Module 2: Your real trading costs · Lesson 6 of 11
Commissions per lot: round turn vs per side
3 min read
A commission is a fixed fee your broker charges for each lot you trade, mostly on raw-spread accounts. The key detail is whether it is quoted per side (charged on opening and again on closing) or round turn (one figure covering both).
Per side vs round turn
- Per side: you pay the stated amount when you open and the same amount again when you close.
- Round turn: the stated amount covers both opening and closing together.
So a commission of $3.50 per side is the same as $7 round turn. Mixing these up can make one broker look half the price of another when they actually cost the same.
Example: These figures are illustrative. Broker A advertises $3.50 per lot per side. Broker B advertises $6 per lot round turn. Converted to round turn, Broker A costs $7 and Broker B costs $6, so Broker B is cheaper by $1 per lot.
Scaling with lot size
Commissions scale with position size. If the rate is $7 round turn per standard lot:
| Position size | Units | Commission (round turn) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 standard lot | 100,000 | $7.00 |
| 1 mini lot | 10,000 | $0.70 |
| 1 micro lot | 1,000 | $0.07 |
| 2.5 lots | 250,000 | $17.50 |
Other ways commission is quoted
Some brokers quote commission per million units traded, or as a percentage, and some charge in the account's base currency. Convert everything to the same unit, such as dollars per standard lot round turn, before comparing.
Combining spread and commission
Commission is only half the picture on a raw account. Add it to the spread cost to get the full cost of one trade.
Example: EUR/USD raw spread of 0.3 pips on one standard lot costs about $3. Add $7 round-turn commission and the total is $10 per lot.
Tip: Your platform statement usually shows commission as a separate line. Check a few trades to confirm whether you are being charged per side or round turn.
Key takeaways
- Commission is a fixed charge per lot, typical on raw-spread accounts.
- Per side is charged twice; round turn covers opening and closing together.
- Always convert to the same basis before comparing brokers.
- Add commission to the spread cost to see the full cost per trade.
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