Commission tiers: when does a scalper actually reach them?
Posted: Wed Oct 21, 2026 9:44 pm
Brokers advertise tiered commissions: lower rates for higher monthly volume. The headline rate is usually the best tier, which many retail traders never reach.
Example tier structure (typical, not from any specific broker):
- Under 100 lots/month: $7 round turn
- 100–500 lots: $6
- 500–2,000 lots: $5
- Over 2,000 lots: $4
A scalper trading 20 times a day at 0.5 lots trades 10 lots daily, around 200 lots a month (counting each round turn once). That's the $6 tier.
Questions worth asking:
- Is volume counted per side or round turn?
- Is the tier applied retroactively to the whole month or only to lots above the threshold?
- Does the tier reset monthly?
- Is volume pooled across accounts?
The danger is trading more to reach a tier. If extra trades have negative expectancy, the commission saving is smaller than the trading loss.
Has a commission tier ever made a real difference to your annual costs?
Example tier structure (typical, not from any specific broker):
- Under 100 lots/month: $7 round turn
- 100–500 lots: $6
- 500–2,000 lots: $5
- Over 2,000 lots: $4
A scalper trading 20 times a day at 0.5 lots trades 10 lots daily, around 200 lots a month (counting each round turn once). That's the $6 tier.
Questions worth asking:
- Is volume counted per side or round turn?
- Is the tier applied retroactively to the whole month or only to lots above the threshold?
- Does the tier reset monthly?
- Is volume pooled across accounts?
The danger is trading more to reach a tier. If extra trades have negative expectancy, the commission saving is smaller than the trading loss.
Has a commission tier ever made a real difference to your annual costs?