Practice material

Real brokers we use as worked examples

A lesson about cost lands better when the number in it belongs to a real firm. These 279 files exist for that reason and no other. Each one gives you a published spread to run through the arithmetic, an account ladder to read, and a licence list to practise interpreting. We do not rank them, score them or tell you to open an account with any of them — that is not what the school is for.

How to read these pages

Work the arithmetic yourself before you read our version of it. Take the spread, multiply by ten dollars a pip for one standard lot, and you have the cost of crossing the spread once. Then divide by a hundred to see what the same trade costs at the micro-lot size a beginner should actually be using. Every page below walks that calculation step by step with its own figure.

Supports the lesson · 138 examples

not assigned to a lesson

Supports the lesson · 129 examples

Choosing a broker on evidence

Read that lesson first →

These files support the broker-choice lesson. Use them to practise finding the contracting entity, opening the register source and noting what is still unverified — before you read any marketing claim.

Supports the lesson · 12 examples

Turning a spread into money

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You already know the spread is the gap between bid and ask. These firms are here so you can practise converting that gap into dollars before you ever fund an account.

ActivTradesPublished spread 0.5 pips. One standard lot costs $5.00 to cross; $0.05 at 0.01 lots. Ladder of 3 accounts. 1 licence line to read.Work it through →ATFXPublished spread not verified — this file is used for its account ladder instead. Ladder of 2 accounts. 1 licence line to read.Work it through →Capital.comPublished spread not verified — this file is used for its account ladder instead. Ladder of 3 accounts. 3 licence lines to read.Work it through →CMC MarketsPublished spread not verified — this file is used for its account ladder instead. Ladder of 2 accounts. 1 licence line to read.Work it through →Decode GlobalPublished spread 0.9 pips. One standard lot costs $9.00 to cross; $0.09 at 0.01 lots. Ladder of 3 accounts. 3 licence lines to read.Work it through →EightcapPublished spread not verified — this file is used for its account ladder instead. Ladder of 3 accounts. 4 licence lines to read.Work it through →EquitiPublished spread not verified — this file is used for its account ladder instead. Ladder of 5 accounts. 1 licence line to read.Work it through →IUX.comPublished spread 0.9 pips. One standard lot costs $9.00 to cross; $0.09 at 0.01 lots. Ladder of 4 accounts. 1 licence line to read.Work it through →Saxo BankPublished spread 0.9 pips. One standard lot costs $9.00 to cross; $0.09 at 0.01 lots. Ladder of 3 accounts. 6 licence lines to read.Work it through →tastyfxPublished spread 0.8 pips. One standard lot costs $8.00 to cross; $0.08 at 0.01 lots. Ladder of 2 accounts. 1 licence line to read.Work it through →TradeStation GlobalPublished spread 1.4 pips. One standard lot costs $14.00 to cross; $0.14 at 0.01 lots. Ladder of 2 accounts. 1 licence line to read.Work it through →XS.comPublished spread 1.1 pips. One standard lot costs $11.00 to cross; $0.11 at 0.01 lots. Ladder of 12 accounts. 7 licence lines to read.Work it through →

Why there is no league table here

A student who learns to compute cost can compare any two firms for themselves in under a minute, which is worth more than any list we could publish. So we teach the arithmetic and leave the choosing to you. The figures on these pages are taken from public record and from each firm's own published material; where we could not confirm something, the page says “not verified” rather than filling the gap with a plausible number. If you want the method rather than the examples, start with the bid, ask and spread lesson and then run your own numbers in the pip value calculator.

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