Two readers open the same EUR/USD trade at 1.0850. The first uses a standard account with a spread of 1.2 pips and no commission. The second uses a raw-spread account with a spread of 0.2 pips and a commission of KSh 300 per lot. On one standard lot, one pip is about KSh 1,085. The first pays KSh 1,302 in spread. The second pays KSh 217 in spread plus KSh 300 in commission, which is KSh 517. The raw-spread account costs less on this single trade.

Now hold that trade overnight. The standard account charges a swap of KSh 150. The raw-spread account charges KSh 150 as well, because swap depends on the instrument and the direction, not on the account type. The first reader pays KSh 1,452 in total. The second pays KSh 667. The gap is KSh 785 on one trade. Over twenty trades in a month, that gap becomes KSh 15,700 if nothing else changes. Costs decide the outcome before the market does.

The mistake is choosing an account by the spread alone. A raw-spread account with a high commission can cost more than a standard account if you trade small sizes. A cent account lets you trade in smaller units, so the same pip value falls. Read the cost sheet of each account type and compute the total for your own trade size. The broker sets these numbers, so they vary between brokers and between account types.

Scalping means many trades in one session. Each trade pays the spread and the commission. If your average win is 3 pips and your total cost is 1.4 pips, you keep 1.6 pips before tax. If your cost rises to 2.0 pips, you keep 1.0 pip. The same win rate now produces a smaller result. A strategy that works on a raw-spread account may fail on a standard account because the cost per trade is higher. Compute your break-even pip distance first: total cost divided by pip value.

Swing trading holds a position for days. The swap is charged each night. If the swap is KSh 150 per night and you hold for five nights, that is KSh 750. A swap-free account removes this charge, but it may add a fixed administration fee or a wider spread. Compare the two: KSh 750 in swap against a wider spread of 0.5 pips on one lot, which is about KSh 542. The cheaper option depends on how long you hold. Check the swap-free terms with your broker, because they vary.

Position trading holds for weeks or months. The swap becomes the main cost, and the spread becomes small in comparison. A trade held for thirty nights at KSh 150 per night pays KSh 4,500 in swap. If the position moves 200 pips in your favour, that is about KSh 217,000 on one lot, so the swap is a small part. If it moves 20 pips, the swap is larger than the gain. Decide the holding period before you enter, then pick the account type that matches it.

The spread on EUR/USD is not fixed. It is usually tighter when many participants are active and wider when few are. The London session and the New York session overlap for a few hours, and that is often when the spread is at its lowest. The Asian session is often quieter, and the spread can be wider. If you trade during a quiet period, your cost per trade rises. Check the live spread on your platform before you enter, not the advertised minimum.

News events move the price quickly. A spread that is normally 0.2 pips can widen to 2 pips or more around a major release. A stop-loss order may be filled at a worse price than you set, because the price jumps. This is slippage, and it adds to your cost. The economic calendar lists these events in advance. If you hold a position through a release, you accept the wider spread and the slippage. If you close before the release, you pay the spread once and avoid the jump.

The calendar also shows when swaps are charged. Some brokers charge three nights of swap on one day of the week to cover the weekend. That day varies between brokers, so read your broker's contract specifications. A trade held over that day pays three times the nightly swap. If you plan to hold for a week, check which day carries the triple charge. Avoiding that one day can cut your swap cost by more than half.