Brokers with low spreads, November 2026

The spread is the gap between the price you can sell at and the price you can buy at, quoted in pips. It is a cost you pay the moment you open a position, before the market moves at all.

An advertised figure like "from 0.0 pips" is close to meaningless without three things attached: which instrument, which account type, and how the figure was measured. A 0.0 pip quote on a major pair during the London session, on an account that charges commission separately, describes a different cost from the same number on an exotic pair at rollover.

Minimum spread

The tightest figure seen, usually on the most liquid pair at the busiest hour. This is the number marketing quotes.

Average spread

The mean across a stated window. More useful, and only comparable when two firms measured the same instrument over the same period.

Commission

A separate charge, normally per lot per side. A round turn costs twice the quoted figure, which is why a "raw" spread account is not automatically cheaper.

Swap

Charged or paid for holding a position past the daily rollover. Irrelevant to a day trader, decisive for anyone holding for weeks.

Slippage

The difference between the price you asked for and the price you got. Not part of the spread, and often larger than it when a market moves fast.

Account naming is marketing, not a standard. Two firms can use the word "ECN" for arrangements that differ in how orders actually reach a market. What follows describes what the labels usually mean, so you can ask the right question rather than trust the name.

Raw or zero spread

Quotes passed through with little or no markup, with the firm's revenue coming from commission instead. Cheaper only if the commission is smaller than the markup it replaced.

ECN

Orders meet other participants' orders in a pool. Genuine implementations usually show depth of market, so ask to see it.

STP

Orders are routed to one or more liquidity providers. The spread may carry a markup, and the routing rules are rarely published.

Standard

Costs are inside the spread, with no separate commission. Simpler to compare and frequently the cheaper choice at small trade sizes.

Professional or VIP

Tighter pricing in exchange for volume or balance requirements. In several jurisdictions, accepting professional classification also means giving up retail protections, including the statutory leverage cap and access to some compensation schemes.

The research hub publishes no spread or commission field, so this page cannot rank firms by cost and does not try to. These steps produce a comparison you can defend, using the same instrument and the same clock for both firms.

1. Pick one instrument and one account type on each side. A comparison across different pairs is not a comparison.
2. Record the spread at the same moment on both, then again at a quiet hour and again just after a scheduled data release.
3. Add the commission for a round turn, per side, at the lot size you actually trade.
4. Add the swap for the holding period you actually use, in both directions.
5. Place a market order of your normal size on a demo and compare the fill price to the price you clicked. This is where a tight advertised spread often stops being tight.
6. Check the withdrawal fee and any inactivity fee, which sit outside trading cost entirely and can dwarf it for a small account.