Pepperstone and CMC Markets are two popular forex and CFD brokers that offer online trading services to traders and investors worldwide. Both brokers are regulated by top-tier regulatory authorities. Pepperstone is regulated by three Tier-1, two Tier-2, and two Tier-4 jurisdictions, including FCA, ASIC, CySEC, DFSA, CMA, and SCB. On the other hand, the CMC Markets is regulated by Five Tier-1 jurisdictions, including FCA, MAS, ASIC, IIROC, and FMA. These two brokers offer similar services. However, each broker has its strengths and weaknesses.
In this article, we will compare Pepperstone with CMC Markets regarding trading platforms, regulations, tradable assets, fees, customer support, and overall trading experience score. We will also explore if Pepperstone is better than CMC Markets and vice versa. This comparison lets you understand which broker is better for your trading style and preferences.
Pepperstone vs CMC Markets: In a Nutshell
Pepperstone
Founded in 2010; Pepperstone is an Australian-based forex and CFD broker that offers online trading services globally. The broker gives you access to trade more than 1200 forex/CFDs on its powerful platforms; MT4, MT5, cTrader, and TradingView. With its technological infrastructure, Pepperstone offers lightning-speed executions, multiple trading tools, and low trading fees. It is regulated in 7 jurisdictions and boasts of over 400,000 clients from all over the world.
Pepperstone At a Glance
- Founded In: 2010
- Founder: Owen Kerr and Joe Davenport
- Headquarters : Melbourne, Australia,
- Minimum Deposit: None (However, Pepperstone recommends $200 or equivalent for margin requirements.
- Maximum Leverage: Upto 30:1 for ASIC, CySEC, FCA, BaFin, and DFSA jurisdictions, 400:1 for CMA, 200:1 for SCB, and 500:1 for Professional Accounts
- Regulations: FCA, ASIC, CySEC, BaFIN, DFSA, CMA, and SCB
- Trading platform: MT4, MT5, cTrader, TradingView
- Account Types: Standard, Standard (cTrader/MetaTrader 4&5), Razor (MT4, MT5, cTrader & TradingView)
- Trading Styles: All including Scalping, Hedging, News Trading, EA Trading
- Payment Options: Bank Wire (BankTransfer/SWIFT), VISA, MasterCard, BPAY, Local Bank Transfers, M-Pesa, Neteller, PayPal, Poli, Skrill, UnionPay
- US Clients: Not Accepted
CMC Markets
Founded in 1989, CMC Markets is a publicly traded broker (Ticker: CMCX). The broker is regulated in the UK, Australia, Canada, and Singapore. It offers over 9800 trading instruments, including Forex, Indices, Cryptocurrencies, Shares & ETFs, and Commodities. There is no minimum deposit requirement on IC Markets; you may deposit as low as $1. CMC Markets allows EA trading and news trading. The broker uses the most popular trading platform, MetaTrader (MT4), as its trading platform. To learn more, you can read our review about CMC Markets.
- Founded In: 1989
- Minimum Deposit: $0
- Maximum Leverage: 1:500
- Regulations: ASIC
- Trading platform: MT4 , Share trading platforms
- Account Types: SPREAD BETTING, Fx Active, CFD Trading
- Payment Options: Bank Wire (BankTransfer/SWIFT), VISA, MasterCard
- US Traders: Not Accept
Pepperstone vs CMC Markets: Features
Pepperstone:
- Trading Instruments: 1250+Trading instruments including Forex, Commodities, Cryptocurrencies, Shares/Stocks CFDs, etc
- Maximum leverage: 1:30 for retail traders of ASIC, CySEC, FCA, and BaFin jurisdictions, 1:200 for SCB Jurisdiction, 1:400 for CMA Jurisdiction, and 1:500 for professional traders.
- Minimum Deposit: No Minimum Deposit. However, Pepperstone recommends $200 or equivalent for the margin requirement.
- Account Types: Two ( Standard account, Razor Account)
- Trading Fees: Spread starting from 1 pip for Standard Account or Commission 3.00 to 3.50 per lot for Razor Account on a Single Trip.
- PAMM/ MAM: Available
- Scalping: Allowed
- News Trading: Allowed
- EA/ Robot Trading: Allowed
CMC Markets:
- Trading Instruments: 12000+ trading instruments including forex, indices, Cryptocurrencies, Commodities, Shares, Share baskets, Treasuries, etc
- Maximum leverage: Up to 30:1 ( FCA, ASIC), up to 1:50 (IIROC), and up to 500:1 for a professional account.
- Minimum Deposit: No Minimum Deposit. However, Pepperstone recommends $200 or equivalent for the margin requirement.
- Account Types: Three (Spread Betting Account, CFD Account, Corporate Account)
- Trading Fees: only Spread is charged (Commission is only for Shares account). Variable spreads from 0.3 pips. A rollover commission is applied on open positions overnight. For the Shares account commission starts from $7.
- PAMM/ MAM: Not Available
- Scalping: Allowed
- News Trading: Allowed
- EA/ Robot Trading: Allowed
Pepperstone vs CMC Markets: Pros and Cons
Pepperstone
- Regulated in 7 Reputed Jurisdictions (FCA in the UK, CySEC in Cyprus, ASIC in Australia, BaFin in Germany, DFSA in Dubai, CMA in Kenya, and SCB in the Bahamas)
- Fast order execution (fast execution on an average of 30 ms)
- Competitive spread starting from 0.0 pips
- Segregated clients fund with tire 1 bank
- No Inactivity Fees
- Attractive Trading Conditions
- Wide Range of Instruments Offered
- Fast and full online account opening
- MT4 Smart trader tools, Autochartist, Capitalise.ai, and free VPS are some of the trading tools available.
- US Traders not allowed
- Only CFDs are Offered
- No cent/Micro Account
- Minimum deposit 200
- Support works only 24/5
- Limited account protection for non-U.K./E.U. clients
- No guaranteed Stop loss
- 30-day expiry for demo accounts
CMC Markets
- Regulated by FCA, ASIC, IIROC, MAS, FMA
- Founded in 1989, CMC Markets is publicly traded company
- The minimum deposit is as low as $1
- Comparatively low spread starting from 0.7 pips
- Allows news trading, EA/Robot trading
- Extensive range of tradable assets
- Excellent education and research resources
- Offered only MT4, no MT5, cTrader trading platforms
- Maximum leverage is only 1:300
- No passive investment programme or social trading platforms ( No PAMM, MAM accounts)
- Does not accept US clients
- Only CFD Trading
- High CFD spreads for certain Indices
- Spread betting only for UK residents
Pepperstone vs CMC Markets: Side-by-Side Comparison
Pepperstone Vs CMC Markets: Our Scores and Ratings
We rated both brokers, Pepperstone and CMC Markets, on a scale of 1 to 10, with 0.1 increments. To achieve a comprehensive rating, we broadly grouped all services offered by brokers into 6 macro categories and assigned percentage weights to them. Each macro category is subdivided into several data points which contributes to the total score of 1.0-10.0 assigned to each macro category. Since all categories are not equally important, our weight percentage plays a significant role in assessing the broker accurately. For example, Regulation and Security contributes a total weight of 40% to the whole ratings because this is the most important rating category. To learn more, read our methodology.
Pepperstone :
CMC Markets:
Final Verdict :
Pepperstone and CMC Markets are regulated forex and CFD brokers in the industry. Both offer similar trading services; they allow scalping, hedging, EA trading, and Copy trading EA. The minimum order size for both is 0.01. Neither broker requires a minimum deposit. However, Pepperstone recommends having $200 for margin requirements.
There are a few areas where you may find some differences. For example, Pepperstone is an Australia-based online forex and CFD broker, while CMC Markets is a UK-based forex and CFD broker that also offers shares trading services.The maximum leverage for Pepperstone is 500:1 for professional traders and 200:1 for retail traders, while for CMC Markets, it is 500:1 for professional accounts. Pepperstone offers passive investment programs like MAM and PAMM, whereas CMC Markets does not offer any passive investment programs.
Our score for Pepperstone is 9.4, and for CMC Markets, it is 9.0. Therefore, if you are looking for the most trusted forex brokers with MAM and PAMM services, you may choose Pepperstone. However, if you prefer a UK-based forex broker that offers similar trading services, you may choose CMC Markets.”
Disclaimer: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. Between 74-89 % of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money
