Written by ForexBrokers.com
In this head to head comparison of Swissquote 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.
Swissquote vs Pepperstone: both are well-regulated online brokers, but their profiles differ. Swissquote was founded in 1996, is publicly traded, and operates as a bank. Pepperstone launched in 2010, is privately held, and is not a bank. On the ForexBrokers.com Trust Score scale—where 90–99 is highly trusted, 80–89 trusted, 70–79 average risk, 60–69 high risk, and below 59 not trusted—Swissquote earns 99 while Pepperstone scores 94; both fall in the highly trusted range.
Regulation and licenses shape oversight and client protections. Swissquote holds 5 Tier-1 licenses (considered highly trusted by ForexBrokers.com) and 2 Tier-2 licenses (trusted). Pepperstone holds 3 Tier-1 and 2 Tier-2 licenses. In short, both offer strong regulatory coverage, with Swissquote adding a longer track record and the transparency of a listed, banking institution.
| Feature |
Swissquote
|
Pepperstone
|
|---|---|---|
| Year Founded | 1996 | 2010 |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | Yes | No |
| Bank | Yes | No |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 5 | 3 |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 2 | 2 |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 0 | 2 |
When comparing commissions and fees, Pepperstone is the lower-cost choice overall, especially for active traders. Its Razor account uses commission-based pricing with tight spreads, and its Active Trader program can further reduce costs for high-volume clients. Pepperstone is rated 5 stars for commissions and fees and ranks #6 out of 36 brokers, while Swissquote is rated 3.5 stars and ranks #35 out of 36 brokers. In simple terms, Pepperstone is generally more affordable, while Swissquote tends to charge more for the added appeal of banking with a Swiss financial group.
Swissquote’s pricing varies by entity, but its U.K., Luxembourg, and Swiss offerings are usually more expensive than the cheapest forex brokers. For example, Swissquote U.K. has spread-only and commission-based accounts, with the Elite account charging $5 per round-turn trade plus lower spreads, while the Standard account starts at 1.3 pips on EUR/USD. Swissquote Luxembourg shows similar pricing, and the Swiss branch is also pricier, with EUR/USD spreads starting at 1.7 pips on the Standard account. This makes Swissquote better suited to traders who value the brand and banking relationship more than the lowest possible trading costs.
Pepperstone offers a clearer cost advantage for most traders. Its Razor account averaged 0.10 pips on EUR/USD, and even after commission, the all-in cost was about 0.80 pips, which is around the industry average. Its commission-free Standard account averaged 1.1 pips on EUR/USD, making it the pricier of the two Pepperstone choices. Overall, Pepperstone is the stronger pick on commissions and fees, while Swissquote is the more expensive option.
| Feature |
Swissquote
|
Pepperstone
|
|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $1000 | $0 |
| Average spread (EUR/USD) - Standard account | N/A | 1.1 |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | N/A | 0.8 |
| Non-wire bank transfer | Yes | Yes |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | No |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Low Spread Forex Brokers.
Swissquote offers a wider range of investments than Pepperstone overall, making it a stronger choice for traders who want access to more markets and asset types. Both brokers support forex trading, copy trading, and cryptocurrency CFDs, but Swissquote stands out with 472 tradeable symbols, 80 forex pairs, and the ability to buy real shares on both U.S. and international exchanges. It also lets clients buy actual cryptocurrency, not just crypto CFDs.
Pepperstone offers a broad trading setup too, with 1,726 tradeable symbols, but its investment range is narrower in key areas. It provides fewer forex pairs than Swissquote, does not offer exchange traded securities on U.S. or international exchanges, and does not support buying actual cryptocurrency. In independent rankings, Swissquote is rated 5 stars and placed #2 out of 36 brokers for Range of Investments, while Pepperstone is rated 4 stars and ranked #23.
| Feature |
Swissquote
|
Pepperstone
|
|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 472 | 1726 |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 80 | 65 |
| U.S. Stocks (Shares) | Yes | No |
| Global Stocks (Non-U.S. Shares) | Yes | No |
| Copy Trading | Yes | 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.
Swissquote and Pepperstone both give traders a wide range of platform choices, making either broker a solid fit for hands-on market access. Each offers a free demo account for practice, its own proprietary platform, a Windows desktop app, a web-based platform, MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, copy trading, and the ability to trade directly from charts. In other words, both brokers cover the main tools most traders look for when comparing trading platforms.
Where Swissquote stands out is in its third-party ratings. Swissquote is rated 4.5 out of 5 stars for Trading Platforms and Tools and ranks #12 out of 36 brokers at ForexBrokers.com, while Pepperstone is rated 4 out of 5 stars and ranks #21 out of 36. Based on these scores, Swissquote has a slight edge overall, even though the two brokers offer very similar platform and tool features.
| Feature |
Swissquote
|
Pepperstone
|
|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes |
| Proprietary Desktop Trading Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | Yes |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes |
| Copy Trading | Yes | Yes |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | Yes | Yes |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | Yes | Yes |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 86 | 15 |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best MetaTrader 4 Brokers, Best MetaTrader 5 Brokers.
Swissquote and Pepperstone both make it easy to trade on the go with iPhone and Android apps, plus price alerts for stocks and forex. Each app also includes 30 technical studies, lets users draw trendlines, and automatically saves chart drawings, which is helpful for traders who want a simple way to track ideas on mobile. The main difference is watchlist syncing: Pepperstone keeps mobile watchlists in sync with the online account, while Swissquote does not.
Overall, Swissquote has the edge in mobile trading apps. It is rated 4.5 out of 5 stars and ranks #12 out of 36 brokers at ForexBrokers.com, compared with Pepperstone’s 4-star rating and #19 ranking. If watchlist syncing matters most, Pepperstone may be the better fit, but Swissquote comes out ahead for overall mobile app quality.
| Feature |
Swissquote
|
Pepperstone
|
|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Price Alerts | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Watchlists - Syncing | No | Yes |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 30 | 30 |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Charting - Trendlines Autosave | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Forex Trading Apps.
Swissquote and Pepperstone both give traders a solid range of market research tools. Each broker provides daily market commentary, forex news from major sources such as Bloomberg, Reuters, and Dow Jones, plus an economic calendar that tracks key global events. Both also offer Autochartist for technical and fundamental analysis, while neither one includes Trading Central, TipRanks, or Acuity Trading tools.
The main difference is that Pepperstone adds a sentiment tool that shows the balance of long and short positions across markets, which Swissquote does not offer. Still, both brokers are rated 4.5 out of 5 stars for Research by ForexBrokers.com. In the same category, Pepperstone is ranked 13th out of 36 brokers, while Swissquote is ranked 15th.
| Feature |
Swissquote
|
Pepperstone
|
|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary (Articles) | Yes | Yes |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | Yes |
| Autochartist | Yes | Yes |
| Trading Central | No | No |
| Client sentiment data | No | Yes |
| TipRanks | No | No |
| Acuity Trading | No | No |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
Dive deeper: Best Brokers for Forex Research.
Swissquote and Pepperstone both give beginners plenty of learning support, with each broker offering forex and CFD education, monthly educational webinars, and at least 10 beginner and 10 advanced videos on trading topics. In other words, both platforms provide a wide range of free learning materials for new traders who want to build skills step by step. Each broker is also rated 4.5 out of 5 stars for Education, which shows they are closely matched in this area.
That said, Pepperstone has a slight edge in the overall education ranking, placing #15 out of 36 brokers versus Swissquote at #19. For beginners, the difference is small, since both brokers offer similar types of educational content and regular webinars. If you are choosing mainly based on learning resources, either broker is a strong option, with Pepperstone coming out a little ahead in the broader ranking.
| Feature |
Swissquote
|
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 Swissquote is better than Pepperstone. Swissquote finished with an overall rank of #11, while Pepperstone finished with an overall rank of #17.
Traders choose Swissquote for its quality research and vast multi-asset offering – as long as they are willing to pay a premium to have their brokerage account held with a Swiss bank.
| Feature |
Swissquote
|
Pepperstone
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|---|---|---|
| Overall Rating |
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| Trust Score | 99 | 94 |
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| Research |
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Swissquote vs Pepperstone: Swissquote allows you to buy actual (delivered) cryptocurrencies and trade crypto CFDs, while Pepperstone offers only cryptocurrency CFD trading and does not provide access to buying real crypto.
Comparing online brokers, Swissquote and Pepperstone both support ACH/SEPA, PayPal, and bank wire transfers, only Swissquote supports Skrill, and card options (Visa/Mastercard) are not specified for either.
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 | Swissquote | Pepperstone | |
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| Trust Score | 99 | 94 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | Swissquote Review | Pepperstone Review |
| Broker Screenshots | Swissquote | Pepperstone | |
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| Regulation | Swissquote | Pepperstone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trust Score | 99 | 94 | |
| Year Founded | 1996 | 2010 | |
| Publicly Traded (Listed) | Yes | No | |
| Bank | Yes | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes | Yes | |
| Tier-1 Licenses | 5 | 3 | |
| Tier-2 Licenses | 2 | 2 | |
| Tier-3 Licenses | 0 | 0 | |
| Tier-4 Licenses | 0 | 2 |
| Tier-1 Licenses (Highly Trusted) | Swissquote | Pepperstone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia (ASIC Authorised) | No | Yes | |
| Canada (CIRO Authorised) | No | No | |
| Hong Kong (SFC Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Japan (FSA Authorised) | No | No | |
| Singapore (MAS Authorised) | Yes | No | |
| Switzerland (FINMA Authorised) | Yes | ||
| United Kingdom (U.K.) (FCA Authorised) | Yes | Yes | |
| USA (CFTC Authorized) | No | No | |
| New Zealand (FMA Authorised) | No | No | |
| Regulated in one or more EU or EEA countries (MiFID). | Yes | Yes |
| Tier-2 Licenses (Trusted) | Swissquote | 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 | Swissquote | Pepperstone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs) | Yes | Yes | |
| Tradeable Symbols (Total) | 472 | 1726 | |
| Forex Pairs (Total) | 80 | 65 | |
| U.S. Stocks (Shares) | Yes | No | |
| Global Stocks (Non-U.S. Shares) | Yes | No | |
| Copy Trading | Yes | 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 | Swissquote | Pepperstone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average spread (EUR/USD) - Standard account | N/A | 1.1 | |
| All-in Cost EUR/USD - Active | N/A | 0.8 | |
| Inactivity Fee | Yes | No | |
| Order execution: Agency | Yes | Yes | |
| Order execution: Market Maker | Yes | Yes |
| Funding | Swissquote | Pepperstone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Deposit | $1000 | $0 | |
| PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes | |
| Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | No | |
| Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw) | Yes | Yes | |
| Non-wire bank transfer | Yes | Yes |
| Trading Platforms | Swissquote | Pepperstone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Proprietary Desktop Trading Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Desktop Platform (Windows) | Yes | Yes | |
| Web Platform | Yes | Yes | |
| Copy Trading | Yes | Yes | |
| MetaTrader 4 (MT4) | Yes | Yes | |
| MetaTrader 5 (MT5) | Yes | Yes | |
| cTrader | No | Yes |
| Trading Tools | Swissquote | Pepperstone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Virtual Trading (Demo) | Yes | Yes | |
| Price Alerts | Yes | Yes | |
| Charting - Indicators / Studies (Total) | 86 | 15 | |
| Charting - Trade From Chart | Yes | Yes | |
| Charts can be saved | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile Trading | Swissquote | Pepperstone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Android App | Yes | Yes | |
| Apple iOS App | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Price Alerts | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Watchlist [DELETED] | |||
| Mobile Watchlists - Syncing | No | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Indicators / Studies | 30 | 30 | |
| Mobile Charting - Draw Trendlines | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Charting - Trendlines Autosave | Yes | Yes | |
| Mobile Research - Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Research | Swissquote | Pepperstone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily Market Commentary (Articles) | Yes | Yes | |
| Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) | Yes | Yes | |
| Autochartist | Yes | Yes | |
| Trading Central | No | No | |
| TipRanks | No | No | |
| Client sentiment data | No | Yes | |
| Economic Calendar | Yes | Yes |
| Education | Swissquote | Pepperstone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Webinars | Yes | Yes | |
| Videos - Beginner Trading Videos | Yes | Yes | |
| Videos - Advanced Trading Videos | Yes | Yes |
| Major Forex Pairs | Swissquote | Pepperstone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| GBP/USD [DELETED] | |||
| USD/JPY [DELETED] | |||
| EUR/USD | Yes | Yes | |
| USD/CHF [DELETED] | |||
| USD/CAD [DELETED] | |||
| NZD/USD [DELETED] | |||
| AUD/USD [DELETED] | |||
| Review | Swissquote Review | Pepperstone Review |
| Overall | Swissquote | Pepperstone | |
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| Trust Score | 99 | 94 | |
| Winner | check_circle | ||
| Review | Swissquote Review | Pepperstone Review |
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