Trading costs
Why almost every spread comparison is wrong
Six reasons a spread comparison reaches the wrong conclusion, and the four-step comparison that works. The most commonly omitted variable…
Rebates
31 articles in this section.
Trading costs
Seven ways to cut your forex trading costs
Pick the right account type, trade the liquid hours, stop holding overnight without reason, collect a rebate — seven measures…
Trading costs
Vantage deposits and withdrawals: the same-name rule and the 50 USD minimum
Vantage states the rule other brokers let you discover the hard way: funds must be in the same account holder's…
Trading costs
XM deposits and withdrawals: My Wallet, the 2–5 day window and real costs
At XM your money sits in two places, not one — and that is behind almost every 'where are my…
Trading costs
Exness deposits and withdrawals: channels, timing and the real cost
Automatic 24/7 withdrawal solves only one of three legs. The other two are where your money actually leaks.
Regulation & markets
EC Markets review 2026: is EC Markets trustworthy?
EC Markets is headquartered in London, but most international clients contract with its Mauritius entity. Why that distinction decides your…
Regulation & markets
HFM review 2026: is HFM a trustworthy broker?
HFM publishes three licences across three continents — and a client in Vietnam is served by none of them. What…
Regulation & markets
IC Markets review 2026: is IC Markets trustworthy?
IC Markets runs three entities and only one signs your contract. What the ASIC licence does and does not cover,…
Regulation & markets
XM review 2026: is XM trustworthy?
XM holds four licences, and the one on the homepage is probably not yours. Which entity signs your contract, what…
Regulation & markets
Ultima Markets review 2026: is Ultima Markets trustworthy?
Ultima Markets holds four licences across four regions, and only one of them applies to you. How to find which…
Regulation & markets
VT Markets review 2026: is VT Markets trustworthy?
VT Markets holds three licences, but the ASIC one covers wholesale clients only. Which entity signs your contract, how to…
Regulation & markets
Vantage review 2026: is Vantage regulated?
Vantage holds five licences across five jurisdictions, but only one entity actually serves you. Which one it is decides how…
Trading costs
How to cost a forex trade in full
Spread plus commission plus swap, minus the rebate. A worked example on 2 lots of EUR/USD held overnight: $30 gross,…
Trading costs
EC Markets rebate: $38 a lot, and what comes with it
The rebate rises by exactly the markup added to the spread — $8 to $18 to $28 with each extra…
Trading costs
IC Markets rebate: four ways it differs from the rest
The rebate goes to an intermediary wallet rather than the trading account, account types differ sharply, and crypto is counted…
Regulation & markets
Transferring your account to a new IB: the process and the catches
A five-step process and four things to check first. Spread, leverage and trading conditions stay exactly as they were —…
Trading costs
Does a rebate make your spread worse?
A rebate sits in the IB commission layer, entirely separate from execution. How to verify your spread in ten minutes,…
Trading costs
What a forex rebate is, and how it works
A forex rebate returns part of the IB commission based on traded volume, not on profit or loss. It reduces…
Trading costs
Which broker pays the highest rebate — and why not to choose on it
The top rebate by instrument across four brokers. When one broker pays more on everything, the reason is usually that…
Trading costs
XM or HFM: the two with the lowest entry thresholds
XM pays more on every product but HFM starts from a tighter spread. And HFM publishes rebate figures for only…
Trading costs
Exness or Vantage: licences, entry thresholds and net cost
Vantage opens an ECN account at $50 where Exness asks $1,000. Both pay the rebate daily, straight into the trading…
Trading costs
Exness or XM: the figures side by side, not a ranking
XM pays more on all six products, in places three times as much. But the starting spread is 1.6 pips…
Trading costs
Vantage: Standard STP or RAW ECN, which is really cheaper
RAW ECN starts from 0.0 pips but pays $1.60/lot; Standard pays $6.12 on EUR/USD. The net-cost calculation comes out the…
Trading costs
Which HFM account to choose - and one inconsistency in the published data
HFM has three account types with a $0 minimum. But the summary quotes up to $18/lot while the account-type table…
Trading costs
XM pays the rebate into My Wallet: what changes and what to watch
XM is one of the few large brokers that pays into a separate wallet rather than the trading account. One…
Trading costs
Which Exness account to choose: the five types side by side
The rebate across Exness's five account types varies almost fivefold, from $3 to $14.40 a lot. But the high rebate…
Trading costs
Is a 100% rebate real? Taking the claim apart
The claim can be technically true and still completely misleading, depending on what follows the word "of". Four questions that…
Trading costs
Seven common misconceptions about trading rebates
A rebate is a simple mechanism surrounded by confusion, most of it created by how the industry advertises it. The…
Market analysis
XAU/USD gold rebates: four brokers by account type
Gold rebates differ by almost a factor of two between brokers on the same account tier. But for anyone holding…
Trading costs
When rebates arrive and where: eight brokers compared
Most forex brokers pay daily, but the destination differs: the trading account, the broker's own wallet, or an intermediary wallet.…
Trading costs
Forex broker rebates compared, instrument by instrument
Four brokers' rebate rates side by side on the same instruments in the same unit, USD per lot. Gold ranges…