XM vs Pepperstone
Is XM better than Pepperstone? Who offers lower spread, better trading conditions and is safer broker to trade?
We provide answers to all questions in this XM vs Pepperstone Comparison Review. For this Review we opened real accounts and deposit over $6,000 in total to compare both offerings, account opening process at XM vs Pepperstone, also the fees, trading conditions, platform selection and withdrawal process.

What is XM and Pepperstone
XM is a global Forex and one of the regulated CFD brokers, offering trading with forex pairs, indices, stocks, and commodities.
Pepperstone is an Australian Forex and CFDs broker founded in 2010.
Some of the highlights of XM vs Pepperstone are:
XM | Pepperstone | |
💻 Website | www.xm.com | www.pepperstone.com |
🛡️Founded year | 2009 | 2010 |
🏦 Headquarter | Limassol, Cyprus | Australia |
🗺️ Authorized & Regulated in | UK, Cyprus, Australia, UAE, Belize | Australia, UK, Cyprus, Bahamas, UAE, Kenya |
🔒 Is Broker safe | Yes | Yes |
💰 EUR/USD Spread | 1.6 | 1.15 |
💳 Minimum deposit | US$5 | AUD $200 |
💰 Withdrawal fee | US$0 | US$0 |
🖥️ Trading Platform | MT4, MT5 | MT4, MT5, cTrader |
📈 Markets offered | Forex, Indices, Stocks, Commodities | Forex, Indices, Stocks, Commodities, Cryptocurrencies, Currency index |
📉 Number of Products | 1336 | 158 |
🔎 Our Detailed Review | XM Review | Pepperstone Review |
Licenses and Regulation
XM vs Pepperstone are both safe to trade and are highly reliable, low-risk trading Brokers due to regulations and are not a scam.
XM is regulated by the top-tier ASIC, and Cyprus’ CySEC, which have strict rules and enforcement mechanisms.
Pepperstone is regulated by the top-tier UK’s FCA and Australia’s ASIC, which have stringent rules and enforcement processes.
For thisXM vs Pepperstone review, we opened an account with XM Trading Point of Financial Instruments Limited, regulated by CySEC and an account under Pepperstone Limited, the UK entity regulated by the FCA.
We recommend that you open your account with the XM Cyprus entity since it is the only one that offers deposit protection to traders if it is available to you, or a Pepperstone account under the UK entity since it offers the highest deposit protection compensation of up to £85,000 guaranteed by the UK’s FCA, which is the best in the industry.
XM | Pepperstone | |
🔒 Licenses | ASIC, CySEC, DFSA FCA, FSC | ASIC, CySEC, SCB, FCA, FSA |
Top Tier License | ✔️ | ✔️ |
Publically Traded | ❌ | ❌ |
Compensation Scheme | ✔️ (depending on entity) | ✔️ (depending on entity) |
XM vs Pepperstone Fees
XM and Pepperstone fees are similar, built into a spread basis, and both have commission based accounts.
There are no additional fees charged by XM, moreover, the broker charges average fees for trading the main instruments and the fees charged on stocks and commodities are lower than industry averages.
In the case of Pepperstone, the average spreads for the popular instruments in each market are also below industry averages. However, the spreads on Bitcoin trades are way above industry averages. This makes the broker unfriendly to cryptocurrency traders.
XM Fees | Pepperstone Fees | |
Fees based on spread | ✔️ | ✔️ |
Floating Spread | ✔️ | ✔️ |
Fixed Spread | ❌ | ❌ |
Commission based fees | ✔️ | ✔️ |
Inactivity Fee | $0 | $0 |
Deposit fee | $0 | $0 |
Withdrawal fee | $0 | $0 |
Active trader/ VIP Programs | ✔️ | ❌ |
Spreads Charged in Our Trades
For our test trades on XM vs Pepperstone accounts, we chose popular instruments in each market. We placed 3 trades for each instrument to get the average spread and we were able to find both negative and positive sides for each Broker spreads.
A closer look at the spreads charged in our XM trades revealed that they were all aligned with industry benchmarks. The broker’s spreads on indices, commodities and stocks were slightly lower than those of its peers.
We tested the Standard Account with Pepperstone Limited, which charges a spread on all tradable instruments. Pepperstone stands out for its low fees for most of the instruments on offer, except for cryptocurrencies.
Markets | Instruments | XM commission | Pepperstone commission | Industry avg. spread |
Indices | FTSE 100 | 1.5 | 1 | 1.65 |
Forex | EUR/USD | 1.6 | 1.2 | 1.16 |
Commodities | Gold | 3.5 | 1.6 | 3.53 |
Stocks | AAPL | 1.35 | 0.9 | 1.75 |
Cryptocurrencies | Bitcoin | – | 110 | 72.81 |
ETFs | QQQ | – | – | 0.45 |
Account Types Compared
XM offers 5 account types with different fee structures, that is, the Micro, Standard, XM Zero, XM Ultra-low, and Shares accounts.
Pepperstone offers 2 account types with separate fee structures: the Razor and Standard accounts.
XM account opening is quick and effortless. The registration process took exactly 14 minutes, and our account was approved two days later.
Account Opening with Pepperstone is quite straightforward. The registration process took a total of 20 minutes, and our account was approved on the next day.
XM Accounts | Pepperstone Accounts | |
Standard Account | ✔️ | ✔️ |
ECN / Commission Based Account | ❌ | ✔️ |
Islamic Account | ✔️ | ❌ |
PAMM Account | ❌ | ❌ |
Markets and Products
Both XM vs Pepperstone offer a large variety of tradable instruments in the forex, indices, stocks, and commodities markets.
Markets | XM Instruments | Pepperstone Instruments |
Indices | 26 | 14 |
Forex | 57 | 61 |
Commodities | 17 | 9 |
Stocks | 1236 | 64 |
Cryptocurrency | – | 9 |
Currency index | – | 1 |
ETFs | – | – |
Bonds | – | – |
Trading Conditions
The trading conditions both at XM vs Pepperstone are great. Both traders allow high-risk strategies such as hedging and scalping.
Trading Method | XM | Pepperstone |
Hedging | ✔️ | ✔️ |
Scalping | ✔️ | ✔️ |
Change Leverage | ✔️ | ❌ |
Copy trading/ Social trading | ✔️ | ✔️ |
Beginners Trading | ✔️ | ✔️ |
Professional Trading | ✔️ | ✔️ |
Deposit and Withdrawal
Both deposit and withdrawal processes on XM vs Peppoerstone are quick and straightforward.
Both XM vs Pepperstone’s clients can deposit funds into their trading accounts via bank transfers, debit/credit cards, and e-wallets such as Skrill, PayPal, and Neteller.
The deposit methods offered by XM are instant and free. Anyway, the first deposit has to be made via credit card.
All the deposit methods offered by Pepperstone are instant and free. However, a bank transfer can take a few business days to reflect in your trading account.
XM | Pepperstone | |
💰 Deposit Fee | ❌ | ❌ |
💰 Withdrawal fee | $0 | ❌ |
💳 Minimum deposit | US$5 | AUD $200 |
Bank Transfer | ✔️ | ✔️ |
Debit/ Credit Cards | ✔️ | ✔️ |
PayPal | ✔️ | ✔️ |
Skrill | ✔️ | ✔️ |
Neteller | ✔️ | ✔️ |
Trading Platform
Both XM vs Pepperstone offer the popular MetaTrader 4 (MT4) and MetaTrader 5 (MT5). Pepperstone also offers the cTrader platform to traders.
While the XM MT4 platform is a bit dated, we found the MT5 platform to be more than adequate for traders who prefer a modern platform.
The lack of a proprietary trading platform in Pepperstone may dissuade some traders, but the MT5 and cTrader platforms are great.
XM Platform | Pepperstone Platform | |
Proprietary Platform | ❌ | ❌ |
Web Platform | ✔️ | ✔️ |
Desktop Platform | ✔️ | ✔️ |
Mobile App | ✔️ | ✔️ |
Alternative Platforms | ❌ | ✔️ |
MetaTrader 4 | ✔️ | ✔️ |
MetaTrader 5 | ✔️ | ✔️ |
Simple to use platform | ✔️ | ✔️ |
Demo Account Trading | ✔️ | ✔️ |
Execution Agency Model | ❌ | ❌ |
Research | ✔️ | ✔️ |
Advanced Research tools | ✔️ | ✔️ |
Education and Support
Both XM vs Pepperstone have a great education offering for beginners. XM’s Tradepedia video course provides an in-depth guide to the markets. Pepperstone offers platform tutorial videos, educational videos, and webinars to suit all types of traders.
XM runs over 40 webinars weekly in different languages that its clients can join and learn about the markets. The webinars are based on experience level and take place in different timezones to suit its clients.
Pepperstone also has a YouTube channel that offers dozens of educational videos that cover different topics suitable for all levels of traders.
XM Support | Pepperstone Support | |
Trading School for Beginners | ✔️ | ✔️ |
Tutorials | ✔️ | ✔️ |
Trading Videos | ❌ | ✔️ |
Webinars | ✔️ | ✔️ |
Daily News and Analysis | ✔️ | ✔️ |
Economic Calendar | ✔️ | ✔️ |
Live Chat | ✔️ | ✔️ |
Email Support | ✔️ | ✔️ |
24/7 availability | ❌ | ❌ |
Conclusion on XM vs Pepperstone
Comparing XM vs Pepperstone side by side we found both brokers reliable and with good standing. XM provides great customer support response times and the spreads on most instruments are aligned with industry averages. Pepperstone spreads on all instruments are lower than the industry average. The broker’s customer support team was helpful and provided direct and relevant answers.
Overall, we had a smooth experience with XM vs Pepperstone starting from the account opening, to the deposit, trading and withdrawal processes.
We recommend XM to traders who prefer the MT4/5 platforms and to those who run EAs due to the free VPS service. The broker is also suitable for beginner traders because of its detailed educational materials.
We recommend you to open an account with the Pepperstone UK, Australia or Cyprus entities if any is available to you.
XM | Pepperstone | |
Recommended for | ✔️ CFD stocks trading ✔️ Beginning traders ✔️ Experienced traders ✔️ Trading currency Pairs ✔️ EAs trading ✔️ Scalping trader ✔️ Hedging trader ✔️ Trading through MT4 / MT5 | ✔️Beginning Traders ✔️ Experienced Traders ✔️ Scalping trader ✔️ Hedging trader ✔️ EA trader ✔️ Trading CFD |
Might not be fit for | ❌ Commission based trading ❌ Real stock / futures trading | ❌ Trading Futures or Real Stocks |
Author of this review

By George Rossi
Author of this review
I am a well-rounded financial services professional experienced in fundamental and technical analysis, global macroeconomic research, foreign exchange and commodity markets and an independent trader.
Now I am passionate about reviewing and comparing forex brokers.
Everything you find on BrokerTested is based on reliable data and unbiased information. We combine our 10+ years finance experience with readers feedback. Read more about our methodology