One of the most frequently discussed topics in the Algocrat AI community is why trading results vary across different brokers.
While we are working on a scalable copytrading solution to ensure identical trades for all users (for better and for worse), we decided to conduct a long-term comparison, analyzing several different brokers head-to-head with the public Pepperstone account.
But before diving into the results, let’s cover some fundamentals,
Why do results differ across brokers?
There are two main reasons why trading outcomes vary between brokers:
1. Execution and Expenses – The better a broker's execution and the lower its expenses, the better the results.
2. Quote Differences – Since Algocrat AI's trading algorithms operate on individual accounts, variations in quotes between brokers influence trade execution. These differences are random and, unlike execution discrepancies, cannot be predicted in advance. However, over longer periods, these random variations tend to cancel out, making results more comparable.
Pepperstone: A benchmark for comparison
Among the brokers we work with, Pepperstone stands out for its excellent execution and competitive expenses.
While all brokers undergo a rigorous selection process before we integrate them, not all are created equal.
Pepperstone ranks among the best, making it a logical benchmark for our comparison:
IC Markets: slightly better
As shown in the screenshots, IC Markets' performance has been slightly better than Pepperstone's from mid-April 2024 to March 2025.
Long-term results are practically the same, with occasional slight variations due to differences in quotes and execution:
Fusion Markets: a close contender
Fusion is one of the most popular brokers among Algocrat AI users and is frequently discussed in relation to result differences.
We examined accounts that have been trading with Fusion since April 2024 and compared their performance to Pepperstone.
Fusion slightly outperformed Pepperstone, delivering a 10.17% return compared to 10.00% on Pepperstone – a 1.7% difference in Fusion’s favor:
If we shift the comparison start date to mid-May 2024, Fusion’s advantage increases to approximately 5%:
However, for certain periods, Pepperstone performs better. The key takeaway? Over long periods, results between the two brokers are nearly identical.
Why does Fusion's performance spark debate?
If Fusion outperforms Pepperstone for the last 10.5 months, why is it a source of frustration for some traders?
Short-term performance swings.
Imagine joining in January 2024, only to see a -6% loss on Fusion while Pepperstone gained +6%. That’s frustrating:
Yet, in February 2024, Fusion rebounded with a +6-7% profit, while Pepperstone hovered around 0%:
This is how trading works: the longer the timeframe, the less significant quotes-based differences become.
Vantage: a shorter trading history, a similar story
Our trading history with Vantage began in September 2024, making long-term comparisons more challenging.
However:
So far, Vantage has slightly underperformed Pepperstone. Yet, Vantage’s highest equity peak exceeded Pepperstone’s.
If we had compared results up to early February, the conclusion would have flipped, favoring Vantage instead:
Again, long-term results remain close, with short-term differences based on specific start dates
What about OX Securities?
Unlike Fusion or Vantage, OX Securities stands out for having noticeably weaker execution than most brokers.
However, this doesn’t mean results are drastically worse. OX Securities lags behind Pepperstone by approximately 2.89% (9.99/9.71-1), making results almost equal.
Over seven months, the difference remains relatively small, proving once again that execution plays a role but does not make or break long-term profitability:
Right now, OX Securities sits at an all-time high with 8% made in February, while Pepperstone is in a drawdown with close to zero result in February.
Since long-term results across brokers remain close while short-term fluctuations can be significant, the best approach is to diversify funds across multiple brokers with similar trading conditions.
This strategy provides additional diversification and minimizes the impact of temporary performance differences.
How can you get the best possible results?
We also see that, over the long run, Binance has slightly better results than most other brokers, including Pepperstone. If you have access to Binance, it offers some of the best trading conditions overall
What does this tell us?
Execution and expenses matter, but long-term results between good brokers tend to converge.
Short-term differences are inevitable and can lead to frustration, but zooming out reveals the bigger picture.
Random quote variations exist and affect short-term results but balance out over time.
Diversifying across multiple brokers can help mitigate short-term fluctuations.
The takeaway is clear:
Focusing on long-term strategy rather than short-term fluctuations is the key to success.
No broker will always be the best, but choosing one with strong execution and reasonable expenses ensures consistency over time.
Best,
The Algocrat AI Team
