Written by ForexBrokers.com
In this head to head comparison of Pepperstone vs Questrade, 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.
Founded in 2010, Pepperstone emerges as a leading online broker with a strong footing in the financial world. Holding three Tier-1 licenses, Pepperstone is recognized for its high level of trust, earning an impressive Trust Score of 95 according to ForexBrokers.com. While not publicly traded or a bank, Pepperstone offers a secure trading environment backed by two Tier-2 licenses, further enhancing its credibility in the global market.
In comparison, Questrade, established in 2000, is another trusted broker, though with a slightly different profile. It holds two Tier-1 licenses, which contribute to its ForexBrokers.com Trust Score of 86. Despite not being publicly traded or a bank, Questrade remains a prominent player in the Canadian market, catering primarily to those seeking reliability in their trading experiences. While lacking in Tier-2 licenses, its reputability remains strong underpinned by its Tier-1 affiliations.
| Feature |
Pepperstone
|
Questrade
|
|---|---|---|
| Year Founded | 2010 | 2000 |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | ||
| Bank | ||
| Tier-1 Licenses | 3 | 2 |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 2 | 0 |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 2 | 0 |
Pepperstone and Questrade differ considerably when it comes to their commissions and fees, making them suitable for different types of traders. Pepperstone shines with its Razor account, boasting an average spread of 0.10 pips for EUR/USD, paired with a commission-equivalent spread of 0.70 pips. This results in an all-in cost of 0.80 pips, nearly hitting the industry average. On the other hand, its Standard account is commission-free but has a higher average spread of 1.1 pips for the same currency pair, making it less cost-effective than its Razor counterpart. Active traders can further benefit from Pepperstone's rebate program, which reduces spreads based on trading volumes.
For traders in the United Kingdom, EU, and Australia, Pepperstone offers generous rebate incentives for high-volume traders. UK and EU professionals can earn a rebate of up to 25% on spreads for forex trades exceeding £200 million a month. Meanwhile, Australian traders see spread discounts of up to 30% for trading more than 3001 standard lots monthly. All these factors contribute to Pepperstone's strong performance in the Commissions and Fees category, earning it a ranking of #10 out of 63 brokers and a commendable 4.5-star rating.
Conversely, Questrade lags behind with an average target spread of 1.9 pips on EUR/USD, considerably higher than the industry norm. This higher spread, lacking any significant rebate or discount program, renders it less attractive for traders looking to optimize cost efficiency. Consequently, Questrade is ranked #58 out of 63 brokers and holds a 3-star rating for commissions and fees. This positions Questrade as a less appealing option for traders primarily concerned with minimizing trading costs.
| Feature |
Pepperstone
|
Questrade
|
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $0 | $250 |
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 1.00 | N/A |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.70 | N/A |
| Active Trader or VIP Discounts | Yes | |
| ACH or SEPA Transfers | Yes | |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | |
| Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit) | Yes | Yes |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Low Spread Forex Brokers.
When it comes to the variety of investments offered by online brokers, Pepperstone and Questrade each provide unique opportunities for traders. Pepperstone offers a wide selection with 1,726 tradeable symbols and specializes in forex trading through either CFDs or spot contracts, boasting 65 tradeable forex pairs. Additionally, Pepperstone offers engaging features like copy trading and cryptocurrency derivatives, yet does not include exchange-traded securities on U.S. or international exchanges. With these offerings, Pepperstone garners a 4-star rating for its range of investments.
On the other hand, Questrade provides a comprehensive range for investors with 641 tradeable symbols and 110 forex pairs available through CFD or spot contracts. A standout feature is its provision of exchange-traded securities on both U.S. and international exchanges, allowing direct access to major stocks like Apple and Vodafone. However, unlike Pepperstone, Questrade doesn’t offer copy trading. While both platforms offer cryptocurrency derivatives, neither allows the purchase of actual cryptocurrencies. Questrade achieves a higher accolade with a 5-star rating and is ranked #11 by ForexBrokers.com for its investment range.
| Feature |
Pepperstone
|
Questrade
|
|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 1726 | 641 |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 65 | 110 |
| U.S. Stock Trading (Non CFD) | Yes | |
| Int'l Stock Trading (Non CFD) | Yes | |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | Yes | |
| Cryptocurrency (Physical) | ||
| Cryptocurrency (Derivative) | 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). |
Dive deeper: Best Copy Trading Platforms.
Pepperstone and Questrade both offer simulated trading through free virtual demo accounts, ideal for beginners to practice without financial risks. Both brokers have proprietary trading platforms and support Windows-based desktop downloads and web-based platforms for convenient trading experiences. However, Pepperstone shines with its MetaTrader 4 and 5 options, whereas Questrade does not offer MT4 or MT5. Additionally, Pepperstone provides copy trading and supports DupliTrade, offering varied options for different trading styles, while Questrade also supports DupliTrade but lacks copy trading features.
When it comes to trading tools, Pepperstone provides 30 charting drawing tools, allowing for detailed analysis, whereas Questrade includes 20. Both allow trades directly from stock charts, making swift decisions easier. While Pepperstone offers seven columns for watch lists, Questrade impressively provides 52. Both platforms receive a solid four stars for trading tools, yet Pepperstone ranks higher at #22 among 63 brokers compared to Questrade's #34 ranking by ForexBrokers.com, showcasing a slight edge for Pepperstone in the trading platforms and tools category.
| Feature |
Pepperstone
|
Questrade
|
|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes |
| Proprietary Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | Yes |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | Yes | |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | Yes | |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | Yes | |
| DupliTrade | Yes | Yes |
| ZuluTrade | ||
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 15 | 64 |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 30 | 20 |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 7 | 52 |
Dive deeper: Best MetaTrader 4 Brokers, Best MetaTrader 5 Brokers.
Pepperstone and Questrade both offer convenient mobile trading experiences with apps available for iPhone and Android devices. Each app supports essential features like stock and forex price alerts, watchlist symbol syncing, and the ability to draw trendlines on charts. Users can enjoy detailed charting options with multiple time frames and both apps automatically save drawings on the charts. Creating watchlists with real-time quotes is seamless on both platforms, providing traders with the tools they need to monitor and act on the market.
In terms of charting capabilities, Pepperstone offers 30 technical studies, while Questrade provides a more extensive selection with 64 studies. Despite these differences, both brokers have received a customer rating of 4 stars for their mobile trading apps. Pepperstone holds a mobile trading app ranking of #21 out of 63 brokers on ForexBrokers.com, slightly ahead of Questrade, which is ranked #34. Regardless, both platforms cater to users looking for reliable and feature-packed mobile trading solutions.
| Feature |
Pepperstone
|
Questrade
|
|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes |
| Watchlist Syncing | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 30 | 64 |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Charting - Multiple Time Frames | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Charting - Drawings Autosave | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Watchlist | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Forex Trading Apps.
Pepperstone and Questrade both provide tools and resources to assist traders in market research, but they differ significantly in some areas. Pepperstone excels in providing daily market commentary and access to forex news from top-tier sources like Bloomberg and Reuters, giving traders timely insights into market movements. It also offers a sentiment-based trading tool, which displays the ratio of long or short positions across various currency pairs, a valuable asset for gauging market trends. The broker integrates Autochartist for technical and fundamental analysis but does not offer Trading Central or TipRanks research tools.
On the other hand, Questrade provides unique advantages with its access to Trading Central and TipRanks, offering investors diverse perspectives and thorough research capabilities. However, Questrade falls short in daily market commentary, forex news coverage from top-tier sources, and does not offer sentiment-based trading tools. Both platforms offer Autochartist tools and economic calendars, yet customers looking for extensive market coverage and research might rate Pepperstone higher, evidenced by its 4.5-star research rating and being ranked 12th among 63 brokers, compared to Questrade's 3.5-star rating and 51st position ranking.
| Feature |
Pepperstone
|
Questrade
|
|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes | |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | |
| Autochartist | Yes | Yes |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | Yes | |
| Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs | Yes | |
| TipRanks | Yes | |
| Signal Centre (Acuity Trading) | ||
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Brokers for Forex Research.
If you're new to trading and exploring educational resources offered by online brokers, both Pepperstone and Questrade provide valuable learning materials, each with distinct benefits. Pepperstone delivers a comprehensive learning experience with a wide array of educational pieces, including over ten articles and videos focusing on forex and CFDs, alongside scheduled monthly webinars for client education. It also maintains a searchable archive of recorded webinars and offers an extensive library of beginner and advanced videos covering diverse trading topics. Additionally, Pepperstone features an investor dictionary with over 50 investing terms to help traders understand complex jargon. With these offerings, Pepperstone secures a high education rating of 4.5 stars.
In contrast, Questrade also provides more than ten educational pieces on forex and CFDs, along with a searchable archive of recorded webinars to facilitate continued learning. However, unlike Pepperstone, Questrade does not offer monthly webinars or a beginner-focused investor dictionary. While it provides ten beginner-level educational videos, the range of advanced trading topic coverage is limited. Questrade has a lower education rating of 3.5 stars, reflecting its lighter emphasis on client education compared to Pepperstone. As a result, in the rankings by ForexBrokers.com, Pepperstone holds the 17th position out of 63 brokers, whereas Questrade follows at 36th, highlighting Pepperstone's stronger focus on educational support for traders.
| Feature |
Pepperstone
|
Questrade
|
|---|---|---|
| Education (Forex or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Client Webinars | Yes | |
| Client Webinars (Archived) | Yes | Yes |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | Yes |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | |
| Investor Dictionary (Glossary) | Yes |
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 Questrade. Pepperstone finished with an overall rank of #16, while Questrade finished with an overall rank of #32.
Pepperstone offers a growing range of tradeable markets, good-quality research, and support for multiple social copy trading platforms.
| Feature |
Pepperstone
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Questrade
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| Overall Rating |
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| Trust Score | 95 | 86 |
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Pepperstone does not offer the ability to buy actual (delivered) cryptocurrency, only cryptocurrency derivatives, while Questrade also lacks options for purchasing the actual cryptocurrency but allows for the trading of cryptocurrency derivatives.
Pepperstone provides diverse options for depositing or withdrawing funds, including ACH or SEPA transfers, PayPal, Skrill, Visa or Mastercard, and bank wires, while Questrade supports transactions through Visa or Mastercard and bank wires only.
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 | Pepperstone | Questrade | |
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| Trust Score | 95 | 86 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | Pepperstone Review | Questrade Review |
| Broker Screenshots | Pepperstone | Questrade | |
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| Regulation | Pepperstone | Questrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trust Score | 95 | 86 | |
| Year Founded | 2010 | 2000 | |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | |||
| Bank | |||
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes | ||
| Tier-1 Licenses | 3 | 2 | |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 2 | 0 | |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 | |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 2 | 0 |
| Tier-1 Licenses (Highly Trusted) | Pepperstone | Questrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia (ASIC Authorised) | Yes | ||
| Canada (CIRO Authorised) | Yes | ||
| Hong Kong (SFC Authorised) | |||
| Japan (SFC Authorised) | |||
| Singapore (MAS Authorised) | |||
| Switzerland (FINMA Authorised) | |||
| United Kingdom (U.K.) (FCA Authorised) | Yes | ||
| USA (CFTC Authorized) | |||
| New Zealand (FMA Authorised) | |||
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes |
| Tier-2 Licenses (Trusted) | Pepperstone | Questrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenya (CMA Authorised) | Yes | ||
| Israel (ISA Authorised) | |||
| South Africa (FSCA Authorised) | |||
| UAE (DFSA/Central Bank Authorised) | Yes | ||
| India (SEBI Authorised) | |||
| Jordan (JSC Authorised) |
| Investments | Pepperstone | Questrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 1726 | 641 | |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 65 | 110 | |
| U.S. Stock Trading (Non CFD) | Yes | ||
| Int'l Stock Trading (Non CFD) | Yes | ||
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | Yes | ||
| Cryptocurrency (Physical) | |||
| Cryptocurrency (Derivative) | 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). |
| Cost | Pepperstone | Questrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average Spread EUR/USD - Standard | 1.00 | N/A | |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.70 | N/A | |
| Active Trader or VIP Discounts | Yes | ||
| Inactivity Fee | |||
| Execution: Agency Broker | Yes | Yes | |
| Execution: Market Maker | Yes |
| Funding | Pepperstone | Questrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $0 | $250 | |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | ||
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | ||
| Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit) | Yes | Yes | |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes | |
| ACH or SEPA Transfers | Yes |
| Trading Platforms | Pepperstone | Questrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proprietary Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | Yes | |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Social Trading / Copy Trading | Yes | ||
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | Yes | ||
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | Yes | ||
| cTrader | Yes | ||
| DupliTrade | Yes | Yes | |
| ZuluTrade |
| Trading Tools | Pepperstone | Questrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes | |
| Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes | |
| Watchlists - Total Fields | 7 | 52 | |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 15 | 64 | |
| Charting - Drawing Tools (Total) | 30 | 20 | |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes | |
| Charts can be saved | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Trading | Pepperstone | Questrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes | |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Alerts - Basic Fields | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Watchlist | Yes | Yes | |
| Watchlist Syncing | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 30 | 64 | |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Multiple Time Frames | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Drawings Autosave | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Research | Pepperstone | Questrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary | Yes | ||
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | ||
| Autochartist | Yes | Yes | |
| Trading Central (Recognia) | Yes | ||
| TipRanks | Yes | ||
| Social Sentiment - Currency Pairs | Yes | ||
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Education | Pepperstone | Questrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Education (Forex or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Client Webinars | Yes | ||
| Client Webinars (Archived) | Yes | Yes | |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | Yes | |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | ||
| Investor Dictionary (Glossary) | Yes |
| Major Forex Pairs | Pepperstone | Questrade | |
|---|---|---|---|
| GBP/USD | Yes | Yes | |
| USD/JPY | Yes | Yes | |
| EUR/USD | Yes | Yes | |
| USD/CHF | Yes | Yes | |
| USD/CAD | Yes | Yes | |
| NZD/USD | Yes | Yes | |
| AUD/USD | Yes | Yes | |
| Review | Pepperstone Review | Questrade Review |
| Overall | Pepperstone | Questrade | |
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| Trust Score | 95 | 86 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | Pepperstone Review | Questrade Review |
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