For RAW accounts (also known as ECN accounts) the commission rate is the primary brokerage charged. We went to each forex broker’s website, downloaded their product disclosure statement or contacted them directly to find and then compare the commission rates to discover the lowest-cost broker.
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The commission rate is based on the base currency a trader selects when opening an account. We found the best rate was:
The forex broker accounts we compared:
The overall cheapest forex broker (lowest fees) is Fusion Markets overall. This is because the main two components of trading costs are the ‘spread’ and the ‘commission’. We analysed both standard spreads and raw account spreads of which IC Markets had the lowest but Fusion Market’s lower commission rate led to them having the lowest costs. The Forex calculator below proves this fact.
Calculate Your Trading Costs Below
Total Fees
Commission
Spread Costs
Total
Below is a summary of our findings of the commission charged per lot, in the base currency (AUD). This base currency is offered by brokers regulated by the Australian Securities & Investments Commission, primarily targeted to Australian traders. It should be noted that due to a weaker Australian Dollar, it offers the lowest overall commission rate of any based currency.
| Broker | AUD |
|---|---|
| Fusion Markets | $2.25 |
| CMC Markets | $2.5 |
| Fair Markets | $2.5 |
| Go Markets | $3.00 |
| City Index (Web Trader) | $3.00 |
| VT Markets | $3.00 |
| FIBO Group | $3.00 |
| FlowBank | $3.25 |
| City Index (MT4) | $3.50 |
| Pepperstone | $3.50 |
| EightCap | $3.50 |
| Axi | $3.50 |
| IC Markets | $3.50 |
| ThinkMarkets | $3.50 |
| Global Prime | $3.50 |
| TMGM | $3.50 |
| Blueberry Markets | $3.50 |
| Admirals | $4.00 |
| Blackbull Markets | $4.50 |
As the table above highlights, Fusion Markets’ $2.25 AUD is the lowest commission rate of any broker. The broker also had the lowest spreads in our 2023 spreads testing along with the third lowest published spread in September 2023. This is why overall they have the lowest brokerage globally, especially when an AUD base currency account is selected. While it wasn’t rated the best forex broker in Australia it was shortlisted and is recommended for high-volume traders.
The most popular base currency is the US Dollar so it’s a good benchmark to compare forex broker ECN account commission rates.
| Broker | USD |
|---|---|
| Tickmill | $2.00 |
| RoboForex | $2.00 |
| FXTM | $2.00 |
| Fusion Markets | $2.25 |
| London Capital Group | $2.25 |
| CMC Markets | $2.50 |
| BD Swiss | $2.50 |
| AMarkets | $2.50 |
| Fair Markets | $2.50 |
| Go Markets | $2.50 |
| City Index | $2.50 |
| VT Markets | $3.00 |
| FIBO Group | $3.00 |
| Admirals | $3.00 |
| Blackbull Markets | $3.00 |
| FP Markets | $3.00 |
| HF Markets | $3.00 |
| Axiory Nano | $3.00 |
| MultiBank Group | $3.00 |
| Tradersway | $3.00 |
| ATC Brokers | $3.00 |
| FlowBank | $3.25 |
| Pepperstone | $3.50 |
| EightCap | $3.50 |
| Axi | $3.50 |
| IC Markets | $3.50 |
| ThinkMarkets | $3.50 |
| Dukascopy | $3.50 |
| Global Prime | $3.50 |
| TMGM | $3.50 |
| Blueberry Markets | $3.50 |
| FxPro | $3.50 |
| LQDFX | $3.50 |
| OctaFx | $3.50 |
| XM | $3.50 |
| HYCM | $4.00 |
| Blackwell Global | $4.50 |
| IG | $6.00 |
Tickmill and Roboforex both have the lowest US dollar commission rate at USD $2.00. That said they are not the cheapest broker for traders who select the USD as their base currently. This is because both brokers have relatively high spreads and Tickmill had the least stable spreads.
Fusion Markets overall has the lowest brokerage due to a commission rate of USD $2.25, the lowest tested spreads, the 3rd lowest published spreads and the most stable spread in our testing. Since brokerage is a combination of spreads and commissions of The ZERO Account offers the lowest costs of any USD base forex account.
British residents often select the pound with most brokers offering GBP base currency accounts being regulated by The Financial Conduct Authority. While there are fewer brokers offering this base currency compared to the USD, their still is strong competition with a handful of low-cost brokers with Tickmill the best known.
| Broker | GBP |
|---|---|
| Fusion Markets | £1.78 |
| GO Markets | £2.00 |
| VantageFX | £2.00 |
| VT Markets | £2.00 |
| Tickmill | £2.00 |
| Pepperstone | £2.25 |
| EightCap | £2.25 |
| Axi | £2.25 |
| FP Markets | £2.25 |
| Admirals | £2.40 |
| CMC Markets | £2.50 |
| FlowBank | £2.50 |
| IC Markets | £2.50 |
| ThinkMarkets | £2.50 |
| Global Prime | £2.70 |
| FIBO Group | £3.00 |
| XTB | £3.00 |
| Dukascopy | £3.50 |
Our commission comparison found Tickmill and Roboforex both have the lowest commission rate BUT the latter isn’t regulated by the FCA and only has one tier 3 regulator. Based on this, Tickmill is the winner when it comes to the lowest FCA regulated lowest commission. An honourable mention is Pepperstone which has only a slightly higher rate of £2.25 per side and with the best trading infrastructure was rated the best forex broker in UK.
It should be noted though that Fusion Markets does have lower trading costs overall. While the broker is not FCA-regulated it does have both ASIC (Tier 1) and VFSC (Tier 3) regulation. Their commission rate is only £0.03 higher than Tickmill’s and has lower spreads (which are the most stable). If selecting the cheapest forex broker is your prime goal when opening an ECN account that had a GBP base currency then we recommend Fusion Markets.
The Euro is the second most traded currency and a popular choice as a base currency in regions such as Germany, Italy and Cyprus. Most brokers that offers EUR base currency trading accounts (but not all) are regulated by the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission.
| Broker | EUR |
|---|---|
| GO Markets | €2.00 |
| Tickmill | €2.00 |
| Fusion Markets | €2.03 |
| CMC Markets | €2.50 |
| VT Markets | €2.50 |
| FlowBank | €2.50 |
| Pepperstone | €2.60 |
| Admirals | €2.60 |
| EightCap | €2.75 |
| IC Markets | €2.75 |
| FP Markets | €2.75 |
| FIBO Group | €3.00 |
| Global Prime | €3.10 |
| Axi | €3.25 |
| XTB | €3.50 |
| Dukascopy | €4.00 |
| AMarkets | €5.00 |
GO Markets came out with the lowest commission rate of €2.00 and is recommended as the broker tested better for spreads compared to Tickmill (which has the same commission rate). GO Markets Ltd is regulated by the CySEC (in Cyprus) and is the recommended low-cost broker for traders looking to open a trading account with the Euro base currency.
Below shows all the commission rates of all the most popular forex brokers worldwide. It should be noted that on some rare occasions, a broker’s rate will be different depending on their regulated entity. We addressed this in the forex brokers with the lowest commission analysis which focuses on a broker-by-broker basis.
| Broker | USD | AUD | GBP | EUR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fusion Markets | 2.25 | 2.25 | 1.78 | 2.03 |
| CMC Markets | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 | 2.5 |
| Fair Markets | 2.5 | 2.5 | N/A | N/A |
| Go Markets | 2.5 | 3 | 2 | 2 |
| VT Markets | 3 | 3 | 2 | 2.5 |
| FIBO Group | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| FlowBank | 3.25 | 3.25 | 2.5 | 2.5 |
| City Index | 2.5 | 3.5 | N/A | N/A |
| Pepperstone | 3.5 | 3.5 | 2.25 | 2.6 |
| EightCap | 3.5 | 3.5 | 2.25 | 2.75 |
| IC Markets | 3.5 | 3.5 | 2.5 | 2.75 |
| Global Prime | 3.5 | 3.5 | 2.7 | 3.1 |
| Axi | 3.5 | 3.5 | 2.25 | 3.25 |
| ThinkMarkets | 3.5 | 3.5 | 2.5 | N/A |
| TMGM | 3.5 | 3.5 | N/A | N/A |
| Blueberry Markets | 3.5 | 3.5 | N/A | N/A |
| Admirals | 3 | 4 | 2.4 | 2.6 |
| Blackbull Markets | 3 | 4.5 | N/A | N/A |
| Tickmill | 2 | N/A | 2 | 2 |
| RoboForex | 2 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| London Capital Group | 2.25 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| FP Markets | 3 | N/A | 2.25 | 2.75 |
| HF Markets | 3 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| MultiBank Group | 3 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Tradersway | 3 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Axiory Nano | 3 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| ATC Brokers | 3 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| FxPro | 3.5 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| LQDFX | 3.5 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| OctaFx | 3.5 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| XM | 3.5 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| FXTM | 4 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| HYCM | 4 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Blackwell Global | 4.5 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Dukascopy | 5 | N/A | 3.5 | 4 |
| AMarkets | 5 | N/A | N/A | 5 |
| BD Swiss | 5 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| IG | 6 | N/A | N/A | N/A |
Overall, as explained in the previous sections Fusion Markets is the cheapest forex broker. The broker offers MetaTrader 4 and 5, 90+ forex currency pairs and other CFDs such as crypto and shares. They are regulated by ASIC (Australia) and the VFSC (Vanuatu). I personally know Phil Horner, founder and CEO of Fusion Markets, from his time at Pepperstone. He has achieved the lowest trading costs by having a small operation, only offering MetaTrader, and forging great relationships with core liquidity pools and major banks. We recommend Fusion Markets for any trader focusing primarily on costs, especially for high-volume and high-frequency traders using EAs or other scalping tools.
In our tests, EUR/USD had the lowest trade cost, averaging $10.48 (AUD) across all brokers.
EUR/USD consistently ranks as the world’s most traded pair (often accounting for a quarter of global FX volume), so this result is as we’d expect.
This table shows the trade cost, across all brokers, for the six major currency pairs we tested.
| Broker | Commission | Spread Cost | Total Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| EURUSD | $6.63 | $3.85 | $10.48 |
| USDJPY | $6.62 | $5.23 | $11.85 |
| AUDUSD | $6.63 | $6.06 | $12.69 |
| USDCAD | $6.61 | $6.65 | $13.26 |
| GBPUSD | $6.63 | $7.96 | $14.58 |
| USDCHF | $6.62 | $11.69 | $18.31 |
Factors that can influence the spreads offered by different brokers include
Factors that can influence the spreads offered by different brokers include
1. The currency pair being traded
2. The volume of trades in the currency pair being traded
3. The volatility of the currency pair being traded
4. The time of day the trade is made
The trading cost is the amount your trade must move before you make a profit. For example, if you go long (buy) 1 lot (100,000) using Fusion Markets, your trade will need to increase by AUD $7.62 before making any profit. This is the cost of the trade and can be compared to spreads in “standard” accounts. The lower the cost of trade, the more profit you can make.
Low trading costs are critical to your success if your trading strategy relies on profits of just a few pips (e.g., scalping), or if you are a high-volume trader.
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