Standard Spread Account Testing

Tight spreads are vital to reducing the cost of forex trading. To find which brokers have the tightest spreads, Ross Collins tested the standard accounts of 15 forex brokers on MetaTrader 4, the accounts that charge no commission.

The test results on this page come from Ross Collins’s standard-account spread tests, which recorded each broker’s spreads with an MT4 indicator that writes hourly averages to CSV. Near the end of the page, the published spreads table shows the brokers’ own figures.

Spreads move with liquidity and volatility, so a test result describes conditions while the test ran rather than a permanent ranking. Current live spreads sit on each broker’s own pricing page.

Finalists for Tightest Spreads

In Ross Collins’s standard-account spread tests, IC Markets, CMC Markets, and Fusion Markets had the tightest spreads:

1. IC Markets Review
2. CMC Markets Review
3. Fusion Markets Review

The brokers we chose

• have “standard” accounts that charge zero commission but have a variable bid/ask spread for all forex trades
• are well covered on our website
• represent a mix of No-dealing Desk (NDD) brokers and market makers
• support MT4 as we wanted to use freely available indicators and scripts for testing

Tightest Spreads

This table summarises the results of Ross Collins’s standard-account spread tests, with the average spread shown in pips. Since this is the average spread across all six major currency pairs, we have also converted the spreads to a standard USD cost. Our overall winner for the Lowest Spread Forex Brokers category was IC Markets.

For order speed rather than cost, our 2026 execution test is on the Execution Speeds page.

Raw spread accounts and standard accounts, side by side

ECN / raw account and Standard account on 6 compared features, each derived from this site’s own per-account fee dataset.

Feature	ECN / raw account	Standard account	The difference
Cost
Spread cost, one standard lot of EUR/USD	US$1.00 median Source, read 2026-09-08	US$9.00 median Source, read 2026-09-08	US$8.00 more on Standard account
Commission, one standard lot of EUR/USD	US$3.50 median Source, read 2026-09-08	US$0.00 median Source, read 2026-09-08	US$3.50 more on ECN / raw account
Total cost, one standard lot of EUR/USD	US$4.50 median Source, read 2026-09-08	US$9.00 median Source, read 2026-09-08	US$4.50 more on Standard account
Accounts charging no commission	0 of 20 Source, read 2026-09-08	5 of 5 Source, read 2026-09-08	0% against 100%
Cheapest account of this type on total cost	Tickmill, US$3.00 Source, read 2026-09-08	Markets.com, US$6.00 Source, read 2026-09-08	The two differ
Coverage
Accounts of this type priced in the dataset	20 of 28 priced in USD Source, read 2026-09-08	5 of 14 priced in USD Source, read 2026-09-08

Every figure is a median over the accounts of that type our fee dataset prices, on EUR/USD, one standard lot, one trade, priced in USD, and each cell states how many accounts it covers. An account the dataset does not price in that currency is excluded from the median rather than counted as zero.

Why do tight spreads matter?

The spread represents the amount a trade must move before generating profit. For instance, if you buy 1 lot (100,000) using IC Markets, the trade must increase by $9.63 before you earn any profit. This cost is comparable to commissions in “raw” accounts. Lower trade costs result in higher profits.

For trading strategies that rely on small pip profits (e.g., scalping) or automated trading, narrow spreads are crucial for success.

Average spreads for currency pairs

In our analysis, EUR/USD had the smallest spread, averaging 1.11 pips across all brokers, equal to a USD spread cost of $11.13.

As the world’s most traded pair (often representing a quarter of global FX volume), it’s no surprise that EUR/USD has the tightest spread.

The table displays the average spread and corresponding USD spread cost for the six major currency pairs we examined, across all brokers.

Cheapest brokers for each currency pair

Ross Collins’s spread tests also show the cheapest brokers for each of the six currency pairs.

CMC Markets and IC Markets are among the cheapest 4 brokers for all currency pairs. Admiral Markets is second cheapest for EURUSD and GPBUSD.

FX Pro is among the most expensive 2 brokers for all currency pairs. Blackbull Markets is among the most expensive 3 brokers for AUDUSD, USDCHF and USDJPY.

Average Spread For Each Currency Pair In Pips

What factors influence spreads?

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

How we tested

Ross Collins’s spread tests used standard accounts (as opposed to raw or fixed-commission accounts). He recorded spreads on the six major currency pairs, AUDUSD, EURUSD, GBPUSD, USDCAD, USDCHF, and USDJPY, with hourly (H1) data.

Our monthly Forex Spreads workbook holds Ross Collins’s standard-account results in sheets titled with his name. For each broker he tested, the sheets record his average spread on each of the six major currency pairs along with the broker’s average across the six pairs, and the next section converts those averages into a US dollar spread cost per standard lot.

How we calculated the spread cost (in USD)

This table shows the calculations we used to compare spread costs across the currency pairs. A standard USD spread cost allows us to compare spreads from different brokers and different currency pairs.

In forex trading, spreads are always expressed in pips, with a pip being 1/10,000th (0.0001) of a standard “lot.” A “lot” consists of 100,000 units, so for an AUDUSD trade, a pip equates to USD $10 (0.0001 x 100,000).

Suppose the average spread for AUDUSD is 0.821 pips (as per IC Markets); the spread cost amounts to USD $8.21 (0.821 x $10). This calculation method can be similarly applied to determine USD spread costs for EURUSD and GBPUSD spreads.

Calculating USD spread costs for USDCAD and USDCHF spreads is slightly more complex. Pips are expressed in the quote currency or the second currency in the pair. Hence, USDCAD pips are in CAD, and USDCHF pips are in CHF.

To convert CAD and CHF to hourly USD spread costs, we utilized the hourly closing prices of USDCAD and USDCHF, respectively. For instance, if USDCAD closed at 1.374, a pip’s value is USD $7.27 (10 / 1.374).

Lastly, to calculate USD spread costs for USDJPY, we employed the same method as for USDCAD and USDCHF. However, a pip for USDJPY is 1/100th (0.001) rather than 1/10,000th.

Tightest Spread Standard Accounts for Australian Traders

The regulator overseeing forex brokers depends on the market: the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the National Futures Association (NFA) in the United States, the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) in Canada, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) in Singapore, Securities Commission Malaysia in Malaysia, and the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) in New Zealand. In each of these markets, brokers regulated by the relevant authority are legitimate and trustworthy. These are the five tightest spread, brokers.

The table shows the Average Spread and equivalent Spread Cost (in USD)

Tightest Spread Standard Accounts for UK Traders

The regulator overseeing forex brokers depends on the market: the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and the National Futures Association (NFA) in the United States, the Canadian Investment Regulatory Organization (CIRO) in Canada, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) in Singapore, Securities Commission Malaysia in Malaysia, and the Financial Markets Authority (FMA) in New Zealand. In each of these markets, brokers regulated by the relevant authority are legitimate and trustworthy. These are the five tightest spread, brokers.

The table shows the Average Spread and equivalent Spread Cost (in USD)

Cheapest Accounts for US Traders

In the United States, the National Futures Association (NFA) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) have regulatory oversight of forex brokers. These are the five cheapest brokers. Note MT4 is not offered by all brokers.

The table shows the Total Trade Cost (Commissions plus Spread)

Best Forex Brokers In USA

Key Takeaways

• IC Markets, CMC Markets, and Fusion Markets had the tightest spreads across the major currencies in Ross Collins’s standard-account spread tests.

It’s worth noting that you should pick a low spread broker regulated in your region.

Published Standard Account Forex Spreads

We set Ross Collins’s test results beside the spreads the forex brokers publish. This is sourced either from their website, product disclosure statements or direct communication. The last update was in February 2026.