Written by ForexBrokers.com
In this head to head comparison of FOREX.com vs Pepperstone, we will compare the trading platforms, mobile apps, range of investments, costs, market research, and more. Let's dive in.
CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. Between 51% and 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.
When comparing online brokers FOREX.com and Pepperstone, regulatory credentials play a significant role in building trust for trading enthusiasts. Founded in 1999, FOREX.com stands out with a strong foundation, boasting a perfect Trust Score of 99 as rated by ForexBrokers.com, which classifies it as highly trusted. Their public transparency is underscored by being publicly traded and having seven Tier-1 licenses, indicating a high level of oversight by top financial regulators. Although not a bank, FOREX.com has established itself as a reliable entity in the online trading landscape.
Pepperstone, founded in 2010, also presents a commendable profile with a Trust Score of 95. While it does not trade on public stock exchanges, Pepperstone holds three Tier-1 and two Tier-2 licenses, reflecting a strong regulatory framework and trusted status according to ForexBrokers.com. Unlike FOREX.com, it operates independently without bank affiliation, yet maintains a solid reputation in the trading community. These factors highlight both brokers as reputable choices, with FOREX.com having a slight edge in regulatory recognition.
| Feature |
FOREX.com
|
Pepperstone
|
|---|---|---|
| Year Founded | 1999 | 2010 |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | Yes | No |
| Bank | No | No |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 7 | 3 |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 1 | 2 |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 1 | 2 |
Both brokers are strong on pricing: FOREX.com and Pepperstone each earn 4.5 out of 5 stars for commissions and fees. In ForexBrokers.com’s Commissions and Fees rankings, FOREX.com places #14 of 63, while Pepperstone ranks #11 of 63. The key difference lies in their pricing models: FOREX.com offers spread-only (Standard) and commission-based (RAW) options, whereas Pepperstone’s best pricing typically comes from its commission-based Razor account.
FOREX.com: In the U.S., the Standard account (the only MetaTrader choice) lists typical EUR/USD spreads around 1.4 pips (July 2023). Outside the U.S., spreads averaged about 0.74 pips on EUR/USD (July 2023, time-weighted). The newer RAW account targets tighter quotes with typical EUR/USD spreads near 0.13 pips (Feb 2024) plus a $7 per standard lot commission ($3.50 per side), adding roughly 0.7 pips—so the all-in is about 0.83 pips before rebates. RAW includes six volume tiers with rebates from $2 to $9 per million and is available in the U.S., Canada, and the EU. For most U.S. traders under $50 million a month in volume, total costs on RAW are often similar to the Standard account; the main differences are execution method and platform access.
Pepperstone: The Razor account uses commission-based pricing on TradingView, MT4/MT5, and cTrader, with an average EUR/USD spread of 0.10 pips (July 2024). After adding the commission-equivalent of 0.70 pips, the Razor all-in is about 0.80 pips—around the industry average. The Standard account is commission-free but typically higher at about 1.1 pips on EUR/USD (July 2024). Active Trader rebates can lower costs for high-volume clients: in the U.K. and EU, Professional clients trading at least £20 million per month may receive a 15% per-lot rebate (up to 25% above £200 million), while in Australia, Professional clients start at a 10% discount from 100 lots over three months and can reach 30% beyond 3,001 lots monthly.
| Feature |
FOREX.com
|
Pepperstone
|
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $100 | $0 |
| Average spread (EUR/USD) - Standard account | 1.00 | 1.1 |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 1.13 | 0.8 |
| Non-wire bank transfer | Yes | Yes |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | No |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Low Spread Forex Brokers.
FOREX.com vs Pepperstone: both brokers let you trade forex as CFDs or spot. FOREX.com offers a wider catalog with 5,500 tradeable symbols and 80 forex pairs, compared with Pepperstone’s 1,726 symbols and 65 pairs. Neither broker provides access to exchange-traded securities (actual shares) on U.S. or international exchanges. For digital assets, both support cryptocurrency CFDs, but neither lets you buy the underlying coins.
On Range of Investments, FOREX.com earns 5 stars and ranks #7 out of 63 brokers, while Pepperstone scores 4 stars and ranks #27. A key difference is copy trading: Pepperstone offers it, and FOREX.com does not. If market breadth is your priority, FOREX.com has the edge; if you value copy trading alongside a solid selection of markets, Pepperstone is worth a look.
| Feature |
FOREX.com
|
Pepperstone
|
|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 5500 | 1726 |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 80 | 65 |
| U.S. Stocks (Shares) | No | No |
| Global Stocks (Non-U.S. Shares) | No | No |
| Copy Trading | No | Yes |
| Cryptocurrency (Underlying) | No | No |
| Cryptocurrency (CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Disclaimers | Note: Crypto CFDs are not available to retail traders from any broker's U.K. entity, nor to U.K. residents (except to Professional clients). | Note: Crypto CFDs are not available to retail traders from any broker's U.K. entity, nor to U.K. residents (except to Professional clients). |
Dive deeper: Best Copy Trading Platforms.
FOREX.com vs Pepperstone: both brokers check the key boxes for platform access and ease of testing. Each offers a free virtual demo account, an in-house proprietary platform, a Windows desktop download, and a web-based platform. Both also support MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5), and let you place trades directly from charts. One key difference is copy trading: Pepperstone offers copy trading, while FOREX.com does not.
For Trading Platforms and Tools, ForexBrokers.com rates FOREX.com at 5 stars and ranks it #7 out of 63 brokers, while Pepperstone earns 4 stars and ranks #22. If copy trading matters most, Pepperstone is the fit. If you want a higher-rated platform toolkit, FOREX.com has the edge.
| Feature |
FOREX.com
|
Pepperstone
|
|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes |
| Proprietary Desktop Trading Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | Yes |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Copy Trading | No | Yes |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | Yes | Yes |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | Yes | Yes |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 88 | 15 |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best MetaTrader 4 Brokers, Best MetaTrader 5 Brokers.
Both FOREX.com and Pepperstone offer full-featured mobile trading apps for iPhone and Android. Each app supports price alerts and syncs watchlists between the mobile app and your online account, so changes update everywhere. That makes it easy to track forex pairs and other markets on the go without missing key moves.
For charting, FOREX.com stands out with 88 technical studies compared with Pepperstone’s 30. Both apps let you draw trendlines and automatically save your chart annotations. Independent ratings back up the experience: FOREX.com’s mobile app holds a 5-star score and ranks #3 out of 63 brokers for Mobile Trading Apps on ForexBrokers.com, while Pepperstone earns 4 stars and ranks #21. Choose FOREX.com if you want more built-in indicators and a higher-rated app; Pepperstone still covers the essentials with alerts, syncing, and handy drawing tools.
| Feature |
FOREX.com
|
Pepperstone
|
|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Price Alerts | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Watchlists - Syncing | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 88 | 30 |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Charting - Trendlines Autosave | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Forex Trading Apps.
Online brokerages FOREX.com and Pepperstone both excel in providing comprehensive market research resources to their users. Both brokers offer daily market commentary and provide access to forex news from top-tier sources like Bloomberg and Reuters, ensuring traders are always informed. Additionally, each platform includes a sentiment-based trading tool that tracks the ratio of long and short positions across various currency pairs. They also feature extensive economic calendars to keep traders updated on significant global news events.
When it comes to specialized research tools, however, the offerings differ between the two. FOREX.com includes Technical Analytics from Trading Central, while Pepperstone provides tools from Autochartist. Both companies do not feature tools from Acuity Trading or market research from TipRanks. In terms of ratings, both brokers score an impressive 4.5 out of 5 stars for market research quality. However, in the rankings by ForexBrokers.com, FOREX.com holds a higher position at #9 compared to Pepperstone's #12, offering a slightly higher commendation for research capabilities amidst a crowded field of 63 brokers.
| Feature |
FOREX.com
|
Pepperstone
|
|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary (Articles) | Yes | Yes |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | Yes |
| Autochartist | No | Yes |
| Trading Central | Yes | No |
| Client sentiment data | Yes | Yes |
| TipRanks | No | No |
| Acuity Trading | No | No |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Brokers for Forex Research.
FOREX.com vs Pepperstone education: both brokers deliver forex and CFD education with well over 10 pieces of content, including articles, videos, and archived webinars. Each runs ongoing client webinars (at least monthly) and offers extensive video libraries with 10+ beginner trading videos and 10+ advanced videos. In expert reviews, both earn 4.5 out of 5 stars for Education, but FOREX.com ranks higher overall (#4 of 63 brokers) than Pepperstone (#17 of 63) on ForexBrokers.com.
For beginners, this means you’ll find clear learning paths, frequent webinars, and plenty of starter-friendly videos at either broker. If you want the edge based on independent rankings, FOREX.com gets the nod for education. That said, Pepperstone still provides a strong mix of beginner and advanced tutorials, so if you prefer its platform or pricing, you won’t be giving up quality learning resources.
| Feature |
FOREX.com
|
Pepperstone
|
|---|---|---|
| Webinars | Yes | Yes |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | Yes |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Forex Brokers for Beginners.
After testing 63 of the best forex brokers, our research and account testing finds that FOREX.com is better than Pepperstone. FOREX.com finished with an overall rank of #5, while Pepperstone finished with an overall rank of #16.
FOREX.com is a trusted brand that delivers an excellent trading experience for forex and CFDs traders across the globe. It offers a wide range of markets and provides an impressive suite of proprietary platforms – alongside limited access to MetaTrader.
| Feature |
FOREX.com
|
Pepperstone
|
|---|---|---|
| Overall Rating |
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| Trust Score | 99 | 95 |
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In the FOREX.com vs Pepperstone comparison for cryptocurrency trading, neither online broker lets you buy actual (delivered) crypto, but both offer access via cryptocurrency CFDs.
FOREX.com vs Pepperstone: both brokers support ACH/SEPA transfers, PayPal, and bank wire deposits/withdrawals, while only FOREX.com offers Skrill (Pepperstone does not), and Visa/Mastercard availability is not specified.
Please note:
We review each broker’s overall global offering – a “Yes” checkmark in our Compare Tool does not guarantee the availability of any specific features in your country of residence. To verify the availability of any features within your country of residence, please contact the broker directly.
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0 of 5| Overall Rating | FOREX.com | Pepperstone | |
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| Trust Score | 99 | 95 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | FOREX.com Review | Pepperstone Review |
| Broker Screenshots | FOREX.com | Pepperstone | |
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| Regulation | FOREX.com | Pepperstone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trust Score | 99 | 95 | |
| Year Founded | 1999 | 2010 | |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | Yes | No | |
| Bank | No | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes | Yes | |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 7 | 3 | |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 1 | 2 | |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 | |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 1 | 2 |
| Tier-1 Licenses (Highly Trusted) | FOREX.com | Pepperstone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia (ASIC Authorised) | Yes | Yes | |
| Canada (CIRO Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Hong Kong (SFC Authorised) | No | No | |
| Japan (FSA Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Singapore (MAS Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Switzerland (FINMA Authorised) | No | ||
| United Kingdom (U.K.) (FCA Authorised) | Yes | Yes | |
| USA (CFTC Authorized) | Yes | No | |
| New Zealand (FMA Authorised) | No | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes | Yes |
| Tier-2 Licenses (Trusted) | FOREX.com | Pepperstone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenya (CMA Authorised) | No | Yes | |
| Israel (ISA Authorised) | No | No | |
| South Africa (FSCA Authorised) | No | No | |
| UAE (DFSA, FSRA, or SCA Authorised) | Yes | Yes | |
| India (SEBI Authorised) | No | No | |
| Jordan (JSC Authorised) | No |
| Investments | FOREX.com | Pepperstone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 5500 | 1726 | |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 80 | 65 | |
| U.S. Stocks (Shares) | No | No | |
| Global Stocks (Non-U.S. Shares) | No | No | |
| Copy Trading | No | Yes | |
| Cryptocurrency (Underlying) | No | No | |
| Cryptocurrency (CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Disclaimers | Note: Crypto CFDs are not available to retail traders from any broker's U.K. entity, nor to U.K. residents (except to Professional clients). | Note: Crypto CFDs are not available to retail traders from any broker's U.K. entity, nor to U.K. residents (except to Professional clients). |
| Cost | FOREX.com | Pepperstone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average spread (EUR/USD) - Standard account | 1.00 | 1.1 | |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 1.13 | 0.8 | |
| Inactivity Fee | Yes | No | |
| Order execution: Agency | No | Yes | |
| Order execution: Market Maker | Yes | Yes |
| Funding | FOREX.com | Pepperstone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $100 | $0 | |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes | |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | No | |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes | |
| Non-wire bank transfer | Yes | Yes |
| Trading Platforms | FOREX.com | Pepperstone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proprietary Desktop Trading Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | Yes | |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Copy Trading | No | Yes | |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | Yes | Yes | |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | Yes | Yes | |
| cTrader | No | Yes |
| Trading Tools | FOREX.com | Pepperstone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes | |
| Price Alerts | Yes | Yes | |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 88 | 15 | |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes | |
| Charts can be saved | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Trading | FOREX.com | Pepperstone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes | |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Price Alerts | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Watchlist [DELETED] | |||
| Mobile Watchlists - Syncing | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 88 | 30 | |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Trendlines Autosave | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Research - Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Research | FOREX.com | Pepperstone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary (Articles) | Yes | Yes | |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | Yes | |
| Autochartist | No | Yes | |
| Trading Central | Yes | No | |
| TipRanks | No | No | |
| Client sentiment data | Yes | Yes | |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Education | FOREX.com | Pepperstone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Webinars | Yes | Yes | |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | Yes | |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | Yes |
| Major Forex Pairs | FOREX.com | Pepperstone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| GBP/USD [DELETED] | |||
| USD/JPY [DELETED] | |||
| EUR/USD | Yes | Yes | |
| USD/CHF [DELETED] | |||
| USD/CAD [DELETED] | |||
| NZD/USD [DELETED] | |||
| AUD/USD [DELETED] | |||
| Review | FOREX.com Review | Pepperstone Review |
| Overall | FOREX.com | Pepperstone | |
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| Trust Score | 99 | 95 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | FOREX.com Review | Pepperstone Review |
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