Which account type is best for active traders, standard or raw spread?
Verdict
- For active traders, a raw-spread account is usually the cheaper choice; on Pepperstone's published averages, Razor costs about $7 to $8 per lot of EUR/USD against $11 on Standard.
- The saving scales with volume: about $60 to $80 a month at 20 lots, and $300 to $400 at 100 lots.
- In the UAE, Razor also unlocks MT4 and TradingView, which Pepperstone's Standard account does not offer there.
- Standard still suits traders who want one all-in price per trade; Pepperstone says its cost is a 1-point mark-up inside the spread.
Raw spread, for almost anyone who trades often. The commission looks like an extra charge, but it replaces a wider spread that costs more per lot. We use Pepperstone's own numbers to show the gap, because it publishes averages for both account types and lets UAE residents choose either from $10.
The short answer, using Pepperstone's numbers
Pepperstone's Standard account averages 1.1 pips on EUR/USD with no commission, which is about $11 for a full lot opened and closed. Razor averages 0.1 pips plus commission: about $8 a lot on MT4, MT5, TradingView or the Pepperstone platform, and about $7 on cTrader, where forex commission is $3.00 per side. The same pattern holds on other majors: GBP/USD averages 0.2 pips on Razor against 1.2 on Standard, and USD/JPY 0.3 against 1.3. Pepperstone describes Standard pricing as a 1-point mark-up on forex built into the spread, so the one-pip gap is the whole difference.
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Monthly cost by trading volume
EUR/USD, USD account, published averages, positions closed the same day:
| Lots per month | Standard ($11/lot) | Razor on MT5 ($8/lot) | Razor on cTrader ($7/lot) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | $55 | $40 | $35 |
| 20 | $220 | $160 | $140 |
| 50 | $550 | $400 | $350 |
| 100 | $1,100 | $800 | $700 |
Platform access differs by account in the UAE
On Pepperstone's UAE site the two accounts do not share the same platforms. Standard runs on the Pepperstone web platform and app, MT5 and cTrader. Razor runs on all of those plus MT4 and TradingView. If your expert advisors are written for MT4, or you place trades from TradingView charts, the decision is already made for you.
When Standard is the better fit
- You prefer one number per trade and do not want to reconcile commission lines in your statement.
- You trade a few small positions a month, where the dollar difference is a few dollars.
- You trade mainly index CFDs, where Pepperstone charges no commission on either account, though its Razor index spreads are still published slightly tighter (GER40 averages 1 point on Razor against 1.3 on Standard, on its Australian fee page).
How other brokers price the same choice
The trade-off is similar elsewhere. FP Markets publishes 1.21 pips on Standard against 0.11 plus $3 per side on Raw, so Raw saves about $5 a lot. XS publishes its Elite account at 0.1 pips plus a $6 round turn, but asks for $500 to open. Capital.com does not publish an EUR/USD average in our data, so we cannot run the same sum for it.
Sources
Spreads and commissions as published.
At what volume does a raw account start paying off?
From the first lot, on Pepperstone's averages: Razor is about $3 to $4 cheaper per EUR/USD lot than Standard. The gap only becomes noticeable in dollars once you trade regularly.
Can I hold a Standard and a Razor account at the same time?
Pepperstone's UK site says you can hold several account types at once. Ask Pepperstone's UAE team to confirm for your account before you rely on it.
Is the minimum deposit different for Razor?
No. Pepperstone's UAE site lists minimum funding of $10 or the local equivalent for both account types.
CFDs and margin forex are complex, high-risk, leveraged products, and active trading multiplies both costs and potential losses. Cost estimates use published averages and assume no overnight swap. Please treat this as education, not advice.