As gold has gone into the stratosphere followed by a flash crash, traders’ interest has peaked since. For those looking to seize the opportunity, commission is the starting point to see which broker offers the best terms.
This quick guide aims to give you an idea of what the standard commissions are for a typical raw account, so you won’t pay more than you should.
Methodology
For an apples‑to‑apples comparison across brokers, we use live accounts with 16 brokers and look at commissions per side for a standard lot (100oz) of gold, in USD.
We found out that average commissions tend to cluster in a fairly tight band as brokers compete for low-cost trading.
Fee structure
Raw accounts charge a fixed fee per side when you open and close a trade. For example, a $3 commission per side means $6 in total for opening and closing a one-lot position.
Following the same retail forex convention from MT4 currency pairs, gold has a fixed commission per lot, but wider spreads often from 10 to 20 cents.
Commission range on gold
Minimum
Many brokers try to be competitive on the metal, often in line with their forex pairs. In this low band, you can look for around $2.25 to $3.00 per side as a realistic minimum.
For example, Fusion Markets mirror their FX fee structure in their aggressive offerings, with gold charging the same from $2.25, though additional costs may come from spread which depends on market condition and execution policy. FXGT, on the other hand, charges $2.50 on its ECN Zero account compared to $3 for FX pairs.
Maximum
At the higher end, some brokers combine wider spreads with a higher commission. For example, Axiory’s Nano and Zero accounts charge $6 per side, and MetaGold’s Elite has a $6 fee on top of spreads starting around $12, pushing the total cost above the average.
Dukascopy’s pricing is volume-based and starts on the pricier side, charging up to $5.75 (or $6.25 on MT4) a pop but can go half if you trade over $50 million.
A few brokers would charge more for metals than for majors, and this places the upper retail raw‑account commission band from $4 to $6 each way!
Average
In the middle, most brokers quote $3 to $3.5 per side, or $6 to $7 round trip which has been the industry benchmark for a while, just like EURUSD.
In this bracket sit brokers like FP Markets and FxPro, offering spreads around 10 to 15 points, and $3 and $3.5 respectively.
| Commission | Per side (USD) | Example brokers |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum | 2.25–3.00 | Fusion Markets, FXGT, ACY, TIOmarkets |
| Maximum | 3.50–6.00 | Axiory, Dukascopy, MetaGold |
| Average | 3.00–3.50 | FP Markets, FxPro, FXTM |
Wrapping up
For gold traders, the takeaway is that ‘cheap’ means commission under $3.5 per side. Any offering above this threshold needs to justify the extra cost with better execution or customer service.
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