A zero headline charge is not the same as a low all-in cost

platformPublished 20 October 20261 min readmulti asset

Key points

• Explicit commission and implicit spread are different lines.
• A cost already inside an execution price should not be added again on top.
• WiT Markets does not publish a live broker tariff on this note.

What is going on

Some accounts charge a commission per order or per share and show a tighter quoted market. Others widen the quote and charge no separate commission. Both can be honest descriptions of different bills. Investor.gov and FINRA materials on trading costs treat the commission as one component, not the whole economic cost of a fill.

Why it matters

Comparing only the commission line will prefer the account that moved the charge into the spread. Comparing only the spread will miss a minimum commission, a conversion, or a market-data subscription. The commission note on this desk walks through a labelled hypothetical round trip so the arithmetic is visible without pretending it is a firm’s schedule.

What to watch

Ask whether the figure is per side or round trip, which currency it is in, and whether venue or clearing charges are passed through. Ask what happens to the bill if the order is small.

Risks

Schedules change by entity. A low dealing cost says nothing about the quality of the fill when the market is fast. This page does not name a firm’s current commission.

What not to add twice

If you measure the gap between the price you received and a midpoint, that gap already contains the spread you paid. Adding a separate spread estimate on top counts the same economic cost twice. The commission note separates reference-midpoint mode from actual-price mode for that reason.