Kraken or Pepperstone – which is better for UK traders 2026? Compare Kraken and Pepperstone in this detailed breakdown of their platforms, features and fees.
| Kraken | Pepperstone |
|---|---|
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| Kraken is ranked #4 among crypto brokers. | Pepperstone is ranked #1 among CFD brokers. |
| Visit Kraken | Visit Pepperstone |
| Kraken excels as a top cryptocurrency exchange, offering a unique trading platform and access to over 600 crypto tokens. It provides leverage of up to 5 times for spot trading with consistent fees and up to 50 times on futures. | Founded in Australia in 2010, Pepperstone is a leading forex and CFD broker serving over 830,000 clients globally. It provides access to 1,400+ instruments through MT4, MT5, cTrader and TradingView, with low, transparent pricing. Regulated by the FCA, ASIC and CySEC, Pepperstone offers a secure trading environment for all experience levels. |
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CFDs and FX are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 73-89% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs. |
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| Pros | |
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| Cons | |
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| Awards | |
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| FCA Regulated | |
| Yes | Yes |
| Instruments | |
| Cryptos, Pre-IPO Perpetual Futures, Tokenized Stocks | CFDs, Forex, Currency Indices, Stocks, Indices, Commodities, ETFs, Crypto CFDs (only Pro clients), Spread Betting |
| Demo Account | |
| Yes | Yes |
| Minimum Deposit | |
| $10 | $0 |
| Payment Methods | |
| Minimum Trade | |
| Variable | 0.01 Lots |
| Regulator | |
| FINTRAC, AUSTRAC, CySEC, CBI, FCA | FCA, ASIC, CySEC, BaFin, DFSA, SCA, SCB, CMA-Kenya |
| Mobile Apps | |
| iOS & Android | iOS & Android |
| Trading App | |
| We tested Kraken with a live account and found it intuitive, particularly against rivals such as Binance. From the ‘+’ icon, users can explore tokens, manage portfolios, and buy, sell, convert or schedule recurring purchases in a few taps. Two-factor authentication and biometric login support secure access. It is also one of few crypto apps offering a route to potential proprietary funding. | 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 | |
| Android App Rating | |
| Margin Trading | |
| Yes | Yes |
| MetaTrader 4 | |
| No | Yes |
| MetaTrader 5 | |
| No | Yes |
| cTrader | |
| No | Yes |
| AlgoTrader | |
| Yes | No |
| OmniTrader | |
| No | No |
| TradingView | |
| No | Yes |
| Autochartist | |
| No | No |
| eSignal | |
| No | No |
| Trading Central | |
| No | No |
| STP Account | |
| No | Yes |
| ECN Account | |
| No | 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 | |
| No | Yes |
| Market Maker | |
| No | No |
| P2P Trading | |
| No | No |
| Spot Trading | |
| Yes | Yes |
| Auto Trading | |
| Kraken Futures is integrated in other platforms which have bots: Bookmap, Caspian, FMZ Quant, Gunbot, HaasOnline, Hyndor, Margin | Expert Advisors (EAs) on MetaTrader, cBots on cTrader |
| 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 | |
| VPS Hosting | |
| No | No |
| Tournaments | |
| No | No |
| Demo Competitions | |
| No | No |
| Ethical Investing | |
| No | No |
| Custodial Account | |
| No | No |
| Guaranteed Stop Loss | |
| No | No |
| Inactivity Fee | |
| $0 | $0 |
| Islamic Account | |
| No | Yes |
| Account Currencies | |
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| Commodities | |
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| CFD | |
| 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 | |
| 1:30 (Retail - UK, EU, Australia), 1:500 (Pro), 1:200 (Offshore), 1:400 (Kenya) | |
| FTSE Spread | |
| 1.0 | |
| GBPUSD Spread< | |
| 0.4 | |
| Oil Spread | |
| 0.02 | |
| Stocks Spread | |
| 0.02 | |
| Forex | |
| 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 | |
| 100+ | |
| GBPUSD Spread | |
| 0.4 | |
| EURUSD Spread | |
| 0.1 | |
| EURGBP Spread | |
| 0.4 | |
| Currency Indices | |
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| Cryptocurrency | |
| Kraken is a dedicated cryptocurrency exchange offering over 600 digital currencies, encompassing major coins like Bitcoin and various altcoins. Traders can access spot markets with 1:5 leverage or futures at 1:50. The platform is intuitive, with competitive fees. | Pepperstone remains a leading name among trusted crypto CFD brokers. While its range of digital tokens is modest, it offers trading on major cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and altcoins such as Ripple with leverage up to 1:10. Its crypto indices offer a comprehensive market perspective, often absent from other trading platforms. Additionally, Pepperstone has introduced a specific crypto exchange in Australia, named Pepperstone Crypto. |
| Spread | |
| 0-0.26% average | 30 (BTC) |
| Coins | |
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| Crypto Lending | |
| No | No |
| Crypto Mining | |
| No | No |
| Crypto Staking | |
| Yes | No |
| Auto Market Maker | |
| No | No |
| Kraken | Pepperstone |
| Visit Kraken | Visit Pepperstone |
| CFDs and FX are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 73-89% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs. | |