AU forex broker spread tracker: live-recorded costs, updated monthly
A dated, recurring record of what ASIC-regulated forex brokers actually cost per trade. EUR/USD spreads recorded on live AUD accounts at five brokers (Pepperstone, FP Markets, IC Markets, Eightcap, Vantage), documented published pricing for the rest, converted to a comparable all-in round-turn cost per standard lot in AUD. Re-recorded monthly so the history shows who actually stays cheap. Current reading: July 2026.
Direct answer
July 2026 reading: Fusion Markets has the lowest all-in EUR/USD cost of any ASIC-regulated broker at roughly AUD 6.75 per standard-lot round turn (0.1 pip average raw spread + AUD 2.25 per side commission). FP Markets is second at ~AUD 7.00, with Pepperstone at ~AUD 8.00 carrying the strongest execution record of the raw-spread set. Spread-only accounts (Plus500 ~1.0-1.2 pips, AvaTrade ~0.9 pips) cost roughly AUD 9 to 15 per round-turn equivalent - simpler pricing, higher all-in cost for active traders.
Method in one line: spreads recorded on live AUD accounts at five ASIC-regulated brokers during the London-New York overlap, documented published pricing for the remainder, normalised to AUD per standard lot. Numbers are re-recorded monthly and the history is kept on this page, because a broker's spread on the month you check is less informative than whether it holds.
Current reading: July 2026
| Broker / account | Avg EUR/USD spread | Commission per side (1 lot) | Indicative round turn (AUD) | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fusion Markets Zero | 0.1 pips | AUD 2.25 | ~6.75 | Documented pricing |
| FP Markets Raw | 0.1 pips | AUD 3.00 | ~7.00 | Live account |
| Vantage Raw ECN | 0.0-0.1 pips | AUD 3.00 | ~7.00 | Live account |
| Pepperstone Razor | 0.1 pips | AUD 3.50 | ~8.00 | Live account |
| IC Markets Raw | 0.1 pips | ~AUD 3.50 | ~8.00 | Live account |
| Eightcap Raw | 0.0-0.1 pips | AUD 3.50 | ~8.00 | Live account |
| AvaTrade Standard | ~0.9 pips (all-in) | None | ~9-13 | Documented pricing |
| Plus500 | ~1.0-1.2 pips (all-in) | None | ~10-15 | Documented pricing |
Reading recorded July 2026 during the London-New York overlap. Spreads are averages, not minimums; both widen around news. Round-turn figures use USD 10 per pip per standard lot converted at prevailing AUD/USD. Vantage and IC Markets are ranked editorially only (no commercial partnership); see each review for access notes. CFD Service. Your capital is at risk.
Disclosure: SatoshiMacro may earn a commission if you open a broker account through links on this page, at no extra cost to you. Commissions never influence recorded numbers. See our full affiliate disclosure.
How these numbers are recorded
Three rules keep this tracker honest and comparable:
- Live accounts where held, documented pricing where not. Spreads for Pepperstone, FP Markets, IC Markets, Eightcap and Vantage are read from live AUD accounts during the London-New York overlap (the most liquid window, roughly 10pm to 2am AEST). Fusion Markets, Plus500 and AvaTrade figures use each broker's documented published pricing, cross-checked at review time. The Basis column marks which is which, so nothing is presented as tested when it was not.
- All-in, normalised to AUD. Every account type is converted to a single comparable number: total cost to open and close one standard lot of EUR/USD, in Australian dollars, including commission. This is the only fair way to compare a 0.1-pip-plus-commission raw account against a 1-pip spread-only account.
- Recorded monthly, history kept. Brokers can run sharp pricing for a launch quarter and drift afterwards. A single reading cannot show that; a dated series can. Each month's reading is appended to the historical record below.
For the deeper cost analysis behind these numbers, including standard-account comparisons and swap costs, see the lowest spread forex brokers ranking. To model your own pairs, lot sizes and frequency, use the total cost of trading calculator.
Raw vs standard accounts: reading the table
The table mixes two pricing models, and the right one depends on trading frequency. Raw accounts (Fusion Zero, FP Raw, Pepperstone Razor, IC Raw, Eightcap Raw, Vantage Raw) charge close to the interbank spread plus a fixed commission per lot: cheapest all-in for anyone trading regularly, and the only sensible choice for scalping or day trading. Spread-only accounts (Plus500, AvaTrade, and the standard tiers at the raw brokers) fold everything into a wider spread with no separate commission: simpler accounting, roughly AUD 3 to 8 more per round turn, tolerable at low frequency and expensive at high frequency.
At 20 trades a month, the gap between the cheapest and most expensive rows in the table is roughly AUD 100 to 170 per month in pure cost, before the market has given or taken anything. That number, multiplied across a year, is why cost ranks alongside regulation as the first broker-selection criterion on this site.
Historical record
Each month's reading is appended here. The series starts July 2026.
| Reading | Fusion Zero | FP Raw | Vantage Raw | Pepperstone Razor | IC Raw | Eightcap Raw | AvaTrade | Plus500 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jul 2026 | ~6.75 | ~7.00 | ~7.00 | ~8.00 | ~8.00 | ~8.00 | ~9-13 | ~10-15 |
Commission structures at the time of each reading are noted in the current-reading table above. If a broker changes commission, account structure, or availability between readings, the change is annotated here.
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Sources and primary references
Cost mechanics and regulatory claims are grounded in primary sources.
- Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) - the regulator overseeing the AFSLs of every broker in the table, verified on the ASIC Connect register.
- ASIC Product Intervention Order (April 2021) - the retail CFD framework, including the loss-rate disclosure regime referenced in the risk disclosure.
Live-account readings from the five AUD accounts held by the author; documented pricing verified against each broker's published rate card at the reading date. Last reading: July 2026.
Frequently asked questions
Which forex broker has the lowest spreads in Australia?
On the July 2026 reading, Fusion Markets has the lowest all-in cost among ASIC-regulated brokers: roughly AUD 6.75 per standard-lot round turn on EUR/USD, from a 0.1 pip average raw spread plus AUD 2.25 per side commission. FP Markets (~AUD 7.00) and Pepperstone (~AUD 8.00) follow. The distinction that matters is all-in cost, not headline spread: raw-spread accounts add a commission, and spread-only accounts hide the cost inside a wider spread, so this tracker normalises everything to AUD per round turn.
What is a good spread for EUR/USD?
On a raw or ECN account at an ASIC-regulated broker, 0.0 to 0.2 pips average during liquid hours is the competitive standard in 2026, with a commission of AUD 2.25 to 3.50 per side on top. On a standard spread-only account, 0.9 to 1.2 pips all-in is typical. Anything consistently wider than about 1.5 pips on EUR/USD, the most liquid pair in the world, means you are paying above market rate and the cost compounds with every trade.
Why do my broker's spreads look different from its advertising?
Three usual reasons. Advertised spreads are typically minimums or averages measured during the most liquid hours, while your trading may happen in thinner sessions where spreads widen. Spreads also widen sharply around news releases, sometimes by 5 to 10 times for a few seconds. And marketing pages quote the spread alone, while your real cost includes commission on raw accounts and swap on held positions. This tracker records averages during the London-New York overlap and states the all-in figure, which is why its numbers can differ from broker marketing.
How is the round-turn cost calculated?
Round-turn cost = (average spread in pips x pip value per standard lot) + (commission per side x 2), expressed in AUD. One pip on EUR/USD is USD 10 per standard lot, converted at the prevailing AUD/USD rate. A raw account at 0.1 pips + AUD 2.25 per side works out around AUD 6.75; a 1.0 pip spread-only account works out around AUD 15 at the same exchange rate. Model your own pairs and sizes with the free total cost of trading calculator on this site.
How often is this tracker updated?
Monthly. Each update re-records live spreads during the London-New York overlap on the live-account set, re-verifies published pricing for the remainder, and appends the month to the historical record below rather than overwriting it. The date in the title and the table caption always states the current reading month. If a broker changes its commission or account structure between readings, the change is noted in the history.
Do these costs apply to pairs other than EUR/USD?
The commission component does; the spread component does not. Commission per lot is the same across pairs at each raw-spread broker, but spreads scale with liquidity: AUD/USD typically runs slightly wider than EUR/USD, minor pairs wider again, and exotics much wider. Gold (XAU/USD) has its own spread structure. EUR/USD is used as the benchmark because it is the tightest, most comparable pair across every broker; relative rankings on EUR/USD hold approximately for the other majors.
