IC Markets vs Pepperstone on XAUUSD: cost and fill notes

[LondonScalper]

IC Markets vs Pepperstone on XAUUSD: cost and fill notes -- desk log, not affiliate copy.

Gold costs are where venue differences show up fastest for me: open spread, slippage into round numbers, and whether partials are common at my size. I log side-aware fill vs quote, and I separate quiet London from post-data chaos.

Compare apples
Account type, markup, commission, and symbol contract specs. A "tighter" headline spread with worse slips is not tighter. Contract size quirks also skew mental R if you are careless.

I re-check quarterly because products change. Last quarter's winner is not a marriage.

If you have parallel logs on gold across these two (or others), which field actually moved your choice?

Gold contract specs and margin on peak days also matter for scalp size math. A venue can look cheap per ounce until margin forces awkward lot steps. Put that in the checklist beside spread. Costs are multi-dimensional on XAU.