Interactive Brokers vs Pepperstone 2025

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.

Regulation

Interactive Brokers, established in 1977, and Pepperstone, founded in 2010, are popular online brokers in the financial industry, each with its own set of regulatory licenses and trust scores. Interactive Brokers boasts a perfect Trust Score of 99, indicating a high level of trustworthiness. It holds 9 Tier-1 licenses, the gold standard of safety as per ForexBrokers.com, and 2 Tier-2 licenses. This strong regulatory backing contributes to its reputation as a reliable choice for investors. Interactive Brokers is also publicly traded, adding another layer of transparency for its users.

Pepperstone, though a newer entrant to the market, has been able to secure a solid Trust Score of 95, reflecting its strong standing. It holds 3 Tier-1 licenses and 2 Tier-2 licenses, indicating a firm commitment to adhering to global regulations, though fewer in number compared to Interactive Brokers. While Pepperstone is not publicly traded, its dedication to maintaining a trusted service is represented by its regulatory approvals. Neither broker operates as a bank, focusing solely on providing brokerage services to their clients.

Feature	Interactive Brokers	Pepperstone
Year Founded info	1977	2010
Publicly Traded (Listed) info	Yes	No
Bank info	No	No
Tier-1 Licenses info	9	3
Tier-2 Licenses info	2	2
Tier-3 Licenses info	0	0
Tier-4 Licenses info	0	2

Fees

Interactive Brokers and Pepperstone both compete on tight forex pricing, but their fee models differ. Interactive Brokers earns 5/5 stars and ranks #2 of 63 for Commissions and Fees, while Pepperstone scores 4.5/5 stars and ranks #6 of 63. On EUR/USD, recent Q3 2024 data shows Interactive Brokers at about 0.19 pips average spread and roughly 0.59 pips all-in after commission. Pepperstone’s Razor account lists a 0.10‑pip average spread and about 0.80 pips all-in when adding the commission-equivalent of 0.70 pips; its Standard account is commission-free with a 1.1‑pip average spread, making it pricier than Razor for most traders.

Interactive Brokers charges a commission instead of widening spreads: forex commissions start at 0.00002 (0.2 bps) of the USD trade value per side with a $2 minimum per order ($4 round turn), translating to about $16–$40 per million round turn ($8–$20 per side). For a $100,000 EUR/USD round trip, the commission is roughly 0.40 pips in addition to the spread. Because of the $2-per-side minimum, smaller trade sizes can be proportionally more expensive. High-volume traders can see the minimum drop to $1.50 per order after $1 billion in monthly volume, and to $1 after $5 billion. IBKR Lite and IBKR Pro both support forex, but neither is commission‑free.

Pepperstone is an agency-execution broker with two main choices. The Razor account (available on MetaTrader, cTrader, and TradingView) uses commission-based pricing that produced an estimated 0.80‑pip all-in cost on EUR/USD as of July 2024, versus the Standard account’s commission-free 1.1‑pip average spread. Active traders may reduce costs further via Pepperstone’s rebates: in the UK/EU, Professional clients trading at least £20 million per month can receive about a 15% rebate per lot, scaling up to 25% above £200 million; in Australia, Professional clients can see roughly 10% to 30% spread reductions from 100 to 3001+ lots per month.

Feature	Interactive Brokers	Pepperstone
Minimum Deposit info	$0	$0
Average spread (EUR/USD) - Standard account info	0.59 info	1.1 info
All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active info	0.65 info	0.8 info
Non-wire bank transfer info	Yes	Yes
PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) info	No	Yes
Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) info	No	No
Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) info	Yes	Yes

Dive deeper: Best Low Spread Forex Brokers.

Range of investments

Interactive Brokers vs. Pepperstone for range of investments: Interactive Brokers lists about 8,500 tradeable symbols and 90 forex pairs, while Pepperstone offers about 1,726 symbols and 65 forex pairs. Both provide forex trading, but only Interactive Brokers lets you buy exchange-traded securities on U.S. and international exchanges—so you can purchase listed shares such as Apple or Vodafone—whereas Pepperstone does not offer direct share ownership.

Crypto and extras: Interactive Brokers supports both buying actual cryptocurrency and trading crypto CFDs; Pepperstone offers crypto CFDs but not direct coin purchases. Pepperstone includes copy trading, while Interactive Brokers does not. Reflecting that breadth, ForexBrokers.com rates Interactive Brokers 5 out of 5 stars and ranks it #1 of 63 for Range of Investments; Pepperstone earns 4 out of 5 stars and ranks #23.

Feature	Interactive Brokers	Pepperstone
Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) info	Yes	Yes
Tradeable Symbols (Total) info	8500	1726
Forex Pairs (Total) info	90	65
U.S. Stocks (Shares) info	Yes	No
Global Stocks (Non-U.S. Shares) info	Yes	No
Copy Trading info	No	Yes
Cryptocurrency (Underlying) info	Yes	No
Cryptocurrency (CFDs) info	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.

Trading platforms and tools

Interactive Brokers vs Pepperstone: both brokers check key boxes for trading platforms and tools. Each one offers a free paper trading demo, an in-house platform, a Windows desktop download, and a web-based platform. You can place trades straight from charts with either broker, which makes timing entries and exits easier for many traders.

The biggest differences are in third-party and social features. Pepperstone supports copy trading and offers MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5), while Interactive Brokers does not. For overall platform quality, ForexBrokers.com rates Interactive Brokers 5 stars and ranks it #2 out of 63 brokers, compared with Pepperstone’s 4 stars and #21 ranking. If you want MT4/MT5 or copy trading, Pepperstone is the better fit; if you want a higher-rated platform suite, Interactive Brokers stands out.

Feature	Interactive Brokers	Pepperstone
Virtual Trading (Demo) info	Yes	Yes
Proprietary Desktop Trading Platform info	Yes	Yes
Desktop Platform (Windows) info	Yes	Yes
Web Platform info	Yes	Yes
Copy Trading info	No	Yes
MetaTrader 4 (MT4) info	No	Yes
MetaTrader 5 (MT5) info	No	Yes
Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) info	155	15
Charting - Trade From Chart info	Yes	Yes

Dive deeper: Best MetaTrader 4 Brokers, Best MetaTrader 5 Brokers.

Forex trading apps

Both Interactive Brokers and Pepperstone offer full-featured mobile trading apps for iPhone and Android. You’ll get stock and forex price alerts and watchlist syncing across devices with either broker. In our testing, Interactive Brokers stands out with a 5-star Mobile Trading Apps rating and a #4 ranking out of 63 brokers by ForexBrokers.com, while Pepperstone earns 4 stars and ranks #19.

If charting depth matters, Interactive Brokers provides 97 technical studies compared with Pepperstone’s 30, and both apps let you draw trendlines. However, only Pepperstone’s mobile app auto-saves your drawings; Interactive Brokers does not. Choose Interactive Brokers if you want more technical indicators on the go, or pick Pepperstone if you value auto-saving charts and a simpler toolset.

Feature	Interactive Brokers	Pepperstone
Android App info	Yes	Yes
Apple iOS App info	Yes	Yes
Mobile Price Alerts info	Yes	Yes
Mobile Watchlists - Syncing info	Yes	Yes
Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies info	97	30
Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines info	Yes	Yes
Mobile Charting - Trendlines Autosave info	No	Yes

Dive deeper: Best Forex Trading Apps.

Market research

Interactive Brokers and Pepperstone both deliver essential daily market commentary and offer forex news from prestigious sources like Bloomberg and Reuters. While Pepperstone provides advanced technical analysis tools like Autochartist, Interactive Brokers counters with Trading Central's resources. Both platforms give traders access to sentiment-based tools, which display the ratio of long and short positions for various instruments. However, Interactive Brokers takes a step further by offering market insights from TipRanks and research tools from Acuity Trading, adding substantial value to its suite of resources.

For traders looking for comprehensive market research, Interactive Brokers holds an edge with its extensive array of tools, earning a 5-star research rating. In comparison, Pepperstone garners a commendable 4.5 stars. Both platforms feature an economic calendar, keeping users informed about upcoming economic events. Despite Pepperstone's robust offering, Interactive Brokers' additional research tools and higher ranking by ForexBrokers.com (#3 compared to Pepperstone's #12) make it a preferred choice for those seeking in-depth market research and analysis.

Feature	Interactive Brokers	Pepperstone
Daily Market Commentary (Articles) info	Yes	Yes
Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) info	Yes	Yes
Autochartist info	No	Yes
Trading Central info	Yes	No
Client sentiment data info	Yes	Yes
TipRanks info	Yes	No
Acuity Trading info	Yes	No
Economic Calendar info	Yes	Yes

Dive deeper: Best Brokers for Forex Research.

Beginners and education

Comparing Interactive Brokers vs Pepperstone for beginner education, Interactive Brokers takes the lead. It earns 5 stars and ranks #1 out of 63 brokers for Education on ForexBrokers.com, while Pepperstone scores 4.5 stars and ranks #15. Both brokers run online client webinars at least once a month and provide at least 10 beginner-friendly trading videos, along with 10+ advanced videos for when you’re ready to go further.

Interactive Brokers is the stronger pick if you want the widest overall learning path, from first steps to advanced strategies. Pepperstone still offers plenty of helpful material for new traders, including regular webinars and a sizable video library, and it’s a good option if you’re focused on learning forex and CFDs. For maximum educational breadth, choose Interactive Brokers; for solid, accessible learning with an FX focus, Pepperstone is a worthy alternative.

Feature	Interactive Brokers	Pepperstone
Webinars info	Yes	Yes
Videos - Beginner Trading Videos info	Yes	Yes
Videos - Advanced Trading Videos info	Yes	Yes

Dive deeper: Best Forex Brokers for Beginners.

Winner

After testing 63 of the best forex brokers, our research and account testing finds that Interactive Brokers is better than Pepperstone. Interactive Brokers finished with an overall rank of #2, while Pepperstone finished with an overall rank of #17.

Interactive Brokers is a highly trusted multi-asset broker with an extensive offering of tradeable global markets. It delivers competitive fees and high-quality research and education, as well as a modern, institutional-grade trading platform suite.

Feature	Interactive Brokers	Pepperstone
Overall Rating info
Trust Score info	99	95
Range of Investments
Trading Fees
Trading Platforms
Research
Mobile Trading
Education

FAQs

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Overall Rating	Interactive Brokers	Pepperstone
Overall Rating info
Trading Fees
Range of Investments
Trading Platforms
Mobile Trading
Research
Education
Trust Score info	99	95
Winner	check_circle
Review	Interactive Brokers Review	Pepperstone Review

Broker Screenshots	Interactive Brokers	Pepperstone
Broker Gallery (click to expand) info

Regulation	Interactive Brokers	Pepperstone
Trust Score info	99	95
Year Founded info	1977	2010
Publicly Traded (Listed) info	Yes	No
Bank info	No	No
Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). info	Yes info	Yes info
Tier-1 Licenses info	9	3
Tier-2 Licenses info	2	2
Tier-3 Licenses info	0	0
Tier-4 Licenses info	0	2

Tier-1 Licenses (Highly Trusted)	Interactive Brokers	Pepperstone
Australia (ASIC Authorised) info	Yes	Yes
Canada (CIRO Authorised) info	Yes	No
Hong Kong (SFC Authorised) info	Yes	No
Japan (FSA Authorised) info	Yes	No
Singapore (MAS Authorised) info	Yes	No
Switzerland (FINMA Authorised) info	Yes
United Kingdom (U.K.) (FCA Authorised) info	Yes	Yes
USA (CFTC Authorized) info	Yes	No
New Zealand (FMA Authorised) info	No	No
Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). info	Yes info	Yes info

Tier-2 Licenses (Trusted)	Interactive Brokers	Pepperstone
Kenya (CMA Authorised) info		Yes
Israel (ISA Authorised) info	No	No
South Africa (FSCA Authorised) info	No	No
UAE (DFSA, FSRA, or SCA Authorised) info	Yes	Yes
India (SEBI Authorised) info	Yes	No
Jordan (JSC Authorised) info

Investments	Interactive Brokers	Pepperstone
Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) info	Yes	Yes
Tradeable Symbols (Total) info	8500	1726
Forex Pairs (Total) info	90	65
U.S. Stocks (Shares) info	Yes	No
Global Stocks (Non-U.S. Shares) info	Yes	No
Copy Trading info	No	Yes
Cryptocurrency (Underlying) info	Yes	No
Cryptocurrency (CFDs) info	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	Interactive Brokers	Pepperstone
Average spread (EUR/USD) - Standard account info	0.59 info	1.1 info
All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active info	0.65 info	0.8 info
Inactivity Fee info	No	No
Order execution: Agency info	Yes	Yes
Order execution: Market Maker info	No	Yes

Funding	Interactive Brokers	Pepperstone
Minimum Deposit info	$0	$0
PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) info	No	Yes
Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) info	No	No
Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) info	Yes	Yes
Non-wire bank transfer info	Yes	Yes

Trading Platforms	Interactive Brokers	Pepperstone
Proprietary Desktop Trading Platform info	Yes	Yes
Desktop Platform (Windows) info	Yes	Yes
Web Platform info	Yes	Yes
Copy Trading info	No	Yes
MetaTrader 4 (MT4) info	No	Yes
MetaTrader 5 (MT5) info	No	Yes
cTrader info	No	Yes

Trading Tools	Interactive Brokers	Pepperstone
Virtual Trading (Demo) info	Yes	Yes
Price Alerts info	Yes	Yes
Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) info	155	15
Charting - Trade From Chart info	Yes	Yes
Charts can be saved info	Yes	Yes

Mobile Trading	Interactive Brokers	Pepperstone
Android App info	Yes	Yes
Apple iOS App info	Yes	Yes
Mobile Price Alerts info	Yes	Yes
Mobile Watchlist [DELETED] info
Mobile Watchlists - Syncing info	Yes	Yes
Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies info	97	30
Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines info	Yes	Yes
Mobile Charting - Trendlines Autosave info	No	Yes
Mobile Research - Economic Calendar info	Yes	Yes

Research	Interactive Brokers	Pepperstone
Daily Market Commentary (Articles) info	Yes	Yes
Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) info	Yes	Yes
Autochartist info	No	Yes
Trading Central info	Yes	No
TipRanks info	Yes	No
Client sentiment data info	Yes	Yes
Economic Calendar info	Yes	Yes

Education	Interactive Brokers	Pepperstone
Webinars info	Yes	Yes
Videos - Beginner Trading Videos info	Yes	Yes
Videos - Advanced Trading Videos info	Yes	Yes

Major Forex Pairs	Interactive Brokers	Pepperstone
GBP/USD [DELETED] info
USD/JPY [DELETED] info
EUR/USD info	Yes	Yes
USD/CHF [DELETED] info
USD/CAD [DELETED] info
NZD/USD [DELETED] info
AUD/USD [DELETED] info
Review	Interactive Brokers Review	Pepperstone Review

Overall	Interactive Brokers	Pepperstone
Overall Rating info
Trading Fees
Range of Investments
Trading Platforms
Mobile Trading
Research
Education
Trust Score info	99	95
Winner	check_circle
Review	Interactive Brokers Review	Pepperstone Review