Spread vs Commission: Standard vs Raw Account Costs Compared
Macro Glossary, Forex Mechanics
By Ken Chigbo, macro trader and founder of KenMacro, 18+ years in markets.
Updated 2026-05-20
The desk’s answer
Standard accounts wrap the broker’s fee inside a wider spread and charge no per-trade commission. Raw or ECN accounts charge a tighter spread (sometimes 0.0 pips on majors at peak liquidity) plus an explicit commission, typically 3 to 7 dollars per standard lot round-turn. The honest comparison is the all-in cost in pip-equivalents per trade: a 1.0-pip standard spread costs 1.0 pip per trade, while a 0.2-pip raw spread plus 7 dollars commission per round-turn equals roughly 0.9 pips total at a pip value of 10 dollars. For active traders the raw model is usually cheaper.
Defined term, Raw spread vs standard spread account
A raw-spread (ECN-style) account passes the underlying interbank bid-ask spread through to the trader with little or no broker markup, and charges an explicit per-lot commission instead. A standard account quotes a wider spread that already includes the broker’s markup with zero or low commission. The all-in cost (spread plus commission, measured in pip-equivalents per trade) is the only valid comparison.
How the two cost structures work
Standard accounts (sometimes branded ‘classic’ or ‘commission-free’) quote bid-ask spreads above the underlying interbank spread, with the broker’s markup baked in. The headline marketing spread is the quiet-session number; the real cost is the time-weighted average through the trader’s actual sessions, typically 1.2 to 1.8 pips on EUR/USD at a competitive broker. Raw or ECN accounts (sometimes branded ‘Pro’, ‘Raw’ or ‘ECN’) quote spreads close to the underlying interbank, often 0.0 to 0.3 pips on EUR/USD at peak London-NY overlap, and charge a commission per lot. Common commission structures: 3 dollars per side per standard lot (so 6 dollars round-turn) at a competitive broker, up to 7 dollars per side at premium brokers.
Converting commission to pip-equivalent
On EUR/USD with a pip worth 10 dollars per standard lot, a 7-dollar round-turn commission equals 0.7 pips of cost. Add a 0.2-pip raw spread and the all-in is 0.9 pips per trade. Compare that to a 1.3-pip standard spread on the same pair: the raw account is cheaper by 0.4 pips per trade. On a strategy that takes 20 trades per week with 1 standard lot per trade, that is 8 pips per week saved (80 dollars), which compounds to roughly 4,000 dollars over a year. On pairs other than the most liquid majors, the gap can be reversed: raw spreads on exotics are often as wide as standard spreads with the commission added on top.
Which model suits which trader
Scalpers and high-frequency intraday traders almost always benefit from raw or ECN because their average hold is short and their cost is dominated by spread. Swing and position traders are less sensitive to per-trade spread because the move they target is much larger than the spread on either model; some prefer the simpler standard pricing. News traders care less about quoted spread and more about whether the book holds through a high-impact release, which is more about execution quality than the headline spread number. Verify both spread and execution on a funded account in your actual sessions before assuming the marketing pip is what you will pay.
Frequently asked
Is a raw spread account cheaper than a standard account?
Usually yes for active traders on liquid majors. The honest comparison is all-in cost: spread plus commission converted to pip-equivalent. On EUR/USD a 0.2-pip raw spread plus 7-dollar round-turn commission equals roughly 0.9 pips, against a typical 1.2 to 1.8 pip standard spread.
How do I convert commission to pips?
Divide the round-turn commission by the pip value per standard lot. On EUR/USD at a pip value of 10 dollars, a 7-dollar round-turn commission equals 0.7 pips. Add the raw spread to get all-in cost per trade in pips.
What is an ECN account?
An Electronic Communications Network account where the broker passes interbank bid-ask quotes through to the trader with little or no markup, charging an explicit per-lot commission instead. True ECN execution routes orders to a liquidity pool, in contrast to a market-maker model where the broker takes the other side.
What this means at the desk
Always compute all-in cost. The headline spread is the easiest number to manipulate; spread plus commission per trade is the truth.
Read next from the desk
Educational glossary entry only,
From the desk
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