Forex Broker Commission: Where It Hides and How to Compare Total Cost

Brokers earn in several ways at once. To see the real cost of trading, you have to add them up.

Spread markup

The most common model. The broker receives a quote from its liquidity provider and widens it. Formally there is "no commission" — in practice you pay it on every trade. EUR/USD spreads on these accounts usually run 0.8–1.6 pips.

Per-lot commission

On ECN and Raw accounts the spread passes through almost untouched and the broker charges a flat fee instead: $3–3.5 per lot per side, so $6–7 round turn — roughly 0.6–0.7 pips on EUR/USD.

Here is the conclusion most people skip: if a standard account averages a 1.0-pip spread and the ECN account offers 0.2 pips plus $7, the ECN costs 0.2 + 0.7 = 0.9. Almost no difference. The saving only appears where the raw spread is genuinely tight.

The other charges

• Inactivity. $10–15 a month after six to twelve dormant months.
• Conversion. When account currency differs from instrument currency, expect a 0.3–1% markup on the rate.
• Deposits and withdrawals. The broker often charges nothing while the payment provider does. Bank wires run $15–30; cards are usually free.
• Swap. A separate line whenever a position lives past midnight.

Add it all up for a specific trade with the trading cost calculator.

Read next

• What the spread costs
• Account types: Standard, Raw, ECN
• Overnight swaps