Sri Lanka — Total Cost - The Three-Line Worksheet Before an Order

Line one - what entry and exit cost per round trip

The account measured here carries no per-lot commission, so the spread is the whole round-trip cost on it and line two of the worksheet is zero. Break-even is how far price has to travel in the trade favour before it turns positive, and the range comparison shows that distance against what the instrument typically covers in a day.

For scale: the EUR/USD spread of 0.8 pips is about 1.9% of its average daily range — the market typically moves 53× the cost of entering it in a single day.

Reading which line the cost actually sits in

The Standard account charges no commission, so its fee lives inside the spread. Comparing the measured spread with an independent interbank reference feed over the same London–New York hours shows how much of each spread is the broker’s margin — and a negative number means the measured spread was tighter than the reference.

The two feeds are compared over the same hours and normalised to absolute price, because pip definitions differ between them. Treat the comparison as indicative and refreshed on a schedule rather than as a fixed difference.

Line three - what each night adds on top

Overnight swap is added on top of the spread — always on the side shown, at the measured rate per night (five nights include one triple-swap day; energies have no triple day and charge once per night). Full per-night rates for every instrument are on the swap rates page; swap-free account options are covered on the Islamic account page.

Why the three lines are kept separate

They behave differently and are controlled by different decisions. The spread line is decided by the instrument and the hour. The commission line is decided by the account tier, and is fixed once the tier is chosen. The swap line is decided by how long the position stays open, and it is the only one that grows while nothing else happens.

Merging them into a single number hides which lever to pull. A cost that is mostly swap is fixed by shortening the hold; a cost that is mostly spread is fixed by a different hour or a different instrument; a cost that is mostly commission is a tier decision that has nothing to do with the trade.

Comparing tiers on the worksheet rather than on the headline

Standard and Pro carry $0 commission, so line two is zero and the whole entry cost sits in line one. Raw Spread and Zero quote spreads from 0.0 pips and move part of the cost into line two - up to $3.50 per side per lot on Raw Spread, from $0.20 per side on Zero.

Which tier is cheaper therefore depends on the volume traded, and the only honest comparison is to fill both worksheets for the size you actually send. A comparison that stops at line one always makes the commission tiers look cheaper than they are.

Reading the total against the target, not against a benchmark

A cost figure means nothing on its own. The comparison that decides a trade is between the total of the three lines and the move the position is aiming for, at the volume actually planned. The same total is trivial on a wide target and decisive on a narrow one.

That comparison also settles the instrument choice more honestly than a cost ranking does. An instrument with a wider spread but a far larger daily range can be cheaper in the only sense that matters - cost as a share of the move available - and a table of spreads alone will never show it.

The total-cost worksheet

1. Line one: take the measured spread for the instrument and convert it into money at the volume planned. That is the entry cost, paid whether the trade wins or loses.
2. Line two: add the commission if the account is Raw Spread or Zero. On Standard and Pro this line is zero, because those tiers carry $0 commission.
3. Line three: multiply the swap for your side by the number of nights, adding the triple-swap day if the hold crosses it.
4. Total the three lines and write the number beside the move the trade is aiming for.
5. If the total takes a visible share of the target, change one thing: a shorter hold, a smaller size, or a different hour of entry.
6. Re-check the spread line at the hour the order will actually be sent, because the same instrument quotes differently at different hours.

Costs charged by a payment provider are separate from anything Exness charges and are shown at the moment of a funding or withdrawal request.

The three cost lines and which lever moves each

Totalling the three lines hides which one dominates. Reading them separately is what shows which lever is worth pulling.

Where this walkthrough goes next