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      Discover our tight spreads, plus all other possble fees

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      Get great rates on majors like EUR/USD, plus minors and exotics

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    • Trading accounts

      Choose from two account types depending on your strategy

    • Premium clients

      Exclusive rewards and bespoke benefits for high-vol traders

    • Pricing

      Discover our tight spreads, plus all other possble fees

    • Professional
    • Active trader program
    • Refer a friend
    • Trading hours
    • 24-hour trading
    • Maintenance schedule
    • Risk management
    • Forex

      Get great rates on majors like EUR/USD, plus minors and exotics

    • Commodities

      Trade on metals, energies & softs, with oil spreads from 2 cents

    • Cryptocurrencies

      Speculate on Bitcoin, Ether and more, with a trusted broker

    • Shares
    • ETFs
    • Indices
    • Currency indices
    • Dividends for index CFDs
    • Dividends for share CFDs
    • CFD forwards
    • TradingView

      Trade through the world-famous supercharts with great pricing

    • MetaTrader 5

      Explore the apex in trading automation with our execution tech

    • The Pepperstone platform
    • MetaTrader 4
    • cTrader
    • Trading tools
    • Navigating markets

      Latest news and analysis from our experts

    • The Daily Fix

      Your regular round-up of key events

    • Meet the analysts

      Our global team giving your trading the edge

    • Who we are

      Pepperstone was born from the dream of making trading better

    • Company news
    • Company awards
    • Protecting clients online
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Beginner

Inside Pepperstone: Pro vs Retail?

When you apply for an account with Pepperstone you’ll need to make a decision whether you qualify as a professional or retail trader. Now, depending on which country you live and which Pepperstone licensed office you trade with, you will need to satisfy certain criteria to become a Pro or Retail trader. However, there are some key differences that you need to know as they will shape your ongoing trading experience and will influence your strategy.

Here’s a video explaining the difference between the two.

Arguably the main difference between these two account types is the level of leverage one has access to. Retail accounts are capped at much lower leverage levels and never exceed a maximum leverage rate of 30:1. Depending on the instrument, Pro accounts on the other hand can access leverage of up to 500:1. Let’s dive a little deeper so you can ascertain what might suit your needs better.

Retail Trader

While retail accounts do have lower leverage, traders receive increased client protections. Notably negative balance protection means you never lose more than is in your account – this can really help you sleep at night while you’re learning to master correct position sizing and potential gapping risk.

There are also increased protections within the account dynamics - whereby an automatic stop out on positions occurs when the account equity falls below 50% of the margin.

As a non-wholesale investor, this can have greater protections should you take a dispute to the ombudsman.

Pro Trader

To apply for a pro account you will need to take an eligibility criteria test, based on knowledge, proved trading experience and wealth, depending on the entity you are trading with. It does however offer the following benefits:

  • Greater rebates, reducing your trading costs
  • A compelling and popular refer-a-friend program
  • The smoothest payment solutions, such as cash in transit, and
  • A dedicated account manager to take your trading experience to the next level

Please note that the eligibility criteria to be classified as a Pro Trader in certain jurisdictions may defer to what’s mentioned above. Please contact your Account Manager or our support team for more information about Pro Trader eligibility criteria.

Learn more about trading CFDS

Here at Pepperstone, our customers love the product range along with the low cost to trade and the fact so many markets are open around the clock. Interested? Watch the more videos to learn or speak to our team about whether CFDs are right for you.

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+97145734100
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Level 15, Office 1502 A, Tower 2
P.O.Box 482087, DIFC
Dubai, United Arab Emirates
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© 2025 Pepperstone Financial Services (DIFC) Limited

Risk warning: Trading CFDs and FX carries significant risk. Trading OTC derivatives may not be suitable for everyone so please ensure that you fully understand the risks involved and take care to manage your exposure. You have no ownership of the underlying asset. Pepperstone Financial Services (DIFC) Limited does not issue advice, recommendations or opinion in relation to acquiring, holding or disposing of OTC derivatives nor is Pepperstone a financial advisor. All services are provided on an execution only basis. Pepperstone Financial Services (DIFC) Limited only provides information of a general nature and does not take into account your financial objectives, personal circumstances. We recommend that you seek independent personal financial or legal advice.

The information on this site and the products and services offered are not intended for distribution to any person in any country or jurisdiction where such distribution or use would be contrary to local law or regulation.

Pepperstone Financial Services (DIFC) Limited is registered at Al Fattan Currency House, Tower 2, Level 15, Office 1502 A, P. O. Box 482087, DIFC, Dubai, United Arab Emirates and is regulated by the DFSA under license number F004356.

The product issuer is Pepperstone Group Limited registered at Level 16, Tower One, 727 Collins St, Docklands, Victoria 3008, Australia and is licensed and regulated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission, AFSL 414530. You should consider whether you are part of the product issuer’s target market by reviewing the TMD, and read the PDS and other legal documents to ensure you fully understand the risks before you make any trading decisions.