Disclosure: I work on FX ReviewLab (fxreviewlab.com). The site may earn a commission when readers open broker accounts through its links. The maths below works with any broker's own numbers.
Headline "spreads from 0.0" tell you very little. Three separate charges make up the real cost, and each comes in a different unit, so put them into dollars per standard lot before comparing accounts.
1. Spread
On EUR/USD (and any pair quoted in USD) one pip on 1.00 lot = $10.
Spread cost per round turn = spread in pips × $10 × lots.
Example: 1.2 pips on 1 lot = $12. On 0.10 lot = $1.20.
You pay it whether the trade wins or loses, and it widens around the 17:00 New York rollover and on news.
2. Commission
Raw/ECN-type accounts show a tight spread and charge commission. Watch the unit:
- "$3.50 per lot per side" = $7.00 per round turn
- "$3.50 per round turn" = half of that
- "$35 per million per side" = $3.50 per lot per side
Convert to pips: all-in pips = spread + (round-turn commission ÷ $10).
Illustrative comparison, 1 lot EUR/USD (not live quotes):
- Standard account: 1.2 pips, no commission → $12.00 (1.2 pips)
- Raw account: 0.1 pips + $3.50/side → $1.00 + $7.00 = $8.00 (0.8 pips)
Raw wins here, but a raw account at 0.4 pips + $5/side ($14.00) would lose to the same standard account.
3. Swap (overnight financing)
Charged or credited on any position held through the daily rollover (17:00 New York). For FX most brokers charge three nights on Wednesday to cover the weekend.
In MT4/MT5 open the symbol's Specification: swap long / swap short, and the swap type (points, money, or interest %).
Illustrative: swap long = -6.5 points on a 5-digit EUR/USD, 1 point = $1 per lot → -$6.50 per night. Hold Monday to the next Monday (5 rollovers, one of them Wednesday) = 7 nights charged = -$45.50. That is almost four times the spread on a standard account.
"Swap-free" accounts often replace swap with a fixed admin fee after a few days, so read that clause too.
4. Don't forget non-trading fees
Deposit/withdrawal charges, currency conversion if your account currency differs from your card, inactivity fees.
Quick rule
- Scalping / many trades a day: spread + commission dominates
- Holding for days or weeks: swap can be the biggest cost
Full breakdown with tables (pip values, cost per lot size, cost as % of small accounts): https://fxreviewlab.com/articles/forex-spreads-fixed-variable-ecn
How costs feed into our broker scores (Trading Costs is 25% of the score, and commissions don't change rankings): https://fxreviewlab.com/methodology
Happy to check anyone's spread/commission/swap numbers if you post them.
Headline "spreads from 0.0" tell you very little. Three separate charges make up the real cost, and each comes in a different unit, so put them into dollars per standard lot before comparing accounts.
1. Spread
On EUR/USD (and any pair quoted in USD) one pip on 1.00 lot = $10.
Spread cost per round turn = spread in pips × $10 × lots.
Example: 1.2 pips on 1 lot = $12. On 0.10 lot = $1.20.
You pay it whether the trade wins or loses, and it widens around the 17:00 New York rollover and on news.
2. Commission
Raw/ECN-type accounts show a tight spread and charge commission. Watch the unit:
- "$3.50 per lot per side" = $7.00 per round turn
- "$3.50 per round turn" = half of that
- "$35 per million per side" = $3.50 per lot per side
Convert to pips: all-in pips = spread + (round-turn commission ÷ $10).
Illustrative comparison, 1 lot EUR/USD (not live quotes):
- Standard account: 1.2 pips, no commission → $12.00 (1.2 pips)
- Raw account: 0.1 pips + $3.50/side → $1.00 + $7.00 = $8.00 (0.8 pips)
Raw wins here, but a raw account at 0.4 pips + $5/side ($14.00) would lose to the same standard account.
3. Swap (overnight financing)
Charged or credited on any position held through the daily rollover (17:00 New York). For FX most brokers charge three nights on Wednesday to cover the weekend.
In MT4/MT5 open the symbol's Specification: swap long / swap short, and the swap type (points, money, or interest %).
Illustrative: swap long = -6.5 points on a 5-digit EUR/USD, 1 point = $1 per lot → -$6.50 per night. Hold Monday to the next Monday (5 rollovers, one of them Wednesday) = 7 nights charged = -$45.50. That is almost four times the spread on a standard account.
"Swap-free" accounts often replace swap with a fixed admin fee after a few days, so read that clause too.
4. Don't forget non-trading fees
Deposit/withdrawal charges, currency conversion if your account currency differs from your card, inactivity fees.
Quick rule
- Scalping / many trades a day: spread + commission dominates
- Holding for days or weeks: swap can be the biggest cost
Full breakdown with tables (pip values, cost per lot size, cost as % of small accounts): https://fxreviewlab.com/articles/forex-spreads-fixed-variable-ecn
How costs feed into our broker scores (Trading Costs is 25% of the score, and commissions don't change rankings): https://fxreviewlab.com/methodology
Happy to check anyone's spread/commission/swap numbers if you post them.
