Is commission-free trading really free?

The commission is zero; the trade is not. Stock sales still carry the SEC fee and the FINRA trading activity fee, both a few cents per trade, and most brokers are paid through the spread or payment for order flow, which shows up as a slightly worse fill rather than a line item. For small, infrequent trades commission-free is close to free. For hundreds of trades a month, the hidden part adds up.

How much do options cost to trade?

The common structure is a per-contract fee, often around $0.65, sometimes with a per-trade minimum, charged on both the open and the close. Ten contracts round-tripped at $0.65 is $13. Some brokers charge nothing to close short options worth a few cents, which is worth checking in the schedule.

How do crypto fees compare with stock fees?

Crypto venues usually charge a percent of the trade on each side, commonly 0.1% to 0.6% depending on volume and whether the order adds or takes liquidity. On a $2,000 round trip at 0.25% a side that is $10, which is far more than a commission-free stock trade of the same size. The calculator's crypto row shows the yearly total for your mix.

Does JorgAI charge per trade?

No. JorgAI is a flat monthly or yearly subscription with no per-trade fee, no share of profits and no assets-under-management fee. Your broker's own fees still apply to every order, exactly as they would if you placed it by hand, which is why this calculator exists.

Free Tool

Broker fee calculator

Yearly cost = 12 x (round trips per month x (fees on the buy + fees on the sell + regulatory fees on the sell)). Twenty $2,000 round trips a month at a commission-free broker cost about $15 a year in regulatory fees; the same trades at $4.95 a side cost about $2,391.

Fee model

The common US retail model: $0 stock commissions, a per-contract options fee, a percent on crypto.

Stocks

Round trips per monthA buy and its sell count as one.Average order size$Average share price$Only matters for per-share fees.Account size$To show fees as a share of the account.Commission per order$Fee per share$Minimum per order (per-share plans)$

Result

$14.94 a year

$1.24 a month across 20 round trips, 0.15% of a $10,000 account every year before any trade makes or loses a dollar.

Stock fees per round trip: $0.00 + $0.062 regulatory
Stocks, monthly: $1.24
Options, monthly: $0.00
Crypto, monthly: $0.00
Average cost per round trip: $0.06
Yearly total: $14.94

To break even on fees alone, your trading has to earn 0.15% a year on the account. That is the hurdle before any edge counts.

What the calculator counts

Every round trip has two orders, and fees land on both. Commissions and per-share fees apply on the buy and the sell. The two US regulatory fees, the SEC fee and the FINRA trading activity fee, apply on the sell only and are small enough that commission-free trading costs about $15 a year for a typical retail pattern of twenty $2,000 round trips a month. Options are charged per contract on both sides. Crypto is charged as a percentage per side, which is why it dominates the total for anyone trading it actively.

Formula

stock round trip = 2 x (commission + max(per-share x shares, minimum)) + SEC fee + TAF

SEC fee = $27.80 per $1,000,000 sold | TAF = $0.000166 per share sold, max $8.30

options round trip = 2 x contracts x fee per contract

crypto round trip = 2 x order size x fee%

yearly = 12 x monthly

Not counted: the bid-ask spread and price improvement, which vary by order and by broker and are the real cost of commission-free trading for large or frequent orders; margin interest; and exchange or data fees. If you want those, add them to the commission field as an estimate per order.

Why the number matters more than it looks

Fees are paid whether the trade wins or loses, so they are a hurdle on the whole account, not on the winners. A trader doing 20 round trips a month at $4.95 a side pays about $2,400 a year, which on a $10,000 account is a 24% return needed just to stand still. The same trader at a commission-free broker pays about $15. That gap is larger than the edge of most strategies, which is why the fee schedule belongs in the strategy decision, not after it. Our guides to brokers that support automated trading and how crypto fees eat into results cover the schedules in more depth.

Done for you

JorgAI is a flat subscription. It never charges per trade.

No per-trade fee, no share of profits, no assets-under-management fee. Your broker's own fees apply to every order exactly as they would by hand, and JorgAI connects to brokers with commission-free stock trading. The subscription is the whole cost, so this calculator is the only fee math you need to redo.

See plans and start free JorgAI vs TradersPost: the two-subscription problem

Free to start. A two-minute setup quiz builds your rules. Your money stays in your own brokerage account.

Questions people ask

Is commission-free trading really free?: The commission is zero; the trade is not. Stock sales still carry the SEC fee and the FINRA trading activity fee, both a few cents per trade, and most brokers are paid through the spread or payment for order flow, which shows up as a slightly worse fill rather than a line item. For small, infrequent trades commission-free is close to free. For hundreds of trades a month, the hidden part adds up.
How much do options cost to trade?: The common structure is a per-contract fee, often around $0.65, sometimes with a per-trade minimum, charged on both the open and the close. Ten contracts round-tripped at $0.65 is $13. Some brokers charge nothing to close short options worth a few cents, which is worth checking in the schedule.
How do crypto fees compare with stock fees?: Crypto venues usually charge a percent of the trade on each side, commonly 0.1% to 0.6% depending on volume and whether the order adds or takes liquidity. On a $2,000 round trip at 0.25% a side that is $10, which is far more than a commission-free stock trade of the same size. The calculator's crypto row shows the yearly total for your mix.
Does JorgAI charge per trade?: No. JorgAI is a flat monthly or yearly subscription with no per-trade fee, no share of profits and no assets-under-management fee. Your broker's own fees still apply to every order, exactly as they would if you placed it by hand, which is why this calculator exists.

Keep reading

These tools are for education. They do not know your account, your taxes or your broker's exact fees, and nothing here is investment advice. Trading involves risk of loss.

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