Pepperstone vs IG

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

Pepperstone vs IG Comparison Table 2026
Pepperstone IG
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4.8
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4.5
Pepperstone is ranked #1 among CFD brokers. IG is ranked #6 among CFD brokers.
Review
Review
Founded in Australia in 2010, Pepperstone is a highly esteemed forex and CFD broker with more than 830,000 clients globally. It provides access to 1,400+ instruments via platforms like MT4, MT5, cTrader, and TradingView, with competitive and clear fees. Regulated by reputable bodies such as the FCA, ASIC, and CySEC, it guarantees a safe trading environment for all traders. Founded in 1974, IG is a part of IG Group Holdings Plc, a publicly listed brokerage (LSE: IGG). The company provides spread betting, CFD, and forex trading, offering access to over 17,000 markets. Its platforms and investing apps are notably user-friendly. Over the past 50 years, IG has consistently been an industry leader, excelling in all essential areas for traders.
CFDs and FX are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 73.7% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs. Spread bets and CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 68% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading spread bets and CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how spread bets and CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
Pros
  • 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.
  • Recognised customer support is accessible through phone, email, or live chat, with response times under five minutes. Service agents are friendly and well-versed in products and trading tools.
  • By integrating spread betting via TradingView, Pepperstone offers a streamlined, tax-efficient trading platform with sophisticated analysis tools for financial spread bettors in eligible countries.
  • Provides a specialised CopyTrading app for traders preferring a passive investment strategy.
  • IG excels with its diverse instruments, offering stocks, forex, indices, commodities, and cryptocurrencies. Additionally, it provides US-listed futures, options, and an AI Index, ensuring varied diversification opportunities.
  • IG secured a crypto asset license from the FCA, enabling its return to the UK market. It now offers buying, selling, and storage services for over 55 digital tokens with fees starting at 1.49%, all under FCA regulation.
  • The web-based platform supports traders at every level, offering advanced charting tools and real-time market data vital for trading. Additionally, IG now includes TradingView integration.
  • The IG app provides an excellent mobile trading experience with an intuitive design, earning it the Runner Up position in our 'Best Trading App' award.
  • As a seasoned broker, IG adheres to stringent regulatory standards across various regions, ensuring significant trust.
  • IG provides a wide range of professional and engaging educational materials, such as webinars, articles, and analyses, tailored for traders.
  • The ProRealTime advanced charting platform remains free, provided traders meet modest monthly activity requirements.
Cons
  • Overnight holding fees exceed those of some Market Maker brokers (typically Benchmark + 2.5%). Pepperstone suits traders and forex scalpers well but is less ideal for swing traders who keep positions open overnight.
  • Execution might not appear as dependable in rapid markets as headline speeds imply. Our tests showed swift execution at targeted prices. However, community feedback highlights concerns over slippage, stop-loss fills, and order triggers sensitive to spreads amid volatility.
  • Although the market range has improved, crypto options remain limited compared to brokers specialising in this field, like Eightcap, and investors cannot purchase actual coins.
  • Provides limited internal market analysis and collaborates with third-party firms like Autochartist to address this. This issue is minor, given the abundance of other sources offering comprehensive market insights.
  • Beginners may find IG's fees complicated, as they vary depending on the trades or services. This could cause confusion and unexpected costs.
  • In the UK and EU, negative balance protection is available. However, US clients lack account protection and guaranteed stop losses.
  • IG has ended its swap-free account, diminishing its attractiveness to Islamic traders.
  • Based on tests, stock and CFD spreads remain less competitive than the lowest-cost brokers, such as CMC Markets.
  • IG imposes a monthly inactivity fee of $12 after two years, discouraging occasional traders.
Awards
  • 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, Currency Indices, Stocks, Indices, Commodities, ETFs, Crypto (only Pro clients), Spread Betting CFDs, Forex, Stocks, Indices, Commodities, ETFs, Futures, Options, Crypto, Spread Betting
Demo Account
Yes Yes
Minimum Deposit
$0 $0
Payment Methods
Minimum Trade
0.01 Lots 0.01 Lots
Regulator
FCA, ASIC, CySEC, BaFin, DFSA, SCA, CMA, SCB CFTC, NFA, FCA, BaFin, ASIC, FINMA, MAS, JFSA, FMA, DFSA, BMA
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. IG provides an excellent trading app. As a mobile trading pioneer, it has evolved over the years into a top-tier app. Expect swift responses, an intuitive interface, comprehensive charting, and dependable performance. Additionally, it includes guaranteed stops, a crucial risk management feature absent in many apps we've evaluated.
iOS App Rating
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4.4
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4.6
Android App Rating
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4.1
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4
Margin Trading
Yes Yes
Margin Rate
2.5%
MetaTrader 4
Yes Yes
MetaTrader 5
Yes No
cTrader
Yes No
AlgoTrader
No No
OmniTrader
No No
TradingView
Yes Yes
Autochartist
Yes Yes
eSignal
No No
Trading Central
No Yes
STP Account
Yes No
ECN Account
Yes No
DMA Account
Yes Yes
MAM Account
Yes No
PAMM Account
Yes No
LAMM Account
No No
Demat Account
No No
AI / Machine Learning
No Yes
Robo Advisor
No Yes
Negative Balance Protection
Yes Yes
Market Maker
No Yes
P2P Trading
No No
Spot Trading
Yes Yes
Auto Trading
Expert Advisors (EAs) on MetaTrader Expert Advisors (EAs) on MetaTrader, build your own on ProRealTime
Copy Trading
Yes No
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) Yes
VPS Hosting
Yes Yes
Tournaments
No No
Demo Competitions
No No
Ethical Investing
No Yes
Custodial Account
No No
Guaranteed Stop Loss
No Yes
Inactivity Fee
$0 $12
Islamic Account
Yes No
Account Currencies
  • USD
  • EUR
  • GBP
  • CAD
  • AUD
  • NZD
  • JPY
  • CHF
  • HKD
  • SGD
  • USD
  • EUR
  • GBP
  • CAD
  • AUD
  • JPY
  • ZAR
  • SEK
  • DKK
  • CHF
  • HKD
  • SGD
Commodities
  • Gold
  • Silver
  • Oil
  • Corn
  • Palladium
  • Precious Metals
  • Platinum
  • Copper
  • Gasoline
  • Cocoa
  • Coffee
  • Cotton
  • Livestock
  • Sugar
  • Wheat
  • Natural Gas
  • Soybeans
  • Orange Juice
  • Aluminium
  • Nickel
  • Zinc
  • Gold
  • Copper
  • Oil
  • Palladium
  • Silver
  • Sugar
  • Coffee
  • Wheat
  • Natural Gas
  • Soybeans
  • Orange Juice
  • Nickel
  • Steel
  • Iron
  • Precious Metals
  • Aluminium
  • Lithium
  • Cannabis
  • Lean Hogs
  • Cattle
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. IG provides over 17,000 CFDs, giving traders more opportunities than most brokers. Investors can trade long or short on key markets such as equities, forex, commodities, and cryptocurrencies. Additionally, customised price alerts and the IG Academy enrich the trading experience.
Leverage
1:30 (Retail), 1:500 (Pro) 1:30 (Retail), 1:222 (Pro)
FTSE Spread
1.0 1.0
GBPUSD Spread<
0.4 0.9
Oil Spread
2.5 2.8
Stocks Spread
0.02 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. IG provides an extensive selection of over 80 currency pairs through its own web platform, mobile app, or MetaTrader 4. For advanced charting and forex analysis, the ProRealTime software is available. Testing shows forex spreads are competitive, beginning at 0.1 pips on major pairs such as EUR/USD.
Assets
100+ 80+
GBPUSD Spread
0.4 0.9
EURUSD Spread
0.1 0.8
EURGBP Spread
0.4 0.9
Currency Indices
  • USD
  • EUR
  • JPY
  • USD
Cryptocurrency
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. IG provides more than 55 crypto CFDs and digital assets for trade and storage. It uniquely features a crypto index tracking the top 10 digital currencies by market cap, allowing broad speculation on the crypto market’s value. In the UK, its crypto services strengthened post-acquisition of an FCA digital asset licence, enabling regulated trading and investment in leading cryptocurrencies.
Spread
BTC 30, ETH 0 Variable
Coins
  • BCH
  • BTC
  • ETH
  • LTC
  • DASH
  • ADA
  • LINK
  • DOGE
  • EOS
  • DOT
  • XRP
  • XLM
  • XTZ
  • UNI
  • BNB
  • BTC
  • ETH
  • SOL
  • XRP
  • BCH
  • ADA
  • TIA
  • LINK
  • EOS
  • HBAR
  • ICP
  • LTC
  • NEAR
  • NEO
  • ONDO
  • PEPE
  • DOT
  • POL
  • SHIB
  • XLM
  • SUI
  • TRX
  • TON
  • UNI
  • DOGE
  • AAVE
  • APT
  • ARB
  • AVAX
  • CRYPTO10
Crypto Lending
No No
Crypto Mining
No No
Crypto Staking
No No
Auto Market Maker
No No
Pepperstone IG
Review
Review
CFDs and FX are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 73.7% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs. Spread bets and CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 68% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading spread bets and CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how spread bets and CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.
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