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Which UK forex broker has the lowest commission?
I’ve put Vantage at the top because it has the lowest commission of the FCA-regulated raw accounts we compare, at £1.00 per lot per side on GBP accounts, £2.00 round-turn. David Levy tested this in July 2026. HYCM follows at about £1.49 and Axi at £1.75 with native GBP billing. Commission is only half the cost, though: once the raw spread is added, Vantage is also the cheapest all-in at about £2.59 on one EUR/USD lot.
I’ve ranked the four brokers by the per-side commission we tested, not by their overall score. I put the all-in cost front and centre because a low commission does not tell the full story: a broker with a slightly higher fee and a tighter raw spread can end up cheaper all-in, and the table makes that trade-off clear.
- Vantage: £1.00 per side on GBP accounts, lowest here.
- HYCM: about £1.49 per side on a tight 0.1-pip raw spread.
- Axi: £1.75 native GBP, joint-tightest tested raw spread with HFM.
- Pepperstone: £2.25 GBP on MT4 and MT5, on a 0.1-pip spread.
Commission and all-in cost comparison table
A low commission means nothing if the spread is wide, so I’ve paired both numbers below and added the all-in cost for one standard lot of EUR/USD. The commission is what we measured per side, and the round turn is double that. If you trade a different size and want the all-in cost in GBP at, say, £1.00 per side, our trading calculators will work it out for you.
| # | Broker | Commission (per side) | Round turn (2 sides) | EUR/USD raw spread | All-in cost (1 lot EUR/USD) | Visit broker | More details |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Vantage#1 Lowest commission | £1.00 | £2.00 | 0.08 pips | about £2.59 | Visit Vantage | |
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| 2 |  HYCM | about £1.49 (US$2.00) | about £2.98 | 0.1 pips | about £3.72 | Visit HYCM | |
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| 3 |  Axi | £1.75 | £3.50 | 0.0 pips | about £3.50 | Visit Axi | |
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| 4 |  Pepperstone | £2.25 (MT4 and MT5) | £4.50 | 0.1 pips | about £5.24 | Visit Pepperstone | |
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| 5 |  Eightcap | £2.25 | £4.50 | 0.1 pips | about £5.24 | Visit Eightcap | |
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| 6 |  ThinkMarkets | £2.50 | £5.00 | 0.83 pips | about £11.11 | Visit ThinkMarkets | |
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Commissions are the tested per-side rate David Levy recorded on each broker’s FCA raw account in July 2026; where a broker prices in US dollars or euros the figure is converted at an indicative rate. Two brokers that appeared here until 1 August 2026 have been removed rather than repriced: Swissquote charges no FX commission at all and runs no raw account, so it does not belong on a commission ranking, and CMC Markets prices FX Active per US$100,000 of notional rather than per lot, which is not a per-lot commission and equals US$2.50 only at one notional. Raw spreads are the tested EUR/USD modal. All-in costs use a pip value of £7.36 per standard lot, computed from the exchange rate baked into this build (28 August 2026). A lower commission does not always mean a lower all-in: Axi’s £1.75 commission beats HYCM’s £1.49 once the tighter Axi spread is added, and Pepperstone, Eightcap, HFM and Tickmill all sit at £2.25 per side. Recompute at the live rate before you rely on any figure.
Click any card for the full review. I’ve ordered them by the per-side commission we captured, not by overall score, so a broker with a higher score can appear lower here if its commission is dearer. I’ve only included FCA-regulated raw accounts for CFD trading.
1. Vantage: £1.00 per side, the lowest here
CFDs carry high risk. Retail leverage is FCA-capped.
- All-in cost per lot
- about £2.59 (0.08 pips tested plus £1.00 per side)
- Trading platforms
- MT4, MT5, TradingView, own platform
- Minimum deposit
- £50
- Regulation
- Vantage Global Prime LLP (FRN 590299)
◎ Standout: the lowest tested commission of any FCA raw account here, £1.00 per lot per side on GBP accounts, and the cheapest all-in at about £2.59 on one EUR/USD lot.
Why higher here? Commission Fit weights the per-side commission on a raw account, which lifts Vantage above its #8 sitewide position. See the ranking method ↓
Why we recommend Vantage
Vantage Global Prime LLP (FRN 590299) charges the lowest commission of any FCA raw account on this page, £1.00 per lot per side on GBP accounts, and pairs it with a tested 0.08-pip EUR/USD spread. That works out at roughly £2.59 all-in for one standard EUR/USD lot, once the £2.00 round-turn commission and about £0.59 of spread are added.
The caveats are worth reading. EUR/GBP tested wide at 0.74 pips, which lifts its three-pair average to 0.34 and matters if you trade that cross rather than EUR/USD. GBP billing is the draw for pound-funded accounts, and the minimum deposit on a GBP account is £50.
Pros & cons
- Lowest GBP commission on the list
- EUR/USD tested at 0.08 pips on Raw
- GBP billing avoids conversion drag
- No cTrader on the UK entity
- EUR/GBP tested wide at 0.74 pips, lifting the three-pair average to 0.34
- Smaller UK brand presence
2. HYCM: low commission, tested tight spread
CFDs carry high risk. Retail leverage is FCA-capped.
- All-in cost per lot
- about £3.72 (0.1 pips tested plus £1.49 per side)
- Trading platforms
- MT4, MT5, own platform
- Minimum deposit
- US$20
- Regulation
- HYCM Capital Markets (UK) Limited (FRN 186171)
◎ Standout: the second-lowest per-side commission here, about £1.49, on a 0.1-pip EUR/USD raw modal, for roughly £3.72 all-in on one lot.
Why higher here? Commission Fit weights the per-side commission on a raw account, which lifts HYCM above its #22 sitewide position. See the ranking method ↓
Why we recommend HYCM
HYCM charges about £1.49 per side on its Raw account, the second-lowest tested commission on this page, on a tight 0.1-pip EUR/USD modal. Because the spread is tight as well, the all-in cost stays low at roughly £3.72 for one EUR/USD lot.
It is one of the longest FCA-authorised brokers in the set, with FSCS cover, running on MT4 and MT5. The commission is set in US dollars, so the sterling figure shifts slightly with the exchange rate, and the platform range is narrower than brokers like Pepperstone.
Pros & cons
- Second-lowest tested commission here, about £1.49 per side
- Tight 0.1-pip EUR/USD raw modal keeps the all-in low
- Long FCA-authorised record with FSCS cover
- Commission quoted in US dollars, so the pound figure varies
- Platform range limited to MT4 and MT5
- Confirm current UK account terms before funding
3. Axi: native GBP commission, tightest spread
CFDs carry high risk. Retail leverage is FCA-capped.
- All-in cost per lot
- about £3.50 (0.0 pips tested plus £1.75 per side)
- Trading platforms
- MT4, MT5
- Minimum deposit
- None published
- Regulation
- Axi Financial Services (UK) Limited (FRN 466201)
◎ Standout: a native £1.75 GBP commission, not the US-dollar rate quoted elsewhere, paired with a 0.0-pip EUR/USD modal, the tightest tested raw spread in our UK set alongside HFM.
Why higher here? Commission Fit weights the per-side commission on a raw account, which lifts Axi above its #13 sitewide position. See the ranking method ↓
Why we recommend Axi
Axi Financial Services (UK) Limited (FRN 466201) bills a native £1.75 per side on GBP accounts rather than the US-dollar rate quoted elsewhere, and its Pro account posted a 0.0-pip EUR/USD modal, the tightest tested raw spread in our UK set, level with HFM rather than clear of it. That puts one standard lot at about £3.50 all in, below HYCM once the spread is added back.
It suits MT4-first traders who want an EA-friendly setup at a low all-in price. Confirm the current commission on the Axi UK schedule before you open, as advertised rates move.
Pros & cons
- EA-friendly raw MT4 account
- Straightforward account lineup
- Established FCA entity
- Only the Pro account carries the raw spread; Standard is spread-only at 0.7 pips
- Thinner funding and fee documentation than the larger brokers
- Confirm the current commission schedule before you trade
4. Pepperstone: dearest fee here, strongest package
CFDs carry high risk. Retail leverage is FCA-capped.
- All-in cost per lot
- about £5.24 (0.1 pips tested plus £2.25 per side)
- Trading platforms
- MT4, MT5, cTrader, TradingView, own platform
- Minimum deposit
- £10
- Regulation
- Pepperstone Limited (FRN 684312)
◎ Standout: a £2.25 GBP commission, more than double Vantage's, and the highest all-in of the four ranked here at about £5.24; it holds its place on execution and platform range rather than on price.
Why lower here? Commission Fit weights the per-side commission on a raw account, rather than the all-round strengths behind Pepperstone's #1 sitewide position. See the ranking method ↓
Why we recommend Pepperstone
Pepperstone Limited (FRN 684312) charges more than double Vantage's commission and is the dearest of the four ranked here on both measures: £2.25 per side, and about £5.24 all in on one EUR/USD lot once its 0.1-pip tested raw spread is added. It ranks last on this page and first on our overall UK model, which is the trade-off in one line.
What the fee buys is GBP billing with no conversion on the commission, four platforms on a single account, and the execution record behind that overall rating. If you trade pairs beyond EUR/USD, compare the full spread table rather than the headline commission, since the raw spread on other pairs moves the all-in figure. The £2.25 per side is confirmed on GBP Razor accounts.
Pros & cons
- GBP commission billing, no conversion on the fee
- Four platforms on one account
- Strongest overall package of the four
- Commission is more than double Vantage's
- Highest all-in of the four ranked here, about £5.24
- No fixed-spread option
How commission (raw) accounts price
Raw accounts split the cost of trading in two. The spread stays close to the interbank rate, and the broker adds a fixed commission per lot. That is the execution model ECN brokers use: your orders fill at the market spread, and the broker earns its fee from the commission. I like the transparency: you see the raw market spread and a known fee, rather than a marked-up spread that hides the broker’s margin. The trap is assuming the lowest commission always wins. A broker with a slightly higher commission but a tighter raw spread can be cheaper overall. Commission-model all-rounders such as Admirals’ commission model publish a separate Zero-account rate, which this same all-in test applies to. Our full testing methodology is on the ratings page.
Commission is half the cost, spread is the other half
The clearest way to show why commission alone cannot rank a raw account is to put two brokers side by side where the cheaper commission loses. I’ve done that in the example below. One pip on a standard lot of EUR/USD is worth £7.36 at the rate baked into this build (28 August 2026).
| HYCM | Axi | |
|---|---|---|
| Commission, round turn | £2.98 | £3.50 |
| Tested EUR/USD spread | 0.1 pips | 0 pips |
| Spread cost on one lot | £0.74 | £0.00 |
| All-in | about £3.72 | about £3.50 |
HYCM bills £2.98 for the round turn against Axi’s £3.50, so on the commission line it wins by £0.52. But it still ends up dearer, because Axi’s Pro account tested at 0 pips on EUR/USD and adds nothing back, while HYCM’s 0.1 pips add £0.74. I’ve ordered the page by commission because that is the question readers arrive with; the all-in column is the answer they actually need, and the two do not agree.
Vantage is the exception that proves the rule: £2.00 round turn and a 0.08-pip spread, so it leads on both halves at about £2.59. I have added a per-trade calculator that converts a commission into pips and adds it to the spread, so you can see the all-in cost of a single trade.
Spread and Commission Cost
Rates as of Fri 28 Aug 2026, 5pm New York close
£6.74total cost of the trade
At 1.00 lots on EUR/USD, a 0.10-pip spread plus £6.00 round-turn commission costs £6.74. That commission is worth 0.82 pips, so the all-in cost is 0.92 pips and a no-commission account has to quote tighter than that to be cheaper.
Spread and commission costs are calculated from the figures you enter, so the result reflects your inputs rather than our own tested averages; the pip value uses our latest exchange rate.
- Value of one pip at 1.00 lot£7.36
- Spread cost£0.74
- Commission£6.00
- Commission expressed in pips0.82 pips
- All-in cost in pips0.92 pips
A lower commission headline does not guarantee a cheaper trade. The only way to know is to turn that commission into pips and add it to the spread. The calculator does that for one pair at a time. Enter a broker’s spread and its round-turn commission, and the all-in pip figure tells you which account really costs less. That is the number I would use to make the call.
I’ve linked our forex broker cost calculator so you can recompute on the pairs and sizes you trade. Commissions billed in US dollars or euros move with the exchange rate.
Hidden fees beyond commission
Commission and spread are the obvious costs, but I’ve flagged three quieter ones that add up. A currency-conversion charge applies when you trade an instrument priced in a currency other than your account base. An inactivity fee can kick in after months without a trade. A withdrawal fee can apply on some methods or below a threshold. None of these is unusual, and I’d check each on the broker’s schedule before assuming the lowest commission means the lowest total cost. To see the all-in figure at your own trade volume, run the numbers through our broker cost calculator.
GBP-base accounts and currency-conversion cost
A GBP-base account dodges conversion cost on GBP-denominated activity, but it still converts when you trade an instrument settled in another currency. If most of what you trade is priced in US dollars, a USD-base account can be cheaper even though GBP is your home currency. Match the account base to what you actually trade, not to where you live.
Compare brokers by the factor that decides it
Commission is one input. Start from the factor that decides it for you.
Cost decides it
The same trade costs different amounts on different account types. These lists rank on the all-in figure.
Your strategy decides it
Pick your trading software first, then compare the brokers that carry it.
The platform decides it
Pick your trading software first, then compare the brokers that carry it.
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FAQs
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About the author
Noam co-founded CompareForexBrokers in 2014 and has traded forex since the late 1990s. He leads the cost and execution testing behind the site: spreads, commissions and fill quality, worked as an all-in GBP total on the account a UK trader would really use. His bylines cover the spread, commission, ECN and execution pages he personally tests.