Broker to Trading

This is a comparison of Oanda Global Markets Ltd based and regulated in the British Virgin Islands vs Pepperstone. Pepperstone was founded in 2010 and has expanded its range of platforms and markets over the years. Oanda is a long established broker in the Forex space, providing MT4 and MT5 and was founded in 1996 in Toronto, Canada.

Both of these brokers offer the popular MetaTrader 4 (MT4) online trading platform and MetaTrader 5 (MT5), the successor to MT4. Each has a range of CFD markets to trade (though Pepperstone has more) and both support the use of online trading robots. Pepperstone additionally offers cTrader and TradingView. Pepperstone has a minimum deposit requirement of $200, while Oanda has no minimum deposit requirement.

Trading conditions

Each allows scalping, news trading and automated trading.

Quick comparison

Both brokers provide Forex trading on MT4 and MT5 and a range of other markets, while Pepperstone additionally offers cTrader and TradingView. Oanda has no minimum deposit requirement.

Minimum deposit and account types

The minimum deposit for Pepperstone is $200 or AU$200 or £200. There is no minimum deposit requirment for Oanada.

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, MetaTrader plug-in tools 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.
Oanda offers the following trading account types: Standard, Core, Swap-free, Premium and Premium Core. The Standard is described as suitable for all traders and has no minimum deposit requirement. The Core is described as suitable for EAs and scalpers. The Swap-free account is for traders who do not want to pay or receive interest on their account. All three of these accounts offer the Signal Center by Acuity. The Premium and Premium Core accounts are for high volume traders and require the trader to maintain a $20,000 minimum balance and trade more than $10 million notional or equivalent per month. These two accounts come with an Account Manager, Zero Deposit Fees (and reimburse bank fees), Free withdrawals, Priority support and a Free VPN.
The Standard account has spreads from 1.1, the Core account has spreads from 0.2 and the Swap-free account offers spreads from 1.6 pips. The Premium account has spreads from 0.8 and the Premium Core account has spreads from 0.2. The Core and Premium Core accounts charges commissions, the Standard, Premium and Swap-free accounts do not. At Oanda Global, verification documents are not needed for gross account deposits below $9000. Tools include MarketPulse, with a range of analysis and market news, technical analysis powered by AutoChartist, an Economic Calendar and MetaTrader plug-in tools. The minimum trade size is 0.01 lots.

Markets

• Pepperstone offers Forex, Indices, Energy, Metals, Soft Commodities, Cryptocurrencies and Stocks, with 1000+ available.
• Oanda offers Forex, Indices, Energy, Metals, Soft Commodities, Cryptocurrencies and Stocks, for a total of 800+.

Cryptocurrency CFDs

• Oanda offers Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, Dogecoin, Binance Coin, Tezos, Uniswap, Cardano, Stellar, Chainlink, Polkadot, EOS CFDs.
• Pepperstone offers Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, Bitcoin Cash, Dogecoin, Binance Coin, Tezos, Uniswap, Cardano, Stellar, Chainlink, Polkadot, EOS, Dash, Ripple, Solana, Polygon, Avalanche and Terra CFDs.

Spreads and leverage

Both brokers offer low spreads plus a commission charge. Oanda can offer spreads from 1 without a commission charge, while Pepperstone can offers spreads from 0.6 without a commissiion charge.

Maximum leverage for Pepperstone (SCB regulated) is 500:1. Maximum leverage for Oanda (FSC regulated) is 200:1.

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.
• Oanda has a commission charge on its Core account of $4 per lot and $3.5 per lots on its Premium Core account.

Online trading platforms

Both brokers offer MT4 and MT5. Pepperstone additionally provides cTrader and TradingView. Oanda additionally offers the fxTrade app.

Foundation

Oanda was founded in 1996, while Pepperstone was founded in 2010.

Payment methods

Both brokers support Bank Transfer and Credit/Debit Cards. Pepperstone additionally supports PayPal, while Oanda additionally supports Neteller, Skrill and SafeCharge.

Why Oanda or Pepperstone ?

Traders wishing to trade on MetaTrader 4 (MT4) or MetaTrader 5 (MT5) can find these platforms at either broker. Traders who want to trade on cTrader can find this platform at Pepperstone. Trader who want to trade on TradingView can find this platform at Pepperstone. Traders who want to use EA robots may do so at either broker as well as apply strategies such as news trading, scalping and hedging. Traders can trade a range of markets at either broker including Forex, Soft Commodities and Cryptos. Pepperstone has more markets to trade as it offers Stocks CFDs. There is no minimum deposit requirement for Oanda.

Comparison summary

• Each offers CFD trading
• Both provide MT4 and MT5
• Pepperstone additionally offers cTrader and TradingView
• Pepperstone has more markets to trade
• Both provide Forex, Soft Commodities and Crypto CFDs
• Both allow EAs, scalping and hedging
• Oanda has no minimum deposit