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Pepperstone Review 2024: Pros, Cons & Fees
Luis Clark
- URL: https://pepperstone.com
- N/A (Pepperstone does not set minimum deposits - up to the user)
- Maximum Leverage: Up to 500:1
- Platform App: Desktop/Mobile/Web
- No. of Cryptos: 20+ (Bitcoin, Dogecoin, Solana, Ethereum, Avalanche)
- Fiats Available: USD, EUR, CAD, HKD, NZD, SGD, CHF, AUD, GBP, and JPY
- Withdraw Method: Credit card, debit card, PayPal, MPESA, and bank transfer
- Payment Method: Credit card, debit card, PayPal, MPESA, and bank transfer
- Trading Fees: Up to 1 pip spread markup, $3.50 in commissions per 7 round USD turn
- Headquarter: Melbourne, Australia
- Year Founded: 2010
- Promotion: Referral bonus ($100)
Pepperstone Review: Our Opinion
Pepperstone is one of the leading beginner-friendly brokers for trading cryptocurrency CFDs.
It supports a small number of popular crypto CFDs, which gives the newbie an opportunity in trading CFDs. However, advanced users will find the number of digital assets supported by the trading platform limiting.
Pepperstone also supports popular payment methods and trading platforms, which make adding funds for Forex and cryptocurrency CFD trading seamless.
Important Risk Warning: Investing in and/or trading CFDs, financial instruments, commodities, and other assets involves a significant level of risk. There is a possibility of losing all the funds you have deposited. Prior to engaging in any such activity, it is essential that you fully understand and acknowledge the associated risks. Please be advised that Skrumble.com does not offer investment or any other form of advice. The information provided in our review should not be construed as financial advice in any way.
An Overview of Pepperstone Review
Founded in 2010, Pepperstone was created by a team of experienced Forex traders that shared the goal of improving the online trading space.
Pepperstone has experienced tremendous growth since its launch and is currently one of the largest MetaTrader Forex brokers in the world.
It processes an average of $12.55bn of trades daily and is used by more than 400,000 traders globally.
In addition, Pepperstone supports over 1,200 financial instruments across commodities, forex, shares, indices, and much more.
The Pepperstone forex broker holds multiple regulation licenses including CYSEC, FCA, ASIC, DFSA, BAFIN, and CMA, with its offices in Kenya, Dubai, London, Melbourne, Cyprus, and Düsseldorf.
Pros
- Beginner-friendly
- Well-regulated
- Supports more than 1200 instruments
Cons
- A limited number of supported cryptocurrencies
- Not for advanced traders
Key Features of Pepperstone Review
Pepperstone Razor Account
The Razor account is designed for advanced traders looking for lower spreads, faster execution speeds, and a wider range of features.
It is popular among algorithmic traders, scalpers, and advanced traders who want to run Expert Advisors.
The account is only available to Pepperstone users in Europe, the United Kingdom, and Australia.
Pepperstone Razor Account uses some of the largest liquidity providers in the world to fill orders. It uses cTrader and gives users access to raw spreads from 0.0 pips. However, as with most Fx brokers offering raw interbank spreads, the account comes with commissions (fees).
The average USD/EUR spread is 0.0 – 0.3 pips, the leverage goes as high as 400:1, and the trading size is between 0.01 lots to 100 lots.
Scalping and hedging are permitted in razor accounts.
Other advantages of the razor account include negative balance protection, lightning-fast trade execution and no requotes or rejections.
Traders also have access to several trading platforms including cTrader, MT4, and MT5.
A major downside of the Pepperstone Razor account is that losses made with a smaller pip value are often exaggerated.
But as already stated, all traders are protected with negative balance protection which prevents their accounts from going into negative, protecting against excessive, unlimited loss of capital.
Pepperstone achieves this using a stop-out when equity falls below 50% and a margin call warning system when the trader’s equity falls below 90%.
Pepperstone Razor Accounts deliver tight spreads to traders by charging traders a low, fixed commission for each lot traded instead of widening the spreads to recover their costs.
Pepperstone Razor Account offers the same competitive spread costs to traders irrespective of the trading platforms they are using (MT4, MT5, cTrader, and/or TradingView).
Active Trader Program
The Pepperstone Active Trader program enables users to earn forex cash rebates based on their trading volumes and saves on trading commissions.
The rebate earned is determined by how many standard lots each trader trades every month. The more the trades, the higher the rebate.
Below is the rebate per FX lot based on the trade volume:
Tier 1
- Discount per FX Lot: $1
- Spread Reduction: 10%
- FX Lots: <200
- Commodities Lot: <400
- Index Lot: <2000
- Typical Monthly Rebate: $70-$140
Tier 2
- Discount per FX Lot: $2
- Spread Reduction: 20%
- FX Lots: 200 < 1500
- Commodities Lot: 400 < 3000
- Index Lot: 2000 <15,000
- Typical Monthly Rebate: $200-500
Tier 3
- Discount per FX Lot: $3
- Spread Reduction: 30%
- FX Lots: > 1501
- Commodities Lot : > 3,001
- Index Lot: >15,001
- Tier 1 is only applicable to Pepperstone Pro clients.
Forex rebates are paid daily and directly into active Traders’ trading accounts the day after a position is closed.
To remain a member of the Active Trader program, traders must meet the volume requirement over 3 months.
Asides from the Forex rebate and savings on trading commissions, Active Traders also enjoy the following benefits:
- VPS Hosting: Active traders enjoy a complimentary VPS hosting solution that allows them to run automated trading strategies by taking advantage of Pepperstone’s low Latency EDGE infrastructure.
- Priority Client Support: As an active trader, you are assigned a dedicated account manager who will offer you premium client solutions and guidance.
- Advanced Insight and Reports: Active Traders enjoy exclusive market insights from daily Autochartist signals and Pepperstone’s market analysis. They also enjoy all the MT4 and MT5 functionality as well as trade reporting.
Pepperstone traders who wish to join the Active Trader program can do so by contacting their account manager or sending an email to premium@pepperstone.com.
Traders who meet the monthly trading volume of one asset class or symbol receive trading cost discounts of the tier.
The volume-based discount is calculated as a percentage of the spread or commission based on the volume of trades made.
Traders are required to meet the volume requirements over 3 months to remain members of the Active Trader program.
The level of rebates received is dependent on how many standard FX lots the trader has traded in the previous month or current month.
The minimum entry-level requirement for the Active Trader is 200 lots in FX volume traded monthly.
Traders who meet the entry-level requirements are entitled to rebates of 15% of Pepperstone’s base commission per lot of FX volume trade.
Pepperstone only pays rebates to trading activities on Razor accounts.
The trading activities must be about FX minor, FX majors, FX exotics, and FX crosses. The trades must also not be linked to an IB.
Rebate entitlements are paid daily into members’ trading accounts for eligible trades that were closed the previous day. All rebates are paid in the same currency as the trading account base currency.
Pepperstone reviews the trading activity and program eligibility each month. Traders who have consistently exceeded the trading volume set may be entitled to a rebate increase. Also, traders who wish to be considered for a higher rebate amount sooner can get in touch with the Pepperstone team via email at premium@pepperstone.com.
The team will relay the outcome of the application to the trader within 7 days.
To maintain eligibility and keep receiving rebates, traders need to maintain an average of the required FX volume over 3 months or the equivalent in notional volume across all instruments including CFDs.
That said, traders who do not maintain the required trading activity will have their account downgraded to the entry-level rebate entitlement.
Traders who have already received entry-level entitlements will be removed from the program.
Eligible Commodities and indices instruments available under the Active Trader program include the following Spot Crude commodities, Cocoa Commodities, Spot Brent Commodities, XAGEUR Commodity, XAGUSD Commodity, XAGAUD Commodity, Coffee Commodity, Cotton Commodity, Sugar Commodity, Orange Juice Commodity, etc.
Algorithmic Trading
Algorithmic trading is also known as automated trading or algotrading. Algorithmic trading involves the use of algorithms to operate and automate traders’ predefined commands.
Pepperstone supports algorithmic trading via its API. The Application Programming Interface trading technology is perfect for algorithmic traders who are interested in automating trading systems or developing their custom-built systems.
Aside from the fact that Algorithmic trading allows traders to automate their trades, this trading technique offers several benefits.
A major benefit of algorithmic trading is that it eliminates emotions in the trading processes. The algorithm is configured when the trader has focus and perspective, the algorithm then executes the decisions on behalf of the trader at the set time. This minimizes the risk of self-sabotage as a result of emotion.
This method of trading also allows algorithmic traders to look at multiple possible outcomes and backtest each strategy to see which is the most effective.
With automated trading, Algorithmic traders can also spend time away from trading activities without consequences.
Since the algorithm reacts to market changes in rapid succession and executes the trader’s command, all the trader needs to do is periodically check their positions.
Pepperstone algorithmic traders also enjoy access to multiple liquidity providers. This ensures that the trades are executed at the best available price.
Pepperstone Review: Cryptocurrencies Available and Other Assets on Pepperstone
Pepperstone supports over 20 crypto CFDs. Supported cryptocurrency CFDs include Bitcoin, Ethereum, Avalanche, Dogecoin, Solana, etc.
It also supports several commodities including Energies, Metals, and Soft. Available commodities include Gasoline, Spotbrent, Nat Gas, Spot Crude, etc.
Pepperstone users can trade over 61 Forex currency pairs, about 64 stock CFDs, 14 indices, and several currency Index CFDs.
Pepperstone Review: Fees and Spreads
Pepperstone Spreads
For Forex trading instruments Pepperstone charges the following spreads:
- On the EURUSD (Euro vs US Dollar) pair Pepperstone charges 0 spreads on its Razor accounts and a minimum of 1.00 pip on its Standard account.
- The GBPUSD (Great Britain Pound vs US Dollar) trading pair attracts 0 spreads on the Razor account and a minimum of 1.00 pip on the Standard account.
- On the USDJPY (US Dollar vs Japanese Yen) Pepperstone charges 0 spread on the Razor account and a minimum of 1.00 pip on the Standard account.
- The AUDUSD (Australian Dollar vs US Dollar) attracts a 0 spread on Razor accounts and a minimum of 1.00 pip on Standard accounts.
- USDCAD (US Dollar vs Canadian Dollar) attracts a minimum of 0.10 pip and 1.10 on the Razor and Standard accounts respectively.
- The USDCHF (US Dollar vs Swiss Franc) pair has a minimum spread of 0 and 1.00 on Razor and Standard accounts.
- EURGBP (Euro vs Great Britain Pound) attracts a 0.20 minimum spread on Razor accounts and a 1.20 minimum spread on Standard accounts.
For crypto CFDs, Pepperstone charges the following via spreads:
- BTCUSD (Bitcoin vs US Dollar): Minimum spread of 15.00
- BCHUSD (Bitcoin Cash vs US Dollar): Minimum spread of 5.00
- ADAUSD (Cardano vs US Dollar): Minimum spread of 4.00
- LINKUSD (Chainlink vs US Dollar): Minimum spread of 2.30
- DASHUSD (Dash vs US Dollar): Minimum spread of 20:00
- DOGEUSD (Dogecoin vs US Dollar): Minimum spread of 4.00
- SOLUSD (Solana VA US Dollar): Minimum spread of 2.10
- AVAXUSD (Avalanche vs US Dollar): Minimum spread of 3.90
- MATICUSD (Polygon vs US Dollar): Minimum spread of 3.10
- BNBUSD (Binance Coin vs US Dollar): Minimum spread of 7.40
- ETHUSD (Ethereum vs US Dollar): Minimum spread of 3.00
- LTCUSD (Litecoin vs US Dollar): Minimum spread of 2.50
- UNIUSD (Uniswap vs US Dollar): Minimum spread of 7.00
- DOTUSD (Polkadot vs US Dollar): Minimum spread of 3.00
Pepperstone Commissions
The broker only charges commissions on Razor accounts when trading CFDs in Forex and these charges differ based on the trading platform used to execute trades. Other accounts charge fees only in the form of spreads (buy/sell price difference).
MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5
Trading account currency: USD
- The commission per 0.01 lots (1,000 base currency): USD 0.04 (USD 0.08 round turn)
- The commission per 1 lot (100,000 base currency): USD 3.50 (USD 7 round turn)
For GBP trading account currency the commission for 1 standard Forex lot per side is £2.25.
Pepperstone also charges commissions on cTrader and TradingView at $3.00 commission per 1 standard Forex lot per side.
For trading accounts not in USD, Pepperstone will convey US$3.00 at the spot rate to your account currency. Also, commissions on CFD trades less than 1 lot are adjusted proportionally.
Pepperstone Review: Payment Methods
Pepperstone supports the following payment methods: Credit and debit cards (Visa and MasterCard), bank transfers, PayPal, Skrill, and Union Pay.
Credit card and debit card deposits are free and reflected immediately in your account. And you can also withdraw directly to your added card, which takes 1 to 3 working days.
Bank transfers are also free of charge (Pepperstone won’t charge you deposit fees), however, this deposit method is subject to charges from your financial institution. Deposits via this payment method take 1 to 3 working days to reflect on the trading platform.
Bank transfer withdrawals also take 1 to 3 working days.
PayPal deposits are charge-free and reflect immediately. Withdrawals via PayPal take 1 to 3 working days.
The available fiat currencies for deposits include GBP, USD, CHF, and EUR.
It is important to note that the Pepperstone trading platform cannot, like most Forex and CFD trading platforms, accept third-party payments.
So you would want to ensure that all deposits come from bank accounts in the name registered on the Pepperstone trading platform.
You can also request to transfer funds from other trading platforms via the broker-to-broker feature as long as the crypto CFD trading platform is FCA regulated and based in the United Kingdom.
Pepperstone Review: Security
Pepperstone is a regulated broker and holds several awards in the industry.
It is licensed in several countries including the United Kingdom, Australia, Europe, and the United Arab Emirates.
European clients are protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme which compensates customers with up to £85,000 in case Pepperstone goes bankrupt.
All funds in clients’ trading accounts are stored in segregated accounts at regulated banks within the European Union.
This ensures that the client’s funds are not used for internal financial operations. Pepperstone does not use clients’ funds for hedging trades with other counterparties and its creditors do not have change or retention over clients’ money.
To ensure continuous financial transparency, Pepperstone is regularly audited by external specialized entities.
Pepperstone Review: Supported Countries
Pepperstone is available to users in over 174 countries. Supported countries include The United Kingdom, Melbourne, Dubai, Kenya, Cyprus, Australia, Nigeria, Dubai, Düsseldorf, etc.
Pepperstone is not available to US traders.
Licenses held by Pepperstone
Pepperstone is licensed by the Financial Conduct Authority, the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission, the Australian Securities, and Investments Commission, and by the MiFID II in Europe (Directive on Markets in Financial Instruments.
It is also licensed by the Dubai Financial Services Authority.
Pepperstone Review: Opening a Pepperstone Account
To open a live Pepperstone account go to https://pepperstone.com and click or tap the blue Trade Now button at the center of the page.
On the page that opens, you’ll need to choose your country of residence in the drop-down menu, and account type (Joint, Company, Individual, or Introducing Broker).
Next, enter your first and last name as it appears on your official identification documents. You will also need to fill in your date of birth, email address, and mobile number, and create a password for login.
Once you’re through, click Continue.
Confirm your email address and you’ll be redirected to the Pepperstone website.
On the next screen, you’ll need to take Pepperstone’s suitability test, which is a short questionnaire that enables the platform for trading crypto CFDs to assess your suitability to engage in the same.
Answer the questions and you’ll see the results immediately.
Next, Pepperstone will request that you confirm your identity by submitting a photo ID (National Identity Card, Birth Certificate, or Passport) and 2 proof of address documents (utility bill and bank statement).
Pepperstone, a Forex and CFD provider, might ask for extra documentation when it comes to trading cryptocurrency CFDs, depending on where you are situated, similar to many other providers in this industry.
Once your application is approved, log in and fund your account to begin trading crypto CFDs.
That’s it! You’ve successfully created a Pepperstone account.
Pepperstone Review: Different Types of Accounts
Pepperstone 2 types of retail investor accounts, Standard and Razor accounts.
The Razor account offers the following features:
- Institutional grade spreads with no markups
- Average EURUSD spread of 0.0 to 0.3 pips
- Commissions from AUD$7 round turn 100,000 (1 standard lot) traded
- Market rates on rollover swaps
- It is best for scalpers and algorithmic traders
The Standard account offers the following features:
- Institutional grade spreads
- Average EURUSD spread with 1.1 pips
- No extra commission charges
- Best for new traders
Pepperstone Review: Trading Experience
Pepperstone caters to both advanced and beginner forex traders.
The broker offers account types for both user types and navigates seamlessly.
It also supports 4 trading platforms, which gives ample options for traders who don’t want to be limited by the regular MetaTrader 4 trading platform.
Pepperstone Review: Different Platforms Used to Trade
Pepperstone supports 4 popular trading platforms, which include:
MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, cTrader, and TradingView.
The broker does not offer a proprietary trading platform.
Pepperstone Review: How to Trade Cryptocurrencies on Pepperstone
Pepperstone allows you to trade crypto CFDs. This means you don’t need to buy to own digital assets but only speculate on the price movements of cryptocurrency CFDs.
To do so launch your preferred trading platform on Pepperstone and choose a crypto pair like ETHUSD and then execute the trade.
Pepperstone Review: Customer Service
Pepperstone offers customer service via Phone, email, and Live Chat.
The customer support team can be contacted 24/7 via phone at +1786 628 1209 and email at support@pepperstone.com.
The platform also has a support center with several support articles.
Pepperstone Review: Customer Satisfaction
Pepperstone is an award-winning broker. It has won several awards with the latest being the “Fastest Execution Broker 2023” awarded by Trading Beast.
Asides from the several awards that attest to the excellence of the platform. Pepperstone customer reviews on third-party review platforms also show that the broker offers good customer service.
Pepperstone Review: Does Pepperstone Offer Education?
Yes, Pepperstone offers an online trading education center targeted primarily at beginners. It covers basic topics like “What is Forex Trading?”, “10 Important Trading Terms to Know”, etc.
The educational resources are delivered via written articles and webinars.
Pepperstone Review: Is Pepperstone Right for You?
Pepperstone is right for beginner and advanced forex and CFD traders looking to trade cryptocurrency CFDs and not own the cryptocurrencies.
Pepperstone Review: Final Thoughts
Pepperstone is a Forex and CFD broker that offers great pricing on its Razor account, especially for high-volume traders. However, its Standard account isn’t as impressive as it comes with wider spreads and fewer features.
That said, both beginners and advanced users will find the platform seamless to use.
FAQ
Most frequent questions and answers
Yes, Pepperstone is a good broker as it has been in operation since 2010 and it is fully regulated in the United Kingdom, Australia, and the European Union.
No, you cannot use Pepperstone as an American citizen.
When you open a Pepperstone account, the broker assures you that your money is safeguarded according to local regulatory requirements. These regulatory requirements include the following:
- Holding your money in a segregated bank account that is regulated in the European Union.
- All client money is distributed across major banks regularly and these banks are assessed by Pepperstone using the risk criteria.
- Pepperstone will not merge your money and its finances/assets.
- The broker does not use your money for hedging trades with other partner institutions.
- Client money is safeguarded against creditors in the event of liquidation.
Pepperstone is regulated primarily by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), with license number 388/20 and registration number 388/20.
In the event of Pepperstone’s liquidation, retail investor accounts users will receive their share of the segregated money returned minus the administration fee for handling and distributing the funds.
An example of a CFD on Bitcoin is BTC/USD. For instance, if the price of BTC/USD is $2,000/2,050, and you purchase 1 CFD of Bitcoin for $2,050, your CFD is worth 1 Bitcoin and the size of the position is $2,050.
CFD trading or contract for difference trading is a method that allows crypto investors to trade and invest in digital assets by participating in a contract between themselves and the broker rather than opening a position straight on a particular financial market. This is not the same as cryptocurrency trading.
The broker and the trader agree to replicate market conditions and then settle the difference between themselves when the position closes.
Crypto CFD trading provides several advantages that do not exist with direct trading like leverage trading access to overseas markets that do not traditionally offer that option.
The working of crypto CFDs typically follows this process; the trader selects a particular digital asset or cryptocurrency which is offered as a crypto CFD by the broker then opens the position and selects parameters such as long or short position, invested amount, leverage, and other parameters depending on the particular program.
Both parties (trader and broker) engage in a contract agreeing on an opening price for the position and whether additional fees like overnight fees are involved.
The position remains open till the trader chooses to close it or it is closed by an automated command such as a stop loss or take profit.
We always try to provide the most accurate information available, and make sure our team follow through.
If you want to know more about our Crypto Exchanges Review Methodology follow the link below
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