With more than 26,000 tradable instruments, innovative trading platforms, and low fees, BlackBull offers some of the most competitive trading conditions one could ask for. To help you understand the trading cost at BlackBull, we have reviewed any trading and non-trading fees you may encounter as a client of the broker. Spreads, commissions, and swap rates are just a few of the key expenses we have covered to help traders determine whether BlackBull is the best brokerage option for their future trades. To get familiar with the overall trading costs at BlackBull, we suggest you keep reading our detailed review of the broker’s fee structure.
BlackBull Trading Costs
Spreads and commissions are key factors that play a role in the calculation of the trading cost at BlackBull. It is worth noting that the broker offers three account types that suit the trading styles of different traders. The three account options also have different pricing models, with one offering a spread-only pricing model, while two of the accounts provide tighter spreads and low commission rates.
The ECN Standard, ECN Prime, and ECN Institutional are the three account versions traders can choose from when opening a BlackBull live trading account. All three support micro lots, with the minimum size for contracts being 0.01 lots. All trading platforms offered by the broker are also available on all three accounts, granting access to more than 26,000 tradable instruments. The maximum leverage traders can use is also the same across all three account versions.
The ECN Standard and ECN Prime accounts support swap-free trading, which is exclusively available to eligible clients from certain Muslim countries. To fund your account and go live with your trades, however, you will need to meet different minimum deposit requirements. The ECN Standard, ECN Prime, and ECN Institutional have a minimum deposit condition of $0, $2,000, and $20,000, respectively.
The ECN Standard account has a zero-commission policy, which means that the whole trading cost is built into the spread, with spread values starting at 0.8 pips on major Forex pairs. The other two accounts reduce the trading cost by offering tighter spreads and charging small commissions per lot traded. The spreads on ECN Prime start at 0.1 pips, with a $6 roundtrip commission charged on a standard lot trade. The ECN Institutional offers spreads that start at 0.0 pips and an even lower roundtrip commission charge of $4 per lot.
| BlackBull Roundtrip Commission Rates Based on Account Type | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Account Type | Per Standard Lot | Per Mini Lot | Per Micro Lot |
| ECN Standard | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| ECN Prime | $6 | $0.6 | $0.06 |
| ECN Institutional | $4 | $0.4 | $0.04 |
To help you assess the overall trading cost of trading Forex pairs with each account type, we will provide a simple example with a EUR/USD trade of a standard lot where 1 pips equals $10. For the purpose of the example, we will also consider that the trade opens and closes at the same price value. At the time of writing this article, BlackBull offers a Live Spread on the EUR/USD pair of 0.9 pips, 0.2 pips, and 0.1 pips on its ECN Standard, ECN Prime, and ECN Institutional accounts, respectively. Keep in mind the broker offers floating live spreads, which are constantly updated according to relevant market conditions.
Taking into account the spreads mentioned above, the EUR/USD trade with BlackBull accounts will look something like this:
ECN Standard Account:
Spread: 0.9
Commission: $0
Total Cost: 0.9 x $10 = $9 per side or $20 for a round trip trade
ECN Prime Account:
Spread: 0.2
Spread Cost: 0.2 x $10 = $2
Commission per side: $3
Total Cost: ($2)x2 + ($3)x2 = $4 + $6 = $10 for a round trip trade
ECN Institutional Account:
Spread: 0.1
Spread Cost: 0.1 x $10 = $1
Commission per side: $2
Total Cost: ($1)x2 + ($2)x2 = $2 + $4 = $6 for a round trip trade
As you can see from the examples we have provided, the tighter the spread offered on the pairs, the lower the final trading cost is. That means that even though the ECN Prime and ECN Institutional accounts charge commissions, the final cost per trade is still significantly lower than the one that is charged for trading with the ECN Standard account.
Below, we have provided tables with the Live Spreads offered on popular Forex pairs across all three BlackBull account types. Keep in mind that the broker displays only live spreads, which are constantly updated and may not correspond to the values provided below.
| Average Spread Costs with ECN Standard Accounts | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Currency Pair | Spread (in pips) | Commission per side | Cost per Micro Lot | Cost per Standard Lot |
| EUR/USD | 0.9 | $0 | $0.09 | $9 |
| USD/JPY | 1.2 | $0 | $0.0773 | $7.73 |
| EUR/GBP | 1.5 | $0 | $0.186 | $18.6 |
| GBP/USD | 1.2 | $0 | $0.12 | $12 |
| AUD/USD | 1 | $0 | $0.10 | $10 |
| USD/CAD | 1.4 | $0 | $0.0967 | $9.67 |
| USD/CHF | 1.5 | $0 | $0.1644 | $16.44 |
| USD/CNH | 2.5 | $0 | $0.0342 | $3.42 |
| NZD/USD | 1.2 | $0 | $0.12 | $12 |
*All currency pairs’ trading cost is expressed in USD
| Average Spread Costs with ECN Prime Accounts | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Currency Pair | Spread (in pips) | Commission per side | Cost per Micro Lot | Cost per Standard Lot |
| EUR/USD | 0.2 | $3/$0.030 | $0.05 | $5 |
| USD/JPY | 0.5 | $3/$0.030 | $0.0622 | $6.22 |
| EUR/GBP | 0.8 | $3/$0.030 | $0.1292 | $12.92 |
| GBP/USD | 0.5 | $3/$0.030 | $0.08 | $8 |
| AUD/USD | 0.3 | $3/$0.030 | $0.06 | $6 |
| USD/CAD | 0.7 | $3/$0.030 | $0.0783 | $7.83 |
| USD/CHF | 0.8 | $3/$0.030 | $0.1177 | $11.77 |
| USD/CNH | 1.8 | $3/$0.030 | $0.0546 | $5.46 |
| NZD/USD | 0.5 | $3/$0.030 | $0.08 | $8 |
*All currency pairs’ trading cost is expressed in USD
| Average Spread Costs with ECN Institutional Accounts | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Currency Pair | Spread (in pips) | Commission per side | Cost per Micro Lot | Cost per Standard Lot |
| EUR/USD | 0.1 | $2/$0.020 | $0.03 | $3 |
| USD/JPY | 0.4 | $2/$0.020 | $0.0458 | $4.58 |
| EUR/GBP | 0.7 | $2/$0.020 | $0.1068 | $10.68 |
| GBP/USD | 0.4 | $2/$0.020 | $0.06 | $6 |
| AUD/USD | 0.2 | $2/$0.020 | $0.04 | $4 |
| USD/CAD | 0.6 | $2/$0.020 | $0.0614 | $6.14 |
| USD/CHF | 0.7 | $2/$0.020 | $0.0967 | $9.67 |
| USD/CNH | 1.7 | $2/$0.020 | $0.0432 | $4.32 |
| NZD/USD | 0.4 | $2/$0.020 | $0.06 | $6 |
*All currency pairs’ trading cost is expressed in USD
BlackBull Overnight Funding Costs
In addition to spreads and commissions, depending on whether you keep your positions open overnight, you may be subject to swap fees, which are interest rates either paid or received by traders. It should be noted that BlackBull calculates swap rates based on interest rates provided by global top-tier banks and liquidity providers.
For its swaps calculations, BlackBull is resorting to the following formula:
(One Point / Exchange Rate) x Trade Size (or Lot Size) x Swap Value (expressed in points)
While it is helpful to know how the broker gets its swap rates, you do not need to go through such calculations whenever you plan on keeping your positions open overnight. Instead, you can use the Swaps Calculator of BlackBull where you can choose the instrument, your account’s base currency, and the size of your trade. That will allow you to instantly see the current swap rates that will apply to your trades.
As swap rates depend on various market conditions, they are constantly updated. Despite that, below, we have listed the current swap rates in USD for popular Forex pairs, showing swaps on both long and short positions for each pair.
| Swap Rates on Popular Forex Pairs (standard lot size) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Symbol | Base Currency | Volume in Lots | Pair Swap Long in Base Currency | Pair Swap Short in Base Currency |
| EUR/USD | USD | 1 | -8.0088 | 1.2534 |
| USD/JPY | USD | 1 | 10.367 | -34.72 |
| EUR/GBP | USD | 1 | -4.97852 | 0.91176 |
| GBP/USD | USD | 1 | -2.1271 | -4.8694 |
| AUD/USD | USD | 1 | -2.9642 | -2.8993 |
| USD/CAD | USD | 1 | 1.5 | -6.57 |
| USD/CHF | USD | 1 | 5.8848 | -15.3832 |
| NZD/USD | USD | 1 | -2.1535 | -1.5232 |
One thing to keep in mind if you decide to trade with positions left open after the day trading session is over is that swaps on Wednesdays are triple. This is due to the fact that the market closes on Saturday and Sunday, meaning there is no way for swaps to be charged on weekends.
Swap-Free Trading Costs at BlackBull
For traders who are not allowed to pay or receive interest due to their religious beliefs, BlackBull offers swap-free trading on either the ECN Standard or ECN Prime accounts. There are a few recommendations for traders who wish to keep their accounts swap-free and pay/receive no interest. The main advice of the broker is to stick to day trading and avoid keeping positions open overnight.
While the swap-free account will not charge interest or any other fees, keeping positions open overnight puts your swap-free account at risk of returning to a regular ECN Standard or ECN Prime account. That means you will start receiving or paying interest on any positions you have kept open overnight.
BlackBull Non-Trading Costs
While we have covered any trading fee that may apply to your trades at BlackBull, we would also like to discuss the non-trading surcharges, if there are any. No matter the account type you would like to open with the broker, you can resort to several convenient methods for funding your trading wallet. Conveniently enough, the broker does not impose any fees on deposits made to your BlackBull account. While traders can top-up their trading accounts for free, whenever they initiate a withdrawal, the broker will apply a small fee of $5.
While it is completely free to open an account with BlackBull, you should be informed that if there is no trading activity for more than 90 days on your account, the broker will deduct a $5 inactivity fee from your balance. Before the 90-day grace period expires, the broker will notify you about the upcoming charge. If your account stays dormant, you will be charged a $5 inactivity fee for each subsequent month. If the account’s balance is zero after an inactivity fee has been charged, the broker has the right to close your account.
For traders who wish to improve their trading by reducing latency, enhancing automated trades, and unlocking other exclusive features, there is a VPS hosting service provided by some of BlackBull’s partners. Unlocking the VPS service requires a paid subscription, which starts at $30 per month. Active traders who generate bigger trading volumes may also reduce the subscription costs for VPS hosting.
| BlackBull Non-Trading Costs | |
|---|---|
| Deposit Fees | Free |
| Withdrawal Fees | $5 |
| Account Opening Fee | Free |
| Inactivity Fee | $5 |
| VPS Hosting Subscription | From $30 per month |
Closing Thoughts on BlackBull Fees
Traders who join BlackBull have the opportunity to enjoy competitive trading conditions across various account types. Whether you are a beginner who prefers smaller trades or you enjoy high-volume trading, at BlackBull, you can find the right account option and pay a very low price for trading with the broker. Tight spreads and low commission rates are a few of the notable benefits of trading at BlackBull.
Unfortunately, clients of the broker may be charged some non-trading fees, with dormant accounts being charged a $5 inactivity fee. What is more, withdrawals, no matter the selected payment method, will also incur a $5 fee. Other than that, there are no other surcharges that may affect the trading cost at BlackBull, making one’s experience with the broker very cost-effective.
