges from their payment services providers.
Spreads
Spread in FX trading refers to the difference between the bid price and the ask price of a currency pair. The lowest unit of measurement in forex trading is the pip, and spreads are typically measured in pips.
On Pepperstone, traders have a wide range of spreads to choose from, ranging from 0.0 pip on major pairs and 0.4 pip on US indices. You will incur spreads in the quote currency of your transaction. The currency you pick to fund your account is the one that will be used to charge your commission.
Pepperstone’s Razor account varies depending on commissions, but its spreads are quite low. As highlighted above, the Sharpe account is more suited for scalping.
The spreads also change for different kinds of accounts.
- Standard Account: For major fx pairs, the Standard Account offers variable spreads from 1.0 pips.
- Razor Account: The account is appropriately named, as its spreads are ultra-low, starting from 0.0 pips.
- Sharpe Account: For major currency pairs, the Sharpe Account offers tight spreads as low as 0.0 pips.
Minimum spreads on major FX pairs
| Symbol | Description | Razor Min Spread | Standard Min Spread |
| EURUSD | Euro vs US Dollar | 0 | 1.00 |
| GBPUSD | Great Britain Pound vs US Dollar | 0 | 1.00 |
| USDJPY | US Dollar vs Japanese Yen | 0 | 1.00 |
| AUDUSD | Australian Dollar vs US Dollar | 0 | 1.00 |
| USDCAD | US Dollar vs Canadian Dollar | 0.10 | 1.10 |
| USDCHF | US Dollar vs Swiss Franc | 0 | 1.00 |
| EURGBP | Euro vs Great Britain Pound | 0.20 | 1.20 |
Trading platforms
Day traders who are already familiar with the MT4, MT5, cTrader, and TradingView apps will enjoy using Pepperstone due to its seamless integration with these top third-party trading platforms. Also integrated is Capitalise AI, which is a platform that facilitates code-free algorithmic trading.
The broker also supports both API trading and VPS hosting. Traders can take advantage of a volume-based rebate programme and competitive trading fees. Pepperstone supports trading on Windows and Mac desktop platforms, mobile platforms like iOS and Android, and a web software called WebTrader.
Trading tools
Users of Pepperstone’s MT4 and MT5 platforms have access to a number of useful add-ons, including the Smart Trader Tools suite, Autochartist, API trading, and Capitalise.ai. Furthermore, you get to access social copy trading through DupliTrade for cTrader and myFxbook for MetaTrader.
Pepperstone copy trading
Copy trading allows new traders to mimic the actions and trades expert traders, also known as signal providers. Copyright holders’ Pepperstone accounts are set up to automatically execute trades conducted by signal providers.
Customer support
Pepperstone offers support through live chat, phone, and email assistance, and has built a solid reputation for excellent customer service.
Education
Pepperstone has developed an library of educational resources, some of which are in interactive formats, such webinars presented by expert traders. In addition to an interactive learning centre, Pepperstone provides a large collection of instructional videos.
Pepperstone
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Over 1200 tradable assets
- Free deposits and withdrawal
- Support for MetaTrader4, MetaTrader5, cTrader, and TradingView;
- A library of educational resources;
Cons
- Some spreads on Standard accounts still lag industry leaders.
- Limited market analysis
In Conclusion
Pepperstone has been in business for a long time and has regulatory status in several jurisdictions, including Tier 1, Tier 2, and Tier 3. With this, it has established itself as a reliable broker. Also, its compatibility with a number of third-party trading systems, including as TradingView, cTrader, MT4, and MT5 is a plus. It provides comprehensive charting tools for skilled traders, fast execution, and narrow spreads, making it a leading option for day trading. On the other hand, new traders can leverage its comprehensive educational resources and 24/7 customer support.