The headline trade fee is one line of several
A broker price list is not a single number. It is a per-trade charge, an account fee that runs while the account stays open, an inactivity charge on accounts left dormant, a currency conversion mark-up, a fee per options contract and, where borrowing is offered, a rate on the borrowed amount. Readers who weigh only the first line tend to pay for the rest later.
The per-trade figures differ sharply. AJ Bell charges £5 a stock trade, 5paisa charges INR 20 on a stock trade and INR 20 on an options trade, Angel One charges INR 20 and INR 20, and Alpaca lists $0 for stocks and $0 for options. ActivoBank lists €0 on a stock trade, Abf Trade Eu lists $0, Admirals charges $0.02 and Ally Bank lists $0.
Standing charges decide what a quiet month costs. AJ Bell adds an account fee of £3.50, Absa lists ZAR 115, AGORA direct™ lists €0 and Angel One lists INR 0. Ally Bank lists an account fee of $0, so an unused account does not drain cash on that line.
Conversion, inactivity and margin change the arithmetic
Currency conversion is the fee with no obvious name on most sheets. AJ Bell charges 0.75% on foreign exchange, and that applies whenever a deal is priced in something other than the base currency of the account. On a small trade the mark-up can matter more than the trade fee itself.
Inactivity is the other quiet charge. Admirals charges €10 on an inactive account, while Ally Bank lists an inactivity fee of $0. A broker that bills for a dormant account and one that does not suit different habits, because some readers park cash and others trade often.
Margin sits outside the fee sheet but changes the bill. Angel One lists a margin rate of 0%. Where borrowing is available, read the rate and the trigger points together, since the cost lands on the borrowed balance rather than on the deal.
Minimum deposits set the entry cost
The minimum deposit is money committed before the first trade, and the spread across brokers is wide. Ally Bank lists a minimum deposit of $0, AGORA direct™ €0, Angel One INR 0 and APMEX $0.
Above those sit the mid-range asks: AJ Bell £25, Admirals $25, Amillex $50, AMarkets $100, Anzo Capital $100, AMP Futures $100, Abf Trade Eu $500 and Alpari $30.
The larger figures belong to a different kind of product. Alchemy Markets asks $1,000, Alor Broker RUB 10,000, Acre Gold $12, Allegiance Gold $10,000 and American Hartford Gold $10,000. A high minimum is not a fee, but it fixes the size of the decision.
Deposits and withdrawals sit outside the trade
Abf Trade Eu does not charge for deposits, and AJ Bell does not charge for withdrawals. Those two lines settle what it costs to move cash in and out before any deal is placed, and they are often where a comparison stops early.
Keep currencies separate on each line.
Compare the sheet section by section
Work down the list in a fixed order: the trade fee for the product actually traded, then the account fee, then conversion, then inactivity, then any options fee, then the margin rate, then the minimum deposit. Fixing the order stops a cheap headline from hiding an expensive line further down.
Weigh the field by activity rather than by brand. A reader trading shares often compares £5 at AJ Bell with $0 at Alpaca and $0 at Ally Bank, while a reader buying options weighs $0.50 against $0 and INR 20.
Finish with the lists that match the account type, then read the single-brand pages with the fee lines open alongside. Brokers for beginners covers accounts opened without much trading history, CFD brokers covers the leveraged side where the margin rate decides the cost, and the AJ Bell and Ally Bank pages show how a fee schedule fits the account around it.