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IC Markets vs Pepperstone: Comparison and Analysis

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

IC Markets and Pepperstone are two great brokers for scalping and automated trading. However, IC Markets is the better choice if you are looking for a lower EUR/USD cost (7.80 USD per lot against 9.50 USD) and more tradable symbols (2,850 against 1,444), while Pepperstone is better because it has a proprietary trading platform and faster execution (30 ms against 66 ms). IC Markets is regulated by CySEC and ASIC, with an offshore company regulated by the FSA (Seychelles), while Pepperstone is regulated by CySEC, BaFin, the FCA, ASIC and the DFSA, with an offshore company regulated by the SCB (Bahamas). IC Markets and Pepperstone both offer a demo account and allow high-frequency trading strategies. Pepperstone asks for no minimum deposit at any of its companies, while IC Markets asks for 224.00 USD at its European company, 200.00 USD at its Australian company and no minimum deposit at its offshore company. IC Markets offers crypto CFDs at all its companies, while Pepperstone offers them except at its UK company.

IC Markets

CFDCFD IC Markets 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 IC Markets offers forex trading: currency pairs such as EUR/USD, traded with leverage. Forex is rated together with CFDs, on the CFD/FX side.
IC Markets review ›
87CFD/FXOverall score IC Markets scores 87/100 for CFD/FX trading. The overall score is calculated from the data in this comparison across 12 areas.
Open Account

72.52% 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 IC Markets and Pepperstone are best suited to, based on what each one actually offers in .
1 / 12

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

Best for
Overall score IC Markets 87 Pepperstone 86 -1
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 IC Markets and the ones that supervise Pepperstone.
2 / 12

IC Markets and Pepperstone are both regulated by top-tier authorities, IC Markets by CySEC and ASIC (Australia) and Pepperstone by BaFin, CySEC and ASIC (Australia).

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

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

Safety
Section score IC Markets 78 Pepperstone 78
Company info
Is it publicly traded i
Is it a bank i
Year founded i 2007 2010
Parent company i International Capital Markets Pty Ltd Pepperstone Group Limited
CEO i Andrew Budzinski Tamas Szabo
Money safety
Segregated client funds i
Two-factor authentication i
Investor compensation scheme i
Additional money insurance i
Partner bank i Eurobank N/A
Brand power
Number of customers worldwide i 900,000
Annual revenue i USD 13,000,000
Monthly website search traffic i 2.2M monthly visits 1.3M monthly visits

Costs

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

Pepperstone is better than IC Markets for costs, because Pepperstone does not charge inactivity fees, unlike IC Markets, and offers volume discounts, which IC Markets does not. Neither IC Markets nor Pepperstone charges account maintenance fees or deposit fees.

Costs
Section score IC Markets 65 -7 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 7 USD 7
EUR/USD average standard spread i
0.8 pips
1.1 pips
EUR/USD average raw spread i
0.06 pips
0.1 pips
EUR/USD average fixed spread i
EUR/USD total cost per lot i USD 7.8 USD 9.5
S&P 500 fees (CFD) i 0.36 points 0.47 points
Gold fees (CFD) i 0.08 points 0.5 points
Bitcoin fees (CFD) i USD 6.46
US stocks fees (CFD) i USD 0.02 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 Free
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 IC Markets and with Pepperstone in , and of how many instruments each one gives access to.
5 / 12

There is little between IC Markets and Pepperstone on available markets. Both IC Markets and Pepperstone offer CFDs on commodities, crypto, ETFs, forex, indices and stocks. IC Markets has a slight edge, as it gives access to 2,850 tradable symbols (against Pepperstone's 1,444).

Available markets
Section score IC Markets 75 Pepperstone 75
Total tradable symbols i 2,850 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 IC Markets and Pepperstone make available to their clients in .
6 / 12

Pepperstone is better than IC Markets for platforms, given that Pepperstone offers a proprietary platform and AutoChartist, which IC Markets does not. IC Markets and Pepperstone both offer cTrader and MetaTrader 5.

Platform
Section score IC Markets 89 -11 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 IC Markets and Pepperstone in , and of what each one lets you do from your phone.
7 / 12

Pepperstone is better than IC Markets for mobile trading, as Pepperstone offers a social trading app and a copy trading app, which IC Markets does not. Both IC Markets and Pepperstone offer a proprietary mobile app and the cTrader app.

Mobile
Section score IC Markets 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 IC Markets and Pepperstone allow on their platforms in .
8 / 12

There is little between IC Markets and Pepperstone on trading features, as both offer negative balance protection and trailing stops. Pepperstone goes a step further, as it executes orders faster, within 30 ms (against IC Markets' 66 ms).

Trading features
Section score IC Markets 93 Pepperstone 93
Trade execution
Broker type i NDD NDD
Average execution time i 66 ms 30 ms
Slippage occurrence i
Requotes occurrence i 0.08%
Tier-1 liquidity providers i
PFOF i
Leverage
Major FX pairs leverage i 30:1About this value. This is the major fx pairs leverage at IC Markets (EU) Ltd (CySEC). At IC Markets' other companies: 30:1 (Australia), 5000:1 (other accepted countries). 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 20:1About this value. This is the minor/exotic fx pairs leverage at IC Markets (EU) Ltd (CySEC). At IC Markets' other companies: 20:1 (Australia), 5000:1 (other accepted countries). 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 20:1About this value. This is the major indices leverage at IC Markets (EU) Ltd (CySEC). At IC Markets' other companies: 20:1 (Australia), 200:1 (other accepted countries). 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 10:1About this value. This is the minor indices leverage at IC Markets (EU) Ltd (CySEC). At IC Markets' other companies: 10:1 (Australia), 200:1 (other accepted countries). 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 20:1About this value. This is the gold leverage at IC Markets (EU) Ltd (CySEC). At IC Markets' other companies: 20:1 (Australia), 2000:1 (other accepted countries). 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 10:1About this value. This is the commodities leverage at IC Markets (EU) Ltd (CySEC). At IC Markets' other companies: 10:1 (Australia), 1000:1 (other accepted countries). 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 5:1About this value. This is the equities leverage at IC Markets (EU) Ltd (CySEC). At IC Markets' other companies: 5:1 (Australia), 20:1 (other accepted countries). 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 2:1About this value. This is the cryptocurrency leverage at IC Markets (EU) Ltd (CySEC). At IC Markets' other companies: 2:1 (Australia), 500:1 (other accepted countries). 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 IC Markets and at Pepperstone in , and of who each one is meant for.
9 / 12

IC Markets is better than Pepperstone for account types, as IC Markets offers a managed account and an unlimited demo account, which Pepperstone does not. Both IC Markets and Pepperstone offer a demo account and a professional traders account.

Account types
Section score IC Markets 79 Best Pepperstone 75 -4
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 IC Markets and with Pepperstone in .
10 / 12

IC Markets is better than Pepperstone for account opening, since IC Markets offers 10 account base currencies (against Pepperstone's 4), supports 3 e-wallets (against Pepperstone's 1), and credits deposits faster, within the same day (against Pepperstone's 1 day). However, Pepperstone does not require a minimum deposit at all (against IC Markets' 224 USD).

Account opening
Section score IC Markets 85 Best Pepperstone 70 -15
Minimum deposit i USD 224About this value. This is the minimum deposit at IC Markets (EU) Ltd (CySEC). At IC Markets' other companies: USD 200 (Australia), USD 0 (other accepted countries). USD 0
Minimum withdrawal i USD 0 USD 0
Wire transfers i
Credit cards i
Debit cards i
eWallets i PayPal, 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 AUD, CAD, CHF, EUR, GBP, HKD, JPY, NZD, SGD, USDAbout this value. This is the account base currencies at IC Markets (EU) Ltd (CySEC). It is different at IC Markets' companies in Australia. 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 Instant 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 IC Markets and Pepperstone in , in how it can be reached and how fast it answers.
11 / 12

IC Markets is better than Pepperstone for customer care, since IC Markets offers customer support in 17 languages (against Pepperstone's 10), and has a website in 17 languages (against Pepperstone's 9). IC Markets and Pepperstone both offer a dedicated account manager and phone support.

Customer care
Section score IC Markets 87 Best Pepperstone 73 -14
Number of languages supported i 17 10
Website languages i Arabic, Bulgarian, Czech, German, English, French, Croatian, Indonesian, Italian, Korean, Malay, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese Arabic, English, Italian, Korean, Polish, Russian, Spanish, Vietnamese, Chinese
Website available in English i
Customer support languages i Arabic, Bulgarian, Czech, German, English, French, Croatian, Indonesian, Italian, Korean, Malay, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Thai, Vietnamese, Chinese 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 IC Markets and Pepperstone provide to their clients in .
12 / 12

IC Markets is better than Pepperstone for learning, given that IC Markets offers professional reports, which Pepperstone does not. IC Markets and Pepperstone both offer education for advanced traders and webinars.

Learning
Section score IC Markets 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
IC Markets
Open Account 72.52% 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

IC Markets vs Pepperstone: which one should you choose?

IC Markets

CFD/FX Choose IC Markets if you want a forex broker with low trading costs and a wide choice of markets.

Open Account 72.52% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.
Pepperstone

CFD/FX Choose Pepperstone if you want an online CFD broker with a proprietary trading platform and fast execution.

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

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