Last updated: 05/09/2026
Vantage offers a lot of different Vantage account types, so it is easy for a new trader to open a Vantage Standard STP account by default and only later notice that Raw ECN has a tighter spread. The opposite happens too: people pick the Vantage Raw ECN account purely because the spread starts at 0.0 pips, without counting the commission charged on every lot.
This article compares the Vantage account types — Standard STP, Cent, Raw ECN, Pro ECN, Swap-Free, Premium Unlimited and Perpetual — on how costs are charged, the capital required and what each one is actually built for.
Backcom.io also breaks down the cost after rebate on each of the Vantage account types, so you can decide which Vantage account to choose rather than simply chasing the lowest advertised spread.
If you want the bigger picture on the broker before opening anything, see our review of whether Vantage is legit.
Table of contents
- Vantage account types compared: all 7 in one table
- Standard STP and Cent: for beginners and small capital
- Raw ECN and Pro ECN: for scalpers, day traders and EAs
- Swap-Free, Premium Unlimited and Perpetual: 3 specialist Vantage account types
- Real cost per lot across the Vantage account types
- Which Vantage account should you choose?
- Frequently asked questions
- Conclusion
Vantage Account Types Compared: All 7 In One Table
The Vantage account types fall into three groups: the retail group, Standard STP and Cent; the ECN group, Raw ECN and Pro ECN; and the specialist group, Swap-Free, Premium Unlimited and Perpetual. What separates them is spread, commission, the capital required and which instruments you can trade.
Real conditions can differ by region and by the legal entity serving your account, so the official Vantage accounts page and Help Center are the final reference.
| Account | Min deposit | Spread | Commission/lot/side | Leverage | Platform | Stands out for | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard STP | From $50* | From about 1.1 pips | $0 | Up to 1:1000 on eligible accounts | MT4, MT5, App | No commission, simple maths | Beginners, general traders |
| Cent | $50 | Low | $0–$3 depending on setup | Per account conditions | MT5, App | Balance shown in cents | Beginners going live |
| Raw ECN | $50 | From 0.0 pips | $3 | Up to 1:1000 on eligible accounts | MT4, MT5, App | Raw spread, separate commission | Scalpers, day traders, EAs |
| Pro ECN | $10,000 | From 0.0 pips | From $1.5 | Per account conditions | MT4, MT5 | Lower commission than Raw | High-volume traders |
| Swap-Free | 50 units of account currency | Per underlying account | Per underlying account | Per account conditions | MT4, MT5 | No swap, but an admin fee | Traders who must avoid swap |
| Premium Unlimited | Per regional conditions | Low STP spread | Per conditions | Dynamic leverage | MT4, MT5 | 0% Stop Out, flexible leverage | Active traders |
| Perpetual | Check per region | Per crypto product | Per product | Per product | Per supported system | Funding fee instead of swap | Crypto traders, 24/7 |
*The Vantage account comparison page currently lists Standard STP from $50, but some regional or older pages may show a different figure. Treat your own Client Portal as the final word at the moment you open the account.
The Vantage Help Center also lists Social Trading among its live accounts. That is really an account serving the Copy Trading platform, starting from around $50. If your Client Portal shows Social Trading as a separate option, the real number of Vantage account types available to you may be more than seven.
See the official live account list at the Vantage Help Center.
If “spread from 0.0 pips” does not mean much to you yet, read our explainer on what forex spread is.
Vantage Standard STP And Cent Accounts: For Beginners And Small Capital
Of all the Vantage account types, Standard STP and Cent are the easiest to start on. Both keep the cost structure simple and neither asks for the kind of capital Pro ECN requires.
Vantage Standard STP Account: No Commission, Spread From About 1.1 Pips
Among the Vantage account types, the Vantage Standard STP account suits traders who want simple execution and would rather not see a separate commission line on every order.
How it works:
- Minimum first deposit currently listed from $50.
- No commission on most forex trades.
- The cost is built straight into the spread.
- Spread published from about 1.1 pips.
- Available on MT4, MT5 and the Vantage trading ecosystem.
On EUR/USD, a 1.1 pip spread on 1 standard lot works out at roughly $11 in spread cost when 1 pip is worth $10.
The advantage of the Vantage Standard STP account over the other Vantage account types is that it is easy to reason about: no commission to add after each round turn. It also carries a relatively high IB rebate on many instruments at Backcom.
The downside is a wider spread than Raw ECN. For a scalper opening dozens of orders a day, a gap of 0.3–0.5 pips per lot becomes a meaningful cost.
Vantage explains how STP and ECN execution work in the Academy section of its official site.
Vantage Cent Account: Real Money At A Smaller Scale
Cent is one of the Vantage account types built for traders moving from demo to real money without wanting to trade at full size.
Instead of showing the balance in dollars, the account uses cents. For example:
- $10 becomes 1,000 cents.
- $50 becomes 5,000 cents.
- Smaller lots and order sizes make risk easier to control.
According to the Help Center, the minimum deposit on Cent is $50, and new accounts are now opened on MT5 rather than MT4.
Cent makes sense when you need to:
- Get used to trading with real money on the line.
- Test an EA with small capital.
- Validate a strategy before scaling up.
- Learn to manage drawdown.
Cent is not the right pick, though, if your goal is high volume or maximising your rebate.
Check the exact Cent conditions in your own Client Portal, and see our guide to position sizing with the 1% rule.
Vantage Raw ECN And Pro ECN Accounts: For Scalpers, Day Traders And EAs
Where Standard STP buries the cost in the spread, the two ECN Vantage account types split the commission out to give you a tighter spread instead.
This is usually the group scalpers, day traders and EA users care about most when they compare the Vantage account types.
Vantage Raw ECN Account: Spread From 0.0 Pips Plus $3 Per Lot Per Side
Within the ECN group of the Vantage account types, the Vantage Raw ECN account has a minimum deposit of around $50 — the same as Standard STP — but a completely different cost structure.
Vantage publishes:
- Forex spread from 0.0 pips.
- Commission from $3 per lot per side.
- Opening and closing 1 lot therefore costs about $6 in round-turn commission.
- On EUR/USD, $6 is equivalent to roughly 0.6 pips.
If EUR/USD shows a 0.1 pip spread at the time you trade, the theoretical total is about 0.7 pips once commission is added — lower than several other Vantage account types. That is why the Vantage Raw ECN account can work out cheaper than Standard STP for anyone trading frequently.
Raw ECN particularly suits:
- Scalping.
- Day trading.
- Expert Advisors.
- High monthly lot counts.
- Traders who need a tight spread at the point of entry.
The thing new traders most often get wrong is that the $3 commission is charged per side, not for the whole trade. A full round turn starts at $6 per lot.
Vantage Pro ECN Account: Commission From $1.5 Per Lot Per Side
Pro ECN is structured much like the Vantage Raw ECN account, but with lower commission.
The conditions worth noting:
- Minimum deposit around $10,000.
- Spread from 0.0 pips.
- Commission from $1.5 per lot per side.
- A round turn on 1 lot is therefore about $3 in commission.
Against Raw ECN, that saves roughly $3 in commission per round-turn lot.
For example:
- 10 lots a month → about $30 saved.
- 50 lots a month → about $150.
- 100 lots a month → about $300.
- 500 lots a month → about $1,500.
So among the Vantage account types, Pro ECN only really earns its place once you have the capital and the volume to make that commission saving matter.
See the official explanation of Raw ECN versus Pro ECN.
Notes On Using Raw ECN For Scalping Or Running An EA
A tight spread does not mean every strategy is permitted.
Before running an EA on the Vantage Raw ECN account, read the terms covering strategies such as latency arbitrage, price-error exploitation and other forms of abnormal trading.
If you trade manually over short timeframes, the same execution rules still apply — check them before you scale up your order frequency.
Beyond Standard and the ECN group, Vantage has accounts designed for specific needs. These are not Vantage account types the average trader has to choose between.
Vantage Swap-Free Account: No Swap, But There Is An Admin Fee
Within the specialist group of the Vantage account types, Swap-Free is built for traders who do not want, or cannot accept, overnight interest.
The single most important point:
Swap-Free does not mean holding a position overnight is free.
In place of swap, Vantage can apply an administration fee to positions carried overnight.
The Help Center currently lists the minimum deposit as around 50 units of your account currency, depending on the currency you use.
It suits traders holding positions for several days, or anyone with a specific requirement around interest. Before choosing it, compare the administration fee against the swap you would pay on a regular account.
Premium Unlimited is one of the Vantage account types that stands out in 2026, thanks to leverage that scales with your equity.
According to the Help Center, the account has:
- A Stop Out Level of 0%.
- A Margin Call around 30%.
- Leverage that changes with equity.
- A 20% reduction in swap rate under the published conditions.
- Very high leverage on forex and gold at low equity, subject to dynamic limits based on market conditions.
The published leverage tiers:
- Equity $0–$5,000 → the highest tier in the table, exactly as Vantage publishes it at the time you open the position.
- $5,000.01–$30,000 → up to 1:2000.
- $30,000.01–$100,000 → up to 1:1000.
- Above $100,000 → up to 1:500.
Around major news, leverage on new positions can be capped at 1:200.
New clients also have to meet a minimum of 10 trades and at least 3 lots in total within one year on eligible instruments such as forex, gold, oil or BTCUSD.
See the full Premium Unlimited conditions.
Vantage Perpetual Account: Crypto 24/7 With A Funding Fee Instead Of Swap
Perpetual differs noticeably from the remaining Vantage account types because it is built mainly for crypto CFDs.
Instead of traditional swap, the account uses a funding fee.
The mechanism mirrors perpetual futures on crypto exchanges:
- The funding rate can be positive or negative.
- You may pay funding or receive it.
- It is charged roughly every 8 hours.
- Crypto can trade 24/7, subject to product conditions.
Perpetual suits traders focused on Bitcoin and crypto, but it is not a direct replacement for Standard STP or Raw ECN when you trade forex and gold.
See how the Perpetual account works.
Real Cost Per Lot Across The Vantage Account Types, Before And After Rebate
This is the part that matters most when you compare the Vantage account types.
Do not just ask which of the Vantage account types has the tightest spread. The formula to use is:
Net cost = Spread cost + Commission − Rebate
EUR/USD
On 1 lot of EUR/USD, 1 pip is usually worth about $10.
| Account | Published spread | Round-turn commission | Backcom rebate/lot | Cost after rebate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard STP | From about 1.1 pips | $0 | $6.12 | Depends on the live spread |
| Raw ECN | From 0.0 pips | From $6 | $1.60 | Live spread + $4.40 |
| Premium Unlimited | Low STP spread | Per conditions | $1.54 | Depends on the live spread |
If the Vantage Standard STP account shows a live spread of 1.1 pips, the cost before rebate is about $11 and about $4.88 after.
If the Vantage Raw ECN account shows 0.1 pips, the total before rebate is roughly:
$1 spread + $6 commission = $7
After the $1.60 rebate:
$7 − $1.60 = $5.40
So Standard STP and Raw ECN can end up remarkably close once the rebate is counted, depending on the live spread at the moment you trade.
How to measure it properly: open MT5 during the London–New York overlap and record the spread on each account at the same moment, with the date and time. Do not use the advertised minimum spread as if it were an average — it is the floor, not the level you actually fill at.
XAU/USD
Gold is where the rebate can make the biggest difference between the Vantage account types.
| Account | Live spread | Commission | Backcom rebate/lot | Cost after rebate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard STP | Measure it yourself | $0 | $11.30 | Spread cost − $11.30 |
| Raw ECN | Measure it yourself | Per setup | $1.60 | Spread + commission − $1.60 |
| Premium Unlimited | Measure it yourself | Per setup | $3.23 | Total cost − $3.23 |
Which is why which Vantage account to choose cannot be answered from a spread column alone.
A trader who is mostly in gold may well prefer the Vantage Standard STP account if the total cost after rebate beats Raw ECN at the time they trade.
The details are here:
Which Vantage Account Should You Choose? Suggestions By Trader Profile
Having compared the Vantage account types, the right choice comes down to capital, strategy, instruments and volume.
| Trader profile | Account to consider | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Beginner going live | Cent | Small size, risk easy to control |
| $50–500 capital, ordinary trading | Standard STP | No commission, simple, good rebate |
| Scalper, day trader, EA user | Raw ECN | Tight spread, clear cost structure |
| $10,000+ capital, high volume | Pro ECN | Lower commission than Raw |
| Holds positions for days, must avoid swap | Swap-Free | Swap replaced by an admin fee |
| Active trader needing flexible leverage | Premium Unlimited | Dynamic leverage, 0% Stop Out per conditions |
| Mainly trades crypto | Perpetual | Funding fee and 24/7 crypto access |
If you still cannot decide which Vantage account to choose, a simple rule of thumb:
- New to trading: start on Cent or Standard STP.
- Scalping a lot: favour Raw ECN.
- Very high volume: look at Pro ECN.
- Holding for days: compare Swap-Free against the swap on a regular account.
- Need flexible leverage: look at Premium Unlimited.
- Crypto only: look at Perpetual.
More importantly, on any of the Vantage account types, work out the cost after rebate rather than the cost displayed on MT4/MT5.
Whichever you pick, you can open it through Vantage rebates with Backcom and recover part of the cost on every eligible lot.
4 Common Mistakes When Choosing Between Vantage Account Types
1. Avoiding commission, so always picking Standard STP
Commission does not automatically mean more expensive. For a scalper, the Vantage Raw ECN account can have a lower total cost thanks to the tighter spread.
2. Opening Raw ECN and then running any EA at all
Raw ECN suits EAs, but broker trading rules still apply. Do not run a prohibited strategy just because the account has a low spread.
3. Assuming Swap-Free means free to hold
Swap is removed, but an administration fee can be applied in its place.
4. Comparing spreads and ignoring the rebate
Two Vantage account types can have very different spreads and still end up close on net cost once cashback is counted.
How To Open Another Account Type In Client Portal
If you already have a Vantage Standard STP account and want to move to Raw ECN, you usually do not need to create a whole new client profile.
Here is how:
- Log in to Client Portal or the Vantage App.
- Go to the account management area.
- Choose to open an additional live account.
- Pick the account type, platform, currency and the leverage the system allows.
- Transfer funds internally to the new account if needed.
An existing account usually cannot be switched directly to another of the Vantage account types; opening an additional account is the way to do it.
If you already trade with Vantage but are not receiving cashback, see how to transfer your Vantage IB.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does The Vantage Standard STP Account Charge Commission?
No. It is one of the two Vantage account types with no commission: the Vantage Standard STP account charges nothing extra on most forex trades, with the cost built into the spread instead. In exchange, the spread is usually wider than Raw ECN. If you receive cashback, compare the total spread after rebate rather than the headline spread.
What Is The Minimum Deposit On The Vantage Raw ECN Account?
The Vantage Raw ECN account currently lists a minimum deposit from around $50. Forex spreads start at 0.0 pips and commission from $3 per lot per side, which is $6 for opening and closing 1 standard lot.
How Does The Vantage Cent Account Differ From Standard STP?
Cent targets small-capital traders and displays the balance in cents. Standard STP uses ordinary currency units and suits longer-term trading better. Both Vantage account types are easy to access, but Cent fits the stage where you are still learning to trade live money.
Can I Switch From Standard STP To Raw ECN?
You normally cannot convert an account you are already using. The simple route is to open an additional Vantage Raw ECN account in Client Portal and transfer funds internally from the old account.
Which Vantage Account Type Pays The Highest Rebate?
It depends on the instrument and the account. On Backcom’s figures, Standard STP can reach around $11.30 per XAUUSD lot, while Raw ECN and Premium Unlimited pay differently. If your account is not currently under Backcom’s IB, see how to transfer your Vantage IB.
Conclusion
The Vantage account types break into three groups:
- Standard STP and Cent: for beginners, or anyone who wants a simple cost structure.
- Raw ECN and Pro ECN: for scalpers, EAs and high-volume traders.
- Swap-Free, Premium Unlimited and Perpetual: for specific trading needs.
So to work out which Vantage account to choose, do not stop at the “spread from 0.0 pips” headline.
Count all of it:
Spread + commission + holding cost − rebate = your real cost.
In some cases the Vantage Standard STP account has a wider spread than Raw ECN, but a larger rebate narrows the gap considerably.
If you scalp or run EAs, the Vantage Raw ECN account is usually the stronger option. If you are starting out, Standard STP or Cent are easier to use. High-volume traders should look at Pro ECN.
Having compared the Vantage account types, the last step is to check the conditions actually showing in your own Client Portal before you deposit, since leverage and account availability can differ by region.
It is also worth seeing how this compares with the XM account types and the Exness account types before you commit.
You can check the rebate rate by account and instrument at Backcom Vantage before choosing.
