What commission per lot do Australian forex brokers charge?
Verdict
- Raw-spread accounts at ASIC-licensed brokers charge roughly $2.25 to $3.50 per standard lot per side; Pepperstone, our pick, charges USD 3.00 per side on cTrader and USD 3.50 on MT5, TradingView and its app (AUD 3.50 on an AUD account).
- Fusion Markets publishes the lowest commission in our data, $2.25 per side; FP Markets and Vantage charge US$3, IC Markets $3.50.
- Commission is only half the cost: Pepperstone's published 0.1-pip EUR/USD average puts a round-turn lot at $7 to $8, level with IC Markets and FP Markets once their spreads are added.
- Spread-only accounts, such as Pepperstone Standard, charge no commission and build the cost into a wider spread.
Commission on Australian forex accounts is charged per standard lot (100,000 units of the base currency), usually per side, so you pay it once to open and once to close. The published range among ASIC-licensed brokers we cover is $2.25 to $3.50 per side. What matters is commission plus spread, which is why we rank Pepperstone first despite not having the lowest commission.
Pepperstone's commission by platform and currency
Pepperstone's commission depends on where you trade and what currency your account is in. On a USD account it is USD 3.00 per side on cTrader (USD 6 round trip) and USD 3.50 per side on MT5, TradingView and its own platform. MT4 charges USD 7 per lot when the position opens rather than per side. An AUD account pays AUD 3.50 per side on MT5 (AUD 4.50 on gold), and MT4 charges AUD 7 per lot on opening. Other account currencies have their own rates: EUR 2.60, GBP 2.25, SGD 4.55 and HKD 28.17 per side.
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Published commissions at ASIC-licensed brokers
Currencies are as each broker states them; where a broker writes '$' without a currency, we repeat it as written.
| Broker | ASIC licence | Per side | Round trip | EUR/USD spread published |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fusion Markets (Zero) | AFSL 385620 | $2.25 | $4.50 | Not published for EUR/USD |
| FP Markets (Raw) | AFSL 286354 | US$3 | US$6 | 0.11 avg |
| Vantage (Raw ECN) | AFSL 428901 | $3 | $6 | From 0.0 |
| Pepperstone (Razor, cTrader) | AFSL 414530 | USD 3.00 | USD 6 | 0.1 avg |
| Pepperstone (Razor, MT5) | AFSL 414530 | USD 3.50 / AUD 3.50 | USD 7 / AUD 7 | 0.1 avg |
| IC Markets (Raw Spread) | AFSL 335692 | $3.50 | $7 | 0.01 avg |
Commission plus spread: the number to compare
We choose Pepperstone because its total is at the low end of the published figures, it lists four third-party platforms plus its own app, and it publishes averages, not just minimums, for both of its accounts.
- Pepperstone Razor on cTrader: $6 + 0.1 pips ($1) = $7 per round-turn EUR/USD lot.
- IC Markets Raw Spread: $7 + 0.01 pips ($0.10) = $7.10.
- FP Markets Raw: $6 + 0.11 pips ($1.10) = $7.10.
- Fusion Markets Zero: $4.50 + a EUR/USD spread it does not publish separately, so the total cannot be checked like for like.
Questions to ask about commission
- Is it per side or per round trip?
- Is it charged in my account currency, and at what rate?
- Does it differ by platform, as at Pepperstone?
- Is it charged on gold, indices and shares too, or only forex?
Sources
Terms as each broker publishes them on its own site.
Is Pepperstone's commission charged per side?
Yes on MT5, cTrader, TradingView and its own platform. On MT4 the full AUD 7 (or USD 7) per lot is charged when the trade opens.
Which Australian broker has the lowest forex commission?
In our data, Fusion Markets, at $2.25 per side on its Zero account. Compare total cost including spread before choosing.
Do Standard accounts charge commission on forex?
Not at Pepperstone: Standard has no FX commission and averages 1.1 pips on EUR/USD instead.
Margin FX is leveraged and carries a high risk of losing money rapidly; low commission does not change that. Commissions and spreads are as published by each broker and can change. Read the PDS and TMD. Not investment advice.