Comparing a Standard Account and a Raw Account With Real Numbers

[Fairman]

Comparing a Standard Account and a Raw Account With Real Numbers

Scenario: a trader takes 20 trades a week of 0.5 lots on EUR/USD. A standard account charges a 1.2-pip spread and no commission. A raw account shows a 0.1-pip spread plus a commission of 7 dollars per standard lot round trip.

Work it out per standard lot. Standard: 1.2 pips at 10 dollars is 12 dollars. Raw: 0.1 pip is 1 dollar, plus 7 dollars commission, which is 8 dollars.

Per 0.5-lot trade: standard 6 dollars, raw 4 dollars. Over 20 trades a week: standard 120 dollars, raw 80 dollars. The raw account saves 40 dollars a week, or about 2,080 dollars a year on this activity.

Now test the assumption. Average spreads in marketing are minimums. During news, rollover, or low liquidity, the raw spread may widen to 0.8 or 1.5 pips, while the commission stays at 7 dollars. If your average raw spread is actually 0.5 pips, the cost is 5 plus 7, or 12 dollars per lot, equal to the standard account.

For a swing trader taking four trades a month, the difference is a few dollars, and the simpler standard account is fine.

So the right choice depends on your trade count, your hours, and the real average spread.

Takeaway: calculate with your own volume and measured spreads, not the advertised minimums.

Practical step: log the spread at entry for your next twenty trades, and recompute the cost comparison.

[FXS HongKong Scalper]

For most scalpers, raw accounts are cheaper, as shown. The main exception is very small position sizes where commission rounding or minimum commission can make the raw account more expensive.