Brokerage Fees Calculator: Calculate Forex, Crypto & Stock Trading Fees

When trading online—whether in Forex, stocks, or cryptocurrency—fees are an unavoidable part of the process. If you don’t account for them properly, they can significantly reduce your profits over time.

In Forex trading, the main cost is the spread, which is the difference between the buy and sell price of a currency pair. In cryptocurrency trading, exchanges typically charge maker-taker fees or commission-based fees, depending on the type of order you place.

Understanding these costs is crucial because knowing exactly how much you're paying per trade allows you to manage risk and maximise returns. That’s why we’ve created a Brokerage Fees Calculator to help you estimate your trading costs in advance and choose the most cost-effective broker.

What Are Brokerage Fees?

Brokerage fees or trading fees are the charges applied when you buy or sell an asset—whether it’s a currency pair, stock, or cryptocurrency. These fees are how brokers and trading platforms generate revenue, and they can vary widely depending on:

• The market you trade in
• The broker or exchange you use
• The type of trade you place

For example

At first glance, these fees might seem small, but if you trade frequently, they can accumulate quickly. Even small percentage-based fees can have a significant impact on your long-term profitability.

What Are The Types of Trading Fees in Singapore?

Each market has different fee structures, but the most common trading costs include:

• Spreads (Forex & CFDs): The spread is the difference between the buy (bid) price and the sell (ask) price of an asset. The wider the spread, the higher your trading cost.
• Commissions (Stocks & Crypto): Some brokers charge a fixed percentage per trade, particularly in stock and cryptocurrency trading.
• Overnight Fees (Swap Fees): If you hold a leveraged position overnight in Forex or CFDs, you’ll be charged interest on that trade.
• Deposit & Withdrawal Fees: Some brokers and exchanges charge fees for transferring funds in and out of your trading account.

Let’s take a deeper look at how these fees impact your trading costs.

How Are Trading and Brokerage Fees Calculated?

Forex Trading: The Cost of Spreads

Unlike stock trading, where commissions are common, most Forex brokers make money through spreads.

For example, when trading USD/SGD, you’ll notice two prices—one for buying and one for selling. The spread is measured in PIPs, which represent a unit of movement in currency pairs.

The cost of a trade depends on your lot size:

If the spread on USD/SGD is 1.5 PIPs, then:

• A Standard Lot trade would cost SGD 15 (1.5 × SGD 10).
• A Mini Lot trade would cost SGD 1.50 (1.5 × SGD 1).
• A Micro Lot trade would cost SGD 0.15 (1.5 × SGD 0.10).

For traders who place multiple trades per day, these costs add up quickly.

Stock Trading: Commission Fees in Singapore

Stock trading fees depend on which broker you use. Some platforms offer commission-free trading, while others charge a fee per trade.

Here are some common Singapore stock brokers and their fees:

If you trade stocks regularly, choosing a broker with low or no commissions can save you a significant amount over time.

Crypto Trading: Maker & Taker Fees

Cryptocurrency exchanges in Singapore typically charge fees based on the maker-taker model:

• Maker Fees apply when you add liquidity by placing a limit order.
• Taker Fees apply when you remove liquidity by placing a market order.

Here’s a look at the maker and taker fees on popular crypto exchanges available in Singapore:

For example

If you’re buying SGD 10,000 worth of Bitcoin on an exchange that charges a 0.5% taker fee: SGD 10,000 × 0.5% = SGD 50

If you later sell your Bitcoin for SGD 12,000 with the same 0.5% fee: SGD 12,000 × 0.5% = SGD 60

Your total fees for both trades would be SGD 110 (SGD 50 + SGD 60).

For frequent traders, these costs add up quickly. To reduce your fees, consider using limit orders instead of market orders, as maker fees are usually lower.

Why Use a Brokerage Fees Calculator?

A Brokerage Fees Calculator helps you estimate the fees associated with your trades before you place them.

Why It’s Useful:

• Helps you know your trading costs upfront.
• Allows you to compare different brokers and exchanges.
• Improves risk management by showing how fees impact profits.
• Helps you optimise your trading strategy over time.

By entering details like your trading instrument, trade size, and broker, the calculator provides an instant breakdown of your expected costs.

How to Use Our Trading Fee Calculator?

Using our trading fee calculator is quick and easy. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you estimate your transaction costs accurately.

Our trading fee calculator is designed as an interactive form that requires you to enter the following details:

• Exchange / Broker: Select the broker or trading platform you are using for your transactions. A drop-down list includes all major platforms. Since fees and spreads vary from one broker to another, our calculator retrieves real-time fee structures to provide an accurate estimate.
• Fee Currency: Choose the currency or cryptocurrency in which the fees will be displayed. Depending on the platform, you can view fees in SGD, USD, or other fiat currencies, as well as in some cryptocurrencies.
• Buy / Receive: Enter the fiat currency or cryptocurrency you are purchasing or receiving in your wallet. If you are trading cryptocurrencies, select the token you are buying. If you are trading Forex, indicate the currency being purchased in the currency pair.
• Pay with / Sell: Specify the fiat currency or cryptocurrency used to pay for the transaction. If buying cryptocurrency, indicate whether you are paying with another cryptocurrency or fiat currency (SGD, USD, etc.). If trading Forex, enter the second currency in the pair, which is the currency you are selling to buy the first.
• Amount 1: Enter the transaction amount in the currency you are receiving. This will be automatically selected based on what you entered in the "Buy / Receive" field.
• Amount 2: Enter the transaction amount in the currency you are paying with. This field will be automatically calculated based on the data entered in "Amount 1".
• Custom Fee Rate: If your trading platform is not listed in our drop-down menu, you can manually enter the applicable fee percentage. This allows you to customise the calculation based on your specific broker or exchange.

Results Provided by Our Trading Fee Calculator

Once all details are entered, our tool provides the following results:

• Pending Orders Fees: This result shows the fees applied to pending orders in Forex or cryptocurrency markets. These fees are charged if you place an automatic order at a price above or below the current market rate.
• Instant Orders Fees: This result displays the fees applied to market orders executed instantly.
• Broker/Exchange Fee Structure: A direct link allows you to access the full fee schedule of your broker or crypto exchange, helping you better understand their fee structure.

Use our trading fee calculator to anticipate your costs and optimise your transactions in Forex, stocks, or cryptocurrencies.

How to Reduce Brokerage Fees?

While trading fees are unavoidable, there are ways to minimise them:

• Use Commission-Free Brokers: Some brokers offer zero-commission trading on stocks. Platforms like Tiger Brokers and Saxo Markets often provide promotional commission-free trading.
• Choose a Low-Fee Crypto Exchange: Binance SG and Crypto.com offer lower fees than many alternatives.
• Use Limit Orders Instead of Market Orders: Taker fees apply to market orders executed immediately. By placing limit orders, you may avoid taker fees and pay a lower maker fee.
• Take Advantage of Fee Discounts: Many exchanges offer discounts if you use their native tokens to pay for fees (e.g., Binance BNB token).
• Increase Your Trading Volume: Many brokers and exchanges lower fees for high-volume traders.

Understanding trading fees is crucial for managing costs and maximising profits. Whether you’re trading Forex, stocks, or crypto, fees can quickly eat into your earnings if you don’t pay attention.

Use our Brokerage Fees Calculator to estimate your trading costs and make smarter, more cost-effective trading decisions.

P. Laurore

Finance expert

Co-founder of HelloSafe and holder of a Master's degree in finance, Pauline has recognised expertise in personal finance, which she uses to help users better understand and optimise their financial choices. At HelloSafe, Pauline plays a key role in designing clear, educational content on savings, investments and personal finance. Passionate about financial education, Pauline strives, with every piece of content she oversees, to provide reliable, transparent and unbiased information for independent and informed financial management. To this end, she has tested over 100 trading platforms to help internet users make the right choices.