Which brokers charge the lowest overnight swap fees?
Verdict
- Pepperstone is our overall pick for UAE traders who close positions within the day, but it does not publish swap rates we can rank, and its swap-free account is not open to UAE residents.
- For traders who hold overnight, the lowest swap is no swap: XS applies swap-free status automatically for UAE residents and says it adds no fee in its place, except on crypto (after 3 days) and shares.
- Equiti's UAE Swap Free Mini account charges neither swap nor admin fees on deposits up to $25,000, on majors, precious metals and indices.
- Other swap-free accounts replace swap with an admin fee: Plus500 UAE charges $2 to $30 a day by position size, and eToro charges daily fees after a 7-day grace period.
No broker in our data publishes its swap rates in a way that lets us rank them fairly, and rates change daily by instrument and direction. What we can compare is how each broker treats overnight positions for UAE residents, including who removes swap altogether and what replaces it. That leads to two answers, depending on whether you hold trades overnight.
If you close trades the same day: Pepperstone
Swap is charged only on positions held past the daily rollover. An intraday trader never pays it, so the costs that matter are spread and commission, and Pepperstone publishes both clearly: a 0.1-pip EUR/USD average on Razor plus $3.50 per side ($3.00 on cTrader), or 1.1 pips with no commission on Standard. UAE residents can hold the account in AED and fund it through Mashreq Bank or Barclays. The limit is plain: Pepperstone does not offer its swap-free account to UAE residents; it is limited to 23 listed countries. If you hold positions for days, read the next section before you choose.
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If you hold overnight: swap-free options for UAE residents
| Broker | Overnight approach | What replaces swap |
|---|---|---|
| XS | Swap-free applied automatically, MT4 and MT5 | Nothing, per XS; crypto pays swap after 3 days, shares from day one |
| Equiti (UAE) | Swap Free Mini on MT5 | No swap or admin fee on deposits up to $25,000 |
| Capital.com | Swap-free on request (no open trades) | Admin fees and grace period not published |
| Plus500 (UAE) | Swap-free account | Daily admin fee from $2 to $30 by position size |
| eToro | Islamic account, $1,000 minimum | Daily admin fees on CFDs after a 7-day grace period |
| Pepperstone | Standard swaps for UAE residents | Swap-free not offered in the UAE |
Reading a swap-free offer properly
A swap-free label can hide a fee that costs more than the swap it replaces. Pepperstone's own swap-free terms, for the countries where it offers them, show how this works: after a position has been open for 5 days, an admin charge of $100 per standard lot applies on FX and precious metals. IC Markets, which our data does not list as accepting UAE residents, publishes a flat holding fee of $11 per lot on EUR/USD after a grace period. Before you commit, ask three things in writing: how many days pass before any fee applies, which instruments are excluded, and whether spreads are wider on the swap-free version.
Checking swap before you hold a trade
- Open the instrument's specification in your platform and note the long and short swap values.
- Multiply by your position size and the number of nights you expect to hold the trade.
- Compare that total with the spread and commission you paid to open the trade.
- If the overnight cost dominates, compare a swap-free account from the table above.
Sources
Swap and swap-free terms from broker pages.
Does Pepperstone offer swap-free trading in the UAE?
No. Its swap-free account is limited to residents of 23 listed countries, and the UAE and Saudi Arabia are not among them.
Is a swap-free account always cheaper?
Not always. Some brokers replace swap with a daily or per-lot admin fee, which can exceed the swap on a long hold. XS and Equiti's Swap Free Mini say they charge neither, within their stated limits.
When is swap charged?
On positions still open at the broker's daily rollover. A trader who closes every position before then does not pay it.
CFDs are complex, leveraged products with a high risk of losing money quickly, and holding them overnight adds financing costs. Swap and admin-fee terms are as brokers publish them and change often. This is not investment or religious advice.