Tickmill Raw Account: $3 per Side, 0.0 Spreads and What You Really Pay

The Raw account is Tickmill's commission-based option. Spreads start from 0.0 pips. You pay $3 per standard lot per side, which is $6 for a round turn, or the equivalent in your account currency. The starting deposit is 100, the same as Classic, and the smallest trade is 0.01 lots.

Tickmill gives its own example. Trade one lot of EUR/USD, with a contract size of 100,000 euros, and commission is 3 USD per side and 6 USD round turn. Commission applies only to CFDs on forex and precious metals. Other instruments on the account are charged through the spread.

Commission by trade size

Whatever the size, the commission equals 0.6 pips on EUR/USD. Add the raw spread and you have the cost of the trade. When the spread is 0.1 pips, the all-in cost is 0.7 pips; when it is 0.3, the cost is 0.9.

Raw against Classic

Classic charges no commission and has spreads from 1.6 pips. Raw is cheaper whenever the raw spread is under 1.0 pip, because 1.0 plus the 0.6-pip commission equals Classic's 1.6.

Classic's 1.6 is a minimum, and its spread widens with the market just as Raw's does. The gap between the two accounts therefore tends to hold through the day. For major pairs in liquid hours, expect Raw to cost half of Classic or less.

Zero stop and limit levels

Many brokers require pending orders, stop losses and take profits to sit a minimum distance from the current price. Tickmill says stop and limit levels for Raw account users are zero. You can place an order right next to the market.

Scalpers care about this more than anyone. A strategy that aims for three pips with a two-pip stop is impossible where a five-pip minimum distance applies. On Raw it is allowed, although a stop that tight will be hit by normal noise far more often than a wider one.

Strategies and execution

All strategies are permitted: scalping, hedging and automated trading. Tickmill describes hybrid, market execution with an average speed of 0.15 seconds, and its MT4 page promises no partial fills thanks to deep liquidity. Expert advisors run on both MT4 and MT5.

Market execution carries one consequence worth remembering. Your order fills at the available price, so during news the fill can differ from the quote. Low commission doesn't remove slippage, and a system tested on quiet-hours data may behave differently on release days.

Leverage and margin

Maximum leverage is 1:1000, available as dynamic leverage on MT5. MT4 tops out at 1:500. Margin call arrives at a 100% margin level and stop out at 50%. Our Tickmill leverage guide sets out how leverage falls as positions grow, and the stop out guide works through an example.

Raw or TradingView Raw?

Choose by platform. If you trade from MetaTrader or run an EA, Raw is the account. Where your charts and orders live in TradingView, the extra 50 cents per side buys that convenience. The Tickmill TradingView guide explains how to connect.

Swap-free on Raw

Any Raw account can be converted to an Islamic, swap-free account for eligible clients. Spreads, execution and platforms stay the same. Swaps are removed, and a handling fee may apply on selected instruments after a grace period. See the Tickmill Islamic account guide.

Who should open a Raw account

• Scalpers and day traders with targets of a few pips.
• EA users whose systems trade many times a day.
• Traders of major pairs and gold in liquid sessions.
• Anyone trading more than about one standard lot a month.

A beginner on 0.01 lots saves a few cents per trade and may prefer Classic's single number. That is a fair choice. Just know that the entry deposit is identical, so nothing stops you starting on Raw.

Open one in five steps

1. Register and verify your Client Area profile.
2. Add a trading account and select Raw.
3. Choose MT4 or MT5 and a base currency.
4. Deposit at least 100 into your wallet and transfer it across.
5. Log in to the platform with the details emailed to you.

Details of each step are in our Tickmill account opening guide. For swaps and non-trading charges, see the fees guide.

When commission is taken

Commission is charged per side. Half is deducted when the position opens and half when it closes, which means a new trade begins slightly negative even at a zero spread. On a 0.10 lot position that opening charge is 30 cents.

Break-even follows from that. With $6 per round-turn lot equal to 0.6 pips, and a raw spread of perhaps 0.1, price has to move about 0.7 pips in your favour before the trade is square. Scalpers who aim for three or four pips should count that into the target.

How to read your statement

MetaTrader lists commission in its own column in the account history, and swap in another. Add both for the month. Spread doesn't appear as a line because it is built into your entry and exit prices, so estimate it from the spread shown in the market watch window at the times you trade.

Divide the monthly total by your number of trades to get an average cost per trade. Compare that figure with your average winning trade. When costs take more than about a tenth of the average win, your targets are too small or you are trading too often.

Commission is a one-off charge per trade, and swap is a nightly one. For positions held longer than a few days, the swap usually ends up larger than the commission, and it is the same on Raw and Classic. Account choice matters most to people who trade often and hold briefly.

Frequently asked

Related reading

• Tickmill account types
• Tickmill fees
• Tickmill leverage
• Tickmill TradingView
• Our full Tickmill review