The true cost of trading: fees at 8 brokers compared (2026)
The headline spread is never the whole bill. How commissions, swap fees, withdrawal fees and inactivity fees actually compare across the 8 brokers we cover — sourced to each broker's own pricing pages.
Key takeaways
- Several "zero commission" brokers make it back through wider spreads — compare the all-in cost, not one headline number.
- Swap-free isn't always an opt-in Islamic account — Octa applies it by default, to every account.
- Inactivity and withdrawal fees rarely appear on the page a broker leads with — check them before you go quiet or cash out.
- A few figures below come from third-party trackers rather than the broker's own page — every one of those is flagged, not stated as fact.
Two brokers can advertise the same "spreads from 0.0 pips" and still cost you very differently once commission, overnight fees, withdrawals and inactivity are added up. Here's the full bill for all 8 brokers we cover, sourced to each one's own pricing page wherever we could reach it.
How this page was built
Fee schedules change without much notice, and not every broker states every figure clearly in one place. Where we couldn't confirm a number directly from the broker's own page, we've said so explicitly below rather than guessing — and we've marked those spots. Always check current terms before funding an account.
Why the headline spread isn't the whole bill
A broker's marketing leads with one number — usually its lowest spread. But four other costs shape what you actually pay: whether that low spread comes with a separate commission, how overnight/swap fees work if you hold a position, what a withdrawal costs you, and whether an inactivity fee can quietly eat your balance if you stop trading for a while.
| Broker | Commission | Swap / overnight fee | Withdrawal fee | Inactivity fee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exness | Free on Standard; ~$0.40–$7 per lot on Raw/Zero accounts | Standard nightly swap; auto swap-free status for eligible countries | None | None |
| eToro | None — spread-only | Nightly interest charge; roughly 3× on weekend rollovers | $5 on USD accounts ($30 min); free on GBP/EUR/DKK accounts | None (abolished May 2026) |
| FxPro | Free on standard accounts; $3.50 per lot per side on Elite | Standard financing charge; a swap-free option exists | Generally free (exceptions: Neteller/Skrill without trading, late PayPal refunds) | $15 one-off + $5/month after 6 months |
| XM | Free on Standard/Micro; $3.50 per lot per side (~$7 round turn) on Zero | Standard swap; swap-free account available | None generally; a small fee applies on bank-wire withdrawals under $200 (amount not published) | $10/month after 90 days |
| OctaFX | None — spread-only, no raw+commission tier | None — swap-free by default on every account | None | None |
| IC Markets | Free on Standard; $3.50 per lot per side on Raw Spread | Standard swap; dedicated Swap Free account available | Free (exceptions apply, e.g. FasaPay) | ~€/$/£10 per month after 6 months (EU policy) |
| Capital.com | None — spread-only on every account | Annualised "overnight fee" (~4%/year, prorated daily) | Free ($20 minimum on card withdrawals) | Not clearly stated on the current official page — verify before assuming either way |
| Plus500 | None — spread-only on every account | Per-position "overnight funding", varies by instrument | None charged by Plus500 directly; third-party figures for a monthly free allowance exist but aren't confirmed on the official page | Up to $10/month after 3 months, capped at the remaining balance |
Broker by broker
- Exness — Commission-free on the Standard account; the Raw Spread/Zero accounts charge a variable commission instead, roughly $0.40–$7 per lot depending on account and instrument. No withdrawal or inactivity fee, and eligible clients get swap-free status automatically rather than needing to opt in.
- eToro — No commission account at all — every eToro position is spread-only. Overnight fees apply nightly, jumping to roughly triple on the Wednesday-to-Thursday weekend rollover. Withdrawals cost $5 on dollar accounts (GBP/EUR/DKK accounts withdraw free), and the long-standing inactivity fee was scrapped in May 2026.
- FxPro — Standard accounts are spread-only; the Elite account trades commission ($3.50/lot/side) for tighter spreads. Most withdrawals are free, but Neteller/Skrill withdrawals before you've traded, and PayPal refunds requested late, can trigger a fee. FxPro is the only broker here with a flat inactivity charge — a $15 one-off plus $5 every month after six months quiet.
- XM — Same spread-only-vs-commission split as FxPro: free on Standard/Micro, $3.50 per lot per side (about $7 round turn) on the Zero account. No general withdrawal fee, though small bank-wire withdrawals under $200 do carry a charge XM doesn't publish a fixed figure for. Inactivity kicks in fastest here of any broker on this list — $10/month after just 90 days.
- OctaFX — The simplest fee structure on this list: spread-only pricing with no commission tier at all, no withdrawal fee, no inactivity fee, and — unusually — every account is swap-free by default, not as an Islamic-account opt-in. Because there's no raw-spread option, compare Octa's spreads directly against the all-in (spread + commission) totals of the other brokers for a fair comparison.
- IC Markets — Standard account is spread-only; the Raw Spread account pairs near-zero spreads with a $3.50 per lot per side commission, aimed at active and algorithmic traders. Withdrawals are free outside a couple of payment-method exceptions. IC Markets is explicit about its inactivity policy: roughly €/$/£10 per month after six months without a deposit, withdrawal or trade.
- Capital.com — Never charges a commission, on any account. Instead of a traditional swap it applies an annualised "overnight fee" (around 4%/year, applied daily) that can be sidestepped by closing positions same-day or using its 1× leverage mode. Withdrawals are free above a small card-withdrawal minimum. Its current official fee page doesn't clearly list an inactivity fee either way — don't assume a number until you've checked your own account's terms.
- Plus500 — Also commission-free on every account. Overnight funding is charged per position, calculated from trade size, price and an instrument-specific daily rate shown in-platform. Plus500 itself lists no standard withdrawal fee, though some comparison sites cite a monthly free-withdrawal allowance with a charge afterward — that specific figure wasn't confirmed on Plus500's own page, so verify it directly before relying on it. The inactivity fee is official and capped: up to $10/month after three months, never more than your remaining balance.
Figures we couldn't fully confirm
Four spots above rely partly on third-party trackers rather than the broker's own published page: XM's exact sub-$200 wire-withdrawal fee, FxPro's swap-free eligibility terms, Capital.com's inactivity-fee status, and Plus500's specific withdrawal-allowance figures. None of that changes the broader picture, but if one of those four details is the deciding factor for you, confirm it directly with the broker before funding an account.
How to actually compare, for your own trading style
- 1
Trade often? Weight commission and spread heaviest
If you open several positions a week, the combined spread-plus-commission cost compounds fast — it will dominate your total cost far more than any of the fees below it.
- 2
Hold positions overnight? Check the swap policy first
Swing and position traders pay financing costs every night a trade stays open. A slightly wider spread from a swap-free broker can easily beat a tight spread with weeks of accumulating swap.
- 3
Might go quiet for a while? Note the inactivity trigger
XM's 90-day trigger is far faster than FxPro's six months or IC Markets' six months — if life gets busy, that gap can matter.
- 4
Plan to withdraw often? Price in the withdrawal fee
A $5–$10 withdrawal fee is trivial on an occasional large payout, but adds up fast if you cash out small amounts frequently.
“The broker with the tightest spread on the homepage isn't automatically the cheapest broker for you. The cheapest broker is the one whose fee structure matches how you actually trade.”