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Which forex broker has the lowest spread in the UK?
Vantage is the cheapest FCA-regulated raw account for UK traders once commission is added to the spread: a tested 0.08-pip EUR/USD spread and the lowest £1.00-per-side commission, about £2.59 all-in on one standard lot. Measured modal EUR/USD spreads in our July 2026 testing averaged 0.24 pips across 15 raw-pricing accounts and 1.13 pips across 24 standard accounts at FCA-regulated brokers. Axi and HYCM follow. On the raw spread alone, Axi and HFM are tightest at 0.0 pips EUR/USD, but the commission is what decides the real cost.
Axi and HFM tie on the tightest tested raw spread, 0.0 pips EUR/USD, but Vantage wins the all-in figure: its £1.00 GBP commission is less than half what most raw accounts charge, so a near-identical spread costs far less across the round turn.
The eight raw accounts below are ranked on the all-in cost of one standard lot of EUR/USD, the tested raw spread plus the round-turn commission, on the raw account a UK trader would open. The tightest raw spreads (Axi and HFM at 0.0 pips) do not win outright once each commission is added, which is why Vantage leads. Each name jumps to its full card below, and the comparison table covers the same eight-broker field. To price a trade before you open it, free forex trading calculators cover spread cost, commission and pip value in GBP.
- Vantage: cheapest all-in, about £2.59 on one lot.
- Axi: tightest tested raw spread, 0.0 pips EUR/USD.
- HYCM: low £1.49 commission on a 0.1-pip raw spread.
- HFM: 0.0-pip raw spread, about £4.50 all-in.
- Eightcap: second-tightest three-pair average of the eight, 0.13 pips.
- Pepperstone: 0.1-pip Razor spread, about £5.24 all-in.
- Tickmill: 0.1-pip Raw spread, about £5.24 all-in.
- Admirals: 0.1-pip Zero spread, tiered commission.
Lowest spread broker comparison table
The table ranks eight raw accounts on the all-in cost of one standard lot of EUR/USD, the tested modal spread plus the round-turn commission, on the account a UK trader would open. The tested average across all three pairs we record, EUR/USD, GBP/USD and EUR/GBP, is shown alongside. Modal spreads were recorded on live UK accounts by David Levy in July 2026. A 0.1 pip raw spread on a 100,000 unit lot is about £0.80 of spread cost, which you can calculate pip value for any pair.
| Rank | Broker (FRN) | Account | Tested avg (3 pairs) | Commission (per side) | All-in (1 lot EUR/USD) | Visit broker |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Vantage (FRN 590299)#1 Lowest measured spread | Raw ECN | 0.34 pips0.08 / 0.2 / 0.74 | £1.00 | about £2.59 | Visit Vantage |
| 2 |  Axi (FRN 466201) | Proraw | 0.10 pips0.0 / 0.1 / 0.2 | £1.75 | about £3.50 | Visit Axi |
| 3 |  HYCM (FRN 186171) | Raw | 0.37 pips0.1 / 0.4 / 0.6 | about £1.49 (US$2.00) | about £3.72 | Visit HYCM |
| 4 |  HFM (FRN 801701) | Zeroraw | 0.17 pips0.0 / 0.1 / 0.4 | about £2.25 (US$3.00) | about £4.50 | Visit HFM |
| 5 |  Eightcap (FRN 921296) | Raw | 0.13 pips0.1 / 0.2 / 0.1 | £2.25 | about £5.24 | Visit Eightcap |
| 6 |  Pepperstone (FRN 684312) | Razorraw | 0.17 pips0.1 / 0.2 / 0.2 | £2.25 (MT4 and MT5) | about £5.24 | Visit Pepperstone |
| 7 |  Tickmill (FRN 717270) | Raw | 0.30 pips0.1 / 0.3 / 0.49 | about £2.25 (US$3.00) | about £5.24 | Visit Tickmill |
| 8 |  Admirals (FRN 595450) | Zeroraw | 0.37 pips0.1 / 0.5 / 0.5 | Volume tiered | Not priceable on a tiered rate | Visit Admirals |
Modal spreads recorded on live UK accounts by David Levy in July 2026, across EUR/USD, GBP/USD and EUR/GBP. All-in uses a pip value of £7.42 per standard lot of EUR/USD, computed from the exchange rate baked into this build (20 July 2026); commissions billed in US dollars are converted at the rates recorded in the tested capture. Ranks 5 to 7 land on the same all-in figure and are ordered by the tighter three-pair average. Admirals is ranked eighth on its spread average alone: it publishes its Zero commission only as a volume-tiered US-dollar range, US$1.80 to US$3.00 per side, so there is no single rate to add and this table will not estimate one. Spreads move with the market, so treat every figure as a July 2026 snapshot.
On the raw spread alone the order differs: Axi and HFM tie tightest at 0.0 pips EUR/USD, ahead of Vantage at 0.08 pips, with Pepperstone, Eightcap, HYCM and Tickmill at 0.1 pips. The all-in figure is what the ranking uses, because the commission has to be added for the true cost, and that is why Vantage, with the lowest £1.00 commission, leads the all-in table while Axi and HFM lead on the spread alone.
Across all three pairs the picture shifts once more. Vantage quotes EUR/GBP at a wide 0.74 pips, which lifts its three-pair average to 0.34 and leaves Axi tightest of the eight at 0.10. Vantage still wins the ranking, because that ranking prices one lot of EUR/USD, but a trader who works EUR/GBP rather than EUR/USD should read the average column before following the headline order.
Not every FCA broker reaches this tightest tier. ThinkMarkets advertised near-zero raw pricing but tested wider at 0.92 pips across the three pairs, and CMC Markets (0.75 pips) and FxPro (0.62 pips) sit above the tightest raw accounts on tested spreads. Swissquote prices above the industry average as a safety-led rather than low-cost choice. For the full FCA field beyond the tightest tier, the best forex brokers guide ranks every broker we cover.
1. Vantage: lowest all-in raw cost
CFDs carry high risk. Retail leverage is FCA-capped.
- All-in cost per lot
- about £2.59 (0.34 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 cheapest all-in raw account tested here, pairing a 0.08-pip EUR/USD modal with a £1.00 GBP commission, less than half what most raw accounts charge per side.
Why higher here? Spread Fit weights the tested raw spread and its all-in cost, which lifts Vantage above its #8 sitewide position. See the ranking method ↓
Why we recommend Vantage
Vantage posts the lowest all-in cost of any raw account we tested on this page, about £2.59 to trade one EUR/USD lot. That comes from pairing a 0.08-pip EUR/USD modal with a £1.00 GBP commission per side, less than half what most raw accounts charge, billed in pounds so there is no currency-conversion drag.
The same raw pricing runs across MT4, MT5 and TradingView on an FCA-authorised entity trading since 2009. The main caveat is brand familiarity rather than cost: Vantage has a smaller UK presence than IG or CMC. The minimum deposit on a GBP account is £50.
Pros & cons
- Lowest all-in cost tested here, about £2.59 per EUR/USD lot
- £1.00 GBP commission per side, the lowest on this page
- Raw pricing on MT4, MT5 and TradingView, billed in pounds
- Smaller UK brand presence than IG or CMC
- No cTrader on the UK entity
- Raw commission suits active traders more than occasional ones
2. Axi: joint-tightest tested raw spread
CFDs carry high risk. Retail leverage is FCA-capped.
- All-in cost per lot
- about £3.50 (0.10 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 0.0-pip EUR/USD modal, joint-tightest on this page with HFM, and a native £1.75 GBP commission that keeps the all-in second-lowest.
Why higher here? Spread Fit weights the tested raw spread and its all-in cost, which lifts Axi above its #13 sitewide position. See the ranking method ↓
Why we recommend Axi
Axi records a 0.0-pip EUR/USD modal on its Pro account, the tightest tested raw spread on this page and level with HFM rather than ahead of it, paired with a native £1.75 GBP commission per side. That keeps its all-in cost second-lowest here at about £3.50 for one EUR/USD lot, just behind Vantage.
It is a clean raw MT4 and MT5 setup that suits expert advisors and automation, on an established FCA-authorised entity. This is a cost-led rather than feature-led broker: there is no cTrader, and its funding and fee documentation is thinner than the larger names, so confirm the current schedule before you trade.
Pros & cons
- Joint-tightest tested raw spread here with HFM, a 0.0-pip EUR/USD modal
- Native £1.75 GBP commission per side
- Clean raw MT4 and MT5, well suited to EAs
- All-in cost sits just above Vantage
- No cTrader on the UK entity
- Thinner funding and fee documentation than the larger brokers
3. HYCM: low commission on a tight raw spread
CFDs carry high risk. Retail leverage is FCA-capped.
- All-in cost per lot
- about £3.72 (0.37 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: a 0.1-pip EUR/USD modal on the Raw account with one of the lowest per-side commissions here, about £1.49, for the third-cheapest all-in figure.
Why higher here? Spread Fit weights the tested raw spread and its all-in cost, which lifts HYCM above its #22 sitewide position. See the ranking method ↓
Why we recommend HYCM
HYCM pairs one of the lowest per-side commissions on this page, about £1.49, with a tight 0.1-pip EUR/USD modal on its Raw account, for an all-in cost near £3.72 per lot. That is the third-cheapest figure here, from a broker with one of the longest FCA-authorised records in the set.
The commission is quoted in US dollars, so the pound figure moves a little with the exchange rate, and the platform range is narrower than the leaders, limited to MT4 and MT5. For a cost-led trader who values a long regulatory track record, it is a strong third pick.
Pros & cons
- Third-lowest all-in cost here, about £3.72 per EUR/USD lot
- Tight 0.1-pip EUR/USD modal on the Raw account
- Long FCA-authorised record with FSCS cover
- Commission quoted in US dollars, so the pound figure varies
- Platform range limited to MT4 and MT5
- All-in cost sits above Vantage and Axi
4. HFM: zero-pip spread, dollar-billed commission
CFDs carry high risk. Retail leverage is FCA-capped.
- All-in cost per lot
- about £4.50 (0.17 pips tested plus £2.25 per side)
- Trading platforms
- MT5, own platform
- Minimum deposit
- £0
- Regulation
- HF Markets (UK) Ltd (FRN 801701)
◎ Standout: a 0.0-pip EUR/USD modal that ties Axi for the tightest spread on this page, with the all-in held at about £4.50 by a commission billed in US dollars rather than pounds.
Why higher here? Spread Fit weights the tested raw spread and its all-in cost, which lifts HFM above its #17 sitewide position. See the ranking method ↓
5. Eightcap: the second-tightest three-pair average here
CFDs carry high risk. Retail leverage is FCA-capped.
- All-in cost per lot
- about £5.24 (0.13 pips tested plus £2.25 per side)
- Trading platforms
- TradingView
- Minimum deposit
- £100
- Regulation
- Eightcap Group Ltd (FRN 921296)
◎ Standout: the second-tightest three-pair average on this page at 0.13 pips, behind Axi at 0.10, on a £2.25 GBP commission, which separates it from the Razor account below on an otherwise identical all-in of about £5.24.
Why higher here? Spread Fit weights the tested raw spread and its all-in cost, which lifts Eightcap above its #20 sitewide position. See the ranking method ↓
6. Pepperstone: Razor raw pricing billed in pounds
CFDs carry high risk. Retail leverage is FCA-capped.
- All-in cost per lot
- about £5.24 (0.17 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 0.1-pip EUR/USD modal on the Razor account with a £2.25 commission billed natively in pounds, for an all-in of about £5.24 that matches Eightcap above on a slightly wider three-pair average.
Why lower here? Spread Fit weights the tested raw spread and its all-in cost, rather than the all-round strengths behind Pepperstone's #1 sitewide position. See the ranking method ↓
7. Tickmill: raw account on a wider tested average
CFDs carry high risk. Retail leverage is FCA-capped.
- All-in cost per lot
- about £5.24 (0.30 pips tested plus £2.25 per side)
- Trading platforms
- MT4, MT5
- Minimum deposit
- US$100
- Regulation
- Tickmill UK Ltd (FRN 717270)
◎ Standout: a 0.30-pip tested average across the three pairs, wider than the raw accounts above it, on a commission worth about £2.25 per side once converted from US dollars.
8. Admirals: tiered commission on the Zero account
CFDs carry high risk. Retail leverage is FCA-capped.
- All-in cost per lot
- Not priceable on a tiered rate (0.37 pips tested plus Volume tiered per side)
- Trading platforms
- MT4, MT5, own platform
- Minimum deposit
- £250
- Regulation
- Admiral Markets UK Ltd (FRN 595450)
◎ Standout: a 0.37-pip average across the three pairs, the widest in this table alongside HYCM. Its commission is published only as a volume-tiered US-dollar range, US$1.80 to US$3.00 per side, so there is no single rate to add and no all-in figure this page can stand behind.
Why higher here? Spread Fit weights the tested raw spread and its all-in cost, which lifts Admirals above its #16 sitewide position. See the ranking method ↓
How we measure spreads
Our spread figures are the modal values David Levy recorded on live UK accounts across three trading days in July 2026, for EUR/USD, GBP/USD and EUR/GBP, on the raw account a UK trader would open, then read alongside the per-side commission for the all-in figure. The average column carries all three pairs. The all-in cost is the tested spread cost plus the round-turn commission on one standard lot of EUR/USD. For the scoring weights and the full method, see how we test brokers.
How to choose a low-spread forex broker
Low spread alone does not make a broker cheap. A raw or zero account shows a spread near zero and charges a commission; a standard account shows a wider spread and charges none. Match the account to how you trade. Frequent traders usually come out ahead on a raw account because the commission is fixed while the spread saving repeats on every trade, and for the highest-frequency style the ranked field of scalping brokers applies the same all-in cost test with an explicit scalping-permitted check. Occasional traders often prefer a standard account for the simpler single number. If a predictable cost matters more than the tightest average, fixed spread brokers hold one quoted spread through normal market conditions.
What is a zero (raw) spread account?
A raw account passes the interbank spread through with little or no markup, then charges a separate commission per lot. The spread can sit near 0.0 pips on EUR/USD in liquid conditions. That cost has not disappeared; it has moved into the commission line, which is why a raw account only makes sense once you compare the all-in figure. A genuinely raw spread with a separate commission is ECN execution, where orders reach the market rather than a dealing desk.
Spread plus commission, the all-in cost
This is the calculation most low-spread lists skip, and the reason a tight spread alone settles nothing. One pip on a standard lot of EUR/USD is worth £7.42 at the rate baked into this build (20 July 2026), so the tightest tested spreads here, the 0.0 pips Axi and HFM both record, cost nothing per lot on their own. What separates those two accounts is the commission: Axi charges £3.50 for the round turn against HFM’s £4.50, and that gap is the entire difference between about £3.50 and about £4.50 on an identical trade.
Scale it to a working month and the split is the point. At 10 standard lots of EUR/USD:
| Broker | Spread cost | Commission | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vantage | £5.94 | £20.00 | £25.94 |
| Axi | £0.00 | £35.00 | £35.00 |
| HYCM | £7.42 | £29.80 | £37.22 |
The spread column is the smaller number in every row, and on the 0.0-pip Axi account it is nothing at all. Almost the whole bill is commission, which is why ranking raw accounts on spread alone ranks them on the wrong half of the cost. Price your own volume below.
Spreads tested July 2026 · FX updated 00:03 BST, 20 July 2026
| # | Broker | Monthly cost |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Axi | £44.14 |
| 2 | Vantage | £51.59 |
| 3 | Eightcap | £55.75 |
| 4 | Pepperstone | £59.09 |
| 5 | HFM | £60.81 |
| 6 | HYCM | £62.17 |
| 7 | Tickmill | £71.23 |
| 8 | FxPro | £104.39 |
| 9 | ThinkMarkets | £125.85 |
Round-turn cost at your volume: average tested spread across EUR/USD, GBP/USD and EUR/GBP, plus each broker's commission on raw accounts. Standard accounts price spread-only.
The ordering there will not match the table above, and both are right. The table prices EUR/USD on its own; the calculator averages the three pairs we test, so Axi’s 0-pip EUR/USD and its tight showing on the other two put it ahead over a basket, while Vantage wins the single EUR/USD lot. Which one applies depends on the pairs you actually trade.
Run your own numbers with our forex broker cost calculator, which draws on the 27 FCA-regulated brokers we test and ranks those with a comparable raw account on the same tested spreads.
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About the author
Justin Grossbard is the co-founder and CEO at CompareForexBrokers. He has traded forex since 1998, leads UK broker research and has personally reviewed every FCA-regulated broker on this site. His work has appeared in Forbes, Kiplinger and Finance Magnates, and he holds a Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) and a Master of Marketing.