Definition
What is Commission?
A commission is a fee charged on each trade, usually a fixed amount per lot or contract, or a percentage of the position value, on top of the spread.
Trading costs come from two places: the spread, built into the price, and the commission, charged separately. Commissions are usually quoted per side, so a full trade (open and close) costs twice the quoted amount.
Forex and metals are usually charged per lot; crypto and some indices as a percentage of the notional value; futures per contract.
Commission matters most for short-term trading: on a small target, a fixed cost per trade eats a large share of the profit.
Example
Example: at $3.50 per lot per side, a 2-lot forex trade costs $7 to open and $7 to close, $14 in total. On a 10-pip winner worth $200, that is 7% of the gross profit.
At a prop firm
Current Axora Funded commissions per side: $3.50 per lot on forex and gold, 0.005% of notional on indices, 0.1% of notional on crypto, and $2.50 per futures contract ($0.75 on micros). The free trial and competition accounts trade with no commission.
Frequently asked questions
Does commission count towards the loss limits?
Yes. It is deducted from the trade result, so it affects equity and the limits.
Is commission charged on open or close?
On both: once when the position opens and once when it closes.