If you are looking for a reliable and competitive forex broker, you might be interested in comparing Pepperstone and IC Markets. These two brokers are among the most popular choices for online traders, especially in Australia, where they are both regulated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). But how do they differ in terms of pricing, fees, platforms, execution, regulation, and markets? In this blog post, we will try to answer these questions and help you decide which broker suits your trading needs and preferences better.
Pricing and Fees
Both Pepperstone and IC Markets offer two types of accounts: a standard account with no commissions but wider spreads, and a raw account with low commissions but tighter spreads. The raw account is also known as the Razor account at Pepperstone and the True ECN account at IC Markets. The table below shows the average spreads and commissions for some of the major currency pairs on both accounts.
Currency Pair | Pepperstone Standard | Pepperstone Razor | IC Markets Standard | IC Markets True ECN |
---|---|---|---|---|
EUR/USD | 1.12 pips | 0.17 pips + $3.50 | 0.62 pips | 0.02 pips + $3.50 |
GBP/USD | 1.49 pips | 0.59 pips + $3.50 | 0.85 pips | 0.23 pips + $3.50 |
AUD/USD | 1.04 pips | 0.24 pips + $3.50 | 0.45 pips | 0.17 pips + $3.50 |
USD/JPY | 1.08 pips | 0.25 pips + $3.50 | 0.54 pips | 0.09 pips + $3.50 |
As you can see, IC Markets has slightly lower spreads on the standard account, while Pepperstone has slightly lower spreads on the raw account. However, the difference is not very significant and both brokers offer very competitive pricing overall.
In addition to spreads and commissions, you should also consider other fees that may apply to your trading, such as swap rates, deposit and withdrawal fees, inactivity fees, etc. Both brokers charge swap rates for holding positions overnight, which vary depending on the currency pair and the direction of the trade. You can check the swap rates on their websites or platforms.
Both brokers also offer a range of deposit and withdrawal methods, such as credit/debit cards, bank transfers, e-wallets, etc. Neither broker charges any fees for deposits or withdrawals, except for international bank transfers which may incur some charges from the banks involved.
Both brokers do not charge any inactivity fees for dormant accounts, which is a plus compared to some other brokers who may charge up to $10 per month after a certain period of inactivity.
Platforms and Tools
Both Pepperstone and IC Markets offer a choice of three trading platforms: MetaTrader 4 (MT4), MetaTrader 5 (MT5), and cTrader. These are all well-known and widely used platforms in the forex industry, offering advanced charting, technical analysis, automated trading, social trading, and more.
Both brokers also provide access to various tools and resources to enhance your trading experience, such as market news, economic calendars, trading signals, webinars, educational materials, etc.
One notable difference between the two brokers is that Pepperstone offers more third-party platforms and tools than IC Markets, such as TradingView, Smart Trader Tools, Autochartist, Myfxbook, ZuluTrade, DupliTrade, etc. These are all optional add-ons that you can use to access more features and functionalities on your trading platform.
Execution and Regulation
Both Pepperstone and IC Markets are ECN/NDD brokers, meaning that they use electronic communication networks (ECNs) and no dealing desks (NDDs) to execute your trades directly with a pool of liquidity providers without any interference or manipulation from the broker.
This ensures fast execution speeds, low latency, minimal slippage, and no requotes or conflicts of interest between the broker and the trader.
Both brokers are also regulated by multiple reputable authorities around the world, such as ASIC in Australia, FCA in the UK (Pepperstone only), CySEC in Cyprus (Pepperstone only), DFSA in Dubai (Pepperstone only), SCB in Bahamas (both), FSA in Seychelles (IC Markets only), etc.
This means that both brokers have to comply with strict rules and standards regarding client funds protection, segregation of accounts, anti-money laundering policies, dispute resolution procedures, etc.
Markets and Instruments
Both Pepperstone and IC Markets offer a wide range of markets and instruments to trade with CFDs (contracts for difference), such as forex pairs (62+ for Pepperstone and 61+ for IC Markets), cryptocurrencies (12+ for Pepperstone and 18+ for IC Markets), indices (14+ for Pepperstone and 16+ for IC Markets), shares (300+ for Pepperstone and 100+ for IC Markets), commodities (9+ for Pepperstone and 26+ for IC Markets), etc.
Both brokers also offer leverage up to 500:1 for professional clients and up to 30:1 for retail clients, depending on the jurisdiction and the instrument.
Conclusion
As you can see, both Pepperstone and IC Markets are very similar in many aspects, such as pricing, fees, platforms, execution, regulation, and markets. However, there are also some minor differences that may appeal to different types of traders.
For example, if you prefer a wider selection of third-party platforms and tools, you may opt for Pepperstone. If you prefer a slightly lower spread on the standard account, you may opt for IC Markets.
Ultimately, the best way to decide which broker is better for you is to try them out yourself. Both brokers offer free demo accounts that you can use to test their services and features before opening a live account.
We hope this blog post has been helpful and informative for you. Happy trading!