Pepperstone vs FP Markets: Which ASIC Broker Fits Australian Traders? (2026)

How close are they really on cost?

Close enough that building your choice on the commission table is a mistake. Here is why, before the differences that do matter.

Raw accounts, near-identical tolls

Pepperstone's Razor account charges AUD $3.50 per side on MT4 and MT5 for AUD-denominated accounts (AUD $7 round turn) and USD $3.00 per side on cTrader, converted to AUD at spot, on raw spreads from 0.0 pips. FP Markets' Raw account operates the same model with commissions in the same band, quoted around three to three-and-a-half dollars a side depending on account currency and platform. Whatever tiny gap exists on a given platform and currency, it amounts to cents per lot, inside the noise of a single widened spread. Check both brokers' current schedules if cents matter to your volume; for everyone else, call cost a draw and decide on substance.

The commission-free alternatives

Both also run no-commission accounts with the cost folded into the spread: Pepperstone's Standard from about 1.0 pips on EUR/USD, FP Markets' Standard in similar territory. Same conclusion at one remove: the pricing models mirror each other, because these two brokers have spent a decade competing for exactly the same customer, and a decade of that competition has kept both cheap.

Where does Pepperstone pull ahead?

On the breadth of the trading ecosystem, which has become its defining strength. Each of the specifics below is verifiable on its site.

Platforms and integrations

Pepperstone runs MT4, MT5, cTrader, TradingView and its own platform and mobile app, so whatever your workflow, it is supported natively, including trading directly from TradingView charts. Its Smart Trader Tools bundle adds a suite of 60+ advanced trading applications, expert advisors and indicators to MetaTrader, and its sponsored VPS programme gives active traders free hosted infrastructure, earned from around ten FX lots per 60 days, for running EAs around the clock. FP Markets is closer on platforms than many assume: it has offered its own official TradingView integration since January 2024 alongside the MetaTrader core and cTrader, and adds Iress for share trading. Pepperstone's genuine platform edge is its own platform and app plus the tools and VPS ecosystem, not TradingView, which both brokers now offer.

Products FP Markets does not have

Two stand out for Australians. Pepperstone's 24-hour share CFDs put more than 100 US names on screen through the Australian day, from US$0.02 per share with published execution of 50 milliseconds and a 99.59% fill rate, solving the timezone problem that defines US trading from Australia. And within the wider group, the pcrypto.com spot exchange gives Pepperstone clients a low-cost route to actually owning crypto in AUD. Neither has an FP Markets equivalent.

The small conveniences

Pepperstone's card deposits start from around ten dollars against a higher entry bar at FP Markets, ASX share CFDs price at a clean 0.07% per side, and its Australian heritage, Melbourne-founded in 2010 and ASIC-licensed under AFSL 414530 since, keeps support and product decisions close to this market.

Where does FP Markets genuinely win?

One structural advantage and one situational one.

Iress: real shares, not CFDs

Through the Iress platform, FP Markets offers genuine ASX share trading: stock you own, registered to you, with dividends and franking credits, alongside its CFD business. Pepperstone is a derivatives broker and offers nothing comparable; you can trade share prices there, never own the shares.

Why that matters more than any spread

For an Australian who wants a long-term portfolio and a trading account with one provider, ownership is not a feature, it is the whole point: franking credits, no overnight financing meter, no leverage decay on a decade-long hold. If that describes half your money, FP Markets' decisive card beats every ecosystem argument above, and no amount of platform breadth trumps it.

The MetaTrader-first trader

FP Markets has deep roots in the MT4/MT5 community, and traders whose entire workflow lives inside MetaTrader with established EAs will find it a comfortable, well-supported home. Call it parity in the place FP is strongest rather than an edge over Pepperstone; either way, switching between them purely for MetaTrader reasons rarely pays.

Is there any difference on regulation?

None that should drive the decision. Both hold Australian Financial Services Licences and operate under ASIC's retail framework: negative balance protection, client money in segregated accounts, and the standard CFD leverage caps, 30:1 on major forex pairs, 20:1 on gold, 5:1 on shares, identical at both. Verify either licence on ASIC Connect if you wish; between two established ASIC brokers of this standing, safety is a shared baseline rather than a differentiator.

The verdict: who should choose which?

Choose Pepperstone if you are a trader: the platform range including its own platform and app, 24-hour US share markets, the VPS and tools ecosystem, and the group's crypto exchange make it the more complete trading environment, at pricing FP Markets does not undercut (TradingView, for what it is worth, is available at both). Choose FP Markets if real share ownership belongs in your plan alongside CFDs, because Iress does something Pepperstone structurally cannot. The wrong reason to choose either is a cents-per-lot commission comparison; they have priced each other into a draw, and the draw is the customer's win.

For how Pepperstone compares against its other closest rival, see my Pepperstone vs IC Markets comparison, and the full cost breakdown lives in my Pepperstone forex guide.

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