Pepperstone and Interactive Brokers 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, Interactive Brokers is regulated by eight Tier-1 jurisdictions and two Tier-2 jurisdictions including ASIC, IIROC, MNB, SFC, SEBI,, CBI,, FSA-Japan, MAS, FCA, FINRA, and SEC. These two brokers offer similar services. However, each broker has its strengths and weaknesses.
In this article, we will compare Pepperstone with Interactive Brokers regarding trading platforms, regulations, tradable assets, fees, customer support, and overall trading experience score. We will also explore if Pepperstone is better than Interactive Brokers and vice versa. This comparison lets you understand which broker suits your trading style and preferences better.
Pepperstone vs Interactive Brokers: In a Nutshell
Pepperstone
Founded in 2010 by Owen Kerr and Joe Davenport, Pepperstone is an Australian-based forex and CFD broker that offers online trading services globally. The broker has offices in Melbourne, London, Düsseldorf, Dubai, Limassol, Nassau, and Nairobi. Pepperstone gives you access to trade more than 1,200 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 seven jurisdictions and boasts over 400,000 clients from all over the world. To learn more, you can read our review on Pepperstone, where we have covered its features, pros, cons, ratings, and more
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
Interactive Brokers
Founded in New York, USA in 1978 by Thomas Peterffy, Interactive Brokers has grown into a global brand with over 2.1 million clients. It is an American Multinational brokerage firm headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut. It has become one of the leading online trading solutions for traders, investors, and advisors. The brokers give access to over 5000+ tradable assets including forex, CFDs, warrants, ETFs Options, Futures, Mutual Funds, and Bonds. To trade online, IBKR offers WebTrader, FIX API, MobileTrader (MobileApp), and TWS trading platforms. To learn more about IBKR, you can read our review of Interactive Brokers.
Interactive Brokers Overview
- Founded In: 1978
- Founder: Chairman Thomas Peterffy
- Headquarters: Greenwich, Connecticut, United States
- Minimum Deposit: None
- Maximum Leverage: 500:1
- Regulations: SEC , CFTC ,FCA, FSCS, ASIC , IIROC , FSA
- Trading platform: WebTrader, FIX API, MobileTrader
- Account Types: Family Office Account ,UGMA/UTMA, IRA, Trust ,Joint, Individuals
- Payment Options: Bank Wire (BankTransfer/SWIFT), ACH (Automated Clearing House), BPAY, Check, Direct Debit, Local Bank Deposits, Transfer from Existing Broker
- US Traders: Accepted
Pepperstone vs Interactive Brokers : 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
Interactive Brokers
- Trading Instruments: 5000+Trading instruments including forex, CFDs, warrants, ETFs Options, Futures, Mutual Funds, stocks, options, and Bonds
- Maximum leverage: 50:1 for US Clients, 30:1 for EU clients, and 400:1 for global clients.
- Minimum Deposit: The Interactive Brokers minimum deposit is $0 for a cash account, $2,000 for a T Reg margin account, and $110,000 for a portfolio margin account. The minimum deposit is subject to change depending on the trading account opened and the base currency selected.
- Trading Fees: spreads starting from as low as 0.1 pips, Stock fees USD 0.005 per share.
- PAMM/ MAM: Not Available
- Scalping: Allowed
- News Trading: Allowed
- EA/ Robot Trading: Allowed with Capitalise.ai
Pepperstone vs Interactive Brokers: 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
Interactive Brokers
- IBK is a Forex and Stock Broker
- Excellent reputation (founded in 1978)
- Regulated by top regulators like ASIC, FCA, FSA, SFC, IIROC
- A wide range of products offered warrants, ETFs, Options, Futures, Mutual Funds, Bonds
- Over 18,000 no-transaction-fee mutual funds.
- No monthly inactivity fee
- Low trading fees and high interest (up to 4.58% for USD) on cash balances
- Access to international markets and exchanges
- Mobile apps are convenient for individual investors.
- Complicated account opening
- Learning Curve for Beginners
- The maximum leverage is only 1:40
- No Metatrader platforms (MT4, MT5) offered
- High minimum deposit requirements for some account types
- Interactive Advisors (Robo-advisor feature) is only available for US customers
- No fixed spread is available
Pepperstone vs Interactive Brokers: Side-by-Side Comparison
Pepperstone Vs Interactive Brokers: Our Scores and Ratings
We rated both brokers, Pepperstone and Interactive Brokers, 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 :
Interactive Brokers:
Final Verdict :
Pepperstone and Interactive Brokers are regulated forex and CFD brokers in the industry. Both offer similar trading services; they both allow scalping, hedging, EA trading, and Copy trading EA. The minimum order size for both of them is 0.01.
However, there are a few areas where you may find some differences. For example, the minimum deposit for Pepperstone is $0 (with $200 recommended), whereas the minimum deposit for Interactive Brokers is $0. Additionally, the maximum leverage for Pepperstone is 500:1 for professional traders and 200:1 for retail traders, whereas the maximum leverage for Interactive Brokers is 40:1. Pepperstone offers passive investment programs like MAM and PAMM, while Interactive Brokers does not have any passive investment programs.
Our score for Pepperstone is 9.4, and for Interactive Brokers, it is 8.9. So, if you are looking for the most trusted forex brokers with MAM and PAMM services, you may choose Pepperstone. However, if you are a US trader looking for a trusted and reliable forex broker, you may choose Interactive Brokers.
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
