I’ve been looking at IC Markets for a while now, and I keep running into the same problem: their advertised spreads look decent on the surface, but I have no idea what I’m actually paying per trade when everything is factored in.
Like, they say they offer tight spreads, but I don’t know if that’s competitive compared to what I’d pay elsewhere. And then there’s the question of rebates. I know GlobeGain offers cashback on trades, but I’m not sure how much that actually changes the math.
Here’s what I’m trying to figure out: if I’m trading EUR/USD on IC Markets with a certain spread, and I get a rebate back through GlobeGain, what’s my actual net cost per lot? And how do I compare that fairly against other brokers?
I feel like most review sites either ignore rebates entirely or they don’t explain how to actually calculate true cost. So maybe this is a good place to work through it together.
How do you actually break down your trading costs when you’re evaluating a broker? What’s the best way to make sure you’re comparing apples to apples?
This is the right question to ask. Most traders miss this entirely.
Here’s how to calculate actual cost:
Total cost per lot = (spread in pips × pip value) + commissions - rebate
For EUR/USD at standard lot size, one pip is usually $10. If IC Markets offers a 0.9 pip spread with no commission and you get a 0.3 pip rebate through GlobeGain, your real cost is (0.9 - 0.3) × $10 = $6 per lot.
The thing most traders miss: execution quality matters as much as spreads. A broker with a 0.8 pip spread that slips you 0.5 pips on entry costs you more than a 1.2 pip spread with clean execution.
Track your actual fills for a week. Compare entry price to the quote when you clicked. That tells you the real cost story.
I went through this exact exercise three months ago when I was moving between brokers. Spent a weekend pulling my trade data.
What I found was eye opening. IC Markets had decent spreads during calm hours, but when volatility picked up around news events, the spreads widened fast. My calculated cost jumped 30-40% on those days.
The rebates helped offset it, but only if I factored them in from day one. A lot of traders see rebates as bonus money instead of cost reduction. They’re not. They’re part of your trading equation.
My advice: pull three weeks of your actual trades, calculate what you paid per lot including slippage, then subtract the rebate you would have gotten. That’s your true picture. Numbers from the broker’s website don’t tell you much.
Spread plus commission minus rebate equals real cost.
Just add spread and commission then subtract the rebate. That’s your cost. The tricky part is most brokers don’t always show you real execution prices.