After evaluating all 16 of the UK’s spread betting providers, it was Pepperstone that stood out to us beyond the rest. Pepperstone excels on a number of key criteria, with competitive fees, fast executions, and support for leading platforms like MetaTrader 4 and TradingView.
Pepperstone Summary
Pepperstone topped our evaluation of FCA-regulated UK spread betting brokers, achieving a score of 98/100. The spread betting broker consistently provides the lowest average spreads across the nine currency pairs we tested. This includes the EUR/USD at just 0.80 pips – well below the industry standard.
There were other factors that contributed to Pepperstone’s near-perfect score too. Award winning customer service, a diverse range of instruments (including FTSE 100 index, gold commodity, and shares), and its excellent technology stack all stood out to us.
Our expert analyst Ross Collins found this tech stack to be among the fastest in the UK spread betting market, delivering high trading performance and reliable execution speeds. Support for the TradingView, MT4, MT5 and cTrader platforms also gives you a range of choice that is difficult to match anywhere else.
75.9% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading spread bets and CFDs with this provider.
One of the first things we advise you to look for when you choose a broker is the spread – the difference between buy (offer) price and the sell (bid) price.
After comparing the spreads on the nine most traded currency pairs for UK spread bettors, I found that the spreads on Pepperstone’s razor account are the lowest of all.
|
Spread Bet Spreads
|
|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
0.80 | 1.10 | 1.40 | 1.00 | 1.40 |
|
0.90 | 1.20 | 1.40 | 1.10 | 1.80 |
|
1.00 | 1.10 | 1.50 | 1.20 | 1.50 |
|
0.85 | 1.40 | 1.40 | 0.82 | 1.77 |
|
1.10 | 1.30 | 1.60 | 1.20 | 1.60 |
|
1.20 | 1.30 | 1.30 | 1.20 | 1.70 |
|
1.00 | 1.50 | 1.50 | 1.00 | 1.80 |
|
1.00 | 1.30 | 1.60 | 1.30 | 1.50 |
|
1.30 | 1.50 | 1.50 | 1.50 | 1.50 |
|
0.90 | 1.40 | 1.40 | 1.30 | 2.20 |
|
0.90 | 1.20 | 1.60 | 1.50 | 1.80 |
|
1.10 | 1.50 | 1.40 | 1.40 | 1.70 |
|
1.20 | 1.50 | 1.50 | 1.40 | 1.80 |
|
1.90 | 1.20 | 2.00 | 1.00 | 1.70 |
|
1.40 | 1.70 | 1.60 | 1.40 | 1.80 |
|
1.40 | 1.40 | 1.70 | 1.90 | 1.70 |
Avg. spreads are taken from each broker's website and updated monthly. Last update on 03/01/2025
In fact, Pepperstone’s average spread was better than the industry average on all nine of the pairs I looked at in my latest round of testing. On top of that, Pepperstone offered the lowest average spread of any UK spread betting account on the EUR/USD, EUR/GBP and USD/CAD pairs.
| Pepperstone's Spread | Average Industry Spread | |
|---|---|---|
| EUR/USD | 0.8 | 1.12 |
| AUD/USD | 1.0 | 1.32 |
| EUR/GBP | 1.1 | 1.46 |
| GBP/USD | 1.4 | 1.94 |
| USD/JPY | 1.2 | 1.52 |
| AUD/JPY | 1.7 | 2.13 |
| EUR/JPY | 2.0 | 2.06 |
| USD/CAD | 1.4 | 2.09 |
| USD/SGD | 2.9 | 3.11 |
These spreads are going to impact your trading costs in a big way. To help you learn more about this, we created a handy calculator tool, where you can compare fees between several different brokers.
Calculate Your Cost To Spread Bet
Total Cost of Spread Bet
Total Cost of Spread Bet
Total Cost of Spread Bet
Total Cost of Spread Bet
Pepperstone’s range of markets is broad, and my tests suggest the broker’s fees remain competitive across all of their different tradable instruments. As well as forex spread betting, you can open positions on other instruments like commodities, shares, and indices.
The Gold vs. US Dollar spread starts from just 0.05, while the S&P 500 Index can be as low as 0.40. These are exceptional rates in our view, and we’ve compared some of Pepperstone’s share spreads against the industry average in the table below.
| Share Category | Pepperstone Spread | Industry Average |
|---|---|---|
| UK Shares | 4pt | 5.19pt |
| US Shares | 0.10% | 0.16% |
| Geman Shares | 0.10% | 0.15% |
| Hong Kong Shares | 0.10% | 0.20% |
| Australian Shares | 0.10% | 0.17% |
We’ll explore this in more detail in the funding section of this review, but it’s also worth mentioning here – Pepperstone doesn’t charge you any deposit or withdrawal fees, and their overnight fees reflect the industry standard. There’s no account maintenance or inactivity fee.
Verdict on Pepperstone’s Spreads
The data from my testing clearly shows that Pepperstone has the lowest fees of any UK spread betting broker, with average spreads from just 0.80 pips. If you’re looking for the lowest-fee spread bet account, then I feel Pepperstone is difficult to beat.
75.9% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading spread bets and CFDs with this provider.
In our tests, we found Pepperstone offered the most comprehensive range of spread betting platforms. The TradingView and cTrader trading platforms, TradingView, and the MetaTrader platforms MT4 and MT5, are some of the best options for you as you analyse the market and execute trades. And Pepperstone supports all of them.
Most other brokers we examined don’t offer this kind of range. Many of Pepperstone’s competitors only offer a couple of third party platforms, or rely on a more basic proprietary trading platform.
So we were very impressed with Pepperstone’s commitment to offering you the best platforms in the market, especially for automated and algorithmic trading and advanced technical analysis.
Let’s take a look at these platforms in more detail.
MetaTrader 4
We were very pleased to find support for MetaTrader 4 at Pepperstone. This is one of the most versatile platforms on the market in our opinion, with an excellent selection of charting tools. More than 30 technical indicators, over 20 drawing tools, and nine timeframes, should provide you with everything you need for analysis.
But if you do want more, you can access it via the MetaTrader Marketplace. Here you’ll find thousands of custom-made indicators and auto-trading Expert Advisors coded by other MT4 users. You can even code a solution yourself using MetaTrader’s own computing language.
MetaTrader 5
MetaTrader 5 is an updated version of MT4. You’ve got more charting tools, 44 drawing tools, 38 technical indicators, and 21 timeframes. Essentially, it offers double the tools of MT4. It also supports spread betting on stocks, which MT4 does not.
Other upgrades on MT4 include access to real volume data – MT4 only provides tick volumes. You can find this data via MT5’s Depth of Markets tool, which shows you all the open orders on the liquidity provider’s order book.
We certainly recommend this tool for experienced traders. You’ll be able to identify supply and demand zones, helping you to time your bets more accurately.
Day traders in particular are going to find MT5’s built-in economic calendar very useful. We like the real-time updates and filters this calendar provides, helping you stay informed on high-impact news releases.
For us, this data is really valuable in keeping you up to date. You’ll be able to avoid making any risky trades during key news announcements, while planning your future moves according to the latest information.
TradingView
It’s always good to see integration with TradingView. Not many brokers actually make this platform available for spread betting, so we’re happy to see Pepperstone offers spread betting on TradingView.
We believe that TradingView gives you one of the best charting packages around, with more than 110 indicators and drawing tools.
As well as being one of the most comprehensive resources for technical analysis, it’s also constantly growing – we find new features and indicators appearing on the platform all the time, at no additional cost.
Personally, it’s the ability to synchronise charts across different devices that really stands out to us. If you’re using a mobile trading platform, you really need to be able to access the same charts as you would on your desktop, wherever you are. TradingView makes this simple.
Customisable market scanners are also strong features on the platform. You’ll be able to automate the process of identifying new spread bet opportunities, scanning the markets based on technical analysis indicators, Japanese candlestick patterns, or price action.
cTrader
We like cTrader for the way it blends aspects of TradingView and MetaTrader 5. You’ve got excellent charting tools here, as well as the ability to automate your bets with cBot – which work in a similar way to MetaTrader’s EAs.
So it’s surprising that just a small percentage of the brokers we’ve analysed actually support this platform for spread betting. Pepperstone is one of the exceptions here, allowing spread betting on the cTrader platform.
cTrader is geared towards more experienced traders, with its advanced tools like Depth of Markets and one-click trading – scalpers especially will benefit from this. You’ll also find more indicators on cTrader than you would on other platforms. There are 65 altogether, with eight chart drawing tools, and four chart types, such as candlestick, bar, and OHLC bars.
We touched on this above while talking about TradingView’s synchronisation features, but we need to mention that Pepperstone supports the mobile app versions of all its platforms. Whether you’re using an iOS or an Android device, you’ll be able to place bets on the go, staying on top of opportunities through notifications and then acting on the signal.
Keep in mind that mobile apps might be limited in some ways – you won’t be able to use custom indicators or Expert Advisors on the MetaTrader mobile platforms, for instance. But you should get most of the trading features on the mobile version.
We believe this slight limitation on functionality is worth it, as a mobile app is going to be such an important part of your strategy. It’s great to see that Pepperstone provides so many options for reacting to market changes and executing bets on the go.
Smart Trader Tools for MT4/MT5
One of the top features of Pepperstone is its Smart Trader Tools suite. We found this actually enhances the functionality of the MT4 and MT5 platforms, adding 28 indicators and Expert Advisors.
In particular, we liked the Mini Terminal EA. By adding automatic stop-loss and take-profit orders, this EA dramatically improves the one-click trading feature and ensures your risk management protections are always applied.
This is a really great upgrade in our view. Good risk management is one of our key recommendations for responsible trading, which makes the Mini Terminal EA one of our favourites.
The High-Low indicator is another one of our stand-outs from the Smart Trader Tools suite. This indicator helps identify potential support and resistance levels based on the previous day’s high and low – two areas you really need to be monitoring on your own trades.
Capitalise.ai
The inclusion of Capitalise.ai is a big factor for us. We’ve seen plenty of traders who want to customise their spread betting automation, but lack programming knowledge. Capitalise.ai is a no-code solution to help you do exactly that.
We believe Capitalise.ai is the best code-free automated trading solution out there. It’s also very easy to use, as the platform provides popular suggestions to accelerate the process.
SpreadBet co-founder Noam Korbl described his own experience with the tool:
“All I had to do was type in my rules using plain English, and the AI would transform these rules into an automated strategy that integrates with your MT4 platform,” Noam said.
“Impressively, I could create, backtest, and launch my automated strategy within 10 minutes using Capitalise.ai, which is significantly faster than programming and testing an Expert Advisor for automation on MT4.”
Autochartist
Autochartist is another valuable tool provided by Pepperstone. With Autochartist, you can scan markets like indices, gold, and forex to find new trading ideas. We found this tool particularly helpful, because we were able to use price action, such as chart patterns, to detect opportunities that reflected our own trading styles.
For newcomers to the spread betting market, we think Autochartist is going to be useful too. You’ll gain the opportunity to analyse signals in real time, using expert analysis and commentary to learn more about the market.
While Autochartist is available as a web-based version, we personally recommend using the Autochartist MT4 plugin. This way, you’ll get alerts directly within the MT4 platform, so you can take action without any delay.
We recommend clicking on signals to view the analysis. As we tested this, we found this automatically overlays the chart patterns onto your trading screen. This is an excellent feature for us, as we were able to quickly review the signal based on the price action and decide whether the trade idea is worth pursuing.
Verdict On Pepperstone Trading Platforms
“I really like that Pepperstone provides access to the most popular trading platforms for spread betting, especially when other brokers seem to neglect this.
It’s important to use a platform you are familiar with, and with Pepperstone, you have access to TradingView, MT4, MT5, and cTrader, catering for every spread betting strategy. While the broker does offer social trading on other accounts, I found these features disabled on the spread betting account.”
75.9% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading spread bets and CFDs with this provider.
Yes, Pepperstone is a safe broker. It is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), and is authorised and licensed to provide spread betting services to UK retail clients.
Financial Regulation
Pepperstone is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK, which is regarded as the gold standard in the industry for its strict fair trading framework and client protection policies.
This is something that’s very important to us here at SpreadBet. You need to make sure you work only with FCA-regulated brokers. Here’s why we think this.
Being regulated by the FCA provides you with the best protection, ensuring your funds are safeguarded and guaranteeing fit and proper business practices and spread betting services. Without FCA regulation, Pepperstone would not be permitted to offer spread betting.
One key feature we have found with FCA regulation is that all brokers must offer negative balance protection for retail traders. This protection means you will never lose more than the money you deposit with the broker – so even in the worst case scenario you’ll never end up owing money to the broker.
We only review and recommend FCA-regulated spread betting brokers, but Pepperstone further goes several steps beyond this, with accreditation in multiple jurisdictions. It is regulated by other tier-1 authorities like the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC), the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC), and Germany’s BaFin.
| Pepperstone Safety | Regulators |
|---|---|
| Tier-1 | ASIC, FCA, BaFin, CySEC |
| Tier-2 | DFSA |
| Tier-3 | SCB, CMA |
Regulation and accreditation across multiple jurisdictions is a major plus-point for us. Pepperstone has shown that it is ready and able to meet strict regulatory standards, on a global level.
Reputation
Reputation is another key factor we consider when evaluating a broker’s safety and trustworthiness. Pepperstone is one of the largest forex brokers in the world, with over 400,000 clients and an impressive average daily trading volume of £12 billion. These numbers highlight the trust that so many spread bettors place in Pepperstone, every day.
We always recommend reading customer reviews to get a sense of how a brokerage treats its clients. This also gives you direct insight into the experiences spread bettors are having, both good and bad. Researching Pepperstone on the third-party website, TrustPilot, we found over 2,800 reviews for the broker, with an average rating of 4.5 out of 5.
With this rating, it’s clear that the vast majority of Pepperstone’s clients are satisfied with the service they receive. While no broker is perfect, we’re highly encouraged by the consistently positive feedback we’ve seen for Pepperstone.
Verdict on Pepperstone’s Trustworthiness
With Pepperstone being regulated by the FCA, it already presents a strong signal that I look for in a spread betting broker. Coupled with the positive reputation it has gained from its customers while processing £12 billion in trading volume on behalf of its large client base, this demonstrates that Pepperstone is trustworthy.
Pepperstone offers an impressive 1,200+ financial markets for spread betting, which we found to be one of the best ranges out of all the brokers we tested.
Forex
As a forex trading platform, Pepperstone is excellent. It provides access to 92 currency pairs, covering majors, minors, and exotics. We feel this selection is comprehensive, allowing you to bet on popular pairs like EUR/USD and GBP/JPY and less common options like USD/MXN or EUR/TRY.
Having such a wide choice of currency pairs allows you to profit from global economic events, something day traders can take advantage of.
Commodities
We were highly impressed with Pepperstone’s commodity range, which offers 33 markets for spread betting overall. The broker also offers four energy markets, including natural gas and oil, which are perfect if you enjoy the volatility of day trading.
Additionally, the broker offers a solid selection of metal markets, including traditional metals like gold, silver, and platinum. Interestingly, we found that Pepperstone is one of the few brokers to offer gold and silver markets in different currency crosses, such as XAU/CNH (Gold vs. Chinese Yuan).
These crosses can be useful for hedging against currency fluctuations, or for taking advantage of gold movements relative to the yuan.
Pepperstone also lets you capitalise on other sectors of the economy through its 16 soft commodities, covering everything from coffee to cattle. This is a great way to benefit from seasonal trends or supply-demand imbalances in these markets.
Stock Indices
The stock indices selection at Pepperstone is solid, with 23 options, including the FTSE 100 and S&P 500. What stood out to us was the inclusion of the VIX index, which measures market volatility and isn’t typically available from most brokers in our experience.
You can use the VIX as an indicator to gauge overall market sentiment. Alternatively, you can even spread bet on it directly, potentially profiting from periods of high market uncertainty.
Currency Indices
We found the currency indices markets particularly interesting. Three index baskets cover the Euro, Japanese Yen, and US Dollar.
These indices give you a broader view of currency strength, allowing you to spread bet on overall currency performance rather than on individual pairs. It’s a great tool for betting on the market’s general direction with a major currency or hedging existing currency positions.
Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs)
Pepperstone support for spread betting on ETFs was very impressive to us.
You’ve got over 100 ETFs in total, which allows you to bet on things like the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY). Using ETFs gives you exposure to the performance of the S&P 500 index without having to buy each share or the index, reducing your trading costs.
As part of our own trading here at SpreadBet, we use ETFs to gain diversified exposure to specific sectors, regions, or investment themes without picking individual stocks.
Stocks
With over 1,000 shares available for spread betting, Pepperstone gives you access to a wide choice of equities from popular exchanges in the EU, AU, UK, DE, and US.
SpreadBet co-founder Noam Korbl was particularly impressed with the stock range:
“I think this is a fantastic offering for traders who want to capitalise on the price movements of individual companies,” he said. “Plus, with spread betting, you don’t pay commissions or stamp duty on your stock purchases, offering a low trading cost solution if you have a short-term view of a company.”
Verdict On Pepperstone Trading Products
mI think the range of 1,200 financial instruments is more than sufficient for most spread bettors as you still get access to the most popular markets like EUR/USD and gold. Including unique offerings like metal crosses, the VIX index, and currency indices sets Pepperstone apart from many other brokers I’ve used.
Pepperstone is one of a few brokers that require no minimum deposit when you open a spread betting account. We always recommend choosing a broker with this policy, as it allows you to control how much you want to fund your account with, whether it’s £100 or £100,000.
While flexibility is important, we still advise that you carefully consider how much you want to add to your account. You still need to make sure your deposit will cover the margin requirements on the positions you plan to open. In our experience, £500 or more should be plenty when trading with Pepperstone.
While testing Pepperstone, we found there were no deposit fees when opening our account. This is certainly good, but it is fairly common practice in the United Kingdom. You can deposit funds through a variety of payment methods, such as:
These payment methods are instant, so you can activate your account and start trading as soon as you deposit. Some popular methods are not currently available in the UK – including electronic wallets like Skrill or Neteller.
The broker doesn’t charge an inactivity fee, so you can keep your funds in your trading account for as long as you want without feeling pressured into placing a trade.
| Payment Method by Location | Australia (ASIC Regulated) | UK (FCA Regulated) | Europe (CySEC & BaFin Regulated) | Kenya (CMA Regulated) | Dubai (DFSA Regulated) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Visa Debit/Credit Card | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Mastercard Debit/Credit Card | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Bank Transfer | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Online Bill Payment | ☓ | ☓ | ☓ | ☓ | ☓ |
| Union Pay | ✓ | ☓ | ☓ | ☓ | ☓ |
| PayNow | ☓ | ☓ | ☓ | ☓ | ☓ |
| PayPal | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ☓ |
| Neteller | ✓ | ☓ | ☓ | ☓ | ☓ |
| Skrill | ✓ | ☓ | ☓ | ☓ | ☓ |
| Rapid Pay | ☓ | ☓ | ☓ | ☓ | ☓ |
| POLi / BPay | ✓ | ☓ | ☓ | ☓ | ☓ |
| Klarna | ☓ | ☓ | ☓ | ☓ | ☓ |
| MPESA | ☓ | ☓ | ☓ | ✓ | ☓ |
| Cryptocurrency / Digital Wallet | ☓ | ☓ | ☓ | ☓ | ☓ |
Pepperstone doesn’t charge withdrawal fees, either. This is another big plus in our view, as it helps keep your overall trading costs down and while helping you keep hold of more of your profits.
In order to test Pepperstone, we first opened a spread betting account. This was a refreshingly straightforward process, which simply involved completing the step-by-step application required by the company and its regulator (FCA).
The application process was intuitive and clear, and we believe all brokers should offer this kind of smooth experience. This is why we gave Pepperstone 15/15 in this category.
Verdict On Pepperstone Funding
I found the whole process, from account opening and depositing to withdrawing on Pepperstone, to be professional, fast, and easy. This speed is exactly what you want when dealing with a service that handles your funds.
Pepperstone ReviewVisit Pepperstone
75.9% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading spread bets and CFDs with this provider.
In our view, there are two absolute non-negotiables when it comes to spread betting – low trading costs and fast execution speeds. Pepperstone certainly provides the former, so what about the latter?
We found Pepperstone achieved this too. The trading conditions are some of the best we’ve tested, across all FCA-regulated brokers, with fast execution speeds and tight spreads.
Execution Speeds
Our senior analyst, Ross Collins, tested Pepperstone’s execution speeds against those of competitor brokers and the industry average. Here’s what he concluded:
“In my tests, I found that Pepperstone recorded an average of 77ms for its limit order execution speed, which is the fastest among the other brokers,” Ross said.
“This speed ensures that your limit, stop loss, and take profit orders are filled almost instantly, which can help protect your funds or close a profitable bet quickly.”
“Having a slow limit order speed will lower the chances of executing your orders and, therefore, can cost you money in missed take profits and stop losses.”
Learn more about Ross’ findings in the table below.
| Execution Speed Tested Results | ||
|---|---|---|
| Broker | Limit Order Speed | Market Order Speed |
| Pepperstone | 77 | 100 |
| City Index | 95 | 131 |
| FxPro | 151 | 138 |
| CMC Markets | 138 | 180 |
| IG | 174 | 141 |
The broker also recorded an average execution speed of 100ms on its market orders, which is amongst the fastest we’ve seen for spread betting. If you’re scalping the markets, trading with 100ms or lower is your best chance of securing quick bets; anything higher may miss the entry.
Ross’ tests were conducted during the London trading session, so if you’re betting from the UK you can expect similar speeds with Pepperstone. Fast execution reduces your chances of slippage – a common hazard for traders on other brokers with slower execution speeds.
Execution Type
The low spreads and fast execution speeds are thanks to Pepperstone’s no-dealing desk model, which ensures your trades are instantly matched with the best prices direct from liquidity providers.
We recommend choosing brokers who offer this model, as they tend to provide the best trading conditions. They also give you pricing transparency, eliminating conflicts of interest and guaranteeing that you’re getting the best possible spread.
Verdict on Pepperstone’s Trading Conditions
Pepperstone leads the pack when it comes to trading conditions, with the quickest execution speeds in our testing. This speed is thanks to its no-dealing desk intervention, which is something I look for in a broker.”
“Equally, fast execution is crucial for all spread betting strategies to help you avoid slippage, and Pepperstone has proved itself to be the fastest spread betting broker in our tests.
Pepperstone gives you support in multiple different ways. Below we’ve broken down its customer service into key sections.
24/5 Customer Service
Pepperstone offers around-the-clock support during the trading week, allowing you to get your answers fast, which is important in spread betting. With offices across multiple time zones, including Melbourne, Shanghai, Dallas, Bangkok, and London, you can get help whenever the forex markets are open.
For specific spread betting support, we recommend dealing with the London office. As spread betting is not provided in other markets, international support team personnel might not have the knowledge required to help you out.
However, if you are going to be trading in other markets, this level of support accessibility is very helpful. This is partly why we scored Pepperstone so highly in this category.
Customer Support Channels
There are other methods of receiving support. We like the broker’s extensive FAQ section on their website, covering everything from basic to more technical questions. This means you can resolve many queries quickly by yourself, without the inconvenience of having to reach out to support.
If you would like to ask a question of your own, but don’t have the time to make a phone call, the broker’s live chat is a strong alternative. We found you’ll get detailed answers through the live chat, covering topics as varied as installing MT4 or making a deposit.
For more urgent requests, the broker provides a client support phone number, which connects you with an expert who can help resolve your issue quickly.
Verdict On Pepperstone Customer Service
With 24/5 support and multiple channels to resolve issues, I think it’s fair to say that Pepperstone provides a solid foundation for customer support. Even though the broker is Australian, I found they have a London office to provide spread betting support during London trading hours.
Taking a look at Pepperstone’s research and education offerings, we were pleased to find an array of resources available.
Weekly Webinars
One of the standout educational resources for us is Pepperstone’s weekly webinar series. This is where Pepperstone’s expert analysts share their insights on various market topics and trading strategies.
Generally, we found these webinars engaging, informative, and excellent for expanding your market knowledge and skills. The interactive format allows you to ask questions and receive real-time guidance, creating a dynamic learning environment.
The Trade Off
In addition to the webinars, Pepperstone offers a comprehensive suite of market analysis tools. The Trade Off is a weekly web show that discusses and analyses the latest trends and developments in the financial markets. This is a useful way to keep you on top of the data and plan your trading week.
Navigating Markets
If you prefer reading your analysis, the experts at Pepperstone publish information about major data releases, like non-farm payrolls in the US or UK GDP. This is called “Navigating Markets”.
We found that the information provided was in-depth and packed with charts that illustrate the analysis. Meanwhile, the commentary tells you what to expect from these events. Reading this weekly will certainly keep you in the loop in the markets.
Forex Trading Guides
The broker provides over 100 trading guides, which we feel are very helpful if you’re just starting out as a spread bettor. They contain educational material on various topics, from technical analysis to risk management. Pepperstone allows you to access these guides at any time, for free.
Verdict On Pepperstone Research and Education
In my opinion, Pepperstone has done a great job providing educational resources through online trading guides and weekly webinars for its clients. If you are more experienced, you will enjoy reading the Pepperstone’s experts’ top-class analysis through the ‘Navigating Markets’ coverage.
I think Pepperstone is the best spread betting broker I’ve tested. It ticks all the boxes for a top broker: low spreads, fast execution speeds, a decent range of markets, and a strong selection of trading platforms.
Not only does it tick the boxes, but I found Pepperstone to be the best in these categories during my review. Tight spreads from 0.80 pips and sub-100ms execution speeds are the key areas here, and Pepperstone outperforms its competitors on these metrics.
With a solid trading experience and a choice of trading platforms and tools, the verdict on the broker is a simple one – I strongly recommend Pepperstone for spread betting.
75.9% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading spread bets and CFDs with this provider.
Pepperstone offers a spread betting demo account with £50,000 in virtual funds and a duration of 60 days. This is perfect for practicing trading or trying out the broker’s features before committing to a live account.
The demo account mirrors real market conditions, allowing you to test strategies and get familiar with the broker without any financial risk.
To find out more, you can read our Spread Betting Guide created for beginner traders.
Pepperstone has no minimum deposit requirement for opening a spread betting account, making it one of the most accessible brokers we tested.
This means you can start with any amount you see fit. But to effectively spread bet, we recommend starting with at least £200, and preferably £500. With this level of capital, you have enough to cover margin requirements and manage your trades effectively.
Spread betting is considered better than CFD trading in some senses, as it is exempt from capital gains tax and stamp duty, allowing you to keep 100% of your profits.
Additionally, spread bets are only transacted in GBP. This means you can bet on international markets without paying currency conversion fees, saving you even more money.
Of course, there is no definitive answer here. CFDs can offer a broader range of markets and be more flexible for certain trading strategies, so some traders will prefer these instruments over spread bets.
Pepperstone has low average spreads from 0.80 pips on EUR/USD, one of the lowest we found during our spread betting tests. Low spreads are important for maximising your profit potential, and we found that Pepperstone consistently delivers low spreads across its full range of spread betting markets.
Bear in mind these are averages. Spreads can vary depending on market conditions. But overall, Pepperstone is a top choice for cost-effective spread betting.
Pepperstone has low average spreads from 0.80 pips on EUR/USD, one of the lowest we found during our spread betting tests. Low spreads are important for maximising your profit potential, and we found that Pepperstone consistently delivers low spreads across its full range of spread betting markets.
Bear in mind these are averages. Spreads can vary depending on market conditions. But overall, Pepperstone is a top choice for cost-effective spread betting.
Spread betting is more tax-efficient for UK traders as you are exempt from capital gains tax and stamp duty, while CFDs offer a broader range of markets. Both financial products provide leveraged exposure to financial markets without owning the underlying asset.
| Feature | Spread Betting | CFDs |
|---|---|---|
| Tax | Profits are tax-free in the UK, exempt from stamp duty | Subject to capital gains tax; exempt from stamp duty |
| Market Range | Limited compared to CFDs | Wider market selection, including international markets like Australia, China, Europe, and the US |
| Account Types | Spread betting (Standard) account | Standard account, Razor account (with commissions) |
| Commission | No commission just spreads | Commission on assets like ETFs and Stock CFDs |
| Trading Units | Pound per point | Lots or contracts (same bet value) |
| Leverage | Up to 1:30 | Up to 1:30 |
| Ownership | No ownership of the underlying asset | No ownership of the underlying asset |
| Islamic Account | No | Yes |
Pepperstone’s spread betting accounts do not charge extra fees like commissions on top of the spread you pay to open the bet. Instead, all the fees are included in Pepperstone’s low spreads (0.80 pips on EUR/USD), making it easier to calculate your trading costs without adding commissions to the spread.
There may be other fees, such as overnight financing for longer-term positions; you do not get charged this if you close your bet before the end of the trading day.
In the United Kingdom, the FCA has banned retail investors from trading cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin due to its inherent high risk and lack of regulatory markets.
This means spread betting on cryptocurrencies is only available to registered professional traders. Unfortunately, even if you’re a professional, Pepperstone does not offer crypto spread betting.
You may be able to trade crypto CFDs through top-tier European or off-shore brokers regulated by the Securities Commission of The Bahamas (SCB), but these brokers generally won’t offer crypto spread bets.
This review focuses exclusively on UK-spread betting brokers. We compared trading accounts from FCA-regulated brokers offering spread betting services. For consistency, we primarily evaluated accounts using the MetaTrader 4 platform.
Our Methodology:
Our goal is to provide UK traders with well-informed recommendations for the best spread betting brokers in the market. You can learn more about how we perform our spread bet broker reviews on our methodology page. Our sister site CompareForexBrokers also has a Pepperstone review page focusing on their UK CFD and forex trading offering.
Ask an Expert
Is Pepperstone the best broker for MetaTrader?
Pepperstone is one of many brokers that offer MetaTrader 4 and one of the few that offers MetaTrader 5.
Pepperstone is a great choice for MetaTrader since they allow expert advisors (EAs) and allow you to integrate 3rd party apps such as MyFxBook for copy trading with the platform
As a bonus Pepperstone also include Smart Trader tools for 28 additional apps to give you even more trading features and their own exclusive Figaro Advanced Traders tools for yet more trading features.
I’m looking to open a Pepperstone account but I’m not sure if the standard or Razor account is better. I’m based in the UK. What account is more popular in my region?
Does Pepperstone offer a mobile app for spread betting?
Yes, you can use MT4, MT5, Tradingview and cTrader apps for spread betting