Pepperstone vs IC Markets 2023

Pepperstone has a trust score of 93, giving it a "Highly Trusted" trust label. Here's what each trust score label means:

• "Highly Trusted" (90-99) - These brokers are considered the most trustworthy firms in the industry. Simply put, we would not hesitate to open and fund an account with a Highly Trusted broker.
• "Trusted" (80-89) - These brokers are reliable and trustworthy. "Trusted" firms are a solid choice, and may simply hold fewer regulatory licences or feature different corporate structures than those brokers that have earned our top Trust Score rating.
• "Average Risk" (70-79) - Average Risk brokers are firms we generally consider to be safe, but that may warrant a closer inspection before you open and fund a live trading account. At the least, we always encourage traders to check the regulatory licenses for Average Risk firms to verify that they are regulated in their own country of residence.
• "High Risk" (60-69) - High-risk firms should be scrutinized and carefully reviewed before opening an account. These forex brokers are – in most cases – operating without credible regulatory licensing, and likely have a history of legal or financial issues. Before considering an account with a high-risk firm, we recommend checking our country guides for your country of residence to see if a more trusted broker is available.
• "Do Not Trust" (<59) - We do not recommend opening an account of any kind with a broker that earns a “Do Not Trust” rating.

IC Markets has a trust score of 86, giving it a "Trusted" trust label.

Pepperstone offers numerous trading platforms (including for social copy trading) and tools for algorithmic traders, including the full MetaTrader suite. Traders gain access to high-quality research and an above-average range of markets.

IC Markets' combination of low spreads and commissions, as well as its supportive execution policies that accomodate algorithmic traders make it our pick for the best MetaTrader broker. In addition, IC Markets recently bolstered its range of markets, sending the total available to over 3,000. It's worth noting, however, that its reserach and educational offerings still have lots of room to improve.

Tier-1 regulators go above and beyond by requiring additional capital requirements, checking in on brokers more frequently, and putting brokers through a tougher screening process. Pepperstone is Australia (ASIC Authorised) and United Kingdom (U.K.) (FCA Authorised), while IC Markets is Australia (ASIC Authorised).. Neither have Canada (SRO Authorised), Hong Kong (SFC Authorised), CBI Authorised (Ireland), Japan (SFC Authorised), Singapore (MAS Authorised), New Zealand (FMA Authorised), Switzerland (FINMA Authorised) and USA (CFTC Authorized)

Tier-2 and tier-3 licenses are still important in evaluating the overall trustworthiness of forex brokers. As far as tier-2 licenses go, Pepperstone is Cyprus (CySEC Authorised) and UAE (DFSA/Central Bank Authorised), while IC Markets is Cyprus (CySEC Authorised).. Neither have China (CBRC Authorised), India (SEBI Authorised), Israel (ISA Authorised), Russia (CBR Authorised), South Africa (FSCA Authorised) and Thailand (SEC Authorised). When comparing tier-3 licenses both Pepperstone and IC Markets are Bahamas (SCB Authorised).. Neither have Belize (FSC Authorised), Bermuda (BMA Authorised), British Virgin Islands (FSC Authorised), Cayman Islands (CIMA Authorised), Mauritius (FSC Authorised) and Vanuatu (VFSC Authorised).

For trading platforms Pepperstone supports a Desktop Platform (Windows), cTrader and DupliTrade, whereas IC Markets supports a Desktop Platform (Windows), cTrader and ZuluTrade.. Neither have Proprietary Platform

Both Pepperstone and IC Markets offer the whole MetaTrader suite, which consists of both MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5. If you’re new to MetaTrader 4 here’s our educational guide on how to use MT4.

Pepperstone requires a minimum deposit of $200, while IC Markets requires a minimum deposit of $200. From our testing we found Pepperstone offers spreads of 0.77, while IC Markets offers spreads of 0.62. Both Pepperstone and IC Markets offer Bank Wire (Deposit/Withdraw), Visa/Mastercard (Credit/Debit), PayPal (Deposit/Withdraw) and Skrill (Deposit/Withdraw) for deposits.

Pepperstone offers a more diverse selection of investment options than IC Markets allowing you to trade Forex Trading (Spot or CFDs), Spread Betting, Social Trading / Copy Trading, Metals, Energies, Agriculturals, ETF and U.S. Stocks (CFD). Looking at total tradeable symbols, Pepperstone has 2342, compared to 3583 from IC Markets.

Crypto trading is popular with forex traders. Most crypto assets are offered either as the underlying physical asset or as a CFD or other derivative — including spot forex contracts. In terms of trading physical cryptocurrency neither Pepperstone nor IC Markets allow you to trade physical cryptocurrencies.

In terms of research and research tools Pepperstone gives traders the following tools: Autochartist, Daily Market Commentary, Stock Charts, Forex News (Top-Tier Sources) and Social Trading / Copy Trading. In comparison IC Markets has the tools listed here: Autochartist, Daily Market Commentary, Stock Charts, Forex News (Top-Tier Sources), Trading Central (Recognia) and Social Trading / Copy Trading.

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