How does commission per lot work in forex?
Commission is a fixed fee per lot that raw and zero spread accounts charge on top of a thin spread. Brokers quote it per side, for opening or for closing, or per round turn, for both. To compare it with a spread, divide it by the pip value: $7 per lot on EUR/USD is 0.7 pip.
A standard account takes its fee inside the spread. A raw or zero account shows a much thinner spread and sends a separate bill: a commission on every lot you trade.
To know what a trade really costs, you need both numbers in the same unit. This lesson shows how.
What commission per lot means
Commission is a fixed amount of money charged per lot traded. It does not depend on whether the trade wins or loses.
On a raw spread account it is the main way the broker earns from you, because the spread is close to the market's own.
MT5 can show it in two ways. If the broker charges it at execution, it appears in the Commission field of each deal in the History tab.
Some brokers add it up instead and charge it once at the end of the day or month, as a single balance line. Either way it comes off your balance like any other cost.
Round turn or per side
Brokers quote commission in two styles, and mixing them up halves or doubles the cost.
- Per side: charged once when you open and again when you close.
- Round turn: one figure that covers opening and closing together.
So "$3.50 per side" and "$7 round turn" are the same price. Both mean $7 for a full 1-lot trade. These are illustrative round figures; read the exact terms on your broker's account page.
MT5 itself allows many set-ups. A broker can charge on entry, on exit or on both, per lot or per deal, in money, points or a percentage.
That is why the wording on the account page matters as much as the number.
How commission scales with volume
Commission grows in step with volume. Half the lots, half the fee. With the illustrative $7 round turn:
| Volume | Calculation | Commission |
|---|---|---|
| 0.01 lot | $7 × 0.01 | $0.07 |
| 0.10 lot | $7 × 0.10 | $0.70 |
| 1 lot | $7 × 1 | $7.00 |
| 5 lots | $7 × 5 | $35.00 |
Partial closes follow the same rule. With per-side pricing, closing 0.30 lot of a 1-lot position pays the exit fee on 0.30 lot now and on the other 0.70 lot later. The total is unchanged.
Turning commission into pips
To set commission beside a spread, convert it to pips: commission in pips = round-turn commission per lot ÷ pip value per lot.
On EUR/USD with a USD account, a pip is worth $10 per lot. An illustrative $7 round turn is therefore 7 ÷ 10 = 0.7 pip.
Add that to the raw spread and you have one figure to compare. A raw account at 0.1 pip plus $7 costs 0.1 + 0.7 = 0.8 pip in total.
A standard account at 0.8 pip with no commission costs exactly the same. At 0.6 pip it is cheaper; at 1.2 pips it is dearer.
Where a pip is worth less than $10, the same fee is more pips. At 157.85, one pip on a lot of USD/JPY is 1,000 yen, about $6.34, so $7 is about 1.1 pips.
The pip value calculator gives the figure for any pair.
A real example: gold on two Exness accounts
AutoFXRebate's Exness page, read on 29 October 2026, lists a typical gold spread of $0.08 and a commission of $7.00 per lot on the Raw Spread account. The Zero account lists $0.04 and $11.00 per lot.
A gold lot is 100 ounces, so a $0.01 spread is $1 per lot:
- Raw Spread: 0.08 × 100 = $8 spread, plus $7 commission, is $15 per lot.
- Zero: 0.04 × 100 = $4 spread, plus $11 commission, is $15 per lot.
Two different mixes give one total. The Standard account on the same page lists a $0.24 gold spread and no commission, which is $24 per lot.
The page also lists a fixed rebate of $3.00 per lot on gold for both commission accounts, which brings the net cost to $15 - $3 = $12 per lot.
On these accounts the rebate is a set amount per lot, not a share of the spread.
When a commission account makes sense
A commission account suits traders who trade often and aim for small moves. The cost per lot is low and easy to predict, and on small targets every cent of cost counts.
If you trade a few times a month and hold for days, the gap between account types is small next to swap and the price move itself. Then the simpler account can be the better choice.
Before you switch, compare the all-in cost in dollars per lot, on your symbol, in your trading hours. Comparing broker costs shows how, and the cost of one trade adds swap to the sum.
Questions
Is forex commission charged per side or per round turn?
It depends on the broker. "Per side" means you pay the figure twice per trade, while "round turn" means it already covers opening and closing.
Is commission charged on losing trades?
Yes. Commission is charged on volume, not on the result, so a losing trade pays the same fee as a winning one of the same size.
How do I convert commission into pips?
Divide the round-turn commission per lot by the pip value per lot. On EUR/USD with a USD account, $7 ÷ $10 = 0.7 pip.
Do commission accounts earn a rebate?
They can. On Exness Raw Spread and Zero, AutoFXRebate listed a fixed rebate per lot on 29 October 2026, for example $0.87 on EUR/USD and $3.00 on gold.
Keep learning
Chapter 1What is swap in forex, and why is Wednesday triple?Swap, or rollover, is the interest you pay or earn for holding a forex position past 17:00 New York time. It comes from the gap between the two currencies' interest rates, plus the broker's markup. Most forex pairs charge three nights on Wednesday to cover the weekend.
Chapter 1What is slippage in forex trading?Slippage is the difference between the price you expected and the price your order filled at. It happens when the market moves between your click and the execution, most often around news, the daily rollover and the weekly open. Market and stop orders can slip; limit orders fill at your price or better, but may not fill.
Chapter 1Standard vs Raw spread account: which costs less?A standard account charges everything through a wider spread. A raw or zero account shows a spread close to the market's own and adds a commission per lot. Neither is cheaper by default. Convert both to dollars per lot on your symbol, subtract any rebate, and the cheaper one becomes clear.
Chapter 1How much does one forex trade cost?The cost of one forex trade is the spread plus any commission plus any swap, each turned into money for your volume. Slippage can add to it and a rebate takes part of it back. A 0.5 lot EUR/USD trade at a 0.8 pip spread with no commission costs $4.00 before swap.
Chapter 1How do you compare trading costs between brokers fairly?To compare brokers fairly, use the same symbol, the same time window and the typical (median) spread, not the advertised minimum. Add commission, turn everything into dollars per lot, and include swap if you hold overnight. Then subtract any rebate to see the net cost you actually pay.
Chapter 1Trading costs cheat sheet.Every forex trade pays some mix of spread, commission and swap, and can lose a little more to slippage. A rebate gives part of it back. This page puts the formulas, a table of measured spreads and one worked example in one place, with a link to the full lesson on each cost.
