Forex trading costs & tools for MT4, MT5 and cTrader
Compare Standard and Raw Spread accounts at Exness, Markets4you, IC Markets, XM and Vantage Markets: spread + commission = your cost per lot. Work out what your volume costs per month and per year, then size every trade with the lot size calculator. Lower costs help, but they don't remove trading risk.
TOOL 1: FOREX TRADING COST CALCULATOR
Pick a broker, account type and instrument, enter your daily volume, and see what spread + commission costs you per lot, per month and per year.
1 lot = 100,000 EUR, $10 per pip
Example value. Use your platform's average.
From the broker's account page.
Affiliate link: the broker may pay us a commission. CFDs are complex instruments and carry a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage.
Uses your lots per day (2) and EUR/USD. Enter the average spreads you see on each account.
Raw Spread is cheaper: $9.00 vs $12.00 per lot, about $132 a month less at 2 lots a day.
Break-even: Raw Spread wins when the Standard spread is wider by more than 0.7 pips. Example spreads, not live quotes; swaps not included.
Affiliate link: the broker may pay us a commission. CFDs are complex instruments and carry a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
Cost per lot = spread cost + commission, for 5 forex brokers, Standard vs Raw/ECN accounts, from each broker's published fees.
| Broker | Regulation | Standard Account | Raw/ECN Account | Cost/Lot* | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ExnessStandard vs Raw Spread | FSA (Seychelles), FSCA (South Africa), CMA (Kenya), CySEC (Cyprus) | Spread from 0.2 pips, no commission | Spread from 0.0 pips, $7.00/lot commission | EUR/USD $9.00XAU/USD $22.00 | Visit Exness |
| Markets4youStandard vs Pro | Not confirmed on a regulator register yet | Spread from 0.9 pips, no commission | Spread from 0.1 pips, $7.00/lot commission | EUR/USD $9.00XAU/USD $22.00 | Visit Markets4you |
| IC MarketsStandard vs Raw Spread (MetaTrader) | FSA (Seychelles), CySEC (Cyprus), CMA (Kenya) | Spread from 0.8 pips, no commission | Spread from 0.0 pips, $7.00/lot commission | EUR/USD $9.00XAU/USD $22.00 | Visit IC Markets |
| XMStandard / Ultra Low vs Zero | CySEC (Cyprus (EEA)), FSA (Seychelles) | No commission | $7.00/lot commission | EUR/USD $9.00XAU/USD $22.00 | Visit XM |
| Vantage MarketsStandard STP vs Raw ECN | FCA (United Kingdom) | No commission | $6.00/lot commission | EUR/USD $8.00XAU/USD $21.00 | Visit Vantage Markets |
* Raw/ECN account, worked example: Spreads in the examples are the same illustrative inputs for every broker (not quoted spreads), so the examples compare commissions only. Fees and licences checked on 2026-10-30 against each broker's official pages; confirm them for your country before you trade. Some "Visit" buttons are affiliate links: the broker may pay us a commission. CFDs are complex instruments and carry a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. Full commission table with sources and CSV download.
TOOL 2: POSITION SIZE & RISK CALCULATOR
Enter your balance, the percentage you are willing to risk and your stop-loss distance. The calculator returns the position size (rounded down to 0.01 lot) that keeps a stopped-out trade within your risk limit.
Dedicated pages: lot size calculator, position size calculator, gold lot size calculator, pip calculator and margin calculator.
ℹ️ 1 lot = 100 oz; 1 pip = $0.10 price move = $10.00 per lot (some brokers count $0.01 as a pip — check yours)
= $5.00 move in the gold price (500 points of $0.01)
BROKER COMPARISON
Account types and spreads as published by each broker, plus leverage and the main licences held by each broker group. Which entity you are onboarded to — and the protections that apply — depends on your country, so check the broker’s website for your region.
Brokers are listed in a fixed order, not ranked. Some buttons are affiliate links: the broker pays us a commission when you open an account; links marked "Official site" are not. CFDs are complex instruments and carry a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage.
GUIDES & ANALYSIS
Practical, step-by-step guides with worked examples to help you understand trading costs and size positions sensibly.
New research: 2026 Forex & Gold Trading Cost ReportNo one forex broker suits every trader. Compare regulation, cost per lot, platforms and leverage for five brokers using verified, sourced facts.
Vantage Markets lists a $50 minimum deposit for Standard STP and Raw ECN and $10,000 for Pro ECN. See account types, spreads, leverage and costs per lot.
Exness closed its copy trading on June 25, 2026. See what we verified about XM and Vantage, the commission arithmetic per lot, and the risks of copying traders.
Which accounts give the lowest cost per lot? Published spreads and commissions for Exness, XM, Vantage, IC Markets and Markets4you, with the arithmetic shown.
XM's minimum deposit is $5 on all accounts except the Shares account at $10,000. See account types, spreads, leverage and fees to check before depositing.
XM Ultra Low and Exness Standard both charge no commission, so spread decides the cost. See the table, the verified facts and a worked cost-per-lot example.
Compare Exness Zero (and Raw Spread) with Vantage Raw ECN for scalping: published commissions, a cost-per-lot table and a worked example with stated inputs.
Exness Raw Spread charges up to $7.00 per lot round turn and IC Markets Raw Spread (MetaTrader) charges $7.00. See the cost per lot maths on EUR/USD and gold.
An IC Markets review from published terms: $0 minimum deposit, Raw Spread $3.50 per side vs Standard from 0.8 pips, cTrader and regulators by entity.
A sourced Markets4you (Forex4you) review: Standard from 0.9 pips vs Pro $3.50 per side, leverage, and why we could not confirm its licences on a regulator register.
A sourced Vantage Markets review: Standard STP vs Raw ECN cost per lot, $50 minimum deposit, ASIC/FCA and offshore entities, and platforms.
An XM review built on sourced facts: Standard, Ultra Low and Zero costs per lot, $5 minimum deposit, regulators by entity and platforms.
Exness leverage sets how much margin you lock up per trade, not how much you can lose. See the margin arithmetic and how to check your own cap.
IC Markets lists a $0 minimum deposit on its Standard and Raw Spread (MetaTrader) accounts. See the account costs, a worked example and what to check first.
How an Exness withdrawal works, what to check first (payment method, entity, open positions, costs) and where to confirm current limits and fees.
Compare Exness Standard, Standard Cent, Pro, Raw Spread and Zero on spreads, commission and deposit rules, with a worked break-even example per lot.
At 1% risk, a $500 account risks $5 and a $1,000 account risks $10 per gold trade. See the lot size for each stop distance, and what 0.01 and 0.10 lot is worth per $1 move.
On most platforms 1.00 lot of gold is 100 oz, 0.10 is 10 oz and 0.01 is 1 oz. See what a $1 move is worth and how to pick a lot size from risk %.
How India's FEMA rules treat forex trading, what the RBI Alert List means, and how to check whether a platform is authorised.
How to calculate pips in XAU/USD: one pip is usually a $0.10 move, worth $10 per 1.00 lot and $0.10 per 0.01 lot. Formula, what 100 pips is worth and examples.
Calculate your XAU/USD lot size for 1% account risk: lots = risk $ ÷ (stop distance in dollars × 100). Formula, examples and a stop-distance table.
FAQ
Straight answers to the questions traders ask us most.
