Which account type returns the most per lot, and why the answer moves

It is the first question everybody asks, and the honest answer is that it depends on what you trade and when. That is not evasion. It follows directly from how the two rebate models work.

Why there is no permanent winner

An account paying a share of the spread produces a rebate that moves with the spread. An account paying a fixed amount per lot produces the same figure regardless.

Put those two on the same instrument and the ranking flips depending on conditions. When spreads are wide, the percentage account pays more. When spreads are tight, the fixed account can pay more. Neither is winning because it is generous; they are simply responding to different inputs.

So a table headed "highest rebate" is answering a question that has no fixed answer. It is a snapshot, and it is only true for the instrument and the moment it was measured.

The bigger trap: the highest rebate is not the cheapest account

This is the part that costs people money.

A rebate is a share of what you paid. An account can hand back an impressive figure precisely because it collected a lot in the first place. Ranked by rebate alone it looks generous; ranked by what you actually kept, it can be the worst option on the list.

The question worth asking is never "which pays the most back". It is "where do I end up with the most left", which is spread plus commission minus rebate.

Those two questions have different answers often enough that using the first as a shortcut for the second is a reliable way to choose wrong.

How to read a rate table properly

Three habits.

Check the model, not just the number. Our [rate table](/brokers) shows which account types pay a share of the spread and which pay a fixed amount. Two numbers built on different models are not directly comparable.

Check the instrument. A figure for gold says nothing about a currency pair. Contract sizes and spread behaviour differ enough that the ranking genuinely changes between them.

Check what the figure was derived from. Some rates come straight from a broker's published terms. Others are worked out from measured spreads and a share percentage, which means they move as the market moves.

Where an unusually large number comes from

If one rate stands far above the rest on a rate table, the usual explanation is not extraordinary generosity. It is a wide spread on that instrument, sometimes an instrument that trades around the clock and carries a much wider spread outside normal hours.

A large share of a large spread is still a large spread. Treat an outlier as a prompt to look at the cost side, not as a reason to open the account.

Figures move when brokers change terms and when spreads shift. Read the live table, and treat any number written in an article, this one included, as out of date.

Next

• [Two ways a rebate is calculated, and why it changes the answer](/bai-viet/spread-share-vs-fixed-rebate)
• [How to compare two account types without fooling yourself](/bai-viet/compare-account-types-properly)