Written by ForexBrokers.com
In this head to head comparison of IG 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.
IG vs Pepperstone: IG was founded in 1974 and is publicly traded, while Pepperstone launched in 2010 and is privately held. IG is a bank; Pepperstone is not. Based on ForexBrokers.com’s Trust Score scale (90–99 highly trusted, 80–89 trusted, 70–79 average risk, 60–69 high risk, below 59 not trusted), IG scores 99 and Pepperstone 94—both in the highly trusted range.
For regulation, IG holds 8 Tier-1 licenses (highly trusted) and 2 Tier-2 licenses (trusted). Pepperstone holds 3 Tier-1 and 2 Tier-2 licenses. With more top-tier licenses and a perfect 99 score, IG has the edge for those prioritizing the most extensive oversight, while Pepperstone remains a highly trusted, well-regulated option.
| Feature |
IG
|
Pepperstone
|
|---|---|---|
| Year Founded | 1974 | 2010 |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | Yes | No |
| Bank | Yes | No |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 8 | 3 |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 2 | 2 |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 1 | 2 |
IG and Pepperstone both earn top marks for commissions and fees, with each broker rated 5 out of 5 stars. In ForexBrokers.com’s Commissions and Fees category, Pepperstone ranks #6 out of 36 brokers, while IG ranks #7 out of 36. That puts Pepperstone just ahead overall, although both brokers are strong choices for cost-conscious traders.
IG is not a discount broker, but it offers solid value for active traders, especially through its Forex Direct DMA account. On its main Forex Direct pricing, IG’s EUR/USD average spread was 0.62 pips in July 2023, with an estimated all-in cost of 0.82 pips after commission. IG also offers spread rebates for high-volume traders, which can bring costs down further. Its CFD account spreads were also competitive, averaging 0.69 pips during the main trading session.
Pepperstone is built around agency execution and is especially attractive on its Razor account, which had an average EUR/USD spread of 0.10 pips in July 2024. After adding commission, the all-in cost came to about 0.80 pips, which is slightly better than IG’s comparable DMA pricing. Pepperstone’s Standard account is simpler but pricier, with a 1.1-pip average spread on EUR/USD. For traders who qualify, Pepperstone’s Active Trader program can reduce costs even more.
| Feature |
IG
|
Pepperstone
|
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | £1 | $0 |
| Average spread (EUR/USD) - Standard account | 0.91 | 1.1 |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.82 | 0.8 |
| Non-wire bank transfer | Yes | Yes |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | No |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Low Spread Forex Brokers.
IG offers a wider range of investments than Pepperstone overall. IG supports forex trading as a CFD or spot contract, and it lists 19,537 tradeable symbols, including 97 forex pairs. It also gives clients access to exchange traded securities on both U.S. and international exchanges, plus the option to buy actual cryptocurrency as well as crypto CFDs. In ForexBrokers.com’s Range of Investments category, IG is rated 5 stars and ranked #4 out of 36 brokers.
Pepperstone also offers forex trading as a CFD or spot contract, but its selection is smaller, with 1,726 tradeable symbols and 65 forex pairs. It does not offer exchange traded securities on U.S. or international exchanges, and it does not let clients buy actual cryptocurrency. Pepperstone does support crypto CFDs and does offer copy trading, which IG does not. For Range of Investments, Pepperstone is rated 4 stars and ranked #23 out of 36 brokers.
| Feature |
IG
|
Pepperstone
|
|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 19537 | 1726 |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 97 | 65 |
| U.S. Stocks (Shares) | Yes | No |
| Global Stocks (Non-U.S. Shares) | Yes | No |
| Copy Trading | No | Yes |
| Cryptocurrency (Underlying) | Yes | 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.
IG and Pepperstone both give traders a wide range of platform choices, including free demo accounts, web-based trading, Windows desktop downloads, and access to both MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5. Each broker also offers a proprietary platform built in-house, along with tools that let you trade directly from a chart. In other words, both are well set up for beginners who want a practice account and for more active traders who want flexible ways to place trades.
The biggest difference is copy trading, which Pepperstone offers but IG does not. That may matter if you want to follow and mirror other traders. In ForexBrokers.com’s Trading Platforms and Tools category, IG is rated 5 stars and ranked #1 out of 36 brokers, while Pepperstone is rated 4 stars and ranked #21. Based on platform quality and available tools, IG has the edge overall, while Pepperstone stands out for its copy trading feature.
| Feature |
IG
|
Pepperstone
|
|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes |
| Proprietary Desktop Trading Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | Yes |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Copy Trading | No | Yes |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | Yes | Yes |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | Yes | Yes |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 33 | 15 |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best MetaTrader 4 Brokers, Best MetaTrader 5 Brokers.
IG and Pepperstone both make it easy to trade on the go with iPhone and Android apps, plus useful features like price alerts and watchlist syncing between mobile and online accounts. Both apps also let you draw trendlines on charts and automatically save those drawings, which helps if you want to keep track of ideas as you move between devices.
Where IG pulls ahead is in charting and overall app quality. IG’s mobile app includes 33 technical studies, compared with 30 for Pepperstone, and it earns a 5-star rating for mobile trading apps versus Pepperstone’s 4 stars. That edge shows up in industry rankings too, with IG placed #1 out of 36 brokers for mobile trading apps, while Pepperstone ranks #19.
| Feature |
IG
|
Pepperstone
|
|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Price Alerts | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Watchlists - Syncing | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 33 | 30 |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Charting - Trendlines Autosave | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Forex Trading Apps.
When it comes to market research, IG and Pepperstone both give traders plenty of helpful tools. Each broker provides daily market commentary, forex news from major sources like Bloomberg and Reuters, Autochartist tools, sentiment data that shows how many traders are long or short, and an economic calendar for tracking global events. Neither broker offers Trading Central research tools, so on that point they are evenly matched.
IG pulls ahead with a wider research offering, including TipRanks and Acuity Trading tools such as Signal Centre, which Pepperstone does not provide. That broader coverage helps explain IG’s stronger research score of 5 stars and its #2 ranking out of 36 brokers, compared with Pepperstone’s 4.5 stars and #13 ranking. For traders who want more in-depth market research, IG has the edge.
| Feature |
IG
|
Pepperstone
|
|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary (Articles) | Yes | Yes |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | Yes |
| Autochartist | Yes | Yes |
| Trading Central | No | No |
| Client sentiment data | Yes | Yes |
| TipRanks | Yes | No |
| Acuity Trading | Yes | No |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Brokers for Forex Research.
When it comes to beginner-friendly learning materials, both IG and Pepperstone give new traders plenty to work with. Each broker offers forex and CFDs education with well over 10 relevant learning pieces, plus online educational webinars at least once a month. They also both provide at least 10 beginner videos and at least 10 advanced videos, so whether you are just starting out or want to build on your trading knowledge, either platform gives you a wide range of lessons to explore.
That said, IG has the edge in education overall. It is rated 5 stars for Education and ranks #7 out of 36 brokers at ForexBrokers.com, while Pepperstone is rated 4.5 stars and ranks #15. For beginners comparing online broker education, IG stands out as the stronger choice, though Pepperstone still offers a solid mix of helpful trading content.
| Feature |
IG
|
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 IG is better than Pepperstone. IG finished with an overall rank of #1, while Pepperstone finished with an overall rank of #17.
IG offers the ultimate comprehensive trading package, featuring excellent trading and research tools, industry-leading education, and an extensive range of tradeable markets.
| Feature |
IG
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Pepperstone
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| Trust Score | 99 | 94 |
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IG allows buying actual (delivered) cryptocurrency and trading cryptocurrency CFDs, whereas Pepperstone supports cryptocurrency CFDs only and does not offer purchases of the underlying coins.
In the IG vs Pepperstone comparison, both online brokers support ACH/SEPA, PayPal, and bank wire deposits and withdrawals, while neither supports Skrill.
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 | IG | Pepperstone | |
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| Trust Score | 99 | 94 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | IG Review | Pepperstone Review |
| Broker Screenshots | IG | Pepperstone | |
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| Regulation | IG | Pepperstone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trust Score | 99 | 94 | |
| Year Founded | 1974 | 2010 | |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | Yes | No | |
| Bank | Yes | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes | Yes | |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 8 | 3 | |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 2 | 2 | |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 | |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 1 | 2 |
| Tier-1 Licenses (Highly Trusted) | IG | Pepperstone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia (ASIC Authorised) | Yes | Yes | |
| Canada (CIRO Authorised) | No | No | |
| Hong Kong (SFC Authorised) | No | No | |
| Japan (FSA Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Singapore (MAS Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Switzerland (FINMA Authorised) | Yes | ||
| United Kingdom (U.K.) (FCA Authorised) | Yes | Yes | |
| USA (CFTC Authorized) | Yes | No | |
| New Zealand (FMA Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes | Yes |
| Tier-2 Licenses (Trusted) | IG | Pepperstone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kenya (CMA Authorised) | Yes | ||
| Israel (ISA Authorised) | No | No | |
| South Africa (FSCA Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| UAE (DFSA, FSRA, or CMA Authorised) | Yes | Yes | |
| India (SEBI Authorised) | No | No | |
| Jordan (JSC Authorised) |
| Investments | IG | Pepperstone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 19537 | 1726 | |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 97 | 65 | |
| U.S. Stocks (Shares) | Yes | No | |
| Global Stocks (Non-U.S. Shares) | Yes | No | |
| Copy Trading | No | Yes | |
| Cryptocurrency (Underlying) | Yes | 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 | IG | Pepperstone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average spread (EUR/USD) - Standard account | 0.91 | 1.1 | |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | 0.82 | 0.8 | |
| Inactivity Fee | Yes | No | |
| Order execution: Agency | Yes | Yes | |
| Order execution: Market Maker | Yes | Yes |
| Funding | IG | Pepperstone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | £1 | $0 | |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes | |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | No | No | |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes | |
| Non-wire bank transfer | Yes | Yes |
| Trading Platforms | IG | Pepperstone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proprietary Desktop Trading Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | Yes | |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Copy Trading | No | Yes | |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | Yes | Yes | |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | Yes | Yes | |
| cTrader | No | Yes |
| Trading Tools | IG | Pepperstone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes | |
| Price Alerts | Yes | Yes | |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 33 | 15 | |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes | |
| Charts can be saved | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Trading | IG | 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 | 33 | 30 | |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Trendlines Autosave | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Research - Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Research | IG | Pepperstone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary (Articles) | Yes | Yes | |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | Yes | |
| Autochartist | Yes | Yes | |
| Trading Central | No | No | |
| TipRanks | Yes | No | |
| Client sentiment data | Yes | Yes | |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Education | IG | Pepperstone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Webinars | Yes | Yes | |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | Yes | |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | Yes |
| Major Forex Pairs | IG | Pepperstone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| GBP/USD [DELETED] | |||
| USD/JPY [DELETED] | |||
| EUR/USD | Yes | Yes | |
| USD/CHF [DELETED] | |||
| USD/CAD [DELETED] | |||
| NZD/USD [DELETED] | |||
| AUD/USD [DELETED] | |||
| Review | IG Review | Pepperstone Review |
| Overall | IG | Pepperstone | |
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| Trust Score | 99 | 94 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | IG Review | Pepperstone Review |
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