ECN and STP
ECN and STP are two ways a broker passes your order on. With STP the order goes to a liquidity provider, with no in-house desk in between. ECN is an electronic network where orders from different participants meet in one pool.
In practice the line is blurry and many brokers use these words as marketing. So do not trust the label, look at numbers: spread, commission and execution speed.
Broker A says: "ECN account, spread from zero, but a commission per lot". Broker B says: "no commission, wider spread". Work out the total cost of a trade: spread plus commission. Compare them on a demo at the same time of day.
What not to do
Do not pick a broker only because an ad says ECN. Check the licence, the account terms, the fees and the real spreads during news hours.
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