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InvestinGoal » Pepperstone vs Plus500: Comparison and Analysis

Pepperstone vs Plus500: Comparison and Analysis

Written by Filippo Ucchino Publication Date Last Updated
Our verdict · CFD trading

Pepperstone is better than Plus500 for CFD trading in the UK by a small margin, because it allows scalping, hedging, expert advisors, high-frequency strategies and VPS hosting next to API access, executes orders in 30 ms and asks for no minimum deposit, where Plus500 asks for 100.00 USD. Pepperstone runs MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, cTrader and TradingView next to a proprietary app, opens raw spread, ECN and copy trading accounts and holds the account in more currencies (10 against 3). Plus500 charges a lower EUR/USD cost (8.00 USD per lot against 9.05 USD), gives access to more tradable symbols (2,800 against 1,444), offers a guaranteed stop loss on CFDs and has conditions designed for high-volume traders. Pepperstone and Plus500 are both regulated in the UK by the FCA. Both cover CFDs on commodities, forex, indices and stocks and offer a demo account. Deposits and withdrawals take 1 day at both brokers.

Best overall

Pepperstone

CFDCFD This broker offers CFD trading: leveraged contracts that follow the price of an asset without owning it. Switch the comparison to CFD to rate it on that. Regulated in your country Pepperstone holds a licence from the regulator of the country this site is for, so local investor protections apply.
Pepperstone review ›
86CFDOverall score InvestinGoal score from 0 to 100, calculated from the data in this comparison across 12 areas (regulation, safety, costs, platforms and more). CFD and stock trading are scored separately: the number follows the side selected above.
Open Account

89% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.

Plus500

CFDCFD This broker offers CFD trading: leveraged contracts that follow the price of an asset without owning it. Switch the comparison to CFD to rate it on that. Regulated in your country Plus500 holds a licence from the regulator of the country this site is for, so local investor protections apply.
Plus500 review ›
78CFDOverall score InvestinGoal score from 0 to 100, calculated from the data in this comparison across 12 areas (regulation, safety, costs, platforms and more). CFD and stock trading are scored separately: the number follows the side selected above.
Open Account

CFD service. 82% of retail investor accounts lose money

Best for

What we compare A comparison of the kinds of traders Pepperstone and Plus500 are best suited to, based on what each one actually offers in United Kingdom.
1 / 12

Pepperstone is better than Plus500 for scalpers, news traders and algo traders. Both are a good fit for professional traders, high-volume traders and swing traders.

Best for
Overall score Pepperstone 86 Best Plus500 78 -8
Day trading i
Long-term investing i
Professional traders i
High-volume traders i
Scalpers i
Swing traders i
News traders i
Algo traders i
Stock traders i
Crypto traders i
Futures traders i
Options traders i

Regulation

What we compare A comparison between the financial authorities that supervise Pepperstone and the ones that supervise Plus500.
2 / 12

Pepperstone and Plus500 are both regulated in the UK, by the FCA.

Regulation
Section score Pepperstone 100 Plus500 100
Tier-1 regulators
ESMA (European Union) i
FCA (United Kingdom) i
ASIC (Australia) i
CFTC (United States) i
NFA (United States) i
SEC (United States) i
CIRO (Canada) i
MAS (Singapore) i
SFC (Hong Kong) i
JFSA (Japan) i
FINMA (Switzerland) i
Tier-2 regulators
FMA (New Zealand) i
CBR (Russia) i
FSCA (South Africa) i
DFSA (Dubai) i
CSRC (China) i
ISA (Israel) i
LFSA (Malaysia) i
JSC (Jordan) i
CMA (Kenya) i
Tier-3 regulators
FSA (Seychelles) i
MMA (Maldives) i
SCB (Bahamas) i
FSC (Mauritius) i
VFSC (Vanuatu) i
FSC (Belize) i
CIMA (Cayman Islands) i
SV FSA (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines) i
FSRC (St. Kitts & Nevis) i
BMA (Bermuda) i
BVI FSC (British Virgin Islands) i
EDR (External Dispute Resolution) i

Safety

What we compare A comparison of the tools and services that Pepperstone and Plus500 have in place to protect your money in United Kingdom.
3 / 12

Pepperstone and Plus500 both offer segregated client funds and an investor compensation scheme.

Safety
Section score Pepperstone 78 -7 Plus500 85 Best
Company info
Is it publicly traded i
Is it a bank i
Year founded i 2010 2008
Parent company i Pepperstone Group Limited Plus500 Ltd.
CEO i Tamas Szabo David Zruia
Money safety
Segregated client funds i
Two-factor authentication i
Investor compensation scheme i
Additional money insurance i
Partner bank i N/A N/A
Brand power
Number of customers worldwide i 900,000 30,000,000
Annual revenue i USD 13,000,000 USD 768,300,000
Monthly website search traffic i 1.3M monthly visits

Costs

What we compare A comparison of what it costs to trade with Pepperstone and with Plus500 in United Kingdom, both on each trade and on holding the account.
4 / 12

Pepperstone is better than Plus500 for costs, as Pepperstone has tighter S&P 500 CFD spreads, at 0.4 points (against Plus500's 0.7 points), has tighter gold CFD spreads, at 0.15 points (against Plus500's 0.75 points), and does not charge inactivity fees, unlike Plus500. Neither Pepperstone nor Plus500 charges account maintenance fees or deposit fees.

Costs
Section score Pepperstone 74 Best Plus500 69 -5
Broker fees
Deposit fees i
Withdrawal fees i
Overnight fees i
Inactivity fees i
Currency conversion fees i
Discounts on volume i
Real time market data fee i
Dividend withholding i
Account opening fees i
Account maintenance fee i
Portfolio management fee i
Fees on CFDs
Forex commission per lot i USD 6.1 Free
EUR/USD average standard spread i
1.1 pips
0.8 pips
EUR/USD average raw spread i
0.1 pips
EUR/USD average fixed spread i
EUR/USD total cost per lot i USD 9.05 USD 8
S&P 500 fees (CFD) i 0.4 points 0.7 points
Gold fees (CFD) i 0.15 points 0.75 points
Bitcoin fees (CFD) i
US stocks fees (CFD) i USD 0.02 Free
Fees on stocks
Stock fee type i Commission, Percentage Spread
US stocks fees (real) i
ETF fees (real) i
Management costs i
Connection costs i
Fees on futures
Futures fees per contract i
Platform fees i
Fees on options
Options fees per contract i
Event fees i
Fees on savings plans
IRA opening fee i
IRA maintenance fee i
401k opening fee i
401k maintenance fee i

Available markets

What we compare A comparison of the markets and products you can trade with Pepperstone and with Plus500 in United Kingdom, and of how many instruments each one gives access to.
5 / 12

Pepperstone and Plus500 are close on available markets. Both Pepperstone and Plus500 offer CFDs on commodities, crypto, forex, indices and stocks. Plus500 has a slight edge, as it gives access to 2,800 tradable symbols (against Pepperstone's 1,444).

Available markets
Section score Pepperstone 75 Plus500 75
Total tradable symbols i 1,444 2,800
Currency pairs i
Indices i
Commodities i
Stocks i
ETF i
Cryptocurrencies i
Bonds i
Interest rates i
Portfolios i
CFDs i Commodities, Crypto, Forex, Indices, Stocks Commodities, Crypto, Forex, Indices, Stocks
Futures i
Options i
Assets you can own i

Platform

What we compare A comparison of the trading platforms that Pepperstone and Plus500 make available to their clients in United Kingdom.
6 / 12

Pepperstone is better than Plus500 for platforms, as Pepperstone offers cTrader, MetaTrader 5 and MetaTrader 4, which Plus500 does not. Pepperstone and Plus500 both offer one-click trading and real-time pricing.

Platform
Section score Pepperstone 92 Best Plus500 72 -20
Proprietary platform i
MetaTrader 4 i
MetaTrader 5 i
cTrader i
Social trading platform i
Copy trading platform i
ZuluTrade i
TradingView i
Duplitrade i
Mirror Trader i
NinjaTrader i
AutoChartist i
Real time pricing i
5 digit pricing i
One-click trading i

Mobile

What we compare A comparison of the mobile apps of Pepperstone and Plus500 in United Kingdom, and of what each one lets you do from your phone.
7 / 12

Pepperstone is better than Plus500 for mobile trading, because Pepperstone offers the cTrader app, the MetaTrader 5 app and the MetaTrader 4 app, which Plus500 does not. Both Pepperstone and Plus500 offer a proprietary mobile app and mobile price alerts.

Mobile
Section score Pepperstone 100 Best Plus500 80 -20
Proprietary app i
Social trading app i
Copy trading app i
MetaTrader 4 app i
MetaTrader 5 app i
cTrader app i
Mobile trading signals i
Mobile alerts i
Mobile charting tools i
Mobile drawing tools i
Mobile watchlist i
Smartwatch app i

Trading features

What we compare A comparison of the trading tools and strategies that Pepperstone and Plus500 allow on their platforms in United Kingdom.
8 / 12

Pepperstone is better than Plus500 for trading features, because Pepperstone offers tier-1 liquidity providers, which Plus500 does not, and allows for scalping and automated trading. Pepperstone and Plus500 both offer negative balance protection and trailing stops.

Trading features
Section score Pepperstone 93 Best Plus500 72 -21
Trade execution
Broker type i NDD Agency
Average execution time i 30 ms
Slippage occurrence i
Requotes occurrence i 0.08%
Tier-1 liquidity providers i
PFOF i
Leverage
Major FX pairs leverage i 30:1 30:1
Minor/Exotic FX pairs leverage i 20:1 20:1
Major indices leverage i 20:1 20:1
Minor indices leverage i 10:1 10:1
Gold leverage i 20:1 20:1
Commodities leverage i 10:1 10:1
Equities leverage i 5:1 5:1
Cryptocurrency leverage i
Risk management
Stop losses i
Take profits i
Limit orders i
Trailing stop i
Margin call i
OCO orders i
Guaranteed stop loss i
Negative balance protection i
Minimum trade size (FX) i 0.01 lots 0.01 lots
Minimum trade size (stocks) i USD 0 USD 0
Fractional stocks i
Trading compliance
Scalping strategies allowed i
Hedging strategies allowed i
Automated trading strategy allowed i
EAs use allowed i
HFT strategy allowed i
VPS use allowed i
API use allowed i
Price scraping allowed i
FIFO rule applies i

Account types

What we compare A comparison of the kinds of account you can open at Pepperstone and at Plus500 in United Kingdom, and of who each one is meant for.
9 / 12

Pepperstone is better than Plus500 for account types, since Pepperstone offers a corporate account, an ECN account and a copy trading account, which Plus500 does not. Pepperstone and Plus500 both offer a demo account and a professional traders account.

Account types
Section score Pepperstone 75 Best Plus500 51 -24
Demo account i
Unlimited demo account i
Standard account i
Micro account i
Cent account i
Nano account i
Raw spread account i
ECN account i
Swap-free account i
Islamic account i
Professional traders account i
Fixed spread account i
Spread betting account i
Copy trading account i
Corporate account i
Managed account i
Stock investing account i
Margin investing account i
Savings account i
Retirement account i

Account opening

What we compare A comparison of what it takes to open and fund an account with Pepperstone and with Plus500 in United Kingdom.
10 / 12

Pepperstone is better than Plus500 for account opening, as Pepperstone does not require a minimum deposit (against Plus500's 100 USD), offers 10 account base currencies (against Plus500's 3), and offers local payment methods, which Plus500 does not. Pepperstone and Plus500 both offer credit cards and debit cards.

Account opening
Section score Pepperstone 80 Best Plus500 72 -8
Minimum deposit i USD 0 USD 100
Minimum withdrawal i USD 0 USD 0
Wire transfers i
Credit cards i
Debit cards i
eWallets i PayPal, Skrill
Local payment methods i
Account base currencies i AUD, CAD, CHF, EUR, GBP, HKD, JPY, NZD, SGD, USD AUD, EUR, USD
Deposit waiting time i up to 1 business days up to 1 business days
Withdrawal waiting time i up to 1 business days up to 1 business days
Bonus program i

Customer care

What we compare A comparison of the customer support of Pepperstone and Plus500 in United Kingdom, in how it can be reached and how fast it answers.
11 / 12

Pepperstone is better than Plus500 for customer care, because Pepperstone offers a dedicated account manager, phone support and priority support, which Plus500 does not. Both Pepperstone and Plus500 offer live chat and email support.

Customer care
Section score Pepperstone 73 Best Plus500 58 -15
Number of languages supported i 10 29
Website languages i Arabic, English, Italian, Korean, Polish, Russian, Spanish, Vietnamese, Chinese Arabic, Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, German, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, Hebrew, Croatian, Hungarian, Icelandic, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Malay, Dutch, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, Chinese
Website available in English i
Customer support languages i Arabic, English, Italian, Korean, Polish, Russian, Spanish, Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese Arabic, Bulgarian, Czech, Danish, German, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, Hebrew, Croatian, Hungarian, Icelandic, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Malay, Dutch, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, Chinese
Customer support in English i
Call back request i
Email support i
Phone support i
Live chat i
Priority customer support i
Dedicated account manager i
Cash sweep i
Stock lending i
Distributes proceeds i
Tax withholding agent i
Tax assistance i

Learning

What we compare A comparison of the educational material that Pepperstone and Plus500 provide to their clients in United Kingdom.
12 / 12

Pepperstone is better than Plus500 for learning, as Pepperstone offers daily market commentary and an economic calendar, which Plus500 does not. Pepperstone and Plus500 both offer education for advanced traders and webinars.

Learning
Section score Pepperstone 88 Best Plus500 75 -13
Education
Education center i
Education for beginners i
Education for advanced traders i
Webinars i
Tutorials i
Glossary i
Research
Economic calendar i
Traders' sentiment i
Daily market commentary i
Daily trading ideas i
News via social media i
Professional reports i
Watchlist i
Pepperstone
Open Account 89% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.
Plus500
Open Account CFD service. 82% of retail investor accounts lose money
Our verdict

Pepperstone vs Plus500: which one should you choose?

Pepperstone

CFD Choose Pepperstone if you want a CFD and forex broker for scalping and for automated trading, with several trading platforms.

Open Account 89% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.
Plus500

CFD Choose Plus500 if you want an online CFD broker with a guaranteed stop loss and conditions for high-volume traders.

Open Account CFD service. 82% of retail investor accounts lose money

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