The short answer
On XM's global site (run by XM Global Limited, licensed by the FSC of Belize), the public account line-up is short: Standard, Ultra Low and Shares. Standard and Ultra Low both open from $5. Shares needs $10,000. The real choice for most forex and gold traders is Standard against Ultra Low. Standard can receive XM's deposit bonus where the bonus exists. Ultra Low gives up the bonus in exchange for tighter spreads.
Which account you can actually pick depends on the XM entity that onboards you. That is decided by where you live, not by which website you land on. EU clients of XM's Cyprus entity, for example, are reported to see a commission-based Zero account that the Belize entity does not list. Treat everything below as "global entity, checked October 2026" unless a row says otherwise.
What each account is for
| Standard | Ultra Low | Shares | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum deposit (xm.com) | $5 | $5 | $10,000 |
| Spread model | Wider, no commission | Tighter, no commission | Exchange-style pricing plus commission (reported) |
| Bonus-eligible | Yes, where offered in your region | No (per third-party reviews) | No |
| Negative balance protection | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Hedging allowed | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Islamic (swap-free) option | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Typical user | Beginners, bonus users, small accounts | Active forex and gold traders | Buy-and-hold share investors |
XM's account-types page confirms the deposits, the bonus link on Standard, and that negative balance protection, hedging and an Islamic option apply to all accounts. It does not publish spread figures per account. XM's homepage advertises spreads "as low as 0.8 pips". Independent reviews from 2025–2026 consistently report Standard spreads from about 1.6 pips on majors and Ultra Low from about 0.8 pips. We use those figures in the examples but flag them as third-party.
Standard account
This is the account XM steers new clients toward, and it is the one connected to the deposit bonus. All trading costs sit inside the spread, so the cost of a trade is easy to see: the gap between bid and ask is the whole fee (plus swap if you hold overnight).
The trade-off is price. If Standard really averages around 1.6 pips on EUR/USD, it costs roughly double what Ultra Low costs on the same trade. For someone placing a handful of 0.01-lot trades a week, that gap is cents. For someone trading a lot of volume, it adds up quickly.
Ultra Low account
XM describes Ultra Low as the account for high-volume trading, with lower spreads, swaps and commissions. You lose access to bonuses. That trade-off almost always pays off for traders who are active weekly.
Several reviews also say Ultra Low has swap-free trading on some instruments. XM's own page only states that the Islamic option exists on all accounts. Check the swap columns in the platform's symbol specification before you rely on a position costing nothing to hold overnight.
Shares account
This is a different product. It is designed for buying real company shares rather than leveraged CFDs. Third-party reviews describe it as unleveraged (1:1) and commission-based. It has a $10,000 minimum, which sets it apart from XM's low-entry branding. If you mainly want stocks, compare it with a dedicated share broker before funding.
What about Micro and Zero?
XM has long offered Micro versions of its accounts, where one lot is 1,000 units of the base currency instead of 100,000. Some 2026 reviews still list Micro, but the current global account-types page does not show it. If you need very small position steps, check whether the option appears in the registration form for your country.
The Zero account (raw spreads plus a commission per lot) is reported only under the CySEC entity. One review mentions a $3.50 per-lot-per-side commission on metals. We could not confirm the current commission on an XM page, so treat it as unverified.