Are CFD trading fees cheaper with IC Markets or Pepperstone? (November 2026)

By the Economies.com editorial desk · Broker comparison, Australia · Last verified 21 October 2026 against pepperstone.com/en-au, the Pepperstone PDS (August 2026) and the ASIC Professional Registers. Average spreads are Pepperstone’s published figures for 1–31 August 2026.

Pepperstone vs IC Markets: which has tighter spreads in Australia?

These two are the brokers Australian scalpers argue about most, and the data explains why: on paper they are nearly the same product. Both are Melbourne- and Sydney-based respectively, both hold AFSLs, both offer MT4, MT5, cTrader and TradingView, and both charge USD 3.50 per side on their raw accounts.

Are CFD trading fees cheaper with IC Markets or Pepperstone?

For a USD account, it is a wash on commission, and IC Markets’ undated gold and AUS200 averages are slightly tighter than Pepperstone’s dated ones. For an AUD account — which is what most Australians hold — Pepperstone is AUD 2 per round turn cheaper. Our view: the measurable edge is Pepperstone’s for AUD accounts and its transparency; IC Markets’ edge is its execution-speed claim, which it also does not back with slippage data.

Is Pepperstone or IC Markets better for scalping?

Both describe their raw accounts as built for scalpers and neither restricts it. If you scalp on cTrader, IC Markets’ USD 6 round turn matches Pepperstone’s. If you scalp on MT5 from an AUD account, Pepperstone is cheaper. If your edge is measured in milliseconds, test both on a demo through a news release; a published 40ms average and a published “from 50ms” are not the same thing as your fills.

Pepperstone Razor vs IC Markets Raw Spread account

Same model, same USD commission, same platforms. The practical differences are AUD pricing (Pepperstone cheaper), PayID (Pepperstone lists it; IC Markets lists BPAY but not PayID), and documentation (Pepperstone dates its spreads). IC Markets lists no ASX share CFD commission on its stocks page; Pepperstone charges 0.07% per side.

Pepperstone vs CMC Markets on total trading costs

CMC Markets is a different animal: a proprietary-platform broker with a very deep product list and a pricing model that mixes spread-only CFDs with the FX Active account, which quotes from 0.0 pips on six majors for 0.0025% per transaction — about USD 5 per standard lot round turn, which is cheaper than Pepperstone’s USD 7. CMC’s minimum-spread tables are rendered by script and we could not read them, so we cannot compare average spreads. What we can compare: CMC charges a dormancy fee of AUD 15 a month after 12 months without trading; Pepperstone charges none. CMC’s ASX share CFD commission is 0.09% with a AUD 7 minimum; Pepperstone’s is 0.07% with no minimum.

Is Pepperstone or CMC Markets better for index CFDs in Australia?

Pepperstone publishes its AUS200 average (1.5 points) and US500 average (0.4 points) for August 2026, with no commission. CMC’s index spreads were not readable on its site at the time of writing. On the pro side, CMC Pro offers 500:1 on major indices on its own platform but 200:1 on MT4; Pepperstone offers 500:1 on major indices on its pro page (its costs page says 400:1 — an inconsistency we flagged to Pepperstone). If you want a proprietary platform with CMC’s charting, that is a reason to choose CMC; on published cost, Pepperstone is the one you can check.

Pepperstone vs IG for CFD trading in Australia

IG Australia (AFSL 515106) is the oldest name in the group and runs a spread-only model on its main CFD account: EUR/USD minimum 0.6 pips, average 1.13 pips across all hours and 0.86 pips between 00:00 and 21:00. Pepperstone’s Standard account averaged 1.1 pips in August 2026 with no commission, and its Razor 0.1 pips plus USD 7. So on forex, Pepperstone is cheaper on both account types. IG’s strengths are elsewhere: its own platform, ProRealTime, and share CFDs at 0.08% per side with a AUD 7 minimum against Pepperstone’s 0.07% with none.

Is Pepperstone cheaper than IG on forex?

Yes, on published averages. Razor all-in is about 0.8 pips per lot on EUR/USD; IG’s all-hours average is 1.13 pips. On the AUS200, IG shows a 1-point minimum spread (and 3 points in a second table on the same page, probably out of hours); Pepperstone averaged 1.5 with a 1-point minimum. Call the index a draw and the forex a Pepperstone win.

Pepperstone vs Plus500 for Australian traders

Plus500 (AFSL 417727) and eToro (AFSL 491139) are proprietary-platform brokers aimed at a different trader. Neither offers MT4, MT5, cTrader or TradingView. Plus500 charges no commission and publishes no spread tables beyond an illustrative 0.6-pip EUR/USD example; it charges up to USD 10 a month after three months without a login. eToro prices CFDs as a percentage per trade — 0.005% on EUR/USD, 0.01% on the AUS200 and gold, 0.15% on share CFDs, 1% on crypto — and lists inactivity as free on its Australian fee page.

Pepperstone vs eToro for CFD trading in Australia

eToro is the broker to choose if you want copy trading and real stocks in the same app as CFDs; Pepperstone is the one to choose if you want raw spreads, MetaTrader, cTrader or TradingView and published pricing. They rarely compete for the same trader.

Is Pepperstone better than eToro for active traders?

For an active trader, yes, and the reason is the platforms as much as the cost. eToro’s 0.005% per trade on EUR/USD is about 0.5 pips, which is competitive with Pepperstone’s Razor all-in, but eToro has no MT4, MT5, cTrader or TradingView, no raw-spread account and no published execution figures. eToro’s appeal is its social features and the ability to hold real stocks alongside CFDs. If you trade on charts and code, Pepperstone; if you copy other traders and want one app for everything, eToro.

Pepperstone vs Vantage, FP Markets and Fusion Markets

These are Pepperstone’s closest Australian rivals on the raw-spread model, and on commission they all undercut it:

Pepperstone vs Vantage in Australia

Vantage (AFSL 428901) runs MT4, MT5, TradingView and its own app, accepts PayID and BPAY, and charges USD or AUD 2.50 per side on RAW Classic. It does not offer cTrader or ASX share CFDs at Pepperstone’s 0.07%; its AU share CFD commission is 0.16% with a AUD 12 minimum.

Vantage or Pepperstone for low spreads?

Vantage charges USD 1 per side less. Pepperstone publishes a 0.1-pip average; Vantage publishes “from 0.0”. If Vantage’s real average is 0.1 pips too, it is cheaper by USD 2 a lot. If it is 0.3, Pepperstone is cheaper. We cannot tell you which, because Vantage does not say — and that is our answer.

Is Fusion Markets cheaper than Pepperstone in Australia?

On commission, clearly: USD 4.50 round turn against USD 7. Fusion’s own estimate of an all-in Zero-account cost of about 0.5 pips would make it roughly 0.3 pips cheaper than Pepperstone’s 0.8 all-in — if the estimate holds. Fusion offers no ASX share CFDs (US shares only) and does not list BPAY; Pepperstone offers 200 ASX share CFDs and both PayID and BPAY. For a pure FX scalper on a tight budget, Fusion is worth a demo. For a multi-asset trader, Pepperstone’s range is the differentiator.

Pepperstone vs FP Markets for Australian traders

The closest match in the group. FP Markets charges the same AUD 3.50 per side on AUD accounts, publishes typical spreads (EUR/USD 0.19, gold 0.1, AUS200 1.32 for October 2026) and runs the same four platforms plus Iress for DMA shares at 0.06% per side with a AUD 6 minimum. FP Markets lists POLi and BPAY but not PayID. On published FX spreads Pepperstone is tighter; on DMA share trading FP Markets offers something Pepperstone does not.

Pepperstone vs Capital.com, Saxo and XM

Capital.com (Capital Com Australia Pty Ltd, AFSL 513393) is a spread-only broker with no commission on share CFDs, dynamic spreads it does not average, and TradingView, MT4 and MT5 alongside its own platform. It suits traders who want 5,500-plus markets in one app; Pepperstone suits those who want raw pricing and published data. Saxo is a multi-asset bank platform with direct market access to real shares, bonds and futures, which is a different product from a CFD broker; XM is a global CFD brand. We have not verified Saxo’s or XM’s current Australian pricing from their own sites for this article, so we do not rank them here. If a comparison with either matters to you, check their AFSL on the ASIC register and their published spreads before relying on third-party tables.

Which ASIC regulated broker is best, Pepperstone, IC Markets or CMC?

Our pick is Pepperstone, for a specific reason: it is the only one of the three whose costs you can audit. It dates its average spreads, publishes a fill rate, lists every fee including the USD 20 international wire charge, and runs every mainstream platform. IC Markets matches it on USD commission and may beat it on speed, but its own spreads page contradicts itself. CMC offers the broadest product list and a strong proprietary platform, at the price of a dormancy fee and spread tables we could not read. None of the three is a mistake; all hold AFSLs and operate under the same ASIC protections.

Related reading

• Best index CFD brokers — how index pricing compares across brokers
• Best brokers — how we compare regulated CFD providers, and on what criteria
• Economic calendar — the releases that move spreads and margins