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HFM vs Pepperstone: Comparison and Analysis

Written by Filippo Ucchino Fact-Checked by Luca Puddu Publication Date Last Updated
Our verdict · CFD/FX trading

HFM and Pepperstone are two great brokers for scalping and automated trading. However, Pepperstone is the better choice if you are looking for cTrader, TradingView, a proprietary trading platform and more tradable symbols (1,444 against 500), while HFM has micro accounts, which Pepperstone does not offer. HFM is regulated by CySEC and the FCA, with an offshore company registered with the FSA (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines). Pepperstone is regulated by CySEC, BaFin, the FCA, ASIC and the DFSA, with an offshore company regulated by the SCB (Bahamas). HFM charges 10.50 USD per lot to trade EUR/USD, against 9.50 USD at Pepperstone, and both offer a demo account. Pepperstone asks for no minimum deposit at any of its companies, while HFM asks for 5,000.00 USD at its European company, which is reserved for professional clients, and for no minimum deposit at its UK and offshore companies. HFM offers crypto CFDs at its European and offshore companies, while Pepperstone offers them except at its UK company.

HFM

CFDCFD HFM offers CFD trading: leveraged contracts that follow the price of an asset without owning it. Switch the comparison to CFD/FX to rate it on that. FXFX HFM offers forex trading: currency pairs such as EUR/USD, traded with leverage. Forex is rated together with CFDs, on the CFD/FX side.
HFM review ›
84CFD/FXOverall score HFM scores 84/100 for CFD/FX trading. The overall score is calculated from the data in this comparison across 12 areas.
Open Account

70.51% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.

Pepperstone

CFDCFD Pepperstone offers CFD trading: leveraged contracts that follow the price of an asset without owning it. Switch the comparison to CFD/FX to rate it on that. FXFX Pepperstone offers forex trading: currency pairs such as EUR/USD, traded with leverage. Forex is rated together with CFDs, on the CFD/FX side.
Pepperstone review ›
86CFD/FXOverall score Pepperstone scores 86/100 for CFD/FX trading. The overall score is calculated from the data in this comparison across 12 areas.
Open Account

72.9% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.

Best for

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

Pepperstone is better than HFM for high-volume traders. Professional traders, scalpers and swing traders can choose either Pepperstone or HFM.

Best for
Overall score HFM 84 -2 Pepperstone 86
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 HFM and the ones that supervise Pepperstone.
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HFM and Pepperstone are both regulated by top-tier authorities, HFM by CySEC and the FCA (United Kingdom) and Pepperstone by BaFin, CySEC and ASIC (Australia).

Regulation
Section score HFM 100 Pepperstone 100
Tier-1 regulators
ESMA (European Union) i CySEC (Cyprus)
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 HFM and Pepperstone have in place to protect your money in .
3 / 12

Both HFM and Pepperstone offer segregated client funds and two-factor authentication. HFM also offers additional money insurance. Pepperstone also offers an investor compensation scheme.

Safety
Section score HFM 74 -4 Pepperstone 78 Best
Company info
Is it publicly traded i
Is it a bank i
Year founded i 2010 2010
Parent company i HF Markets Group Pepperstone Group Limited
CEO i Domluke Da Silva Tamas Szabo
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 3,500,000 900,000
Annual revenue i USD 13,000,000
Monthly website search traffic i 1.3M monthly visits

Costs

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

Pepperstone is better than HFM for costs, given that Pepperstone is cheaper on EUR/USD, at 9.5 USD per lot (against HFM's 10.5 USD), charges lower US stock CFD fees, at 0.02 USD (against HFM's 0.1 USD), and does not charge inactivity fees, unlike HFM. Neither HFM nor Pepperstone charges account maintenance fees or deposit fees.

Costs
Section score HFM 59 -13 Pepperstone 72 Best
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 6About this value. This is the forex commission per lot at HF Markets (SV) Ltd (registered with FSA). At HFM's other companies: Free (the EU), USD 6 (the UK). USD 7
EUR/USD average standard spread i
1.4 pips
1.1 pips
EUR/USD average raw spread i
0.1 pips
0.1 pips
EUR/USD average fixed spread i
EUR/USD total cost per lot i USD 10.5 USD 9.5
S&P 500 fees (CFD) i 0.4 points 0.47 points
Gold fees (CFD) i 0.32 points 0.5 points
Bitcoin fees (CFD) i USD 39
US stocks fees (CFD) i USD 0.1 USD 0.02
Fees on stocks
Stock fee type i Commission, Percentage Commission, Percentage
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 HFM and with Pepperstone in , and of how many instruments each one gives access to.
5 / 12

There is little between HFM and Pepperstone on available markets. Both HFM and Pepperstone offer CFDs on commodities, crypto, ETFs, forex, indices and stocks. Pepperstone goes a step further, as it gives access to 1,444 tradable symbols (against HFM's 500).

Available markets
Section score HFM 75 Pepperstone 75
Total tradable symbols i 500 1,444
Currency pairs i
Indices i
Commodities i
Stocks i
ETF i
Cryptocurrencies i
Bonds i
Interest rates i
Portfolios i
CFDs i Commodities, Crypto, ETF, Forex, Indices, Stocks Commodities, Crypto, ETF, Forex, Indices, Stocks
Futures i
Options i
Assets you can own i

Platform

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

Pepperstone is better than HFM for platforms, because Pepperstone offers a proprietary platform, cTrader and TradingView, which HFM does not. HFM and Pepperstone both offer MetaTrader 5 and MetaTrader 4.

Platform
Section score HFM 71 -29 Pepperstone 100 Best
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 HFM and Pepperstone in , and of what each one lets you do from your phone.
7 / 12

Pepperstone is better than HFM for mobile trading, given that Pepperstone offers the cTrader app and mobile trading signals, which HFM does not. HFM and Pepperstone both offer a proprietary mobile app and the MetaTrader 5 app.

Mobile
Section score HFM 93 -7 Pepperstone 100 Best
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 HFM and Pepperstone allow on their platforms in .
8 / 12

Pepperstone is better than HFM for trading features, given that Pepperstone allows for high-frequency trading. HFM and Pepperstone both offer negative balance protection and trailing stops.

Trading features
Section score HFM 89 -4 Pepperstone 93 Best
Trade execution
Broker type i NDD NDD
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 2000:1About this value. This is the major fx pairs leverage at HF Markets (SV) Ltd (registered with FSA). At HFM's other companies: 30:1 (the EU, the UK). 30:1About this value. This is the major fx pairs leverage at Pepperstone EU Limited (CySEC). At Pepperstone's other companies: 200:1 (the UAE, other accepted countries), 30:1 (the EU, Australia, the UK).
Minor/Exotic FX pairs leverage i 2000:1About this value. This is the minor/exotic fx pairs leverage at HF Markets (SV) Ltd (registered with FSA). At HFM's other companies: 20:1 (the EU, the UK). 20:1About this value. This is the minor/exotic fx pairs leverage at Pepperstone EU Limited (CySEC). At Pepperstone's other companies: 200:1 (the UAE, other accepted countries), 20:1 (the EU, Australia, the UK).
Major indices leverage i 1000:1About this value. This is the major indices leverage at HF Markets (SV) Ltd (registered with FSA). At HFM's other companies: 20:1 (the EU, the UK). 20:1About this value. This is the major indices leverage at Pepperstone EU Limited (CySEC). At Pepperstone's other companies: 200:1 (the UAE, other accepted countries), 20:1 (the EU, Australia, the UK).
Minor indices leverage i 500:1About this value. This is the minor indices leverage at HF Markets (SV) Ltd (registered with FSA). At HFM's other companies: 10:1 (the EU, the UK). 10:1About this value. This is the minor indices leverage at Pepperstone EU Limited (CySEC). At Pepperstone's other companies: 100:1 (the UAE, other accepted countries), 10:1 (the EU, Australia, the UK).
Gold leverage i 2000:1About this value. This is the gold leverage at HF Markets (SV) Ltd (registered with FSA). At HFM's other companies: 20:1 (the EU, the UK). 20:1About this value. This is the gold leverage at Pepperstone EU Limited (CySEC). At Pepperstone's other companies: 200:1 (the UAE, other accepted countries), 20:1 (the EU, Australia, the UK).
Commodities leverage i 500:1About this value. This is the commodities leverage at HF Markets (SV) Ltd (registered with FSA). At HFM's other companies: 10:1 (the EU, the UK). 10:1About this value. This is the commodities leverage at Pepperstone EU Limited (CySEC). At Pepperstone's other companies: 50:1 (the UAE, other accepted countries), 10:1 (the EU, Australia, the UK).
Equities leverage i 5:1 5:1About this value. This is the equities leverage at Pepperstone EU Limited (CySEC). At Pepperstone's other companies: 20:1 (the UAE, other accepted countries), 5:1 (the EU, Australia, the UK).
Cryptocurrency leverage i 1000:1About this value. This is the cryptocurrency leverage at HF Markets (SV) Ltd (registered with FSA). At HFM's other companies: 2:1 (the EU). 2:1About this value. This is the cryptocurrency leverage at Pepperstone EU Limited (CySEC). At Pepperstone's other companies: 20:1 (the UAE, other accepted countries), 2:1 (the EU, Australia).
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 HFM and at Pepperstone in , and of who each one is meant for.
9 / 12

HFM is better than Pepperstone for account types, given that HFM offers a managed account, an unlimited demo account and a micro account, which Pepperstone does not. Both HFM and Pepperstone offer a demo account and a professional traders account.

Account types
Section score HFM 97 Best Pepperstone 75 -22
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 HFM and with Pepperstone in .
10 / 12

HFM is better than Pepperstone for account opening, because HFM supports 2 e-wallets (against Pepperstone's 1), and offers a bonus program, which Pepperstone does not. Neither HFM nor Pepperstone requires a minimum deposit.

Account opening
Section score HFM 80 Best Pepperstone 70 -10
Minimum deposit i USD 0About this value. This is the minimum deposit at HF Markets (SV) Ltd (registered with FSA). At HFM's other companies: USD 5,000 (the EU), USD 0 (the UK). USD 0
Minimum withdrawal i USD 0 USD 0
Wire transfers i
Credit cards i
Debit cards i
eWallets i Neteller, Skrill PayPalAbout this value. This is the ewallets at Pepperstone EU Limited (CySEC). It is different at Pepperstone's companies in the UAE, Australia and other accepted countries.
Local payment methods i
Account base currencies i EUR, USDAbout this value. This is the account base currencies at HF Markets (SV) Ltd (registered with FSA). It is different at HFM's companies in the UK. GBP, USD, EUR, CHFAbout this value. This is the account base currencies at Pepperstone EU Limited (CySEC). It is different at Pepperstone's companies in the UAE, the EU, other accepted countries and Australia.
Deposit waiting time i up to 1 business days up to 1 business days
Withdrawal waiting time i up to 2 business days up to 1 business days
Bonus program i

Customer care

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

HFM and Pepperstone are equally good for customer care, as HFM has a website in 16 languages (against Pepperstone's 9). On the other hand, Pepperstone offers customer support in 10 languages (against HFM's 1). HFM and Pepperstone both offer a dedicated account manager and phone support.

Customer care
Section score HFM 75 Pepperstone 73 -2
Number of languages supported i 16 10
Website languages i Arabic, German, English, French, Indonesian, Italian, Korean, Malay, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Tagalog, Thai, Turkish, Vietnamese, Chinese Arabic, English, Italian, Korean, Polish, Russian, Spanish, Vietnamese, Chinese
Website available in English i
Customer support languages i English Arabic, English, Italian, Korean, Polish, Russian, Spanish, Thai, Vietnamese, 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 HFM and Pepperstone provide to their clients in .
12 / 12

HFM is better than Pepperstone for learning, because HFM offers professional reports, which Pepperstone does not. Both HFM and Pepperstone offer education for advanced traders and webinars.

Learning
Section score HFM 100 Best Pepperstone 88 -12
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
HFM
Open Account 70.51% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.
Pepperstone
Open Account 72.9% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.
Our verdict

HFM vs Pepperstone: which one should you choose?

HFM

CFD/FX Choose HFM if you want an online CFD broker with micro accounts.

Open Account 70.51% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.
Pepperstone

CFD/FX Choose Pepperstone if you want a forex broker with cTrader, TradingView and a wide choice of markets.

Open Account 72.9% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.

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