Written by ForexBrokers.com
In this head to head comparison of Pepperstone vs iFOREX, 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.
Pepperstone, established in 2010, and iFOREX, founded in 1996, are both online brokers that offer trading services without being publicly traded or operating as banks. Pepperstone holds a strong position in terms of regulatory safety with three Tier-1 licenses, which are highly trusted, and two Tier-2 licenses. In comparison, iFOREX holds one Tier-1 license, marking it as highly trusted, but lacks Tier-2 licenses. Their Trust Score ratings reflect these differences, with Pepperstone earning a high score of 95, indicating a high level of trust, while iFOREX scores a 75, categorized as average risk.
For individuals seeking a trusted online trading platform, understanding the regulatory landscape is crucial. Pepperstone’s accumulation of multiple Tier-1 and Tier-2 licenses, alongside its high Trust Score rating, highlights its commitment to reliability and client security. Meanwhile, iFOREX, though holding less regulatory credentials, still maintains a presence in the industry with an average sense of security for traders. This regulation comparison aids potential investors in making informed decisions based on the level of trust and oversight each broker provides.
| Feature |
Pepperstone
|
iFOREX
|
|---|---|---|
| Year Founded | 2010 | 1996 |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | No | No |
| Bank | No | No |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 3 | 1 |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 2 | 0 |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 2 | 1 |
Pepperstone generally offers more competitive commissions and fees than iFOREX. Pepperstone earns 4.5/5 stars and ranks #11 out of 63 brokers for Commissions and Fees at ForexBrokers.com, while iFOREX holds a 3/5 star rating and ranks #62 out of 63.
Pepperstone’s Razor account uses a commission-based model on TradingView, MetaTrader (MT4/MT5), or cTrader. As of July 2024, the average EUR/USD spread was 0.10 pips, and when you add the commission-equivalent of 0.70 pips, the all-in cost was about 0.80 pips—near the industry average. The Standard account is commission-free but showed a higher 1.1-pip average spread on EUR/USD, making it costlier than Razor. High-volume traders can further cut costs via the Active Trader program with spread rebates: in the U.K. and EU, eligible professional clients start around 15% of the spread per lot from £20M/month in forex volume, rising to 25% above £200M; in Australia, tiered reductions of roughly 10% to 30% apply from 100 to 3,001+ lots (measured over a three-month period).
For iFOREX, average spread data is not available, making it difficult to gauge typical all-in pricing or compare precise trading costs. Given its lower 3/5 star rating and #62/63 ranking for Commissions and Fees, cost-focused traders may find Pepperstone’s transparent Razor pricing and volume-based rebates more appealing.
| Feature |
Pepperstone
|
iFOREX
|
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $0 | $100 |
| Average spread (EUR/USD) - Standard account | 1.00 | N/A |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.70 | N/A |
| Non-wire bank transfer | Yes | No |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Low Spread Forex Brokers.
Pepperstone vs iFOREX: both support forex trading via CFDs and/or spot, but their overall lineups differ. Pepperstone lists 1,726 tradeable symbols, while iFOREX offers 750. When it comes to currency choice, iFOREX leads with 88 forex pairs compared to Pepperstone’s 65. Neither broker provides direct access to exchange‑traded securities on U.S. or international exchanges—both focus on CFDs rather than traditional share dealing.
Feature-wise, Pepperstone includes copy trading, while iFOREX does not. Both let you trade crypto via CFDs, but neither enables buying actual (delivered) cryptocurrencies. For range of investments, Pepperstone is rated 4 stars and ranks #27 out of 63 brokers on ForexBrokers.com, whereas iFOREX holds 3.5 stars and ranks #42. In short, Pepperstone suits traders seeking a wider overall symbol list and copy trading, while iFOREX appeals if you want more forex pairs.
| Feature |
Pepperstone
|
iFOREX
|
|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 1726 | 750 |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 65 | 88 |
| U.S. Stocks (Shares) | No | No |
| Global Stocks (Non-U.S. Shares) | No | No |
| Copy Trading | Yes | No |
| 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.
Pepperstone offers a wider range of trading platforms and tools than iFOREX. Pepperstone supports a free demo (paper) account, a proprietary platform, MetaTrader 4 (MT4), MetaTrader 5 (MT5), copy trading, a Windows desktop app, and a web platform. iFOREX has its own proprietary and web platforms, and lets you trade from charts, but it does not offer a demo account, copy trading, a Windows desktop download, or MT4/MT5. Both brokers let you place trades directly from a chart.
Details like the number of built-in chart indicators and watchlist columns weren’t specified. In expert testing, each broker earned 4 stars for Trading Platforms and Tools, yet Pepperstone ranked higher overall at #22 out of 63 brokers, while iFOREX ranked #55. If you want more platform choice, third‑party tools, and a demo account, Pepperstone fits better; if you prefer a simpler, proprietary web experience, iFOREX may suffice.
| Feature |
Pepperstone
|
iFOREX
|
|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | No |
| Proprietary Desktop Trading Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | No |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Copy Trading | Yes | No |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | Yes | No |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | Yes | No |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 15 | 57 |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best MetaTrader 4 Brokers, Best MetaTrader 5 Brokers.
Pepperstone and iFOREX both offer iPhone and Android apps for trading on the go. Pepperstone stands out for mobile features: you can set price alerts, sync watchlists with your web account, apply 30 technical studies to charts, draw trendlines, and have your drawings auto-saved. By contrast, iFOREX does not support price alerts, watchlist syncing, trendline drawing, or auto-saving chart annotations, and its mobile chart indicators are not specified.
Both apps earn 4 out of 5 stars, but ForexBrokers.com ranks Pepperstone higher for Mobile Trading Apps (#21 of 63) than iFOREX (#56 of 63). If you want richer charting tools and alerts on your phone, Pepperstone’s mobile app is the stronger pick, while iFOREX may suit traders who only need basic app access.
| Feature |
Pepperstone
|
iFOREX
|
|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Price Alerts | Yes | No |
| Mobile Watchlists - Syncing | Yes | No |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 30 | N/A |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | No |
| Mobile Charting - Trendlines Autosave | Yes | No |
Dive deeper: Best Forex Trading Apps.
Pepperstone and iFOREX both provide daily market commentary, an economic calendar, and a sentiment tool that shows the balance of long vs. short positions. Pepperstone stands out for delivering forex news from top-tier sources like Bloomberg, Reuters, or Dow Jones, and for offering Autochartist tools for technical and fundamental insights. iFOREX does not include top-tier news or Autochartist, but it does offer Trading Central’s research tools. Pepperstone does not include TipRanks or Acuity Trading, and iFOREX does not disclose support for TipRanks or Acuity Trading.
For research quality, Pepperstone is rated 4.5/5 stars and ranks #12 out of 63 brokers at ForexBrokers.com, while iFOREX is rated 3.5/5 stars and ranks #49. In short, choose Pepperstone if premium news feeds and Autochartist matter to you; pick iFOREX if you want access to Trading Central’s analytics.
| Feature |
Pepperstone
|
iFOREX
|
|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary (Articles) | Yes | Yes |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | No |
| Autochartist | Yes | No |
| Trading Central | No | Yes |
| Client sentiment data | Yes | Yes |
| TipRanks | No | |
| Acuity Trading | No | |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Brokers for Forex Research.
Pepperstone and iFOREX both cater to beginners with at least 10 video lessons that explain trading basics. Where they differ is in ongoing support and depth. Pepperstone runs monthly educational webinars and also offers 10+ advanced videos for when you’re ready to level up. iFOREX does not host ongoing webinars and doesn’t provide a comparable set of advanced video lessons, making its content more limited once you move beyond the basics.
These differences show up in third-party ratings: Pepperstone earns 4.5 out of 5 stars for Education and ranks 17th out of 63 brokers on ForexBrokers.com, while iFOREX scores 3.5 stars and ranks 53rd. If you want a learning path that includes live sessions and advanced topics, Pepperstone is the stronger choice. If you only need beginner-friendly video lessons, iFOREX can cover the essentials.
| Feature |
Pepperstone
|
iFOREX
|
|---|---|---|
| Webinars | Yes | No |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | Yes |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | No |
Dive deeper: Best Forex Brokers for Beginners.
After testing 63 of the best forex brokers, our research and account testing finds that Pepperstone is better than iFOREX. Pepperstone finished with an overall rank of #16, while iFOREX finished with an overall rank of #52.
Pepperstone offers a growing range of tradeable markets, good-quality research, and support for multiple social copy trading platforms.
| Feature |
Pepperstone
|
iFOREX
|
|---|---|---|
| Overall Rating |
|
|
| Trust Score | 95 | 75 |
| Range of Investments |
|
|
| Commissions & Fees |
|
|
| Platforms & Tools |
|
|
| Research |
|
|
| Mobile Trading |
|
|
| Education |
|
|
Pepperstone and iFOREX do not allow buying actual (delivered) cryptocurrencies, but both brokers offer cryptocurrency CFDs for trading instead.
Pepperstone vs iFOREX: for deposit and withdrawal methods, Pepperstone supports ACH/SEPA, PayPal, and bank wires (but not Skrill), whereas iFOREX does not support ACH/SEPA and its availability of PayPal, Skrill, Visa/Mastercard, and bank wires is not specified; Pepperstone’s support for Visa/Mastercard is also 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.
Select Brokers
↓×Compare
0 of 5| Overall Rating | Pepperstone | iFOREX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall Rating |
|
| |
| Commissions & Fees |
|
| |
| Range of Investments |
|
| |
| Platforms & Tools |
|
| |
| Mobile Trading |
|
| |
| Research |
|
| |
| Education |
|
| |
| Trust Score | 95 | 75 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | Pepperstone Review |
| Broker Screenshots | Pepperstone | iFOREX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Broker Gallery (click to expand) |
|
| Regulation | Pepperstone | iFOREX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trust Score | 95 | 75 | |
| Year Founded | 2010 | 1996 | |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | No | No | |
| Bank | No | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes | Yes | |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 3 | 1 | |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 2 | 0 | |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 | |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 2 | 1 |
| Tier-1 Licenses (Highly Trusted) | Pepperstone | iFOREX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia (ASIC Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Canada (CIRO Authorised) | No | No | |
| Hong Kong (SFC Authorised) | No | No | |
| Japan (SFC Authorised) | No | No | |
| Singapore (MAS Authorised) | No | No | |
| Switzerland (FINMA Authorised) | |||
| United Kingdom (U.K.) (FCA Authorised) | Yes | Yes | |
| USA (CFTC Authorized) | No | No | |
| New Zealand (FMA Authorised) | No | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes | Yes |
| Tier-2 Licenses (Trusted) | Pepperstone | iFOREX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenya (CMA Authorised) | Yes | ||
| Israel (ISA Authorised) | No | No | |
| South Africa (FSCA Authorised) | No | No | |
| UAE (DFSA, FSRA, or SCA Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| India (SEBI Authorised) | No | No | |
| Jordan (JSC Authorised) |
| Investments | Pepperstone | iFOREX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 1726 | 750 | |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 65 | 88 | |
| U.S. Stocks (Shares) | No | No | |
| Global Stocks (Non-U.S. Shares) | No | No | |
| Copy Trading | Yes | No | |
| 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 | Pepperstone | iFOREX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average spread (EUR/USD) - Standard account | 1.00 | N/A | |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.70 | N/A | |
| Inactivity Fee | No | No | |
| Order execution: Agency | Yes | No | |
| Order execution: Market Maker | Yes | Yes |
| Funding | Pepperstone | iFOREX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $0 | $100 | |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | ||
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | ||
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | ||
| Non-wire bank transfer | Yes | No |
| Trading Platforms | Pepperstone | iFOREX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proprietary Desktop Trading Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | No | |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Copy Trading | Yes | No | |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | Yes | No | |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | Yes | No | |
| cTrader | Yes | No |
| Trading Tools | Pepperstone | iFOREX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | No | |
| Price Alerts | Yes | No | |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 15 | 57 | |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes | |
| Charts can be saved | Yes | No |
| Mobile Trading | Pepperstone | iFOREX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes | |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Price Alerts | Yes | No | |
| Mobile Watchlist [DELETED] | |||
| Mobile Watchlists - Syncing | Yes | No | |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 30 | N/A | |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | No | |
| Mobile Charting - Trendlines Autosave | Yes | No | |
| Mobile Research - Economic Calendar | Yes | No |
| Research | Pepperstone | iFOREX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary (Articles) | Yes | Yes | |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | No | |
| Autochartist | Yes | No | |
| Trading Central | No | Yes | |
| TipRanks | No | ||
| Client sentiment data | Yes | Yes | |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Education | Pepperstone | iFOREX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Webinars | Yes | No | |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | Yes | |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | No |
| Major Forex Pairs | Pepperstone | iFOREX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| GBP/USD [DELETED] | |||
| USD/JPY [DELETED] | |||
| EUR/USD | Yes | Yes | |
| USD/CHF [DELETED] | |||
| USD/CAD [DELETED] | |||
| NZD/USD [DELETED] | |||
| AUD/USD [DELETED] | |||
| Review | Pepperstone Review |
| Overall | Pepperstone | iFOREX | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overall Rating |
|
| |
| Commissions & Fees |
|
| |
| Range of Investments |
|
| |
| Platforms & Tools |
|
| |
| Mobile Trading |
|
| |
| Research |
|
| |
| Education |
|
| |
| Trust Score | 95 | 75 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | Pepperstone Review |
IG
CMC Markets
FOREX.com
XTB
eToro
AvaTrade
Plus500
Pepperstone
FP Markets
Tickmill