Home
Brokers

HYCM vs Pepperstone

HYCM or Pepperstone – which is better for UK traders 2026? Compare HYCM and Pepperstone in this detailed breakdown of their platforms, features and fees.

HYCM vs Pepperstone Comparison Table 2026
HYCM	Pepperstone

3.8	4.8
HYCM is ranked #23 among CFD brokers.	Pepperstone is ranked #1 among CFD brokers.
Review	Review
HYCM is an online broker regulated by four international authorities, including the FCA and CySEC. It provides short-term CFD opportunities in forex, shares, commodities, indices, ETFs, and Bitcoin. Traders can utilise the MT4 and MT5 platforms, alongside Trading Central analysis.	Established in Australia in 2010, Pepperstone is a top-rated forex and CFD broker with over 830,000 clients worldwide. It offers access to 1,400+ instruments on leading platforms MT4, MT5, cTrader and TradingView, maintaining low, transparent fees. Pepperstone is also regulated by trusted authorities like the FCA, ASIC, and CySEC, ensuring a secure environment for traders at all levels.
	CFDs and FX are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 71.9% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs.
Pros
The modest $20 minimum deposit appeals to beginners. Similarly, the Fixed spread account, which incurs no commissions, is attractive. The trusted regulators, such as the FCA, oversee the broker. MT4 and MT5 connectivity guarantees traders a wide array of technical charting tools. A wide array of free analytical tools is available, with Seasonax notably aiding in pattern analysis. The Raw account offers competitive spreads, beginning at 0.1 pips for EUR/USD. Traders can benefit from fast, fee-free transactions.	Support for top-tier charting platforms such as MT4, MT5, TradingView, and cTrader. These tools accommodate different short-term trading methods, including algorithmic trading. In recent years, Pepperstone has significantly enhanced the deposit and withdrawal process. By 2025, clients can use Apple Pay and Google Pay, while 2024 saw the introduction of PIX and SPEI for customers in Brazil and Mexico. Pepperstone presents itself as an economical choice for traders, offering spreads as low as 0.0 in its Razor account. The Active Trader programme provides rebates up to 30% on indices and commodities, plus $3 per lot on forex. Award-winning customer support is available via telephone, email or live chat with response times of <5 minutes during testing and friendly agents knowledgeable about its products and trading tools. After adding spread betting through TradingView, Pepperstone provides a seamless, tax-efficient trading experience with advanced analysis tools for financial spread bettors in supported countries. Offers a dedicated CopyTrading app for traders who want a less active approach to trading.
Cons
A limited asset selection, offering over 200 stocks. Market coverage varies considerably across different account types and platforms. The Raw account incurs a substantial $4 commission per transaction.	Overnight holding fees are higher than that found with some Market Maker brokers (usually Benchmark + 2.5%). This makes pepperstone an ideal broker for traders and forex scalpers but less suitable for swing traders who often keep position open overnight. Execution may not feel as reliable in fast markets as headline speeds suggest. In our own testing, execution was fast at desired prices, but some community complaints focus on slippage, stop-loss fills and spread-sensitive order triggers during volatile conditions. Despite improvements to its range of markets, crypto offerings are still fairly limited compared to other brokers who focus on this area, such as Eightcap, and there's no option to invest in real coins. Offers limited internal market research. They partner with third-party providers like Autochartist to fill this gap. This is a minor issue as there are plenty of other sources that can provide in-depth market analysis.
Awards
Best Forex Broker 2021-2022 - Spain, Middle East, Asia, Germany Best Trading Platform App 2021 - Forex Expo Best Mobile Trading App 2020 - World of Finance Forex Award	Best Overall Broker - DayTrading.com 2025 Best Forex Broker Runner Up - DayTrading.com 2025 Best Trading App Runner Up - DayTrading.com 2025 Best MT4/MT5 Broker Runner Up - DayTrading.com 2025 Best TradingView Broker Runner Up - DayTrading.com 2025 Best Forex Broker - DayTrading.com 2024 Best Overall Broker - DayTrading.com 2023 Best Trading App - DayTrading.com 2022 Best Forex Broker - DayTrading.com 2021
FCA Regulated
Yes	Yes
Instruments
CFDs, Forex, Stocks, Indices, Commodities, ETFs	CFDs, Forex, Currency Indices, Stocks, Indices, Commodities, ETFs, Crypto (only Pro clients), Spread Betting
Demo Account
Yes	Yes
Minimum Deposit
$20	$0
Payment Methods
Mastercard Neteller Skrill Visa Wire Transfer	Apple Pay Credit Card Debit Card Google Pay Mastercard Neteller PayPal Skrill Visa Wire Transfer
Minimum Trade
0.01 Lots	0.01 Lots
Regulator
FCA, DFSA, CIMA, CySEC	FCA, ASIC, CySEC, BaFin, DFSA, SCA, CMA, SCB
Mobile Apps
iOS & Android	iOS & Android
Trading App
	Pepperstone shines with top-tier integration with MT4, MT5, cTrader, and TradingView, ideal for traders using these major platforms. They offer stable mobile trading, boosted by Pepperstone's rapid execution speeds and extensive asset variety. It recently achieved second place in DayTrading.com's 2025 'Best Trading App' award.
iOS App Rating
3	4.4
Android App Rating
3.6	4.1
Margin Trading
Yes	Yes
Margin Rate
Variable upon regulation and jurisdiction
MetaTrader 4
Yes	Yes
MetaTrader 5
Yes	Yes
cTrader
No	Yes
AlgoTrader
No	No
OmniTrader
No	No
TradingView
No	Yes
Autochartist
No	Yes
eSignal
No	No
Trading Central
Yes	No
STP Account
No	Yes
ECN Account
Yes	Yes
DMA Account
No	Yes
MAM Account
No	Yes
PAMM Account
No	Yes
LAMM Account
No	No
Demat Account
No	No
AI / Machine Learning
No	No
Robo Advisor
No	No
Negative Balance Protection
Yes	Yes
Market Maker
No	No
P2P Trading
No	No
Spot Trading
Yes	Yes
Auto Trading
Expert Advisors (EAs) on MetaTrader	Expert Advisors (EAs) on MetaTrader
Copy Trading
No	Yes
Copy Trading Platform
	Pepperstone offers the replication of skilled traders' strategies via MetaTrader Signals, DupliTrade, and its new proprietary copy trading app, in collaboration with Pelican Trading. This service, available in select regions, grants access to numerous experienced traders and customized risk settings. However, it does not support cTrader Copy, which might discourage traders who prefer Spotware's platform.
Social Trading
No	No
Trade Signals
	Yes (Via Chartist Software)
VPS Hosting
No	Yes
Tournaments
No	No
Demo Competitions
No	No
Ethical Investing
No	No
Custodial Account
No	No
Guaranteed Stop Loss
No	No
Inactivity Fee
$10	$0
Islamic Account
Yes	Yes
Account Currencies
USD EUR GBP RUB AED	USD EUR GBP CAD AUD NZD JPY CHF HKD SGD
Commodities
Gold Silver Coffee Oil Cotton Copper Palladium Platinum Sugar	Gold Silver Oil Corn Palladium Precious Metals Platinum Copper Gasoline Cocoa Coffee Cotton Livestock Sugar Wheat Natural Gas Soybeans Orange Juice Aluminium Nickel Zinc
CFD
HYCM offers traders the opportunity to engage in trading CFDs across various stocks, indices, commodities, and ETFs, all featuring floating spreads. Leverage limits differ depending on the specific instrument. Clients can select from two top-tier trading platforms.	In our recent assessment, Pepperstone remains a top-tier CFD broker, renowned for its speed and reliability. With execution times averaging 30ms and a remarkable 99.90% fill rate, traders benefit from a smooth experience free from requotes and dealing desk disruptions. Additionally, it offers extensive opportunities with access to more than 1,300 assets.
Leverage
1:301:500	1:30 (Retail), 1:500 (Pro)
FTSE Spread
1.5	1.0
GBPUSD Spread<
0.1	0.4
Oil Spread
2.0	2.5
Stocks Spread
2.2%	0.02
Forex
HYCM provides over 40 forex pairs for trading on the MT4 or MT5 platforms. Leverage is capped at 1:30, compliant with regulatory standards. The Raw account features tight spreads starting at 0.2, while the commission-free Classic account offers spreads from 1.2.	Pepperstone provides forex spreads on the EUR/USD averaging just 0.12 pips with their Razor account. This is highly competitive. Their extensive portfolio includes over 100 currency pairs, which exceeds what most rivals offer. Furthermore, Pepperstone stands out by offering three unique currency indices: USDX, EURX, and JPYX, which are rare on other platforms. They have been recognised with our 'Best Forex Broker' award twice.
Assets
40+	100+
GBPUSD Spread
0.4	0.4
EURUSD Spread
0.1	0.1
EURGBP Spread
0.4	0.4
Currency Indices
	USD EUR JPY
Cryptocurrency
HYCM provides trading options exclusively on Bitcoin, available as CFDs paired with USD. Although this allows traders to engage with the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalisation, offering a wider selection of digital currencies would align the broker more closely with its competitors.	Pepperstone remains a highly reputable crypto broker. Despite an average range of digital currencies, traders can access popular options like Bitcoin and altcoins such as Ripple with leverage up to 1:10. Its crypto indices offer comprehensive insights into digital currency markets, a feature unmatched by many other platforms.
Spread
Variable	BTC 30, ETH 0
Coins
BTC	BCH BTC ETH LTC DASH ADA LINK DOGE EOS DOT XRP XLM XTZ UNI BNB
Crypto Lending
No	No
Crypto Mining
No	No
Crypto Staking
No	No
Auto Market Maker
No	No

HYCM	Pepperstone
Review	Review
	CFDs and FX are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 71.9% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs.
More Comparisons
HYCM vs	Pepperstone vs