Pepperstone vs Oanda compared: which is best?

Choosing between Pepperstone and Oanda is not straightforward. Both are well regulated, both are established and both serve large client bases.

In this comparison, we set the two side by side across the features that matter: products, platforms, interest on cash, pricing, regulation and who each one suits.

Below you will find a quick take, a comparison table and a detailed look at each broker, with their pros and cons.

Pepperstone vs Oanda: the quick take

1. Pepperstone suits active traders focused on forex and CFDs, with top-tier regulation including the FCA, low Razor pricing and the widest platform choice, including cTrader.
2. Oanda suits traders in the US and Canada, where it holds local licences, and EU investors who want real shares and ETFs alongside CFDs.

Pepperstone leads for active CFD and forex traders. It is listed in the r/Forex subreddit wiki alongside Interactive Brokers, and it is the only one of the two supporting cTrader, which matters for algorithmic and scalping strategies.

Oanda leads for North American traders and for EU investors. Founded in 1996, it is one of the oldest brokers still operating and holds licences in the US and Canada, where Pepperstone does not operate.

Oanda also wins if you want to own assets rather than trade derivatives. Pepperstone offers CFDs (and spread betting in the UK) only. See the differences between CFDs and real shares. Oanda offers real shares and ETFs to EU clients and pays interest on cash in the UK and the EU.

The most useful question to ask yourself first: are you trading actively or investing for the long term? CFDs carry overnight financing that accumulates daily, which makes them unsuitable for holding periods measured in months or years.

Pepperstone vs Oanda in a nutshell

1. Overview

Pepperstone

Founded in 2010 in Melbourne, Pepperstone has grown into one of the largest forex and CFD brokers, with more than 900,000 clients in 150 countries.

It is regulated by ASIC (Australia), the FCA (UK), BaFin (Germany), CySEC (Cyprus), the DFSA (Dubai), the CMA (Kenya), the SCB (Bahamas) and the SCA (United Arab Emirates). It does not accept residents of the United States, and its EU entity does not serve Belgium or Spain.

Pepperstone focuses on trading: forex, indices, commodities, shares, ETFs and crypto are all offered as CFDs, and UK residents can also open a spread betting account, where profits are generally free from capital gains tax and stamp duty.

Oanda

Founded in 1996, Oanda is among the longest-established forex and CFD brokers. It has operated through the dot-com crash, the 2008 crisis, the 2015 Swiss franc shock and the 2020 volatility. In December 2025, Oanda was acquired by FTMO, the proprietary trading firm, from the private equity firm CVC.

Oanda holds licences in the US (CFTC and NFA), Canada (CIRO), the UK (FCA), Poland (KNF), Singapore (MAS), Australia (ASIC), Japan and the British Virgin Islands. Since 2023, EU clients have been served by OANDA TMS Brokers S.A. in Poland, which also offers real shares and ETFs.

2. Products and instruments

• Pepperstone: CFDs on more than 90 forex pairs, indices, commodities, shares, ETFs and crypto (crypto CFDs are not available to UK retail clients), plus spread betting in the UK. It does not offer real shares.
• Oanda UK: more than 1,700 CFDs, including over 65 forex pairs, indices, commodities, shares and ETFs.
• Oanda EU: more than 1,700 CFDs plus over 2,400 real shares from the US, Poland, the UK, Germany, France and Spain, and around 200 ETFs.

Oanda wins on products, mainly because EU clients can own real shares and ETFs. With real shares, you own the asset, receive dividends and can hold indefinitely. With CFDs, you hold a leveraged position and pay overnight financing every night, which makes them unsuitable for long-term holding.

If you only trade short term, Pepperstone’s CFD range is no limitation.

3. Trading platforms

• Pepperstone: its own web platform and app, MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, cTrader and TradingView, plus copy trading. Availability depends on the account type (for example, TradingView is available with the Razor account).
• Oanda: its own web platform and app, TradingView, MetaTrader 4 and MetaTrader 5 in the UK. EU clients use the OANDA TMS Trade app, TradingView and MetaTrader 5.

cTrader is the main differentiator. It offers level II pricing and cAlgo for automated strategies, features that algorithmic traders and scalpers seek out. Oanda does not list it among its platforms.

Also worth noting: MetaQuotes now focuses on MetaTrader 5, so MT5 and cTrader are the platforms with a future, even though both brokers still offer MT4.

4. Interest on cash

This is one of the clearest differences between the two:

• Oanda UK: pays 2% a year on balances from £10,000 to £49,999 and 4% from £50,000 to £100,000 (rates as of June 2026, for individual clients, in GBP, EUR or USD). Nothing is paid below £10,000.
• Oanda EU: pays interest on CFD account balances up to €25,000, with promotional rates of 4% to 5% for the first 90 days and 0.5% afterwards.
• Pepperstone: does not advertise interest on cash balances.

Rates can change at any time, so check the current rates before you deposit.

5. Account types

• Pepperstone Standard: no commission, with the cost built into the spread (EUR/USD averaged 1.1 pips in August 2026).
• Pepperstone Razor: raw spreads (EUR/USD averaged 0.1 pips) plus a commission of $3.50 per lot per side on MetaTrader (£2.25 for GBP accounts) or $6 per lot round trip on cTrader.
• Pepperstone spread betting: UK only.
• Oanda: two pricing models in the UK, spread-only and core pricing plus commission. EU clients choose between a CFD trading account and a stocks (brokerage) account.

Both brokers offer professional accounts with higher leverage (up to 500:1 at Pepperstone and 100:1 at Oanda UK) to clients who qualify, but professional clients lose retail protections such as negative balance protection. Retail clients in the UK and EU are capped at 30:1 on major currency pairs at both.

6. Account opening and deposits

• Pepperstone: no minimum to open an account, and a minimum deposit of $10 (or £10 in the UK, with no minimum for bank wires). Deposits and withdrawals are free, except international bank wires (£15 in the UK, $20 in the EU).
• Oanda: no minimum deposit in the UK, and no deposit or withdrawal fees charged by Oanda in the UK (your bank may charge). In the EU, a second and further withdrawals in the same month can cost €10 for small amounts.

Both let you open an account online. If you fund with a card, you keep chargeback protection that bank transfers don’t offer.

7. Pricing

7.1 Trading fees

Pepperstone’s Razor account separates spread and commission, while Oanda’s standard pricing builds the cost into the spread.

Comparing like with like: on Pepperstone Razor, the average 0.1-pip spread plus $7 of round-trip commission per standard lot (about 0.7 pips on EUR/USD) works out at roughly 0.8 pips all-in. Oanda advertises EUR/USD from 0.6 pips, but that is a minimum rather than an average, so the real gap depends on market conditions. “From 0.0 pips” pricing always moves part of the cost into the commission.

For EU clients buying real shares, Oanda charges no commission on US shares for EUR, PLN, CZK and RON accounts, 0.15% (minimum €5) on German, French, Spanish and UK shares and 0.10% (minimum €1) on ETFs, according to its fee table.

7.2 Non-trading fees

8. Regulation and security

• Pepperstone: regulated by ASIC, the FCA, BaFin, CySEC, the DFSA, the CMA (Kenya), the SCB (Bahamas) and the SCA (UAE).
• Oanda: regulated by the CFTC and NFA (US), CIRO (Canada), the FCA (UK), the KNF (Poland), MAS (Singapore), ASIC (Australia), the Kanto Local Finance Bureau (Japan) and the BVI Financial Services Commission for other markets.

Neither broker is publicly listed, which limits financial transparency compared with listed competitors.

Oanda leads on regulatory breadth, given its US and Canadian authorisations and a track record dating back to 1996.

One point that matters more than the licence count: the entity that opens your account determines your protection. With an FCA-regulated entity, eligible clients are covered by the FSCS up to £85,000. With CySEC, the investor compensation fund covers up to €20,000. Clients of offshore entities, such as Oanda’s BVI entity or Pepperstone’s Bahamas entity, don’t have the same compensation scheme coverage and can be offered higher leverage.

Confirm which entity holds your account before depositing. It is the most important thing to establish about either broker.

9. Customer support

• Pepperstone: available 24 hours a day on weekdays and 18 hours a day at weekends, by phone, live chat and email.
• Oanda: UK support runs from Sunday at 9 p.m. to Friday at 11 p.m. (UK time) by web chat, WhatsApp and email. EU support for existing clients is available on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. CET.

Pepperstone wins on support hours, especially for traders who want help at weekends.

10. Pros and cons

Pepperstone pros and cons

Oanda pros and cons

Verdict: which should you choose?

The decision comes down to three questions:

• Where do you live? If you are in the US, Oanda is the only option of the two. In Canada, Oanda holds a local licence, while Pepperstone doesn’t list a Canadian regulator.
• Trading or investing? If any of your capital is for long-term holding, Oanda’s real shares and ETFs (EU clients) are the deciding factor. CFDs cannot serve that purpose.
• How actively do you trade? At high volume, Pepperstone’s Razor account with cTrader can deliver lower total costs. At lower frequency, the difference is smaller and Oanda’s simpler pricing may suit you better.

A fourth consideration if you keep a large cash balance between trades: Oanda pays interest in the UK and the EU, Pepperstone does not advertise any.

Choosing between these two is not an obvious call, and both are credible. The right platform depends on where you live, your time horizon and how actively you trade.

Always check that the broker is regulated in your jurisdiction, and confirm which entity would hold your account. The difference between an FCA-regulated entity and an offshore one is substantial, covering compensation, leverage limits and negative balance protection.

Want to know more about Pepperstone? Read our in-depth Pepperstone review, or explore our comparison table and BrokerMatch tool.

Other comparisons

• Pepperstone vs Exness compared: which is best?
• Pepperstone vs IC Markets