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Blog · 2026-07-18 · 5 min read

The true cost per lot: why the spread is not your cost

The spread is the number every broker advertises and the one that tells you the least. Here is the formula that actually lets you compare two brokers.

Ask a trader what their broker charges and most will answer with the spread. It is the number on the platform, the number in the ads, and the number nearly every comparison table is built on. It is also the number that tells you the least.

What you actually pay on a round turn

When you open a buy you pay the ask. When you close it you receive the bid. If price never moves, you finish the trade down by exactly the difference between the two. That is the spread, and you cross it once per round turn, not twice.

On top of that, raw and ECN accounts charge a commission, usually quoted per lot per side. Round turn means both sides together.

So the honest formula is short:

True cost per lot = spread in money + commission (round turn)

Note that the spread has to be converted to money, not left in pips. One pip is not one dollar on every symbol, it depends on the tick value and contract size. On EURUSD with a standard lot, one pip is roughly 10 USD. On XAUUSD it is a completely different number.

Why the raw spread lies

A raw account advertising from 0.0 pips looks free next to a standard account at 1.2 pips. Put the commission back in and the picture changes:

  • Raw account: 0.1 pip spread (about 1 USD) + 7 USD commission round turn = 8 USD per lot
  • Standard account: 1.2 pip spread (about 12 USD) + no commission = 12 USD per lot

Here the raw account wins, but not by the 12x the headline suggested. And it does not always win. A standard account at 0.7 pips (7 USD) beats that same raw account. The only way to know is to put both through the same formula.

The costs nobody quotes

Three more things move your real cost, and none of them appear in the advertised spread:

  • Spread stability. An average of 0.9 pips is meaningless if it becomes 6 pips at the London open or on news. What matters is the range, not the marketing average.
  • Swaps. If you hold overnight, the swap can dwarf the spread. It is worth converting to money per night in your account currency so you can compare it against everything else.
  • Slippage. The gap between the price you expected and the price you got. It is invisible in any comparison table because it can only be measured on real fills, on your account.

How to check your own numbers

You can work this out by hand from your broker contract specs, or you can read it live from the account you are already on. We built a free MT5 panel, Broker X-Ray, that shows the spread, the true cost per lot with your commission included, swaps converted to money, and the slippage measured from your own fills.

If you share the anonymous numbers, you also get to see how your broker ranks against everyone else for the symbol you trade. That comparison is the whole point: a cost figure only means something next to another one.

Keep reading

Raw vs standard account: which one is actually cheaper?
Raw accounts look cheaper because the commission is hidden in a separate line. Run both through the same formula and the answer depends on how you trade.
How to measure your broker's real slippage in MT5
Slippage is the one execution cost no comparison table can show you, because it only exists on real fills. Here is how to measure it on your own account.