Fixed spreads and variable spreads: what's the catch on each?
Posted: Sun Nov 01, 2026 1:03 am
Fixed spread accounts promise the same cost at all times. Variable spread accounts float with the market. Each has a catch.
Fixed spreads tend to be wider than the average variable spread, since the broker must price in the worst conditions. They also come from market makers, and in fast markets the broker can widen them, or the execution turns into requotes and slippage, with the "fixed" spread remaining on the screen but the actual fill moving away.
Variable spreads are tighter on average. During quiet, liquid hours, they can be very cheap. During news and rollover, they widen dramatically, and the cost shows up directly.
For scalpers, the choice depends on when and how they trade. Someone trading only the peak London hours with a strategy that avoids news gets better results on variable. Someone trading around events, if the broker truly honors fixed pricing, can use a fixed account for predictable costs.
The test is empirical. Record the actual cost, including slippage and rejections, on both account types over the same period. The advertised spread isn't the metric. The all-in cost per round turn is.
One more factor is how the broker handles spread during rollover on fixed accounts. Some quietly widen anyway or suspend trading for a few minutes. Reading the terms for exceptions to the fixed spread guarantee shows how "fixed" the spread really is, and when the guarantee does not apply.
Which account type has delivered the lower real cost in the hours traded?
Fixed spreads tend to be wider than the average variable spread, since the broker must price in the worst conditions. They also come from market makers, and in fast markets the broker can widen them, or the execution turns into requotes and slippage, with the "fixed" spread remaining on the screen but the actual fill moving away.
Variable spreads are tighter on average. During quiet, liquid hours, they can be very cheap. During news and rollover, they widen dramatically, and the cost shows up directly.
For scalpers, the choice depends on when and how they trade. Someone trading only the peak London hours with a strategy that avoids news gets better results on variable. Someone trading around events, if the broker truly honors fixed pricing, can use a fixed account for predictable costs.
The test is empirical. Record the actual cost, including slippage and rejections, on both account types over the same period. The advertised spread isn't the metric. The all-in cost per round turn is.
One more factor is how the broker handles spread during rollover on fixed accounts. Some quietly widen anyway or suspend trading for a few minutes. Reading the terms for exceptions to the fixed spread guarantee shows how "fixed" the spread really is, and when the guarantee does not apply.
Which account type has delivered the lower real cost in the hours traded?