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Forex Commission Calculator: calculate your true trading costs

Commission is only half the story. Enter your lot size, commission structure, and spread, and get the real, combined cost of a trade — in dollars and in pips — before you ever click buy or sell.

Calculator· Updated Aug 2026· By Liam Webb
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Commission & True Cost Calculator

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1.0 = one standard lot (100,000 units).
Most ECN/RAW brokers charge $6-$8 per lot round-turn.
The bid/ask spread you're quoted — this is a cost even with zero commission.
$10/pip is standard for most USD-quote pairs at 1.0 lot.
Your true cost per round-turn trade
Commission cost–
Spread cost–
Total true cost ($)–
Total true cost (pips)–
Cost as % of notional–
Formula: Total cost = commission + (spread pips × pip value × lots). This is the ground your trade has to cover in pips before you're breaking even, before any actual price movement in your favour.
Heads up
Two brokers advertising "zero commission" and "$7 per lot" can end up costing you the same amount once spread is included — or wildly different amounts. Always compare the total true cost figure above, not just the headline commission rate.
$19
True cost of a 1-lot EUR/USD trade on a typical ECN account: $7 commission + $12 spread.
1.9 pips
The breakeven move the same trade has to make in your favour before it's actually in profit.
$380
Monthly cost at 20 trades/month on a 1-lot position with the default commission + spread inputs.
On this page
  1. Why commission alone is a misleading number
  2. How to use this calculator
  3. Three worked examples
  4. The three ways brokers charge commission
  5. Typical commission across major brokers
  6. What affects your real commission cost
  7. Beyond commission: the other costs
  8. Methodology & formulas
  9. Glossary of key terms
  10. FAQ

Why commission alone is a misleading number

Most traders compare brokers on commission alone, because it's the number that's advertised loudest. But commission is just one of at least two costs baked into every single trade — the other is spread, which you pay whether your broker charges commission or not. A broker with "zero commission" often just folds their fee into a wider spread instead of removing it.

This calculator adds commission and spread together into a single "total true cost" figure, in both dollars and pips. That pip figure is the one that matters most day to day — it's the number of pips price has to move in your favour before you're at true breakeven, before accounting for any actual profit.

The reason this matters more than most traders realise: a 1.0-lot EUR/USD position on a typical ECN broker with a $7 commission and a 0.2-pip spread is paying $9 per trade. The same position on a "zero commission" broker with a 1.2-pip spread is paying $12. Same trade, different broker, $3 difference — and that's on every single trade. Over 200 trades a year, that's $600 of cost difference that has nothing to do with the strategy and everything to do with the broker's fee model.

This is also why "low commission" can be a trap. A broker offering $3.50 per side ($7 round-turn) sounds reasonable — until you realise that's almost $1,400 a year at 200 trades on a 1-lot position, before you've even added spread. The same trade on a zero-commission account with a 1.5-pip spread costs $15 × 200 = $3,000 a year. The "more expensive" account on paper is actually cheaper in practice. The only way to know is to add them together — which is what this calculator is for.

Stack the confluence
Once you know your total cost in pips, check it against your pip value and profit/loss calculations to see the real effect on your bottom line, and compare it with your typical slippage on entries — costs compound fast when you stack all four.

The three numbers that drive your cost

  • Per-lot commission — a flat rate charged per standard lot traded, usually quoted "round-turn" (covering both entry and exit).
  • Spread — the gap between bid and ask, charged automatically the moment you open a position, regardless of commission structure.
  • Total cost in pips — the combined cost translated into pips, so you can compare it directly against your stop distance and target.

How to use this calculator

The calculator takes either of two commission structures (per-lot or % of notional) and adds spread to give you a true, all-in cost. Six fields, all pulled straight from your broker's contract specifications.

  1. Pick the commission structure that matches your account. "Per lot" for any standard forex broker (ECN, RAW, or standard). "% of notional" for CFD brokers, some index/CFD providers, and certain crypto-margin brokers.
  2. Enter your trade size in lots. 1.0 = 100,000 units. 0.1 = 10,000. 0.01 = 1,000.
  3. Enter the commission rate. For per-lot mode, this is the round-turn figure (open + close combined). For % of notional mode, enter the percentage your broker charges per side or round-turn depending on their model — read the contract spec carefully.
  4. Enter the entry price. Only used in % of notional mode to calculate the notional trade value. Ignored in per-lot mode.
  5. Enter the spread in pips. Don't use the broker's headline "from 0.0 pips" — use the average spread you actually see during your trading session.
  6. Enter the pip value per standard lot. $10 is the standard for USD-quoted pairs at 1.0 lot. For pairs like USD/JPY or USD/CAD, check the Pip Value Calculator.

The right-hand panel updates live. The two numbers to focus on are Total true cost ($) — the dollar amount you pay per trade — and Total true cost (pips), the number you compare against your typical stop and target to know if the strategy is viable.

Pro tip
Run the calculator with your broker's average spread first, then again with 2-3x that number. The "stress test" version tells you what your true cost is on a bad-execution day. If even the stress-test cost fits comfortably inside your typical target, the strategy can absorb real-world slippage and still be profitable.
Worked Examples

Three worked examples

Same trade, three different account types. Run these through the calculator above to verify the math.

Example 1

Zero-commission retail account

Trading 1 lot of EUR/USD on a zero-commission broker with a 1.4-pip spread.
Lots: 1.0
Commission: $0
Spread: 1.4 pips
Pip value: $10
Spread cost: $14.00. Total: $14.00. Cost in pips: 1.4.
Example 2

ECN raw-spread account

Trading 1 lot of EUR/USD on an ECN broker with a 0.2-pip spread and $7 round-turn commission.
Lots: 1.0
Commission: $7.00
Spread: 0.2 pips
Pip value: $10
Spread cost: $2.00. Commission: $7.00. Total: $9.00. Cost in pips: 0.9.
Example 3

CFD broker (% of notional)

Trading 0.5 lots of USD/JPY on a CFD broker that charges 0.01% of notional round-turn.
Lots: 0.5
Notional: 0.5 × 100,000 × 150 = $7,500,000 worth of JPY
Commission: 0.01% × $7.5M = $750
Spread: 1.0 pip on USD/JPY
Spread cost: ~$4.17. Commission: $750. Total: $754.17. This is the gotcha with % commission.
Notice
Example 3 shows why % of notional commission looks cheap on paper ("only 0.01%!") but is ruinous on large trade sizes. A 0.5-lot position is a $50,000 notional — at 0.01% the commission is already $5, and it scales linearly. Use the calculator with the broker's actual percentage before assuming the rate is "low."

The three ways brokers charge commission

Most retail traders only ever see per-lot commission, but the world of fee structures is wider than that. Here's the practical breakdown.

Structure How it works Where you'll see it Gotcha
Per lot, round-turn Flat $X per standard lot, charged once on close (covers open + close). Most ECN/RAW forex brokers (IC Markets, Pepperstone, etc.) "Per side" rates (e.g. $3.50/side) look half the price — double them to get the true round-turn figure.
Spread markup (zero commission) No per-lot fee. Broker's margin is built into a wider spread. Standard retail accounts, market-maker brokers Headline spread rarely reflects what you actually get. Always check the average spread you see on platform, not the advertised minimum.
% of notional Commission = trade size in $ × percentage rate. Some CFD providers, index brokers, crypto margin brokers Scales with position size. 0.01% looks tiny but on a $100k trade is already $10. On a $1M trade, $100.

The golden rule: whatever the structure, always convert it into a single per-trade dollar figure using this calculator before comparing brokers. Headline rates and total cost are two different things, and the gap between them is usually where the surprise lives.

Typical commission across major brokers

Indicative commission + spread totals for 1 lot of EUR/USD on commission-based account types, August 2026. Always confirm with your broker's live contract specifications before trading.

Broker / account type EUR/USD avg spread Commission / lot Total cost / lot
IC Markets — Raw Spread 0.02 pips $7.00 $7.20
Pepperstone — Razor 0.10 pips $7.00 $8.00
OANDA — Core (no commission) 0.60 pips $0 $6.00
Interactive Brokers — IBKR Pro 0.20 pips $4.00 $6.00
Tickmill — Pro 0.20 pips $6.00 $8.00
FxPro — cTrader (no commission) 0.70 pips $0 $7.00
Vantage — RAW ECN 0.10 pips $6.00 $7.00
Disclaimer
These are approximate average values from broker contract specifications and third-party spread trackers at the time of writing. Spreads are not static — they widen around news, at rollover, and during low-liquidity sessions. Always verify with live quotes on your own platform before treating any figure as gospel.

What affects your real commission cost

The commission rate on your broker's website is the number that's constant. What it actually costs you depends on five other factors that are easy to miss.

  • Your position size. Commission is per-lot, so doubling your lot size doubles your commission. The same trade at 0.1 lot costs a tenth of what it does at 1.0 lot. Sounds obvious — but a lot of traders compare "per-lot rates" between brokers without scaling the result up to their actual trade size.
  • Your trading frequency. A 200-trade-a-year scalper and a 20-trade-a-year swing trader pay the same per-trade commission — but the scalper pays ten times more in total. If you're a high-frequency trader, even a $1 difference in per-lot commission compounds to thousands a year.
  • Currency conversion on the commission itself. If your account is in USD and your broker charges commission in EUR (or vice versa), every commission payment gets converted at the broker's quoted rate — typically with a 0.5-1.5% markup. Over a year that's a quiet drag on top of the headline rate.
  • Account tier / volume discounts. Many brokers reduce commission for high-balance accounts (e.g. $25k+ gets 20% off) or for traders exceeding a monthly volume threshold. If you're approaching those thresholds, the rate on the website may not be the rate you're actually paying.
  • Pair traded. Most brokers charge the same commission per lot on all forex pairs, but some charge higher commission on exotics (USD/TRY, USD/ZAR) or lower commission on certain cross pairs. Check the contract spec for the specific pair you trade, not the headline rate.
Rebate programmes
If you trade significant volume, third-party cashback services can return 30-70% of your commission (or part of the spread) on every trade. The headline commission rate on the broker's website isn't necessarily what high-volume traders actually net. Worth investigating once you're past ~50 round-turn lots a month.
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The Trading Costs Cheatsheet

A one-page reference for every hidden cost in a trade — commission, spread, swap, and slippage — and how to compare brokers properly instead of chasing headline rates.

  • How commission, spread, swap and slippage stack together
  • The real formula for comparing "zero commission" vs. commission-based brokers
  • How to work total cost into your reward-to-risk math
  • A printable cost-per-trade template for your journal
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Beyond commission: the other costs that quietly eat your edge

Commission is a fixed, known cost. The other three are variable and sometimes larger. Treat them as part of the same cost picture, not separate line items.

1. Spread (re-stated, but the bigger of the two for most retail traders)

Even if your commission is zero, the spread is still charged on every position. A "zero-commission" account with a 1.5-pip spread costs $15 per 1-lot trade before the trade has done anything. This is the single most overlooked cost in retail trading — the broker's fee is hiding inside the spread, not absent.

2. Swap (overnight rollover)

If you hold a position past the broker's rollover time (usually 21:00 or 22:00 UTC), you're either paid or charged an interest differential based on the interest-rate gap between the two currencies. Swap can dwarf commission cost on multi-day swing trades — particularly on carry-positive or carry-negative pairs where the rate differential is large.

3. Slippage

The difference between the price you clicked and the price you got filled at. Positive slippage is rare; negative slippage is the norm on fast markets. On a 1-lot trade, 0.5 pips of slippage is another $5 of cost on top of commission and spread — and unlike commission, you can't plan for it or budget it.

4. Funding and withdrawal fees

Most brokers advertise "no commission" but charge on the funding side — wire fees, currency conversion on deposit, or a percentage on withdrawals. Over a year these can add up to a few hundred dollars on a small account, especially if you're moving money in and out regularly.

Total cost = everything
Commission + spread + swap + slippage + funding fees. That's the real cost of a trade. This calculator focuses on the first two because they're the only ones you can set in advance — the rest are variable and have to be measured in your trading journal.

Methodology & formulas

All numbers in this calculator are computed client-side from inputs you provide. No data is sent to a server. Here are the exact formulas used.

Per-trade costs

Output Formula
Commission cost Per-lot mode: commission per lot × lots
% mode: lots × 100,000 × price × (commission % ÷ 100)
Spread cost spread (pips) × pip value per lot × lots
Total true cost ($) commission cost + spread cost
Total true cost (pips) total cost ($) ÷ (pip value per lot × lots)
Cost as % of notional (total cost ÷ (lots × 100,000 × price)) × 100

Assumptions and limits

  • Round-turn is treated as a single charge. If your broker quotes commission per-side (e.g. $3.50/side), double it before entering the per-lot field. The calculator does not split open vs. close.
  • Notional in % mode uses the entry price you enter. For positions that move significantly before close, the actual notional exposure will differ. For a round-turn commission model this is usually a minor adjustment; for a per-side model it matters more.
  • Spread is assumed constant. The calculator uses the spread you enter. Real spreads widen during news, low-liquidity sessions, and at rollover — to model a worst case, enter 2-3x your average spread.
  • Pip value is held constant. In reality pip value fluctuates as the quote currency moves against your account currency. For most major pairs over short windows the variation is small.
  • No swap, slippage, or conversion included. Those are tracked separately in their own calculators and should be added on top of this number for a true cost picture.

Glossary of key terms

Quick definitions for the jargon used in this calculator and in broker contract specifications.

Commission
A fee the broker charges per trade, separate from spread. Usually quoted per-lot, round-turn, or as a % of trade notional.
Round-turn
A complete trade cycle — both the opening and closing transaction. Commission is usually quoted round-turn.
Per-side commission
Commission charged separately on entry AND on exit. Double it to get the round-turn equivalent.
Spread
The difference between bid and ask, measured in pips. A cost on every trade, separate from any commission.
Notional
The dollar value of a position: lots × 100,000 × price. The basis for % of notional commission.
ECN
Electronic Communications Network. Passes orders directly to liquidity providers with no dealing desk. Tighter spreads, plus commission.
Market maker
Broker that takes the opposite side of client trades. Often "zero commission" but with wider spreads.
Standard lot
100,000 units of the base currency. Mini lot = 10,000. Micro lot = 1,000.
Pip
"Percentage in point" — the fourth decimal place in most pairs (0.0001). For JPY pairs it's the second decimal (0.01).
Pip value
The dollar value of a 1-pip move in your position. For a 1-lot EUR/USD position with a USD account, $10.
Swap
Overnight interest charge or credit applied to positions held past the broker's rollover time. Not included in this calculator.
Slippage
The difference between your requested fill price and the actual fill price. Usually negative on fast markets. Not included in this calculator.

Commission is only one line item in what a trade actually costs you

Most traders compare brokers on commission alone, because it's the number that's advertised loudest. But commission is just one of at least two costs baked into every single trade — the other is spread, which you pay whether your broker charges commission or not. A broker with "zero commission" often just folds their fee into a wider spread instead of removing it.

This calculator adds commission and spread together into a single "total true cost" figure, in both dollars and pips. That pip figure is the one that matters most day to day — it's the number of pips price has to move in your favour before you're at true breakeven, before accounting for any actual profit.

  • Per-lot commission — a flat rate charged per standard lot traded, usually quoted "round-turn" (covering both entry and exit).
  • Spread — the gap between bid and ask, charged automatically the moment you open a position, regardless of commission structure.
  • Total cost in pips — the combined cost translated into pips, so you can compare it directly against your stop distance and target.

FAQ — Forex commission & true cost, quick answers

What does "round-turn" commission mean?

Round-turn means the quoted commission covers both opening and closing the trade — you're not charged again separately when you exit. Always check whether a broker's advertised rate is round-turn or per-side, since a per-side rate effectively doubles on a full trade.

Is a zero-commission broker actually cheaper?

Not necessarily. Zero-commission accounts almost always carry a wider spread to compensate, so the true cost can end up similar to — or higher than — a commission-based account with a tighter spread. Comparing total cost in pips is the only reliable way to tell.

Why does this calculator include spread if I'm only asking about commission?

Because commission alone doesn't tell you the real cost of a trade — spread is charged on every single position regardless of your broker's commission model. Ignoring it understates your true cost, sometimes significantly.

How do I use the total cost figure in my trading?

Treat it as a pip "tax" your trade has to clear before it's genuinely profitable. Compare it against your typical stop and target distances — if costs are eating a large share of your average target, it's worth reviewing your broker or your trade size.

What's the typical commission per lot on a major pair?

For ECN/RAW accounts on EUR/USD, USD/JPY, GBP/USD and similar, $3.50-$7.00 round-turn is the typical range in 2026. Sub-$3 accounts usually carry higher spreads or minimum-volume requirements; over $8 usually signals a premium/VIP tier or a less competitive broker.

Is commission charged on demo accounts?

Yes — the platform simulates the same commission and spread on demo as on live. That's useful for testing cost-aware strategies, but remember that real execution quality (slippage, requotes) is absent on demo. Treat demo costs as a floor, not a ceiling.

Do exotic pairs like USD/TRY cost more in commission?

Some brokers charge the same flat per-lot rate on all forex pairs; others charge 2-3x the rate on exotics because the underlying liquidity is thinner. Always check the contract spec for the specific pair — and remember that exotic pairs also carry much wider spreads, so the total cost is usually 3-5x that of a major.

What's the difference between "commission" and "fee" on my statement?

On most brokers they're the same thing. Some brokers label commission as "broker fee" or "transaction fee" on the trade confirmation. The number should match what you entered in the calculator — if it doesn't, double-check the contract spec or the account type.

Can I get commission refunded through a cashback programme?

Yes — third-party cashback services return 30-70% of your commission (or part of the spread) on every trade in exchange for signing up through their link. They're most valuable for high-volume traders (50+ lots/month). Always read the fine print for execution-quality tradeoffs — some brokers treat cashback clients as lower priority.

Should I switch brokers for a $1 lower per-lot commission?

Probably not, unless the new broker's execution is at least as good. A $1 difference on a 1-lot trade is $1 — but wider spreads, slower fills, more requotes, or worse customer support can cost far more. Always benchmark the total picture (spread + commission + execution + funding), not just the per-lot headline rate.

How often should I re-run this calculator?

Any time you change brokers, change account type, change position size, or trade a new pair. Your commission cost on a 0.05-lot position is very different from your cost on a 2-lot position — same calculator, very different answer. Most serious traders re-run it monthly to keep their cost-per-trade in their trading journal up to date.

Next step

See what that cost actually does to your P&L

Now that you know your true cost per trade, run it through the profit/loss calculator to see the real net result of a trade after commission and spread.

Use the profit/loss calculator → Grab the cheatsheet
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