Commission

The visible half of the bill

Commission is an explicit charge, usually per lot or per side, and it exists so the spread can be quoted at near-interbank levels. That makes it the honest way to compare accounts, because it forces the full cost into the open.

Account type	Spread	Commission	All-in per standard lot
Standard	2.0 pips measured	None	about $20
Raw / ECN	0.2 pips	$7 round turn	about $11

The account with "zero commission" is the expensive one. This is not a trick, it is just two ways of charging, and the only way to see through it is to add both components at the volume you actually trade.

Commission scales with size, not with time

It is charged per lot, so it weighs heaviest on small, frequent trades, which is exactly the style beginners gravitate toward. A trader placing twenty round turns a month at $7 pays $140 a month regardless of whether those trades were good.

Round turn versus per side

Read the quote carefully. "$3.50 per side" and "$7 round turn" are the same number; "$7 per side" is double. Brokers quote whichever sounds smaller, and the difference across a year is material.

What to do with this

• Always compare spread plus commission, never one alone.
• Work it out at your real monthly volume, not per trade.
• If your strategy is short-term, the account type matters more than almost anything else you will decide.