Pepperstone Review 2026: Razor Account, Commissions, Platforms and Fees

Pepperstone is an Australian CFD broker founded in 2010. EU clients are served by Pepperstone EU Limited, a Cyprus investment firm licensed by CySEC (licence 388/20, company no. HE 398429).

In short: Pepperstone is one of the strongest choices for active traders — the Razor account with raw spreads from 0.0 and commission from $3.50 per lot per side, MT4, MT5, cTrader and TradingView, a €10 minimum deposit, no inactivity fees and free deposits and withdrawals (except $20 for international outgoing wires). Account currencies are EUR, USD, GBP and CHF. We checked pepperstone.com/en-eu on 25 October 2026.

1. Is Pepperstone safe?

Yes. Pepperstone EU Limited holds CySEC licence 388/20. Client funds are held in segregated accounts at regulated European banks, and the broker states it does not use retail client money to hedge with other counterparties. Retail clients have negative balance protection and the Cyprus Investor Compensation Fund up to €20,000. ASIC, FCA, DFSA, SCB or CMA licences belong to other group companies.

2. Standard and Razor accounts

On Razor, 0.01-lot trades round commission up to $0.04. Overnight funding uses inter-bank rates plus a 2.5% annual charge. Index and commodity CFDs are commission-free on both accounts.

3. Deposits, withdrawals and fees

• Deposits: card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal (from €10, instant) and bank transfer (no minimum) — no Pepperstone fees.
• Withdrawals: cards and wallets within 1 business day, bank transfers within 2; free except $20 for international bank wires.
• No account-keeping or inactivity fees. Accounts under 10 units of currency with no trading for 3 months may be archived.

4. Platforms and instruments

• Platforms: Pepperstone (web and app), MT4, MT5, cTrader and TradingView (Razor only).
• CFDs on forex, indices, shares, ETFs, commodities, crypto, forwards and currency indices.

5. Pros, cons and verdict

6. Alternatives

• Tickmill — Raw account from 0.0 pips.
• FxPro — cTrader, MT4/MT5 and TradingView.
• Dukascopy — SWFX ECN backed by a Swiss bank.

7. How to open a Pepperstone account — step by step

1. Register on the Pepperstone website — EU clients should be served by an EU company: Pepperstone EU Limited (Cyprus) — CySEC licence 388/20. Check the company name in your client agreement before depositing.
2. Enter your personal details and complete the questionnaire. Before offering CFDs, an EU broker must assess your knowledge and experience (the MiFID II appropriateness test) and warn you if CFDs are not appropriate.
3. Verify your identity with a passport or ID card and a proof of address (e.g. a utility bill or bank statement), as required by anti-money-laundering rules.
4. Choose the account type and base currency. An account in the currency you deposit in saves conversion costs.
5. Fund the account — minimum deposit according to the broker: €10 (cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal). Deposits are accepted only from accounts or cards in your own name; available methods: free.
6. Install the platform (Pepperstone (web, app), MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, cTrader, TradingView) or log in via your browser. Practise on a demo account first, if the broker offers one.

8. What trading with Pepperstone really costs

Below are the costs from the summary table above — taken from Pepperstone’s website and documents when we updated this review:

• EUR/USD spread: Razor: from 0.0 + from $3.50 per lot per side; Standard: raw + 1 pip
• Deposits and withdrawals: free; $20 for international outgoing bank wires

How to work it out: on EUR/USD one pip on a 1-lot position (€100,000) is worth about $10, so a 1-pip spread costs about $10 when you open the trade. A commission quoted “per lot per side” is charged twice — on opening and on closing. Add overnight swaps for every night the position stays open and any currency conversion if your account currency differs from the instrument’s. On 0.1 lot all these amounts are ten times smaller.

Inactivity fee: none — a break from investing costs nothing. Check the fee schedule from time to time, as the broker may change it.

9. Withdrawing money from Pepperstone — how it works

You request a withdrawal in the client area. Under anti-money-laundering rules, funds usually go back via the method used to deposit (e.g. to the card up to the amount deposited by card) and only to an account or card in your own name. The first withdrawal may require full account verification, so upload your documents right after registering. Only free funds that are not used as margin can be withdrawn.

10. Pepperstone compared with other brokers

For comparison, here is Pepperstone next to other brokers whose reviews we updated in October 2026. Figures come from their summary tables — see the full reviews for details.

11. Leverage and client protection in the EU (ESMA)

As an EU investment firm, Pepperstone applies the restrictions introduced by ESMA and adopted permanently by national regulators to retail clients:

• leverage up to 1:30 on major currency pairs, 1:20 on other pairs, gold and major indices, 1:10 on other commodities and indices, 1:5 on shares and 1:2 on crypto;
• margin close-out at 50% of required margin;
• negative balance protection — retail clients cannot lose more than they deposited;
• a ban on bonuses and trading incentives for retail CFD clients;
• a mandatory risk warning with the share of losing retail accounts — for Pepperstone: 74.1% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider.

Higher leverage is only available to professional clients who meet the MiFID II criteria — at the cost of some protections, including negative balance protection.

12. Tax on profits from Pepperstone

Tax treatment depends on your country of residence. Pepperstone generally does not file tax returns for you, so keep the annual statement of trades from the client area. For Polish residents: profits from a foreign broker are reported in the PIT-38 return (19% tax), with foreign-currency amounts converted at the National Bank of Poland average rate from the business day before each trade.

13. Glossary: terms to know before opening a Pepperstone account

• Spread — the difference between the buy and sell price, paid on every trade.
• Pip — the smallest typical price move of a currency pair (0.0001 for EUR/USD).
• Lot — the standard position size: 1 forex lot is 100,000 units of the base currency; 0.01 lot (micro lot) is 1,000.
• Commission — a fixed fee per trade, usually on raw-spread (ECN/Raw) accounts.
• Swap — the daily cost or credit for holding a position overnight, based on the interest-rate differential.
• Margin — the part of the position value set aside as collateral; at 1:30 leverage about 3.33% of the position.
• Margin call and stop out — a warning and automatic closing of positions when equity falls relative to required margin.
• Slippage — execution at a different price than requested, common around news releases and price gaps.

14. FAQ

Risk warning: CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. 74.1% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. This review is for information only and is not investment advice.