Cent Account Brokers Compared: Which Has the Lowest Spread?

A cent account lets you trade real money in sizes 100 times smaller than a standard account, and the spread you pay on it depends on the broker.

Which Broker Has the Cheapest Cent Account?

XS Cent has the lowest spread on gold, and Exness Standard Cent has the lowest on EURUSD. The table below shows the 24-hour average spread of each small account.

	Gold, per ounce	EURUSD
XM Micro	$0.56	2.18 pips
HFM Cent	$0.35	2.14 pips
XS Cent	$0.19	1.33 pips
Exness Standard Cent	$0.24	1.04 pips

Each broker prices its cent account like one of its standard accounts, as the brokers’ own spread tables and calculators show. So the table uses our 24-hour measurements of those standard accounts.

On gold, the gap between brokers is large. XM Micro costs about three times as much as XS Cent for each ounce.

However, XM Micro is the only one of these accounts that gets a deposit bonus, so for gold trades the choice is between the lowest spread and the bonus. Our XM vs Exness comparison shows when the bonus saves you more.

To compare the standard accounts of more brokers, including the commission accounts, see our lowest spread comparison.

Which Cent Account Should You Choose?

The right cent account depends on what you trade and how you trade it.

• The deposit bonus
  XM Micro is the only one of these accounts that gets a deposit bonus, in the countries where XM offers one. HFM pays its bonus only on a separate Top-Up Bonus account, and XS and Exness do not offer a deposit bonus.
• Gold
  XS Cent has the lowest gold spread, and XS asks for no minimum deposit. The account runs on MT5, and XS offers no cent account on MT4.
• Currency pairs
  Exness Standard Cent has the lowest EURUSD spread. The minimum deposit depends on your country, and in many countries it is $10.
• Trades held for days
  HFM says its Cent account has no swap on overnight positions, under its swap-free terms. The HFM swap guide explains which instruments these terms cover and how long they last.

What Is a Cent Account?

A cent account shows your balance in cents and makes every lot 100 times smaller. A $10 deposit appears as 1,000 cents, and 1 lot of EURUSD is 1,000 euros instead of 100,000.

	Cent account	Standard account
Balance after a $10 deposit	1,000 cents	$10
1 lot of EURUSD	1,000 euros	100,000 euros
Smallest trade on EURUSD	10 euros	1,000 euros
Smallest trade on gold	0.01 ounce	1 ounce

So 1 lot on a cent account is the same size as 0.01 lot on a standard account. What a cent account adds is the smaller sizes, down to 10 euros on EURUSD.

The spread in pips stays the same, however. A cent account makes each trade smaller, not cheaper. Our guide to 0.01 lot in dollars shows what the smallest standard trade is worth.

XM is the exception among these brokers. XM has no cent account, and its Micro account keeps the balance in dollars and trades from 100 units of currency.

How Much Money Do You Need for a Cent Account?

$10 is enough to start trading gold on a cent account, and HFM and XS ask for no minimum deposit.

	Minimum deposit	Highest leverage
XM Micro	$5	1:1000
HFM Cent	None	1:2000
XS Cent	None	1:2000
Exness Standard Cent	By country	Unlimited

At Exness, the minimum for Standard Cent depends on your country. Our Exness minimum deposit guide shows where to see the figure for your own country.

The minimum deposit only opens the account. After that, your balance pays for every losing trade, and on a cent account a small balance can pay for several of them, as this example shows.

So a $10 balance can pay for 4 losing trades of this size. The smallest trade on a standard account, 0.01 lot, would lose $20 at the same stop-loss, which is twice the whole balance.

To find the trade size that fits your own balance and stop-loss, use our lot size calculator.

How Do You Open a Cent Account?

Choose the cent account when you register, or add one to the login you already have.

• XM
  On the XM registration form (opens in a new tab), pick Micro and deposit at least $5. The bonus is added in the countries where XM offers it, and the XM additional account guide shows how to add Micro to a login you already have.
• HFM
  On the HFM registration form (opens in a new tab), choose the Cent account. If you already trade with HFM, open a Cent trading account in the Client Area with the same login.
• XS
  After you register at XS (opens in a new tab), open a Cent trading account on MT5 from your XS profile.
• Exness
  Sign up through the Exness Standard Cent link (opens in a new tab), or add a Standard Cent trading account in your Personal Area if you already have one.

Questions People Ask About Cent Accounts

Is a cent account real money?

Yes. Your deposit, your profits and your losses are real money. The account only shows them in cents, so a balance of 1,000 is $10.

Are cent accounts good for beginners?

Yes, for trading real money at a small size. The spread in pips and the platform are the same as on a standard account, so what you learn still works when you move up.

A free demo account comes before this step. Our guide to forex demo accounts shows how long a demo account lasts and when to move from a demo to a cent account.

Do cent accounts get a deposit bonus?

Of these four brokers, only XM Micro gets a deposit bonus, in the countries where XM offers it. HFM gives its bonus only on its Top-Up Bonus account. XS’s loyalty programme leaves out its Cent and Micro accounts, and Exness does not offer a deposit bonus on any account.

Do you get a rebate on a cent account?

Yes, at all four brokers, and it is smaller in the same proportion as the trade. At XM and XS, for example, the rebate on 1 cent lot is 1/100 of the rebate on 1 standard lot.

Our forex rebates page compares the rebate at each broker.

Can you trade gold on a cent account?

Yes, on all four. On a cent account, 1 lot of gold is 1 ounce, so each $1 move in the gold price changes your balance by $1.

XM Micro has the same lot size for gold, but its smallest trade is 0.1 lot.

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