Pepperstone vs IC Markets

Pepperstone is the better overall choice for most traders, while IC Markets has the edge for some high-volume forex traders, scalpers and automated trading strategies where raw spread costs are the priority.

Both Pepperstone and IC Markets are established Australian-origin forex and CFD brokers with raw-spread accounts, MetaTrader support and strong execution infrastructure. The main difference is where each broker is strongest.

Choose Pepperstone if you value broader group-level regulation, a stronger all-round platform offering and greater flexibility beyond pure MetaTrader trading.

Choose IC Markets if your priority is raw forex pricing, MetaTrader infrastructure and an account specifically optimised for scalping, Expert Advisors and high-frequency trading.

There is no universal winner on trading costs. Commissions, average spreads and even available products differ by account type, platform, base currency and regulatory entity. Anyone comparing Pepperstone vs IC Markets should therefore look at the exact account they will actually be eligible to open rather than relying on a single advertised "spread from 0.0 pips" figure.

Overall verdict: Pepperstone wins, narrowly.

Broker terms vary by country and regulatory entity.

Pepperstone vs IC Markets: the quick verdict

Pepperstone was founded in Melbourne in 2010. IC Markets traces its Australian business back to Sydney in 2007. Both brokers therefore have considerably longer operating histories than many newer CFD providers.

Pepperstone's Razor account and IC Markets' Raw Spread account both advertise forex spreads starting at 0.0 pips. That headline number does not make their trading costs identical. The actual cost of a trade is the spread you receive at that moment plus commission and, for positions held overnight, financing or swap charges.

The practical decision is therefore:

• Best overall: Pepperstone
• Best for forex scalpers and EA traders: IC Markets
• Best for broader platform choice: Pepperstone
• Best if regulation is your main differentiator: Pepperstone
• Best if every fraction of a pip matters: compare your local IC Markets Raw Spread and Pepperstone Razor pricing directly

That last point matters. Independent 2026 comparisons have reached different cost conclusions depending on account currency, platform and market. Some testing gives IC Markets lower overall raw-account costs, while Australian-dollar comparisons can favour Pepperstone after commission is included.

Is Pepperstone or IC Markets cheaper?

Pepperstone's Razor account offers FX spreads from 0.0 pips. Pepperstone currently lists commission from USD $3.50 per standard lot per side, with platform-specific pricing. Its cTrader commission is listed as USD $6 round trip per unit, while TradingView is USD $7 round trip per unit.

IC Markets' European Raw Spread account also offers spreads from 0.0 pips. On MetaTrader, IC Markets currently lists USD $3.50 per standard lot per side, or USD $7 round trip. Its cTrader account uses a different commission calculation of USD $3 per USD $100,000 traded per side.

IC Markets publishes an average EUR/USD spread of around 0.1 pips for its Raw Spread account, with one current EU forex table displaying an average of 0.06 pips. Spreads are variable, so the live trading platform is ultimately the authoritative source for the price available at execution.

A better cost formula is:

Total forex trading cost = spread cost + opening commission + closing commission + financing if applicable

For a trader running 50 or 100 standard lots per month, a difference of 0.1 pip can become meaningful. For someone making a handful of trades each month, choosing a broker purely because one historical EUR/USD spread test was marginally cheaper is much less important.

Pepperstone Standard vs IC Markets Standard

Both brokers also offer commission-free Standard pricing in relevant jurisdictions.

Pepperstone generally incorporates its trading charge into the spread on its Standard account. Pepperstone states that its Standard forex pricing uses a 1 pip mark-up on the underlying raw spread.

IC Markets states that its EU Standard account adds a 0.8 pip mark-up to the raw interbank spread rather than charging a separate forex commission.

On that narrow comparison, IC Markets has the more aggressive stated Standard-account forex markup.

Active traders should normally compare Pepperstone Razor against IC Markets Raw Spread rather than comparing Standard accounts alone.

Which broker has better regulation and client protection?

Pepperstone states that its group is regulated by authorities including the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, the UK Financial Conduct Authority, the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission, Germany's BaFin, the Dubai Financial Services Authority, the UAE Securities and Commodities Authority, the Capital Markets Authority of Kenya and the Securities Commission of The Bahamas.

Examples include Pepperstone EU Limited under CySEC licence 388/20. Pepperstone also states that retail client funds are kept in segregated accounts.

IC Markets also uses separate regulated entities. International Capital Markets Pty Ltd is regulated in Australia by ASIC under AFSL 335692. IC Markets (EU) Ltd is regulated by CySEC under licence 362/18. Raw Trading Ltd, which operates IC Markets Global, is regulated by the Seychelles Financial Services Authority under securities dealer licence SD018, while IC Markets Ltd in The Bahamas is regulated by the Securities Commission of The Bahamas.

The distinction is important because you do not simply open an account with "Pepperstone" or "IC Markets" in the abstract. You enter a legal relationship with a particular regulated company.

That entity can determine:

• maximum retail leverage
• negative balance protection
• investor compensation arrangements
• permitted products
• margin requirements
• professional-client eligibility
• complaints procedures
• account funding options

For example, retail leverage for EU clients is generally capped at 1:30 on the products covered by current retail CFD rules. IC Markets EU lists leverage up to 1:30, and Pepperstone similarly lists retail leverage up to 30:1 on relevant regulated accounts.

If regulation is the deciding factor, Pepperstone is the stronger choice overall because of the breadth of its regulatory footprint.

Pepperstone vs IC Markets for trading platforms

Pepperstone supports MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, cTrader and TradingView alongside its own web platform and mobile app on eligible accounts.

IC Markets supports MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5 and cTrader, with TradingView now also available in supported jurisdictions such as the EU.

Choose Pepperstone if you use TradingView or switch platforms

Pepperstone makes sense for traders who do not want their broker choice tied to one software ecosystem.

The Pepperstone Razor account can connect directly to TradingView in supported markets, while Pepperstone also provides its proprietary platform. That gives discretionary traders more flexibility if they move between charting, desktop and mobile environments.

Choose IC Markets for MetaTrader EAs and scalping

IC Markets has built a particularly clear proposition around automated and latency-sensitive MetaTrader trading.

IC Markets states that its MT4 and MT5 Raw Spread servers are located in the Equinix NY4 data centre in New York. Its MetaTrader infrastructure is specifically positioned for day traders, scalpers and Expert Advisors, with raw pricing sourced from multiple liquidity providers.

That does not mean every Expert Advisor will execute faster or more profitably at IC Markets. Actual latency depends on your location, VPS, strategy and the server handling your account.

It does mean IC Markets has a particularly strong infrastructure case for traders whose entire setup revolves around MT4, MT5, VPS hosting and automated execution.

Pepperstone vs IC Markets for scalping and day trading

For a scalper, the useful comparison is not the number of educational articles or the design of the broker's homepage. It is:

1. average spread on the instruments actually traded
2. commission per round trip
3. execution quality
4. slippage
5. liquidity during the trader's active session
6. platform and VPS latency
7. order restrictions
8. stability around volatile periods

IC Markets explicitly allows scalping and automated trading and positions the Raw Spread account around those use cases. Its NY4 MetaTrader infrastructure makes it particularly relevant to traders running Expert Advisors from co-located or nearby VPS infrastructure.

Pepperstone is hardly weak here. Pepperstone advertises fast execution without dealer intervention and provides Razor pricing across several professional trading platforms.

The difference is one of specialisation rather than competence.

Pure MT4/MT5 forex scalper: IC Markets.

Multi-platform discretionary day trader: Pepperstone.

Which broker offers more markets?

Pepperstone's current global account materials advertise more than 1,350 instruments across forex, index CFDs, shares, commodities, ETFs and cryptocurrencies, although the exact market count varies by entity.

IC Markets Australia currently advertises more than 2,250 tradeable products, while the IC Markets EU product offering is substantially smaller because product availability changes with jurisdiction and regulation.

This is why generic statements such as "IC Markets has X assets and Pepperstone has Y" are often misleading.

If you mainly trade EUR/USD, GBP/USD and gold, the total instrument count is basically irrelevant.

If you trade individual share CFDs, bonds, less common indices or a broad multi-asset book, check the product catalogue of the specific regulated entity available in your country before choosing.

Who should choose Pepperstone?

Pepperstone is particularly suitable if:

• you want a choice of MT4, MT5, cTrader, TradingView and a proprietary platform
• regulatory breadth matters to you
• you trade multiple asset classes
• you want both Standard and raw-spread pricing options
• you are a discretionary trader who may change platforms
• you want competitive forex pricing without building your entire broker decision around MetaTrader execution infrastructure

Pepperstone's combination of regulation, technology and competitive pricing is why it wins this comparison overall.

Who should choose IC Markets?

IC Markets is particularly suitable if:

• you trade high forex volume
• you scalp major currency pairs
• you run Expert Advisors
• you use an NY4-based VPS or latency-sensitive MetaTrader setup
• average raw spread matters more than having a proprietary broker platform
• your local IC Markets entity produces a lower all-in cost on the instruments you actually trade

IC Markets should not automatically be chosen just because its Raw Spread account starts at 0.0 pips. Pepperstone starts at 0.0 pips as well. The useful comparison is the average executable spread plus commission, not the minimum advertised spread.

Pepperstone vs IC Markets: final verdict

Pepperstone is the more complete choice because it combines strong raw pricing with broader regulation and an excellent selection of third-party and proprietary platforms.

IC Markets is the broker I would shortlist first for a trader running a high-volume forex strategy, particularly a scalper or Expert Advisor user who cares heavily about raw pricing and MetaTrader execution infrastructure.

The decision is therefore straightforward:

Choose Pepperstone for the stronger overall package. Choose IC Markets when low-cost, execution-focused forex trading is the overriding priority.

Before opening either account, compare the exact Pepperstone and IC Markets legal entities available in your country, then check three things on the instruments you actually trade: average spread, round-trip commission and overnight financing. That comparison is more useful than any broker's advertised "spreads from 0.0 pips" claim.

CFDs are leveraged products and can result in rapid losses. Retail loss rates and protections vary by regulated entity, so check the current risk disclosure and legal terms for the broker entity available in your jurisdiction.

Frequently asked questions

Is Pepperstone better than IC Markets?

Is IC Markets cheaper than Pepperstone?

Not in every case. IC Markets can offer extremely tight average raw spreads, while commissions differ according to platform, base currency and jurisdiction. Pepperstone can therefore have the lower all-in trading cost in some configurations. Compare spread plus round-trip commission for your account rather than minimum spreads alone.

Is Pepperstone or IC Markets better for scalping?

IC Markets has a slight advantage for dedicated forex scalpers because its Raw Spread offering and NY4 MetaTrader infrastructure are explicitly designed around active trading, scalping and Expert Advisors. Pepperstone remains a strong alternative, especially for traders who also value TradingView, cTrader or Pepperstone's proprietary platform.

Are Pepperstone and IC Markets regulated?

Yes. Both broker groups operate through regulated entities. Pepperstone's group has the broader global regulatory footprint, while IC Markets operates regulated businesses including ASIC-regulated International Capital Markets Pty Ltd in Australia and CySEC-regulated IC Markets (EU) Ltd in Europe. The protection you receive depends on which legal entity holds your account.