Prop Firms With the Lowest Spreads and Commissions, Checked

Key takeaways

No page-1 competitor on this topic prints a single checkable cost number; every one calls its pricing “tight” or “low cost” and stops there.

Read the full summary

No page-1 competitor on this topic prints a single checkable cost number; every one calls its pricing “tight” or “low cost” and stops there. We read each of 18 prop firms’ own published rate cards instead, and keep forex/CFD and futures in two separate tables because a floating forex spread and a fixed futures commission are not the same unit. On EURUSD, The5ers publishes the lowest round-turn commission at $4.00 a lot; City Traders Imperium is the only forex firm here that also publishes a genuine average spread, 0.1 pips. On futures, Apex Trader Funding is cheapest on ES at $3.10 round turn, but only on its Tradovate or WealthCharts routing, not its own Rithmic default. Three commission-free accounts, Alpha Capital Group Standard, FXIFY All-In and AudaCity FTP, publish no average spread at all, so their real cost cannot be checked and they are not ranked.

Freshness: checked October 2, 2026. Firms change commission schedules and promo pricing without notice; re-check before you buy. Each firm’s Trustpilot figure carries its own read date.

Quick picks for the lowest spreads and commissions

• Lowest forex commission per EURUSD lot: The5ers, $4.00 round turn, every program.
• Lowest futures ES commission: Apex Trader Funding, $3.10 round turn, Tradovate or WealthCharts only.
• Lowest MES commission: Apex Trader Funding, $1.02 round turn on Rithmic.
• The only forex firm publishing an average EURUSD spread: City Traders Imperium, 0.1 pips.
• Best futures firm when you count data fees: Top One Futures and Topstep both itemize what their figure includes; sim-stage data is free at both, but each adds a new monthly fee once a trader reaches a live account.

Why this matters: every page-1 competitor on this topic uses adjectives, “tight spreads,” “low cost,” “competitive pricing,” with no checkable number attached. A forex spread floats every second the market is open, so a firm has to publish a commission, the number it actually sets, for a buyer to compare anything before paying. A futures firm has no spread to publish at all; its cost is entirely the commission its routing and data provider charges.

What a prop firm trading cost is made of

A forex or CFD trade’s real cost has two parts. The spread is the live gap between the bid and ask price, set by the firm’s liquidity provider and changing by the second. The commission is a flat, firm-set fee per lot, charged on top of the spread, per side or round trip. A firm that advertises “tight spreads” but charges a commission is not necessarily cheaper than one with a wider spread and no commission; without an average spread figure, the two cannot be compared.

Worked example, forex: 2 lots of EURUSD round trip at The5ers costs $8.00 in commission alone ($4.00 x 2), before any spread cost. The same 2 lots at FTMO cost $10.00 in commission ($5.00 x 2). Neither firm publishes an average spread, so neither total is complete, only the commission half.

Worked example, futures: 10 ES round trips at Apex Trader Funding on its Tradovate route cost $31.00 in commission ($3.10 x 10); the same 10 round trips at Tradeify cost $57.60 ($5.76 x 10), a $26.60 difference purely from which firm and which routing provider a trader picks, with no spread to factor in at all because futures commissions are the entire published trading cost.

How we checked spreads and commissions

1. Sources: each firm’s own pricing, help centre or rate card page, read October 2, 2026; never a live quote treated as an average, never a third-party roundup’s claim.
2. Published-number rule: a firm ranks only when it publishes a spec-table commission per lot (forex/CFD) or per contract (futures) for the named account type; a marketing adjective with no number does not qualify.
3. Ranking rule, forex/CFD: ranked on the published round-turn commission per 1 standard lot of EURUSD, in dollars, on the commission-charging account type. A firm that states only “$5 per lot” without saying per side or round trip is ranked at the higher, $10 round-turn reading, never the cheaper assumption.
4. The EUR conversion: Darwinex Zero charges in EUR, not USD. Its EUR 5.00 round-turn figure is converted at the ECB EUR/USD reference rate of October 1, 2026, 1.1298, to about $5.65, a conversion this post computes because the firm itself never publishes a USD figure for this pair.
5. Ranking rule, futures: ranked on the round-turn commission per ES contract on the firm’s cheapest published routing or data provider, with every other provider’s figure shown in the same row.
6. Zero-commission accounts: a $0-commission account with no published average spread is not ranked on commission alone, because it would look free; it goes in a separate, explained section instead.

A discretionary live call-up, where one exists on a firm’s own pages, is a fact worth knowing, never a reason to rank a firm lower; it plays no role in any ranking in this post.

Forex and CFD commissions compared

Ranked on the published round-turn commission per 1 standard lot of EURUSD, in dollars. A “not stated” basis is ranked at the higher, round-turn reading, per the rule above.

Notes on this ranking: Ranked on each firm’s published commission only. Only City Traders Imperium publishes an average EURUSD spread, so a firm lower on this list can still cost less per trade if its real spread is tighter. Equal numbers are ties. ^* The firm says “$5 per lot” without saying per side or round trip. We rank it at the higher $10 round-turn reading; if the firm means $5 round trip, it ties for second. ^† Charged in euros (EUR 5.00 round turn), converted at the ECB rate of October 1, 2026 (1.1298); the dollar cost moves with the exchange rate.

Futures commissions compared

Ranked on the round-turn commission per ES contract on each firm’s cheapest published routing or data provider.

Notes on this ranking: Equal numbers are ties. Where “Figure includes” says “Not stated,” the firm does not say whether exchange and NFA fees are inside its number; a figure that leaves them out is not cheaper, only incomplete.

Forex prop firms with the lowest commissions, ranked

Nine forex/CFD firms publish a checkable commission per EURUSD lot. Only City Traders Imperium also publishes a genuine average spread; every other firm here publishes the commission alone.

The5ers charges the lowest published EURUSD commission of any forex prop firm we checked

At $4.00 a lot round trip, The5ers prices every CFD program the same way, with no Raw-versus-Standard decision to make before you buy.

Video: “What Is a Prop Firm? – The Complete Guide for New Traders in 2026! – Start Here!,” The5ers official YouTube channel. Source type: vendor-produced. Why selected: The5ers’ own introduction to how its funding model works; no official video names the commission figure directly.

“Forex = Commission is $4 per lot round trip. ($2 for opening and $2 for closing)” applies identically whether a trader buys the $19 High Stakes 2-Step, a Growth 1-Step, or a Bootcamp 3-Step evaluation; The5ers runs one firm-wide forex commission schedule instead of a cheaper Raw account sitting beside a pricier Standard one. The firm’s own site states only a spread range for EURUSD, “major currency pairs like EUR/USD, GBP/USD, USD/JPY sell from 0.2 pips to 0.9 pips,” not a single average figure, so the spread half of the real cost stays a range rather than a number a buyer can pre-compute.

• Published commission: $4.00 per lot round trip ($2 opening + $2 closing), High Stakes, Growth/Hyper Growth and Bootcamp alike.
• Published spread: Not published as an average; only a range, 0.2 to 0.9 pips on major pairs during standard market conditions.
• Stage: One schedule for every evaluation program; The5ers’ funded stage runs as a simulated Hub account, so the same $4/lot commission applies before and after passing.
• Other costs: MT5 Hedge is bundled at no extra cost; a swap-free account is available on the funded stage by support request with no extra fee published.
• Watch out for: No average EURUSD spread figure exists to add to the $4 commission, and metals, crypto and oil commissions are percentage-based with the percentage itself unpublished.
• Trustpilot: 4.7/5 on 38,974 reviews. The5ers profile, rules.

Alpha Capital Group’s Raw Evaluation ties FTMO at $5.00 a lot on EURUSD

Alpha Capital Group names a genuine ECN-style per-lot commission on its Raw account and shows the number on its live symbols page, not just in a help article.

Video: “Skip the Evaluation. Keep 90%. Start from Day 1.,” Alpha Capital Group official YouTube channel. Source type: vendor-produced. Why selected: Alpha Capital Group’s own video on skipping the evaluation and starting funded; no official video names the EURUSD commission figure directly.

“For our Raw Evaluation, a charge of $2.5 per lot will be incurred for each transaction, in both directions,” doubling to $5.00 round trip, matched by the live Symbols page row “Raw: 2.5 USD/Lot.” The same firm sells a Standard Evaluation that charges no commission on any asset class at all, “no commission fees apply to trades across any asset class,” but the Standard account has no published average spread anywhere on alphacapitalgroup.uk, only a floor claim, “raw spreads starting from 0.1,” which is a minimum, not an average, so it is not rankable on commission alone and sits in the not-comparable section below.

• Published commission: Raw Evaluation: $2.50 per lot per transaction, in both directions ($5.00 round trip).
• Published spread: Not published; only a starting/minimum claim of 0.1 pips, which is not an average.
• Stage: One commission schedule for the Raw Evaluation; the help centre does not describe a separate figure once a trader is funded.
• Other costs: No activation fee on any plan. A Swap-Free add-on (MT5 only) replaces overnight swap with an extra flat $5.00-per-lot commission in both directions and trades on Standard spreads instead, a third, pricier cost path outside the Raw/Standard split above.
• Watch out for: Alpha Capital Group publishes the commission but not an average EURUSD spread for either account type, so the true all-in cost per lot cannot be computed from published numbers alone.
• Trustpilot: rating hidden (“breach of our guidelines” banner), 21,810 reviews. status, payouts.

FTMO prices EURUSD at $5.00 a lot round trip the same way on Standard and Swing

One of the largest, most-reviewed firms in this post runs a single commission figure across both of its account types, with no Raw-versus-Standard choice to make.

Video: “FTMO 1-Step Challenge Explained: All 4 Rules You Must Know,” FTMO official YouTube channel. Source type: vendor-produced. Why selected: FTMO’s own explainer of its Challenge rules; no official video names the exact commission figure.

FTMO’s live Symbols page shows “Commission 5 Commission type USD/LOT” on EURUSD, which matches its own September 2025 Trading Update raising the figure from $1.50 to $2.50 per lot per side, $5.00 round turn, “across all accounts.” FTMO runs a single all-in raw-spread-plus-commission model rather than a split Raw/Standard lineup, so the Standard and Swing account types both carry the identical commission; the only difference between them is leverage and news/weekend-hold rules, never the commission. FTMO does not publish an average or typical EURUSD pip spread anywhere on ftmo.com, only a live, continuously moving quote widget, so the true all-in figure stops at the commission half of the equation.

• Published commission: $5.00 round trip ($2.50 per side), identical on Standard and Swing.
• Published spread: Not published; only a live, second-by-second quote widget exists.
• Stage: Same commission applies through the Challenge, Verification and funded FTMO Account; there is no live stage, the funded account pays directly.
• Other costs: No monthly platform or data fee on any of the four supported platforms (MT4, MT5, cTrader, DXtrade). A separate 0.7% currency-conversion adjustment on realized profit and loss applies when the account currency differs from the instrument’s quote currency.
• Watch out for: The commission itself doubled in a September 2025 revamp, so a review or forum post citing the old $1.50-per-side rate is out of date; the live quote widget is not a substitute for a published average.
• Trustpilot: 4.8/5 on 53,666 reviews. FTMO profile, rules.

Darwinex Zero’s EUR-denominated commission converts to about $5.65 a lot

A $50-a-month subscription, not a funded challenge, with its own currency-pair commission formula that charges in the pair’s base currency rather than a flat USD figure.

Video: “How Darwinex Zero Works,” Darwinex Zero official YouTube channel. Source type: vendor-produced. Why selected: Darwinex Zero’s own explainer of how the subscription and notional-allocation model works.

“For currency pairs we charge 0.0025% of nominal value traded or a competitive 0.005% round trip,” which on a standard EURUSD lot comes to EUR 5.00 round turn. Converted at the ECB EUR/USD reference rate of October 1, 2026 (1.1298), that is about $5.65, a conversion we compute here because Darwinex Zero itself never publishes a USD figure for this pair; its own worked example charges a different pair in that pair’s own currency (AUD on AUDUSD), confirming the EUR figure is the authoritative one for EURUSD. The live per-ticker spread and commission table on the firm’s own /assets page requires a logged-in session and shows blank dashes to a logged-out visitor, so the published formula above, not the gated table, is the only pre-purchase figure a prospective trader can check.

• Published commission: EUR 5.00 round turn per standard lot (about $5.65 at the October 1, 2026 ECB EUR/USD rate of 1.1298), computed from the firm’s own 0.005% round-trip formula.
• Published spread: Not published; the gated /assets table shows blank dashes to a logged-out visitor.
• Stage: One subscription type, one commission structure, on MT4, MT5 and TradingView alike; there is no separate funded stage because Darwinex Zero is a subscription-plus-notional-allocation product, not a funded challenge.
• Other costs: $50 a month (€45 in Europe and the UK), no challenge fee. A DarwinIA GOLD qualification opens the DARWIN to investor capital without ending the trader’s own Zero account; a separate, optional, irreversible migration to a live Darwinex account exists only for the CFD side.
• Watch out for: This is a subscription paying performance fees on a notional allocation you have to qualify for, never a funded account you control directly, a materially different model from every other firm in this table.
• Trustpilot: 4.2/5 on 386 reviews. Darwinex Zero profile.

AudaCity Capital’s per-side schedule ties FXIFY at $6.00 a lot round trip

One of only two firms in this post to publish a live per-instrument table showing bid, ask, spread and commission side by side on the same page.

Video: “CONSISTENCY RULE EXPLAINED,” AudaCity Capital official YouTube channel. Source type: vendor-produced. Why selected: AudaCity Capital’s own explainer of its consistency rule; no official video names the EURUSD commission figure directly.

AudaCity Capital’s live Trading Assets page publishes “EURUSD BID PRICE 1.12539 ASK PRICE 1.12541 SPREAD 0.00002 COMMISSION $3,” with the column header stating “Commissions (Per Lot, Per Side),” doubling to $6.00 round trip. The firm never states on one page which of its products this schedule binds to, only that its FTP instant-funding product is explicitly excluded and commission-free, “FTP (Instant Funding) accounts are commission free,” so the schedule is read here as applying to the two evaluation products (Ability Challenge and Ability One) by elimination. No average or typical EURUSD spread figure exists anywhere official for AudaCity’s own account; the live ticker reading shown above is a single point-in-time sample, never a published average.

• Published commission: $3.00 per lot per side ($6.00 round trip computed), Ability Challenge and Ability One by elimination.
• Published spread: Not published as an average; only the single live ticker reading shown on the Trading Assets page.
• Stage: The commission schedule is read from a general Trading Assets page that does not vary by evaluation stage; FTP (instant funding) is commission-free at every stage.
• Other costs: No monthly platform or data fee published for MT5 or DXtrade access on any of the three products.
• Watch out for: AudaCity never confirms in one place whether the $3/lot schedule covers Ability Challenge, Ability One, or both, and its Trustpilot rating is currently hidden for a guideline breach, a reputational note separate from this cost comparison.
• Trustpilot: rating hidden (“breach of our guidelines” banner), 293 reviews. payouts, status.

FXIFY’s Raw Spreads account ties AudaCity at $6.00 a lot round trip

A named, round-trip commission figure sits on FXIFY’s own FAQ, paired with a separate $0-commission account that is not comparable on cost alone.

Video: no official FXIFY video names the EURUSD commission figure, and we do not substitute an affiliate or third-party video.

“Traders get to enjoy raw spreads close to 0 with a $6 per lot RT commission,” FXIFY’s own FAQ states, applying to FX, index CFDs and metals on the Raw Spreads account. The same firm sells an All-In account with zero commission on FX, metals, crypto and indices, “all-in doesn’t have commissions on the following: FX, Metals, Crypto, Indices,” but publishes no average spread for that account anywhere on fxify.com, only best-case marketing language like “as low as 0.0,” so the All-In account is not comparable on commission alone and sits in the not-comparable section below.

• Published commission: Raw Spreads: $6.00 per lot round trip, FX, index CFDs and metals.
• Published spread: Not published as an average for either account; only “as low as” marketing language.
• Stage: One commission figure applies to the Raw Spreads account; FXIFY does not publish a separate figure once a trader is funded.
• Other costs: A Performance Protect add-on (15% of the assessment fee at checkout) lets a funded trader keep accumulated gains instead of forfeiting them on a drawdown breach; this is a risk-management charge, not a trading-cost reduction.
• Watch out for: Trustpilot reviews show a recurring pattern of payout delays and disputed latency-arbitrage compliance bans worth checking before funding a larger account.
• Trustpilot: 4.3/5 on 6,357 reviews. FXIFY profile.

Blue Guardian’s unqualified $5-per-lot figure is ranked at the higher $10 round-turn reading

Blue Guardian publishes a single $5-per-lot commission across every CFD plan, but never states whether that figure is per side or round trip, so it is ranked conservatively.

Video: “Which Blue Guardian Account is Best? (All Rules explained),” Blue Guardian official YouTube channel. Source type: vendor-produced. Why selected: Blue Guardian’s own comparison of its account types; no official video states whether the commission is per side or round trip.

“Spreads and Commissions. Commission per lot: FX: $5. Indices: $0. Commodities: $5. Crypto: $0. Spreads vary depending on market conditions and platform,” is the entire published rate card, applying identically across Instant, Instant Starter, 1 Step Standard, 1 Step Nano, 2 Step Standard and 2 Step Nano. Because the firm never says whether $5 is charged once or on each side of the trade, this post ranks it at the higher reading, $5 to $10 round trip, rather than assuming the cheaper interpretation. No average EURUSD spread is published anywhere on the official site; the only spread language found is the single unquantified sentence quoted above.

• Published commission: $5 per lot, per side or round trip not stated ($5 to $10 round trip).
• Published spread: Not published; the only spread language is “spreads vary depending on market conditions and platform.”
• Stage: The same commission schedule applies across every CFD plan and stage; Blue Guardian funded accounts remain simulated, so there is no separate live-stage figure.
• Other costs: No platform or data fee at checkout for any plan. A 3% processing fee applies to every payout firm-wide, reducing the net amount a trader keeps after the trading cost is already paid.
• Watch out for: Blue Guardian never states whether its $5/lot commission is per side or round trip, so the true all-in cost per lot cannot be confirmed from the firm’s own site alone.
• Trustpilot: rating hidden (“breach of our guidelines” banner), 2,098 reviews. payouts, status.

City Traders Imperium ties Blue Guardian at the $10 round-turn reading, despite a published average spread

City Traders Imperium is the only forex firm in this post publishing an average EURUSD spread, but its own round-turn-or-per-side silence on the commission still puts it at the conservative reading.

Video: