Lesson 4 / 7
Costs and brokers
Spreads and commissions look tiny per trade and quietly decide whether an active trader ends the year up or down. Learn what you're really paying — and what makes a broker worth trusting.
- ReadSpreads, fees and how brokers actually make money→
- ReadHow to choose a broker (without the marketing noise)→
- PracticeTrading cost calculator→
Quick check
1 / 2Two questions — get them right and the lesson is done.
The spread is…
About this lesson
The spread is the gap between the price you can buy at and the price you can sell at, and you pay it on every single trade. Some brokers add a commission per lot instead of widening the spread, which is often cheaper for active traders despite looking more expensive at a glance. Positions held overnight also accrue swap fees. Individually these are small; multiplied by trade frequency across a year they routinely decide whether an account finishes up or down.
Choosing a broker is mostly about two things: what it costs you, and whether you can get your money back out. Regulation is the second one. A broker authorised by a recognised regulator operates under rules on client fund segregation and dispute resolution, and the licence number can be checked on the regulator's own public register. That check takes two minutes and is the single highest-value thing you can do before depositing.
Key takeaways
- You pay the spread on every trade — it is the most frequent cost you face.
- Raw spread plus commission is often cheaper than a wide commission-free spread.
- Overnight swap fees accumulate on longer-held positions.
- Verify the licence on the regulator's register before you deposit anything.