Written by ForexBrokers.com
In this head to head comparison of Plus500 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.
Plus500 vs Pepperstone: Plus500 (founded 2008) and Pepperstone (founded 2010) are online brokers, and neither is a bank. Plus500 is publicly traded, while Pepperstone is privately held. ForexBrokers.com assigns Trust Scores of 99/99 to Plus500 and 94/99 to Pepperstone; scores of 90–99 mean highly trusted, 80–89 trusted, 70–79 average risk, 60–69 high risk, and under 59 not trusted.
On regulation, Plus500 holds 7 Tier-1 licenses and 4 Tier-2 licenses, while Pepperstone holds 3 Tier-1 and 2 Tier-2 licenses. Both land in the highly trusted bracket by score, but Plus500 has more top-tier authorizations and is listed on a stock exchange, whereas Pepperstone has fewer licenses and is not publicly traded.
| Feature |
Plus500
|
Pepperstone
|
|---|---|---|
| Year Founded | 2008 | 2010 |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | Yes | No |
| Bank | No | No |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 7 | 3 |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 4 | 2 |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 2 | 2 |
Pepperstone is the stronger pick on commissions and fees, earning 5/5 stars and ranking #6 out of 63 brokers, while Plus500 scores 4.0/5 stars and ranks #24. For EUR/USD, Plus500’s average spread was 1.5 pips in April 2024, whereas Pepperstone’s Razor account listed a 0.10-pip average spread in July 2024 that comes to 0.80 pips all-in after commissions—near the industry average. Pepperstone’s Standard account is commission-free with a 1.1-pip average spread, making it pricier than Razor’s all-in cost.
Plus500’s pricing sits slightly above the industry average. It does not offer retail discounts; however, qualified Professional clients can receive cash rebates similar to an active trader program. Its EUR/USD spread averaged 1.5 pips in April 2024, which is higher than the industry average and less compelling for high-volume traders.
Pepperstone uses an agency-execution model and offers the Razor account on TradingView, MetaTrader (MT4/MT5), and cTrader with commission-plus-spread pricing (0.80 pips all-in on EUR/USD as of July 2024). The commission-free Standard account averaged 1.1 pips. Active traders can lower costs further via rebates: in the U.K. and EU, Professional clients trading at least £20 million per month can receive about 15% per-lot rebates, rising to 25% above £200 million; in Australia, Professional clients start at a 10% reduction from 100 lots (over three months) and can reach a 30% reduction above 3001 lots per month.
| Feature |
Plus500
|
Pepperstone
|
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | €50 | $0 |
| Average spread (EUR/USD) - Standard account | 1.3 | 1.1 |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 1.3 | 0.8 |
| Non-wire bank transfer | No | Yes |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | No |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Low Spread Forex Brokers.
Plus500 and Pepperstone both support forex trading via CFDs or spot contracts and each offers 65 currency pairs. For overall market access, Plus500 lists about 5,500 tradeable symbols versus Pepperstone’s 1,726, which helps explain Plus500’s 4.5/5 rating for Range of Investments and #16 rank out of 63 brokers by ForexBrokers.com, compared with Pepperstone’s 4/5 and #23 rank.
If you want exchange-traded stocks, Plus500 lets you buy U.S. shares like Apple and international shares such as Vodafone, while Pepperstone does not offer exchange-traded equities. Both brokers provide cryptocurrency CFDs but not actual coins. Copy trading is available at Pepperstone, whereas Plus500 does not offer it. In short, Plus500 suits traders seeking a wider choice of markets and shares, while Pepperstone appeals if copy trading is a priority alongside forex and CFD instruments.
| Feature |
Plus500
|
Pepperstone
|
|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 5500 | 1726 |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 65 | 65 |
| U.S. Stocks (Shares) | Yes | No |
| Global Stocks (Non-U.S. Shares) | Yes | 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). Non-CFD share trading at Plus500 is only available through the Plus500 Invest account. | 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.
Plus500 vs Pepperstone for trading platforms and tools: both online brokers offer a free demo (paper trading) account and their own in-house platform, accessible in your web browser. Pepperstone also provides a Windows desktop download, while Plus500 does not. If you like placing orders directly from charts, Pepperstone supports chart trading; Plus500 does not. According to ForexBrokers.com, Plus500 is rated 4.5/5 stars and ranked #14 of 63 for Trading Platforms & Tools, while Pepperstone is rated 4/5 stars and ranked #21.
When it comes to third-party platforms and extra features, Pepperstone expands your options with MetaTrader 4 (MT4), MetaTrader 5 (MT5), and copy trading. Plus500 doesn’t support MT4, MT5, or copy trading, so your experience centers on its proprietary web platform. If you want MetaTrader or social/copy strategies, Pepperstone is the better fit; if you prefer a streamlined, browser-based platform with a strong rating, Plus500 stands out.
| Feature |
Plus500
|
Pepperstone
|
|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes |
| Proprietary Desktop Trading Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | No | Yes |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Copy Trading | No | Yes |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | No | Yes |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | No | Yes |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 115 | 15 |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | No | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best MetaTrader 4 Brokers, Best MetaTrader 5 Brokers.
Plus500 and Pepperstone both offer iPhone and Android mobile trading apps with price alerts and watchlist syncing between mobile and web. Each app lets you draw trendlines on charts. If you value a large set of built-in indicators, Plus500 stands out with 115 technical studies in its mobile charting, compared with 30 on Pepperstone.
There is a key difference in chart annotations: Pepperstone’s app auto-saves your drawings, while Plus500’s does not. According to ForexBrokers.com, Plus500 earns 4.5 out of 5 stars and ranks #14 of 63 for Mobile Trading Apps, while Pepperstone scores 4 out of 5 and ranks #19. Pick Plus500 for more indicators, or Pepperstone if automatically saving chart edits is important to you.
| Feature |
Plus500
|
Pepperstone
|
|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Price Alerts | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Watchlists - Syncing | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 115 | 30 |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Charting - Trendlines Autosave | No | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Forex Trading Apps.
Comparing market research at Plus500 vs Pepperstone: both brokers deliver the essentials with daily market commentary, an economic calendar, and a sentiment tool showing long/short ratios. The key differences come from third-party integrations. Pepperstone offers premium forex news from sources like Bloomberg, Reuters, or Dow Jones and includes Autochartist for technical and fundamental scanning. Plus500 doesn’t provide those news feeds or Autochartist, but it does offer Trading Central for technical analysis. Neither broker integrates TipRanks or Acuity Trading.
In ratings from ForexBrokers.com, both Plus500 and Pepperstone score 4.5 stars for Research, with Pepperstone ranked #12 out of 63 brokers and Plus500 ranked #16. If built-in top-tier news and Autochartist matter most, Pepperstone has the edge. If you prefer Trading Central’s analytics within your platform, Plus500 could be the better fit.
| Feature |
Plus500
|
Pepperstone
|
|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary (Articles) | Yes | Yes |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | No | 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.
If you’re new to forex and CFD trading, Plus500 and Pepperstone both make it easy to start learning. Each broker runs client webinars at least once a month and offers 10+ beginner videos on trading basics, with additional advanced videos when you’re ready to level up. This mix of live sessions and on-demand lessons helps beginners learn at their own pace and revisit topics as needed.
Both brokers earn 4.5/5 stars for Education. However, in ForexBrokers.com’s Education category, Pepperstone is ranked #15 out of 63 brokers, while Plus500 is ranked #26. If ranking is part of your decision, Pepperstone holds the edge; if you simply want frequent webinars and plenty of starter videos, both are strong choices for building foundational skills.
| Feature |
Plus500
|
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 Plus500 is better than Pepperstone. Plus500 finished with an overall rank of #14, while Pepperstone finished with an overall rank of #17.
Plus500 is a trusted global brand that offers an easy-to-use trading platform for online traders, alongside access to a thorough selection of CFDs. Share trading is available, but only via its Plus500 Invest product offering.
| Feature |
Plus500
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Pepperstone
|
|---|---|---|
| Overall Rating |
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| Trust Score | 99 | 94 |
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In the Plus500 vs Pepperstone comparison, neither broker offers the ability to buy actual (delivered) cryptocurrency, but both allow trading cryptocurrency CFDs instead.
Plus500 vs Pepperstone: For deposits and withdrawals, Plus500 offers PayPal, Skrill, and bank wire transfers but not ACH/SEPA, whereas Pepperstone supports ACH/SEPA, PayPal, and bank wires but not Skrill; Visa/Mastercard availability was not specified for either broker.
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 | Plus500 | Pepperstone | |
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| Trust Score | 99 | 94 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | Plus500 Review | Pepperstone Review |
| Broker Screenshots | Plus500 | Pepperstone | |
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| Regulation | Plus500 | Pepperstone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trust Score | 99 | 94 | |
| Year Founded | 2008 | 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 | 4 | 2 | |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 | |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 2 | 2 |
| Tier-1 Licenses (Highly Trusted) | Plus500 | 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) | |||
| United Kingdom (U.K.) (FCA Authorised) | Yes | Yes | |
| USA (CFTC Authorized) | No | No | |
| New Zealand (FMA Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes | Yes |
| Tier-2 Licenses (Trusted) | Plus500 | Pepperstone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenya (CMA Authorised) | Yes | ||
| Israel (ISA Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| South Africa (FSCA Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| UAE (DFSA, FSRA, or CMA Authorised) | Yes | Yes | |
| India (SEBI Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Jordan (JSC Authorised) |
| Investments | Plus500 | Pepperstone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 5500 | 1726 | |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 65 | 65 | |
| U.S. Stocks (Shares) | Yes | No | |
| Global Stocks (Non-U.S. Shares) | Yes | 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). Non-CFD share trading at Plus500 is only available through the Plus500 Invest account. | 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 | Plus500 | Pepperstone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average spread (EUR/USD) - Standard account | 1.3 | 1.1 | |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 1.3 | 0.8 | |
| Inactivity Fee | Yes | No | |
| Order execution: Agency | No | Yes | |
| Order execution: Market Maker | Yes | Yes |
| Funding | Plus500 | Pepperstone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | €50 | $0 | |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes | |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | No | |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes | |
| Non-wire bank transfer | No | Yes |
| Trading Platforms | Plus500 | Pepperstone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proprietary Desktop Trading Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | No | Yes | |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Copy Trading | No | Yes | |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | No | Yes | |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | No | Yes | |
| cTrader | No | Yes |
| Trading Tools | Plus500 | Pepperstone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes | |
| Price Alerts | Yes | Yes | |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 115 | 15 | |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | No | Yes | |
| Charts can be saved | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Trading | Plus500 | 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 | 115 | 30 | |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Trendlines Autosave | No | Yes | |
| Mobile Research - Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Research | Plus500 | Pepperstone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary (Articles) | Yes | Yes | |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | No | Yes | |
| Autochartist | No | Yes | |
| Trading Central | Yes | No | |
| TipRanks | No | No | |
| Client sentiment data | Yes | Yes | |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Education | Plus500 | Pepperstone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Webinars | Yes | Yes | |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | Yes | |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | Yes |
| Major Forex Pairs | Plus500 | Pepperstone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| GBP/USD [DELETED] | |||
| USD/JPY [DELETED] | |||
| EUR/USD | Yes | Yes | |
| USD/CHF [DELETED] | |||
| USD/CAD [DELETED] | |||
| NZD/USD [DELETED] | |||
| AUD/USD [DELETED] | |||
| Review | Plus500 Review | Pepperstone Review |
| Overall | Plus500 | Pepperstone | |
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| Trust Score | 99 | 94 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | Plus500 Review | Pepperstone Review |
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