Commission per lot explained

Commission per lot: the short answer

A commission is a fee a broker charges for executing your trade, separate from the spread. When it is quoted per lot, the fee grows with the size of your position. A lot is the standard unit of trade size (see What is a lot and Lot sizes).

So "commission per lot" means you pay a fixed amount of money for every full lot you trade. A smaller position pays a proportionally smaller fee, and a larger position pays more.

You pay this fee in addition to the spread, which is the gap between the bid and ask price (see What is spread). Use the calculator to see both costs for your own trade:

Enter the instrument, lot size, spread, commission and holding time. The calculator shows the spread, commission and swap in money and in pips.

Per side and round turn

Brokers quote commission in different ways. Before you compare offers, find out which method a broker uses.

• Per side (also called per leg): the fee is charged when you open the trade and charged again when you close it.
• Round turn (round trip): the quoted fee covers opening and closing together.

A per-side figure and a round-turn figure look different even when they cost the same. Always convert both offers to round turn before you compare them. The calculator does this when you choose the quoting method.

Raw spread commission accounts vs spread-only accounts

Retail accounts usually price trades in one of these ways:

A raw spread commission account shows a tighter market spread and adds a separate fee. A spread-only account has no separate fee, but the cost is built into a wider spread.

Neither style is cheaper in every case. The result depends on:

• the actual spread on your instrument at the time you trade, since spreads change during the day (see Fixed vs floating spread);
• the commission level and whether it is quoted per side or round turn;
• how often you trade and what size you trade.

To compare fairly, enter the same trade for both account styles in the calculator and look at the total in money.

Conditions vary by broker and account. If you use Exness, check the current commission and spread for each account in the personal area or on the official site; the Account types page gives an overview.

Converting commission into pips

Experienced traders often express commission in pips so they can add it to the spread directly. A pip is the standard unit of price movement (see What is a pip).

The pip equivalent depends on the pip value of the instrument and your account currency. That is why the same money commission equals a different number of pips on different pairs. The calculator shows this conversion, so you do not need to work it out by hand.

Precise definitions

• Commission per lot per side: the fee for each full lot, charged on entry and again on exit.
• Round-turn commission: the combined fee for opening and closing a position.
• Notional-based commission: some brokers charge per amount of traded value instead of per lot. Convert it to a per-lot figure before you compare.
• Account currency effect: if the commission is set in a currency other than your account currency, the conversion rate changes the real cost.
• Charging time: some brokers charge the full round turn at entry, others charge per side. In MetaTrader, the account history shows the commission for each deal in its own column.
• Partial closes: closing part of a position usually charges commission on the closed volume only (see Closing trades).

Total cost and risk

Commission is only part of the cost of a trade. Spread, commission and overnight swap add up, and the price has to move past that total before the trade breaks even. See Total trading costs and Swap fees.

Low costs do not make a trade profitable. Leveraged forex and CFD trading can lose money fast, and losses can be larger than you expect when you use high leverage. Read Risk management before you trade live, and use the Demo account to see how commission appears in your history.

Frequently asked questions

What does commission per lot mean?

It is a fee charged for every full lot you trade, added to the spread. Smaller positions pay a proportional part of the fee.

Is commission charged on opening or closing?

That depends on the broker. Some charge per side, on entry and exit. Others charge the round turn at once. Check the account conditions.

Is a raw spread account cheaper than a spread-only account?

Not always. Compare the total of spread plus commission for the same trade in the calculator.

Why does the same commission equal different pips on different pairs?

Pip value differs between instruments and account currencies, so the same money fee converts to a different number of pips.

Does commission include swap?

No. Swap is a separate overnight charge or credit. The calculator shows it on its own line.