GatesFX Account Types 2026: STP Standard vs ECN Raw vs Bonus Account

Key Takeaways

• GatesFX offers three account types: STP Standard (zero commission, wider spreads), ECN Raw Spread (0.0 pips + $3 per round-turn lot), and the 100% Deposit Bonus account (Standard spreads with bonus margin).
• The Raw account undercuts IC Markets ($7/lot) and Pepperstone ($7/lot) by more than half on commission alone. On 20 lots per month, you keep roughly $80 more in your account.
• The Standard account wins for beginners and copy traders who want simplicity. No commission line on every ticket. Spreads do the work.
• The 100% Deposit Bonus account doubles your trading margin but the bonus is not withdrawable cash. It converts through volume-based release conditions.
• Minimum deposit is $10 across all account types. The leverage ceiling is 1:1000 regardless of which account you pick.
• Scalpers and high-volume traders should pick Raw. Swing traders running fewer trades benefit from Standard. Active traders who plan to grind volume can stack the Bonus account on top.

Three Accounts, One Broker, Different Math

Most brokers complicate account selection on purpose. More tiers mean more upsells. GatesFX runs three account types and each one solves a specific problem.

The STP Standard account charges zero commission. Spreads are baked into the price, starting around 1.0 pip on EUR/USD during normal sessions. You pay for execution through the spread. No separate commission line. Ideal for traders who want simple math: open the trade, close the trade, the difference is your P&L.

The ECN Raw Spread account strips spreads down to 0.0 pips on majors during peak liquidity. You pay $3 per round-turn lot in commission. Tighter spreads, explicit cost. Ideal for traders who do volume and want the lowest possible all-in cost.

The 100% Deposit Bonus account runs on Standard spreads with a matched bonus layered on top. Deposit $1,000, get $2,000 in trading margin. The bonus is not withdrawable cash. It is margin that converts to real balance through trading volume.

Same minimum deposit across all three: $10. Same leverage ceiling: 1:1000. Same platforms: MT5 and TradeLocker. Same 2-hour withdrawal guarantee. The only thing that changes is how you pay for execution and how the bonus mechanics shape your margin.

This is not a complicated decision. It is a math decision. Run the numbers on your typical monthly volume, pick the structure that minimizes your cost per trade, and ignore the marketing that says one account is universally better.

For the broader broker context, see our GatesFX review. For the bonus mechanics specifically, the GatesFX deposit bonus guide covers volume conversion math in detail. Both reads pair with this article.

STP Standard: Zero Commission, Spread-Based Cost

The STP Standard account is the simplest entry point at GatesFX. Zero commission. No volume tiers. No surprises on your statement at month end.

Spreads start around 1.0 pip on EUR/USD during the London session. Other majors run similar. Minor pairs widen as you would expect. During news releases, rollover, and low-liquidity periods, spreads expand. This is true at every broker. GatesFX is not special on this point.

The cost math.

One standard lot of EUR/USD at 1.0 pip spread costs $10. Twenty standard lots per month at 1.0 pip costs $200 in spread. That is your total cost. No commission to add. No 'oh wait, plus this' line item.

For comparison, GatesFX Raw on the same volume runs roughly $60 in commission plus $20 in tighter spread cost. Total: $80. Standard runs $200. The Raw account wins on raw cost for active volume.

So why pick Standard? Three reasons.

Reason one: simplicity. A zero-commission account makes mental accounting easier. You see the spread on every ticket. You watch the trade move. You close. The P&L number on your screen is the actual P&L. There is no commission deduction landing later that surprises you.

Reason two: copy trading. If you copy other traders or run automated strategies, commission per round-turn lot can confuse the math on smaller positions. A 0.01 lot trade pays $0.03 in commission on Raw, which sounds trivial but creates accounting noise across hundreds of tickets. Standard absorbs the cost into the spread, keeping your reporting clean.

Reason three: deposit bonus eligibility. The 100% Deposit Bonus runs on Standard spread structure. If you want the bonus margin, the Standard account is the path. You cannot stack the bonus on the Raw account.

Who Standard fits.

Beginners testing strategies on small position sizes. Swing traders running 1 to 5 lots per week where commission per trade matters less than holding-time spread variance. Copy trading subscribers where the lead trader's volume distorts proportional cost calculations. Anyone who values simple monthly statements over the lowest possible cost.

Who Standard does not fit.

Scalpers running 20+ lots per day. The cost gap versus Raw becomes punishing at high volume. EA-driven strategies that fire dozens of small trades per session, where the wider spread compounds across thousands of executions monthly. Cost-sensitive traders who track every dollar of execution drag.

This is the account most traders should start with at GatesFX. Test the platform. Test the withdrawals. Test execution during your trading hours. If your volume scales up, switch to Raw. If you want bonus margin, switch to the Bonus account. The Standard account is the trial run.

ECN Raw Spread: 0.0 Pips and $3 Commission

The ECN Raw Spread account is what GatesFX is genuinely competitive on. The headline numbers are real and the math holds up.

Spreads from 0.0 pips on EUR/USD during peak London and New York sessions. Commission $3 per round-turn standard lot. That is among the lowest commission rates from any regulated broker offering raw spreads.

The cost math.

Twenty standard lots per month on EUR/USD during active sessions: roughly $20 in spread cost (averaged across the month including some non-peak fills) plus $60 in commission. Total: $80 per month for 20 lots of round-turn volume.

IC Markets Raw Spread on the same volume: $7 per round-turn lot in commission plus similar spread cost. Roughly $160 for the same volume. Pepperstone Razor: same $7 per round-turn lot. Roughly $160. HeroFX raw is competitive but unregulated, so the comparison should not be apples-to-apples.

GatesFX Raw undercuts the regulated competition by roughly half on commission alone. On 20 lots per month, you save $80. Over a year of consistent volume, that is $960 in retained capital. Real money.

Why does GatesFX charge less commission?

The answer is regulatory. IC Markets holds ASIC and CySEC licenses. Pepperstone holds seven regulatory licenses including the FCA. Each tier-1 license costs the broker compliance, audits, capital requirements, and segregated fund overhead. That cost gets passed through to traders in commission.

GatesFX holds FSCA regulation in South Africa. FSCA is real regulation but it is not tier-1. The compliance overhead is structurally lower. GatesFX passes the savings through.

You are not getting better execution on Raw at GatesFX than at IC Markets. You are getting comparable execution at lower cost because the broker has lower regulatory overhead. That is the trade. We covered the broader cost-vs-trust math in our how to choose a forex broker guide.

Who Raw fits.

Scalpers running 15+ trades per day on majors. Day traders with stop-loss under 10 pips where wider spreads eat into edge. EA-driven strategies that depend on tight execution windows and consistent spread quality. High-volume traders where the per-lot commission savings compound meaningfully.

Who Raw does not fit.

Traders running fewer than 5 lots per month. The savings versus Standard are marginal at low volume and the explicit commission line creates more accounting work for limited benefit. Beginners learning to read price action who do not want commission distracting from the trade itself. Bonus account hunters since the Bonus stacks on Standard, not Raw.

The Raw account is the genuine value in the GatesFX lineup. If you do real volume, this is your account. If you do not yet, get to volume first on Standard, then switch.

The 100% Deposit Bonus Account: Margin Doubled, Conditions Apply

The Bonus account deserves its own breakdown because it is the most misunderstood product in the GatesFX lineup.

The headline.

Deposit $500. Get $1,000 in trading margin. Deposit $25,000. Get $50,000. Up to $25,000 in matched margin per account. The largest deposit bonus in the regulated retail broker space because tier-1 regulators (FCA, ASIC, CySEC) ban deposit bonuses entirely. IC Markets cannot offer this. Pepperstone cannot. Exness does not. GatesFX, under FSCA, can.

The reality.

The bonus is not withdrawable cash. It is trading margin that converts to real balance through volume-based release conditions. Specifically, you trade lots. As you accumulate trading volume, portions of the bonus convert to withdrawable balance. The exact volume requirements are in the account terms.

If you deposit $1,000 and accept the bonus, your trading margin shows as $2,000. You can use the full $2,000 to open positions, manage drawdown, and trade. But you cannot withdraw the $1,000 bonus until you trade enough to convert it.

This is not a GatesFX trick. Every deposit bonus in the broker industry works this way. The casino knows the math. The bonus accelerates margin without changing your underlying trading economics.

The volume math.

For a trader who actively trades 5 to 10 lots per week, the bonus converts over a few months of normal activity. The doubled margin lets you size positions more aggressively or run multiple uncorrelated strategies without margin constraints.

For a trader who runs 1 lot per week or less, the bonus sits as locked margin indefinitely. It looks pretty in the account dashboard but never converts to withdrawable balance.

For a trader who plans to deposit and withdraw quickly, the bonus is incompatible with that strategy. Once you accept the bonus, the conditions lock and the bonus must convert through volume before you can withdraw the matched amount.

Who the Bonus account fits.

Active traders who already plan to grind volume. The bonus accelerates margin growth without changing behavior. Traders who want to test multiple uncorrelated strategies simultaneously and need the additional margin to do so. Traders running prop-firm-style risk management on personal accounts who want larger position sizes without proportionally larger deposits.

Who the Bonus account does not fit.

Traders who deposit small amounts intending to withdraw quickly. The bonus locks the conversion math and frustrates the withdrawal flow. Casual traders running occasional trades where the volume conditions never trigger. Anyone who reads 'bonus' and thinks 'free money.' It is not free. It is leveraged margin with conditions.

The Bonus account is a tool. Like any tool, it serves specific use cases. Read the volume conditions before opting in. Once you accept the bonus, the terms lock. We covered the full bonus mechanics including specific conversion scenarios in our GatesFX deposit bonus guide. That read pairs with this article for traders who want the math in detail.

Cost of Trading: The Numbers That Matter

Let's run the actual cost comparison across all three GatesFX account types and the major regulated competitors. Same volume, same instrument, same time period.

Setup. $1,000 trading budget. 20 standard lots of EUR/USD per month, traded during London and New York sessions. Hold time: 30 minutes to 4 hours typical. Round-turn execution.

GatesFX STP Standard. Spread cost: roughly $200 (1.0 pip average across active sessions). Commission: $0. Total monthly: $200. Annual: $2,400.

GatesFX ECN Raw Spread. Spread cost: roughly $20 (0.1 pip average during peak liquidity). Commission: $60 (20 lots at $3 per round-turn). Total monthly: $80. Annual: $960.

GatesFX 100% Deposit Bonus account. Same as Standard cost structure with doubled margin available. Spread cost: $200. Commission: $0. Total monthly: $200. Annual: $2,400. Note: bonus margin conversion happens in parallel through volume but does not change cost per trade.

IC Markets Raw Spread. Spread cost: roughly $20. Commission: $140 (20 lots at $7 per round-turn). Total monthly: $160. Annual: $1,920.

Pepperstone Razor. Spread cost: roughly $20. Commission: $140 (20 lots at $7 per round-turn). Total monthly: $160. Annual: $1,920.

HeroFX Raw. Cost structure varies. Roughly competitive with GatesFX Raw on commission but with no regulatory protection. Not a clean comparison.

The takeaways.

GatesFX Raw is the cheapest option for active traders. By a clear margin. The savings versus IC Markets and Pepperstone are roughly $80 per month at this volume.

GatesFX Standard is more expensive than IC Markets Raw on this volume. If you are doing 20 lots per month, you are paying for the simplicity. The Standard account makes sense at lower volumes (under 5 lots per month) where commission overhead matters less than spread.

The Bonus account does not change cost per trade. It changes available margin. If you genuinely use the doubled margin to open additional positions or manage risk more flexibly, the bonus is functional value. If you treat it as background margin that does not influence behavior, it is irrelevant to your cost calculation.

Volume threshold.

The break-even point between GatesFX Standard and GatesFX Raw is roughly 3 to 5 lots per month. Below that, Standard is competitive because the explicit commission savings on small volume do not compensate for the wider spread on every trade. Above that, Raw pulls ahead and the gap widens.

The break-even point between GatesFX Raw and IC Markets / Pepperstone is approximately zero. GatesFX Raw is cheaper at any volume. The trade is regulatory protection. If you value FSCA at the pricing differential, GatesFX wins. If you value tier-1 regulation more, IC Markets or Pepperstone wins despite the cost. We compared the full regulatory and cost angles in our GatesFX vs IC Markets breakdown.

For the deeper Raw account math, our GatesFX zero commission trading guide covers when zero-commission Standard beats Raw and vice versa. Both reads compound with this article.

Who Wins for Each Trading Style

Stop comparing account types in the abstract. Let's match each GatesFX account to actual trading styles.

Scalpers. Raw account. Always. Scalping demands the tightest possible spread because your edge per trade is small and frequent. The 1.0 pip Standard spread eats too much of every trade. The 0.0 to 0.2 pip Raw spread plus $3 commission is the structurally lowest cost in the regulated broker space. If you scalp 20+ trades per day, this is not a close decision.

Day traders with stop-loss under 15 pips. Raw account. Same logic as scalping but slightly less aggressive. The Raw cost structure protects edge on tight setups where every pip of spread matters. Day traders running 5 to 15 trades per day will see meaningful cost savings versus Standard.

Swing traders holding 4+ hours per trade. Standard or Bonus account. Swing traders pay less attention to spread because hold time absorbs entry-cost variance. The simplicity of zero-commission accounting and the Bonus margin advantage often outweigh the Raw cost benefit at low trade frequency. Run 1 to 3 trades per week and the Raw commission savings are marginal compared to the operational simplicity of Standard.

Beginners testing strategies. Standard account. The mental overhead of tracking commission alongside spread distracts from learning. Standard's bundled cost simplifies the learning loop. Switch to Raw later when volume justifies it.

Copy traders. Standard account. Lead trader volume can distort proportional cost on Raw because micro-positions pay disproportionately on commission. Standard's spread-based cost scales cleanly with position size.

EA-driven systematic traders. Raw account. EAs that fire frequent small trades benefit most from the tightest possible spreads. The commission per trade adds up cleanly to budget against. Standard's wider spread punishes high-frequency systems.

Active traders planning to grind volume. Bonus account on Standard, then Raw after the bonus converts. This is the strategic play for traders who plan to deposit meaningful capital and trade actively. The doubled margin from the bonus accelerates position sizing during the early months. Once the bonus converts through accumulated volume, switch to Raw to optimize per-trade cost going forward.

Capital-light traders depositing $50 to $300. Standard or Bonus account. At small deposit sizes, the Bonus account's doubled margin matters more than the Raw cost savings. A $100 deposit becomes $200 in trading margin. The flexibility on small accounts often outweighs the commission optimization.

Capital-rich traders depositing $5,000+. Raw account. At larger deposit sizes, the cost savings on Raw compound meaningfully and the bonus benefit (doubled margin) matters less because the base capital already supports adequate position sizing.

The rule of thumb.

If you trade 20+ lots per month, Raw. If you trade fewer than 5 lots per month, Standard. If you are in between, the Bonus account is worth considering for the margin amplification. None of these answers are universal because trading style varies, but the volume threshold is the cleanest dividing line.

How GatesFX Account Types Compare to IC Markets and Pepperstone

Most traders compare GatesFX to IC Markets and Pepperstone before committing. Let's run the account-type comparison directly.

IC Markets account structure.

IC Markets offers Standard, Raw Spread, and cTrader Raw accounts. The Standard account charges no commission with spreads from 1.0 pip. The Raw Spread account offers 0.0 pip spreads with $3.50 per side ($7 round-turn) commission. The cTrader Raw is similar to Raw Spread but on the cTrader platform with $3.00 per side commission. Minimum deposit: $200.

Pepperstone account structure.

Pepperstone offers Standard and Razor accounts. Standard charges no commission with spreads from 1.0 pip. Razor offers 0.0 pip spreads with $3.50 per side ($7 round-turn) commission across MT4, MT5, cTrader, and TradingView. Minimum deposit: $0.

GatesFX account structure.

Three accounts: STP Standard (zero commission, 1.0 pip spreads), ECN Raw Spread (0.0 pip spreads, $3 round-turn commission), and 100% Deposit Bonus (Standard structure with doubled margin). Minimum deposit: $10.

The structural comparison.

IC Markets and Pepperstone offer cleaner Raw accounts with tier-1 regulation backing them. The commission is roughly 2x what GatesFX charges on Raw. The spreads are comparable to slightly tighter at the regulated brokers due to deeper liquidity.

GatesFX offers the cheapest Raw commission and adds the deposit bonus option that the regulated brokers cannot match. The trade is FSCA versus FCA / ASIC / CySEC regulation depth.

The minimum deposit angle.

GatesFX wins for capital-light traders. $10 minimum versus $200 at IC Markets or $0 at Pepperstone (effectively $25 to $100 to make any reasonable trade). For a trader testing a broker with $50, GatesFX is structurally compatible. IC Markets is not.

The platform angle.

IC Markets supports MT4, MT5, and cTrader. Pepperstone supports MT4, MT5, cTrader, TradingView, and Pepperstone Trader. GatesFX supports MT5 and TradeLocker.

If you need MT4 or cTrader, the regulated brokers win. GatesFX cannot serve those platform requirements. If you need TradeLocker (especially for prop firm continuity), GatesFX wins because the regulated brokers do not support it.

The honest summary.

GatesFX undercuts the regulated competition on Raw cost by roughly half. The trade is FSCA regulatory protection versus tier-1 protection. For traders comfortable with FSCA at the pricing differential, GatesFX wins on cost. For traders who require tier-1 backing for capital preservation reasons, IC Markets or Pepperstone wins despite the cost.

No universal answer. Pick based on your priorities. We laid out the full IC Markets versus Pepperstone math in our IC Markets vs Pepperstone comparison. The GatesFX-specific angles are in our main GatesFX review and the GatesFX deposit bonus guide for the bonus mechanics.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between GatesFX Standard and Raw accounts?

STP Standard charges zero commission with spreads from 1.0 pip baked into the price. ECN Raw Spread charges $3 per round-turn lot commission with spreads from 0.0 pips during peak liquidity. On 20 standard lots per month, Standard costs roughly $200 (all in spread) and Raw costs roughly $80 (commission plus tighter spread). Raw is cheaper for active traders. Standard is simpler for beginners and copy traders. Both have $10 minimum deposit and 1:1000 leverage.

Is GatesFX Raw cheaper than IC Markets or Pepperstone?

Yes. GatesFX Raw charges $3 per round-turn lot in commission. IC Markets and Pepperstone Razor both charge $7 per round-turn lot. On 20 standard lots per month, GatesFX Raw runs roughly $80 in total cost. IC Markets and Pepperstone run roughly $160. GatesFX is structurally cheaper because FSCA regulation has lower compliance overhead than FCA, ASIC, or CySEC. The trade is regulatory depth versus cost.

Can I withdraw the GatesFX deposit bonus immediately?

No. The 100% Deposit Bonus is trading margin, not withdrawable cash. The bonus converts to real balance through volume-based release conditions. As you trade lots, portions of the bonus convert. The exact volume requirements are in the account terms. Active traders running 5 to 10 lots per week see the bonus convert over a few months. Casual traders may not trigger conversion at all. This is standard mechanics for any deposit bonus in the broker industry.

Which GatesFX account type is best for beginners?

STP Standard. The zero-commission structure simplifies mental accounting because the spread is the only cost on each trade. There is no commission line that lands on your statement to surprise you. Standard is also compatible with copy trading, where commission per micro-position can distort proportional cost calculations. After 3 to 6 months of consistent trading, beginners can evaluate whether their volume justifies switching to Raw for the lower per-trade cost.

Can I have multiple GatesFX account types at the same time?

Yes. GatesFX permits multiple sub-accounts under one client login. A common setup is one Standard account for testing strategies, one Raw account for active high-volume trading, and one Bonus account during the deposit-bonus phase. The accounts share KYC verification but operate independently with separate balances and trading histories. This lets traders match each strategy to the optimal account structure without compromising on any of them.

What is the minimum deposit for each GatesFX account type?

$10 across all three account types. Standard, Raw, and Bonus accounts all share the same $10 minimum. This is among the lowest in the regulated broker space. IC Markets requires $200 minimum. Pepperstone has no formal minimum but practical trading typically requires $50 to $100. The $10 entry makes GatesFX uniquely accessible for traders testing the broker before committing larger capital.