Direct answer
When using a broker through TradingView, the most important “fees and spreads” to check are the costs that are published (or at least disclosed) up front, plus the execution costs that can vary after you place an order. A useful comparison separates (1) relatively stable, stated pricing—such as commissions and explicit charges—from (2) variable market and execution effects—such as spreads at the moment of order and slippage.
Mechanics: what “fees” and “spreads” mean
A spread is the difference between a quoted buy price and sell price for an instrument (for example, a currency pair). In practice, the effective spread you pay is influenced by liquidity, volatility, and whether your order executes immediately or waits.
Fees usually include at least one of the following categories:
- Commission: a stated amount per trade or per notional size.
- Explicit non-trading charges: platform, data, withdrawal, account, inactivity, or conversion-related fees (if disclosed).
- Financing costs: costs tied to holding positions overnight, which may depend on the instrument and the broker’s rules.
A common pitfall is to compare only one number—like the “raw spread”—and ignore other costs (commission plus financing plus any explicit charges). Another pitfall is to assume that a broker’s displayed spread level will match what you actually get during your trades.
What to check: stable pricing vs variable execution
1) Published, stated pricing (stable where disclosures are clear)
Check whether the broker clearly discloses:
- Commission structure (per trade, per lot, or per notional) and whether it differs by instrument type.
- Any additional explicit fees that apply regardless of spread (for example, account or platform charges, and charges related to depositing or withdrawing funds).
- Financing/holding rules for positions carried over time.
Write down the assumptions you will use to compare. For example, decide whether you are comparing trades with the same notional size and the same holding period, because financing and commissions can change the “total cost per trade.”
2) Execution-time variability (not fully revealed by listings)
Even if pricing is published, the execution outcome can vary due to:
- Market conditions: spreads can widen when liquidity drops or volatility rises.
- Order behavior: limit vs market orders, partial fills, and how quickly an order reaches the market.
- Observed vs quoted spreads: the spread you see in a quote feed may not equal the spread at execution.
To compare meaningfully, use a consistent test approach: record the time, instrument, approximate size, order type, and the observed effective price movement. Then compute an observed total transaction cost based on your own fills (execution prices plus any stated commission and relevant financing for the holding time).
Limitations and risks: why comparisons can fail
At least one material failure mode is hidden variability: two brokers can show similar “typical spreads,” but deliver different effective costs once you include slippage, partial fills, and timing during fast markets.
Other risks to watch for:
- Inconsistent assumptions: comparing different trade sizes or different holding durations can make a spread comparison misleading.
- Non-transparent charge interactions: explicit fees may be stated, but their interaction with account currency, funding, or position type may not be obvious without careful reading.
- Time dependence: historical patterns of spreads do not guarantee future conditions, because spreads are driven by changing liquidity and volatility.
Verification and next question to ask
A self-contained verification checklist is:
- Collect the broker’s disclosed commission and explicit fees, and note financing/holding rules.
- Choose fixed comparison assumptions: same instrument, same order type, same approximate size, and—if relevant—same holding time.
- Measure observed execution using recorded fills (effective prices), not only the displayed quote.
Next, ask what you still cannot verify from disclosure alone: for example, whether the broker’s execution quality is consistently documented beyond spread listings, or how often your order type results in partial fills or meaningful slippage.