Which brokers offer the lowest spreads on Brent and WTI crude oil?
Verdict
- Pepperstone is our pick for trading Brent and WTI from the UAE, but we cannot rank brokers on oil spreads: neither Pepperstone, Capital.com nor XS publishes a crude spread in the data we verify.
- Pepperstone's Standard account charges no commission outside shares, so on that account the oil spread you see in the platform is the whole trading cost.
- Pepperstone caps UAE retail leverage on energy at 1:20; Capital.com's Dubai company publishes 500:1 on crude.
- The reliable way to compare is to watch live Brent and WTI spreads side by side in each platform at the hours you trade.
Short answer: published, comparable oil spreads are rare, and we will not invent a ranking. What we can tell you is how the cost of an oil trade is built at our top picks, how to measure the spread yourself, and why Pepperstone is still where we would start as a UAE oil trader.
Why we still start with Pepperstone for Brent and WTI
Pepperstone lists 40 commodity CFDs and its UAE margin table names perpetual CFDs on both crude benchmarks (WTOIL-PERP and BRENTOIL-PERP). Its Standard account has no commission except on shares, so on oil you pay only the spread plus any overnight financing. You can compare that spread on MT5, cTrader or the Pepperstone app, and on Razor also on MT4 and TradingView. Energy leverage for UAE retail clients is 1:20, and the account can be held in AED with a $10 minimum deposit.
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What our data does and does not show
Pepperstone's own figures for gold (0.12 on Razor, 0.19 on Standard, on average) show it publishes commodity averages for some products, but a crude average is not among the figures we have verified.
| Pepperstone | Capital.com | XS | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brent spread published | Not in our data | Not in our data | Not in our data |
| WTI spread published | Not in our data | Not in our data | Not in our data |
| Commission | None on Standard (shares aside) | Not in our data | Not in our data |
| Retail energy leverage | 1:20 | 500:1 on crude | Not in our data |
| Swap-free for UAE residents | No | Yes | Yes, automatic |
How to compare Brent and WTI spreads yourself
- Open accounts, or log in, with two or three brokers and add Brent and WTI to each platform's market watch.
- Note the spread on each at the same moments: the London open, the New York open and a quiet afternoon.
- Repeat around the weekly US crude inventory release, when spreads usually widen.
- Add commission and the overnight swap for the number of nights you normally hold.
- Divide the total by your typical position size to get a cost per trade you can compare.
Spread is only one part of an oil trade's cost
Crude positions often run for days, and the overnight charge can then be larger than the spread. UAE residents cannot open Pepperstone's swap-free account, while Capital.com and XS both offer one here; read how each treats energy products before relying on it. Leverage also changes the picture: at Capital.com's 500:1 a 0.2% move in crude equals the entire margin, while at Pepperstone's 1:20 it is 4% of the margin.
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Sources
Commodity and leverage terms as published.
Is Brent or WTI cheaper to trade?
It varies by broker and time of day, and our data has no published oil spreads to settle it. Compare both in the same platform at the same moment.
Does Pepperstone charge commission on oil?
Not on the Standard account, which has no commission except on shares. Check the Razor account's terms for oil in the platform before choosing it.
Why do oil spreads jump around news?
Liquidity thins just before and after events such as the weekly US inventory report, so quotes widen. Averages smooth this out, which is why you should look at the live spread at the times you actually trade.
CFDs and other leveraged products carry a high risk of rapid losses. Consider your experience and whether you can afford to lose your money before trading. We report what brokers publish; this is not investment advice, and terms can change without notice.