Raw spread account usually comes with high trading fees. Yet, there are some brokers offering affordable round-turn commissions.
For years, raw spread account has become many traders' favorite. Some brokers would call it an ECN account, but the idea remains the same. In raw spread or ECN account type, the spreads can be extremely low or even zero. That being said, a raw spread account is not all free.
In exchange for the low spread, the broker will charge a commission fee. This is how they can gain profit from providing affordable trading services. Keep in mind that not all brokers have the same commission fees. Some might have lower commission fees while others charge higher. Sometimes, the commission will be charged per side, but other times, brokers prefer to charge per round-turn.
How Do Brokers Charge Commission?
Generally, brokers that offer per side commission will require traders to pay it twice. In this case, it means traders need to pay a commission fee when they open the trade, then pay it again when they close the positions. For example, a $3 commission per side means paying $3 for opening a position and another $3 when the position is closed. In total, the commission fee would be $6 per round turn.
Best Round Turn Commission Brokers
At the moment, there are plenty of raw spread brokers offering affordable round-turn commission fees. Without further ado, here are some of them:
1. IC Markets
IC Markets is one of the most popular raw spread brokers with the best round turn commission. There are two raw account types in this broker, which are the cTrader raw account and the MetaTrader raw account. The MetaTrader raw spread accounts are available for both MT4 and MT5. For this account, the commission fee is only $3.5 per lot per side or $7 per round turn. It is considerably affordable for a reliable broker like IC Markets.
Their cTrader raw spread account has even lower commission fees, only $3 per $100,000. Not to mention it is actually very rare to find a broker with a raw spread cTrader account.
For honorary mention, the IC Markets standard account is one of the best regular accounts out there. While most standard account comes with a relatively wide spread, IC Markets manage to provide only a 0.6 spread. This is pretty tight for regular account standards. Anda since this account doesn't have commission fees, it is a good option to reduce trading costs.
IC Markets is an online forex broker operating under the company of International Capital Markets Pty Ltd. Traders under the Australian jurisdiction are provided with the trading service of IC Markets AU that is headquartered in Australia and licensed by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).
On the other hand, non-Australian traders who open an account in this broker are registered under IC Markets SEY that is based in Seychelles, and regulated under the Seychelles Financial Services Authority (SFSA). The dual operation is a result of the relatively new rules from ASIC that prohibit their regulated broker to offer trading services outside Australia.
Classified as an ECN broker, IC Markets provide clients with MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, cTrader as platform trading options. This broker also follows market trends to include Cryptocurrencies as one of its products, enriching its already wide selection of trading assets that include Currencies, Indices, Metals, Energies, Softs, Stocks, as well as Bonds.
The minimum deposit in IC Markets is in the middle range compared to other ASIC-regulated brokers, as it reaches $200 for every client. Market analysis materials are also prepared regularly for trading insights on IC Markets's official website, proving their competence to serve their traders with important contents created by market experts that work specifically for them.
For payment methods, IC Markets allows funding and withdrawal via wire transfer, credit card, PayPal, Skrill, Neteller, FasaPay, UnionPay, as well as Bitcoin via BitPay. The more interesting aspect from this broker is its multi-base currencies that include USD, AUD, EUR, GBP, SGD, NZD, JPY, CHF, HKD, and CAD.
As the trading technology in IC Markets is highly equipped with co-located servers and extremely low latency (especially on cTrader), the broker is widely known for its capability in hosting traders with the special needs for high-frequency trading as well as scalping.
To sum up, IC Markets is a fitting destination for active traders looking for a well-regulated broker. IC Markets is also flexible in terms of base currency and payment methods, signaling their commitment to welcome traders beyond their home country. As of late 2019, IC Markets provided their website in 18 international languages including English, Korean, Indonesian, French, Spanish, Italian, Malay, German, and Chinese.
2. BDSwiss
BDSwiss is another raw spread broker with one of the best round-turn commissions. While this broker provides plenty of account types, the most interesting account is the raw spread. The commission fees are pretty affordable, only $5 per round turn. The best part is that this account gives traders access to more than 250 instruments to trade with. Unfortunately, the minimum deposit for this account starts from $5000.
Traders looking for a more affordable minimum deposit should try the classic or premium account. BDSwiss' classic account comes with a 1.5 spread, while the premium account offers a 1.1 spread. Both accounts have minimum deposits of $100, but the number of instruments to trade is different. The classic account has more than 250 assets, while the premium account only comes with around 70 instruments.
3. Blueberry Markets
Another broker applying a competitive round-turn commission is Blueberry Markets. Their raw spread account really starts from 0.0 pips, while their round-turn commission is only $7. How about the minimum deposit? Luckily, it is not too huge as well; only $1000 and traders can access more than 300 tradable instruments. The account also allows traders to enjoy leverage of up to 1:500 with the option to choose between MT4 and MT4 trading platforms.
www.blueberrymarkets.com
1:500
$100
2016
4. Pepperstone
Pepperstone uses multiple liquidity providers from Tier 1 Banks, that's why they can give one of the best raw spread accounts. Their raw spread or razor spread account really starts from 0 spreads, with the round-turn commissions set around $0.06 for a 0.01 lot and $7 for a 1 lot.
For the cTrader razor spread account, Pepperstone implements a $6 round-turn commission that is charged per side. If the trader's account is not in USD, Pepperstone will calculate the cost based on current foreign exchange conversion rates into the trader's nominated account currency.
Pepperstone was founded in 2010 by a team of experienced traders with a shared commitment to improve the world of online trading. Based in Melbourne, Australia, they grew to become one of the largest forex brokers in the world. If traders want to find a broker that provides low spreads, fast execution, and award-winning support, then the answer is Pepperstone.
Pepperstone has a strong legality guarantee because it has been licensed by the Australian regulator ASIC and FCA. Traders' funds can be deposited in segregated accounts at top Australian banks, one of which is the National Australia Bank (NAB). Therefore, the safety of funds is not a concern if a trader chooses to open an account in Pepperstone.
They succeeded in collaborating with 23 top banks to bring Bid to investors instantly via optical fiber. This allows all orders to be executed 100 percent automatically with low latency up to 0.05 milliseconds, without dealing desk intervention and requotes, as well as with super low trading costs.
Trusted by over 73,000 traders around the world, Pepperstone processes an average of USD12.55 billion of trading volumes every day. Because of that, they have many awards such as:
- The Best Global Forex ECN Broker 2019 and Best Forex Trading Support-Europe
- Best Australian Broker and Best Trading Platform 2018 by Compareforexbrokers.com
- Best Forex ECN Broker, Best Forex Trading Support, and Best Forex Trading Conditions by UK Forex Awards 2018
With the many rewards gained, Pepperstone hopes to attract more and more traders from all over the world. The rising performance of Pepperstone is not only due to the super-tight spreads and fast execution that it provides, but also because many traders are interested in trading with deposits in currencies other than US Dollars.
For this reason, Pepperstone is one of the most market-responsive brokers because it is willing to accept deposits in 10 currencies, which include AUD, USD, EUR, CAD, GBP, CHF, JPY, NZD, SGD, and HKD.
Trading in Pepperstone would allow traders to choose between 11 trading platforms: MT4 for desktop, MT4 Mac, MT4 iPhone, MT4 Android, MT4 iPad/Tablet, MT5, WebTrader, cTrader WebTrader, cTrader cAlgo, and cTrader Mobile. The choice of trading platforms may seem confusing to novice traders, but actually, it is very useful because it has fast execution.
When trading forex, traders can enjoy raw spreads from 0.0 pips on Razor accounts, over 61 currency pairs, and commission-free account funding on a wide range of deposit options. In addition to currency pairs, Pepperstone provides many types of trading instruments, including CFDs for indices and shares, commodities, and cryptocurrencies.
Instruments in commodity trading are pretty much diversified. Not only metal, gold, and silver, but traders can also trade with soft commodities such as cotton, sugar, coffee, cocoa, and orange juice. Pepperstone also provides trading on energy (oil and gas).
There are two types of accounts provided by Pepperstone, namely Razor accounts, and Standard accounts. If you area beginner, it is recommended to choose a Standard account with an average EUR/USD spread of 1.0-1.3 pips and free commission.
Those with particular trading styles such as scalpers and algorithmic traders may enjoy the lower cost setup traditionally seen in a Razor account, with a commission from AUD7 round turn of 100k traded. You can start trading with a minimum lot of 0.01 (micro) and 1:400 leverage.
As a Pepperstone client, a trader can fund and withdraw with alternative methods including Visa, Mastercard, POLi internet banking, bank transfer, BPay, PayPal, Neteller, Skrill, and Union Pay.
If you are new to trading or looking to practice your trading strategies in a risk-free environment, you can create Demo Account in Pepperstone. But if you are an experienced trader or prefer to learn by doing, Pepperstone provides a Live Account that allows you to trade with live executions and pricing.
Traders can also follow and copy strategies from popular traders using third-party services while learning how to improve their trading abilities. Pepperstone has partnered with a range of social trading platforms that traders can choose from, such as Myfxbook, ZuluTrade, Mirror Trader, MetaTrader signals, and Duplitrade.
5. Vantage
There are two types of ECN accounts in Vantage called raw ECN and Pro ECN. The commission for raw ECN is divided according to the account currency and lot. For example, a USD account will be charged $0.06 per round turn for 0.01 lots. Meanwhile, the commission fees for 1 lot trading would be $6.
The commission fees for the pro ECN account are also divided according to the same categories, but it has a slightly lower amount. Trading accounts with USD will be charged a $0.035 round-turn commission for 0.01 lots, and the commission fees for 1 lot trading would be $3.5. in short, it is a cheaper option compared to raw ECN.
Vantage Markets was founded in 2009 in Australia. It is the brand name of the Vantage International Group which is regulated by the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA). Before it is known as Vantage Markets as today, they used to be MXT Global in 2009 and Vantage Markets Pty LTD in 2015. The Vantage Group also operates other companies such as Vantage Global Prime, which is regulated by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
According to the broker's website, Vantage Markets adds further protection to clients by segregating client funds and holding their funds with Australia's National Australia Bank (NAB). NAB is one of the 4 largest financial institutions in Australia as well as the Top 20 safest banks in the world. Thus, clients don't need to worry about saving their funds at Vantage Markets.
With Vantage Markets, traders will experience super-fast trade execution, as well as interbank grade and RAW ECN spreads. When combined, these elements offer clients a true institutional trading experience, across a wide range of trading instruments. They also offer services designed for both beginners and professionals with access to Forex ECN trading, as well as CFD trading on Indices, Commodities, and U.S & Hong Kong Shares. Those instruments are available to trade on MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, MetaTrader WebTrader, CHARTS by TradingView, Mobile Apps, either for Mac, PC, iOS, or Android. There are also social trading platforms such as MyFXbook and Zulutrade.
By registering in Vantage Markets, traders will have access to an impressive range of educational materials and research tools including MT4 SmartTrader Tools, a wide variety of promotional trading offers and rebate programs, as well as access to accounts with up to 500:1 leverage. However, the leverage for ASIC and FCA clients is 30:1, and normally no promotion for AU and UK clients because of the compliance policy.
Vantage Markets provides research in the form of technical and fundamental analysis on its blog from in-house staff as well as guest writers. There is also an economic calendar powered by MQL5 from MetaQuotes. For clients who deposit at least $1,000, Vantage Markets offers a suite of plugins for MT4 branded as MT4 SmartTrader Tools, developed by FX Blue LLP.
As an authorized representative of Vantage Global Prime, the broker caters to retail traders under the Vantage Markets brand and offers access to the following instruments:
- 44 currency pairs, which are the most liquid global forex market currencies.
- 16 most liquid Indices from across the globe, including the S&P 500, DAX, FTSE, DJ30, and more.
- 16 commodities, either soft commodities or precious metals.
- 5 indices futures such as DJ30ft, DAX4ft, and NAS100ft.
- 600+ US, UK, and HK shares from large companies, such as Apple, Google, Coca-Cola, and big corporations listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
Clients can open accounts in Vantage Markets and deposit funds in 8 base currencies: USD, GBP, CAD, AUD, EUR, SGD, NZD, HKD, and JPY. They also provide clients with convenient deposit and withdrawal methods through local and international bank transfers, credit/debit cards, and e-payment.
Overall, Vantage Markets is valued to be proper for retail traders with small deposits who like the max leverage thresholds. In terms of pricing, the broker's commission-based Raw ECN account is the clear choice for cost-sensitive traders as it features a lower all-in cost compared to its Standard account offering.
6. FP Markets
With a minimum deposit of AUD100 or equivalent, FP Markets becomes one of the best affordable brokers out there. In addition, they have an affordable round-turn commission that's only $6. Traders will get access to more than 60 instruments to trade with, including forex pairs, metals, indices, and commodities. FP Markets also equips their raw spread account with maximum leverage of 1:500,
Keeping positions open overnight won't result in the overnight/rollover fee reducing your earnings, so you don't have to worry about it. FP Markets offers the most competitive swap rates in the industry by introducing Swaps Points in the form of a live swap rates list on the MT4 and MT5 platforms. Here are some examples:
- ACWI: -5.00 for long positions and -2.50 for short positions.
- ADAUSD: -20.00 for long positions and -20.00 for short positions.
- AGG: -5.00 for long positions and -2.50 for short positions.
Bottom Line
Using raw spread accounts can be an affordable option for traders who wish to reduce their trading costs. But, they need to understand that sometimes the spreads might be floating. This means as the market volatility grows, spreads can get wider. Not to mention, raw spreads usually come with a commission fee as well.
As a solution, some raw spread brokers come with affordable round turn commission fees. With this, it is still possible to reduce trading costs while trading in a raw spread account. In addition to that, traders should check other 'invisible' costs that may vary depending on each broker's policy.