I’m trying to make an honest comparison between HFM and a few other brokers I’ve looked at, and I want to know if the fees actually stack up fairly when I factor in rebates.
On the surface, some brokers seem cheaper because they advertise lower spreads. But then GlobeGain rebates come into play and it gets harder to see which one actually costs less per lot.
I don’t want to switch if HFM is genuinely competitive. I just want to know if there’s a clear way to compare without missing something important. Has anyone actually done this side-by-side comparison and found that HFM held up, or did another broker win out after rebates were included?
Here’s how to do this properly. Take your last month of trading data—every pair, every spread, every lot size. Calculate total pips paid across all trades. Now add HFM’s account commission if it charges one. Subtract GlobeGain rebates you received. That’s your net cost.
Do the same math for the other broker using their advertised spreads and their rebate rate if they offer one. The broker with the lowest net cost wins. Most traders skip this because it feels tedious, but it’s the only fair way to compare. I’ve done it three times and HFM stayed competitive each time—but only because I didn’t assume the advertised spread was the real number.
I tested this about a year ago. I was looking at HFM versus FxPro and Pepperstone.
Surface level: FxPro looked cheaper on spreads. But after a month of tracking actual costs and rebates, HFM came out slightly ahead. The rebates from GlobeGain helped, but honestly the difference wasn’t huge—maybe 3-5% overall.
What made me stay with HFM wasn’t the fees. It was the execution quality and platform stability. Those matter more than shaving a few pips.
I’ve tried a couple brokers and HFM is pretty solid once you factor everything in.
The key is comparing on the same pairs you actually trade. If you scalp EUR/USD, that spread matters more than the spread on some exotic pair you rarely touch. So calculate your real cost on your actual trading activity, not what looks good on paper.
HFM spreads are similar to competitors. Rebates tip it in HFM’s favor slightly.
Execution quality matters more than fee differences anyway.
Most brokers are competitive if you include rebates. Stick with what works.