Broker to Trading

Both brokers offer MetaTrader 4 (MT5) and its successor MetaTrader 5 (MT5). Each allows the trader to use Expert Advisors (EAs), which are online trading robots executing trades on behalf of the trader. Pepperstone additionally offers cTrader and TradingView, which are user friendly platforms also allowing automated trading.

Each broker offers Stocks CFD trading on MT5. Both brokers offer micro lot trading (0.01 lots), but XM has a Micro (Cent type) account which offers smaller trade sizes than this.

Each provides CFD trading, but in the UK Pepperstone additionally offers spread betting.

Pepperstone is regulated by the FCA in the United Kingdom, the ASIC in Australia, the CySEC in Cyprus, the BaFin in Germany, the CMA in Kenya, the SCB in The Bahamas and the DFSA in Dubai. XM is regulated by the CySEC in Cyprus, the ASIC in Australia and the IFSC in Belize.

Quick comparison

Pepperstone and XM both offer MT4 and MT5. Pepperstone additionally offers cTrader and TradingView. XM has Cent account with a low minimum deposit.

Minimum deposit and account types

The minimum deposit for Pepperstone is AU$/$200 or £200. The minimum deposit for XM is $5. Both brokers offer Islamic accounts.

Pepperstone offers a Standard and a Razor account for CFD trading and in the UK additionally offers a spread betting account. Pepperstone provides trading guides, a market review and an economic calendar its website. Pepperstone says that latency is as low as 30ms. The minimum trade size is 0.01 lots.
Pepperstone's Standard and Islamic accounts do not charge commissions and hence offer higher spreads as they include a mark up. The Razor account charges commissions and allows scalping. Pepperstone offers social and copy trading via DupliTrade, Myfxbook and MetaTrader Signals.
XM CySEC regulated offers three account types, the Micro, Standard and XM Zero accounts, all with minimum deposits of $5. An Islamic account is available for each account type. The Micro and Standard accounts do not charge commissions, the XM Zero account does charge commissions. The Micro and Standard accounts differ in terms of order sizes available. The minimum trade size is 0.0001 lots.
XM ASIC regulated offers the XM Ultra Low account instead of the XM Zero account. XM IFSC regulated offers the Micro, Standard and Ultra Low accounts and a Shares account (with real Shares to own). The minimum deposit for the Ultra Low account is $50. The minimum deposit for the Shares account is $10,000.
XM also offers a personal account manager, video tutorials, daily technical analysis, Forex market research and daily Forex signals, market outlook and webinars. XM allows EAs, hedging and scalping.

Minimum trade size

Both brokers offer micro lot trading (0.01 lots) on all their account types. However on its Micro account, XM has a smaller minimum trade size (0.0001 lots).

Markets

• Pepperstone offers 1000+ covering Forex, Indices, Energy, Soft Commodities, Metals, Cryptocurrencies and Stocks.
• XM offers 1000+ covering Forex, Indices, Energy, Soft Commodities, Metals, Cryptocurrencies and Stocks.

Cryptocurrency CFDs

• Pepperstone provides Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ripple, Cardano, Chainlink, Stellar, Avalanche, Dogecoin, Dash, Binance Coin, EOS, Polkadot, Stellar, Uniswap, Tezos, Solana, Polygon and Terra.
• XM provides Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, Ripple, Cardano, Chainlink, Stellar, Avalanche, Aave, Algorand, Axie Infinity, Basic Attention Token, Compound, Enjin, Fetch.ai, The Graph, OmiseGO, SKALE, Solana, Storj, Sushi, Ox

Spreads and leverage

• Pepperstone offers Forex spreads from 0 plus a commission charge and from 0.6 without a commission charge. XM provides Forex spreads from 0 with a commission charge (XM Zero account), from 0.6 without a commission charge (Ultra Low account) and from 1 without a commission charge (Standard and Micro accounts).

Maximum leverage for Pepperstone (CySEC regulated) is . Maximum leverage for XM (CySEC regulated) is . Maximum leverage for Pepperstone (ASIC regulated) is 500:1. Maximum leverage for XM (ASIC regulated) is 500:1. Maximum leverage for XM (IFSC regulated) is 888:1.

Commissions

• Pepperstone charges a commission of $3.76 or AU$3.5 or €2.61 per lot per side on the Razor account, depending on the account currency. cTrader commissions are 7 units per lot round trip of the first quoted currency in the traded currency.
• XM charges a commission of $3.50 per lot per side on the XM Zero account.

Online trading platforms

Pepperstone offers MT4, MT5, cTrader and TradingView. XM offers MT4 and MT5.

Why Pepperstone or XM ?

Traders who want to trade on MT4 or MT5 can find these platform at either broker. Traders who want to trade on cTrader or TradingView can find these platforms at Pepperstone. Traders who want to trade on an account with low trade sizes and a low minimum deposit can find a Cent type account (its Micro account) at XM, with a minimum depoit of $5.

Comparison summary

• Both brokers provide CFD trading
• In the UK, Pepperstone additionally provides spread betting
• Both offer MT4 and MT5
• Pepperstone additionally provides cTrader and Trading View
• XM has a Cent account with smaller minimum trade sizes (0.0001 lots vs 0.01 lots)
• XM has a smaller minimum deposit ($5 vs $200)