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Scores, winners and data below compare these brokers as CFD/FX brokers (leveraged trading on forex, indices, commodities and crypto), using the data of Interactive Brokers' UK entity and Pepperstone's UK entity. Scores, winners and data below compare these brokers as stock brokers (real shares and ETFs you own outright), using the data of Interactive Brokers' UK entity and Pepperstone's UK entity.

Best overall

Interactive Brokers

CFDCFD Interactive Brokers 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 Interactive Brokers offers forex trading: currency pairs such as EUR/USD, traded with leverage. Forex is rated together with CFDs, on the CFD/FX side. StocksStocks Interactive Brokers lets you buy real assets that you own outright. Switch the comparison to Stocks to rate it on that. Regulated in your country Interactive Brokers is allowed by FCA to onboard clients residing in the UK.
Interactive Brokers review ›
86CFD/FXOverall score Interactive Brokers scores 86/100 for CFD/FX trading. The overall score is calculated from the data in this comparison across 12 areas. 85StocksOverall score Interactive Brokers scores 85/100 for stock investing. The overall score is calculated from the data in this comparison across 12 areas.
Open Account

57.9% 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. Regulated in your country Pepperstone is allowed by FCA to onboard clients residing in the UK.
Pepperstone review ›
85CFD/FXOverall score Pepperstone scores 85/100 for CFD/FX trading. The overall score is calculated from the data in this comparison across 12 areas. not offeredStocksOverall 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

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 Interactive Brokers and Pepperstone are best suited to, based on what each one actually offers in United Kingdom.
1 / 12

Interactive Brokers is better than Pepperstone for day traders, long-term investors and futures traders. Professional traders, high-volume traders and scalpers can choose either Interactive Brokers or Pepperstone.

Best for
Overall score Interactive Brokers 86 85 Pepperstone 85 -1 not offered
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 Interactive Brokers and the ones that supervise Pepperstone.
2 / 12

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

Regulation
Section score Interactive Brokers 100 100 Pepperstone 100 not offered
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 Interactive Brokers and Pepperstone have in place to protect your money in United Kingdom.
3 / 12

Both Interactive Brokers and Pepperstone offer segregated client funds and an investor compensation scheme. Interactive Brokers also offers additional money insurance.

Safety
Section score Interactive Brokers 95 Best 95 Pepperstone 78 -17 not offered
Company info
Is it publicly traded i
Is it a bank i
Year founded i 1978 2010
Parent company i IBG LLC Pepperstone Group Limited
CEO i Milan Galik 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 3,337,000 900,000
Annual revenue i USD 6,205,000,000 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 Interactive Brokers and with Pepperstone in United Kingdom, both on each trade and on holding the account.
4 / 12

Interactive Brokers is better than Pepperstone for CFD/FX costs, as Interactive Brokers is cheaper on EUR/USD, at 3.33 USD per lot (against Pepperstone's 9.05 USD), and charges lower US stock CFD fees, at 0.01 USD (against Pepperstone's 0.02 USD). Neither Interactive Brokers nor Pepperstone charges inactivity fees or account maintenance fees.

Interactive Brokers and Pepperstone cannot be compared for real stock costs, because Interactive Brokers is a broker offering both CFDs and stocks while Pepperstone is a CFD broker.

Costs
Section score Interactive Brokers 85 Best 74 Pepperstone 74 -11 not offered
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 4.65 USD 6.1
EUR/USD average standard spread i
0.1 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 3.325 USD 9.05
S&P 500 fees (CFD) i 0.4 points
Gold fees (CFD) i 0.15 points
Bitcoin fees (CFD) i
US stocks fees (CFD) i USD 0.005 USD 0.02
Fees on stocks
Stock fee type i Commission, Percentage Commission, Percentage
US stocks fees (real) i USD 2.1
ETF fees (real) i USD 8.12
Management costs i
Connection costs i
Fees on futures
Futures fees per contract i USD 0.85
Platform fees i
Fees on options
Options fees per contract i USD 0.65
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 Interactive Brokers and with Pepperstone in United Kingdom, and of how many instruments each one gives access to.
5 / 12

Interactive Brokers is better than Pepperstone for CFD/FX markets, because Interactive Brokers gives access to 15,000 tradable symbols (against Pepperstone's 1,444), lets you own bonds, crypto, ETFs, funds, forex and stocks outright, which Pepperstone does not, and offers futures on bonds, commodities, crypto, forex and indices, which Pepperstone does not. Both Interactive Brokers and Pepperstone offer CFDs on commodities, forex, indices and stocks.

Interactive Brokers and Pepperstone cannot be set side by side for real stock markets, as Pepperstone is a CFD broker and does not offer real stocks, unlike Interactive Brokers.

Available markets
Section score Interactive Brokers 100 Best 100 Pepperstone 65 -35 not offered
Total tradable symbols i 15,000 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, Forex, Indices, Stocks Commodities, Forex, Indices, Stocks
Futures i Bonds, Commodities, Crypto, Forex, Indices
Options i Bonds, Commodities, Crypto, ETF, Forex, Indices, Stocks
Assets you can own i Bonds, Crypto, ETF, Funds, Forex, Stocks

Platform

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

Pepperstone is better than Interactive Brokers for platforms, because Pepperstone offers cTrader, MetaTrader 5 and MetaTrader 4, which Interactive Brokers does not. Interactive Brokers and Pepperstone both offer TradingView and one-click trading.

Interactive Brokers and Pepperstone cannot be set side by side for platforms, as Pepperstone is a CFD broker and does not offer real stocks, unlike Interactive Brokers.

Platform
Section score Interactive Brokers 80 -12 80 Pepperstone 92 Best not offered
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 Interactive Brokers and Pepperstone in United Kingdom, and of what each one lets you do from your phone.
7 / 12

Pepperstone is better than Interactive Brokers for mobile trading, since Pepperstone offers the cTrader app, the MetaTrader 5 app and the MetaTrader 4 app, which Interactive Brokers does not. Interactive Brokers and Pepperstone both offer a proprietary mobile app and mobile price alerts.

Pepperstone does not offer real stocks, being a CFD broker, so Interactive Brokers and Pepperstone cannot be compared for mobile trading.

Mobile
Section score Interactive Brokers 80 -20 80 Pepperstone 100 Best not offered
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 Interactive Brokers and Pepperstone allow on their platforms in United Kingdom.
8 / 12

Pepperstone is better than Interactive Brokers for CFD/FX trading features, given that Pepperstone offers VPS hosting, which Interactive Brokers does not. Interactive Brokers and Pepperstone both offer negative balance protection and trailing stops.

Interactive Brokers and Pepperstone cannot be compared for real stock trading features, because Interactive Brokers is a broker offering both CFDs and stocks while Pepperstone is a CFD broker.

Trading features
Section score Interactive Brokers 81 -12 85 Pepperstone 93 Best not offered
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 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 1 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 Interactive Brokers and at Pepperstone in United Kingdom, and of who each one is meant for.
9 / 12

Pepperstone is better than Interactive Brokers for CFD/FX account types, as Pepperstone offers a corporate account, an ECN account and a copy trading account, which Interactive Brokers does not. Both Interactive Brokers and Pepperstone offer a demo account and a professional traders account.

There is no like-for-like comparison for real stock account types, as Pepperstone is a CFD broker and does not offer real stocks.

Account types
Section score Interactive Brokers 54 -21 53 Pepperstone 75 Best not offered
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 Interactive Brokers and with Pepperstone in United Kingdom.
10 / 12

Pepperstone is better than Interactive Brokers for account opening, because Pepperstone offers debit cards and local payment methods, which Interactive Brokers does not. Neither Interactive Brokers nor Pepperstone requires a minimum deposit.

There is no like-for-like comparison for account opening, as Pepperstone is a CFD broker and does not offer real stocks.

Account opening
Section score Interactive Brokers 65 -15 65 Pepperstone 80 Best not offered
Minimum deposit i USD 0 USD 0
Minimum withdrawal i USD 0 USD 0
Wire transfers i
Credit cards i
Debit cards i
eWallets i
Local payment methods i
Account base currencies i AUD, CAD, CHF, CNY, CZK, EUR, GBP, HKD, HUF, JPY, MXN, NOK, NZD, RUB, SEK, SGD, USD AUD, CAD, CHF, EUR, GBP, HKD, JPY, NZD, SGD, 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 Interactive Brokers and Pepperstone in United Kingdom, in how it can be reached and how fast it answers.
11 / 12

Pepperstone is better than Interactive Brokers for customer care, given that Pepperstone offers customer support in 10 languages (against Interactive Brokers' 8), has a website in 9 languages (against Interactive Brokers' 8), and offers a dedicated account manager, which Interactive Brokers does not. Both Interactive Brokers and Pepperstone offer phone support and live chat.

Interactive Brokers and Pepperstone cannot be compared for customer care, because Interactive Brokers is a broker offering both CFDs and stocks while Pepperstone is a CFD broker.

Customer care
Section score Interactive Brokers 58 -15 58 Pepperstone 73 Best not offered
Number of languages supported i 8 10
Website languages i German, English, French, Italian, Japanese, Russian, Spanish, Chinese Arabic, English, Italian, Korean, Polish, Russian, Spanish, Vietnamese, Chinese
Website available in English i
Customer support languages i German, English, French, Italian, Japanese, Russian, Spanish, 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 Interactive Brokers and Pepperstone provide to their clients in United Kingdom.
12 / 12

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

Pepperstone does not offer real stocks, being a CFD broker, so Interactive Brokers and Pepperstone cannot be compared for learning.

Learning
Section score Interactive Brokers 92 Best 92 Pepperstone 88 -4 not offered
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
Interactive Brokers
Open Account 57.9% 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

Interactive Brokers vs Pepperstone: which one should you choose?

Interactive Brokers

CFD/FX Choose Interactive Brokers if you want an online CFD broker with low trading costs and a wide choice of markets.

Stocks Choose Interactive Brokers if you want a broker for securities investing with a wide choice of markets.

Open Account 57.9% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.
Pepperstone

CFD/FX Choose Pepperstone if you want a CFD and forex broker with cTrader, copy trading and VPS hosting.

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

Other popular comparisons

Below are other head-to-head comparisons that include Interactive Brokers or Pepperstone, each scored with the same data and method as this page.

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