Cost of Trading on CLEO – The Most Transparent Approach in Trading5 min read
Why You See Slippage and Commissions in CLEO
We’ve heard feedback from traders that CLEO looks “expensive” or that commissions seem higher than on other platforms or crypto exchanges. Let’s clear this up.
CLEO is designed to show you the reality of trading costs, not to hide them. That means you may notice things in your PnL that other platforms choose not to show – but these costs exist everywhere.
Our goal is simple: transparency.
To be clear when you see any subscription cost related to cleo.finance, it applies only to the backtesting products. The Prop Trading Platform is at no subscription cost to the user.
Is there slippage?
Yes.
Slippage happens when your order doesn’t get filled at the “ideal” price but at the average price available in the order book. For example:
- Ideal price: 0.5221
- Average fill price: 0.5229
- Slippage: 0.0008
In CLEO, this is reflected as “volume-based slippage.” Because we round to two decimals, a small slippage like 0.0008 may display as 0.00 unless it’s larger (see example images in the app).
On mobile, slippage is shown directly in your PnL for easier readability.
Why do I instantly see realized and unrealized losses?
Two reasons: commissions and slippage.
1. Realized loss (commissions)
When you open a position, you immediately pay an open order commission. For example, a market open might cost 0.05% of the order size. In CLEO, this shows up transparently under Profit Breakdown → Open Commissions or in the order list per trade.
This sometimes confuses traders because other exchanges don’t show it in PnL. Instead, they quietly subtract the fee from your account balance without tying it to the position. That can make their PnL look “better,” but it isn’t more accurate.
At CLEO, we believe commissions are a real trading cost and should be part of your PnL. By showing them clearly, you can manage risk better. Commission fees are set by the broker/prop firm, but with HyroTrader specifically the commission fees are exactly the same as major exchanges (0.02% maker / 0.05% taker). The only difference is we don’t hide them.
When using code “CLEO” you get a 5% discount on ANY HyroTrader Challenge.
2. Unrealized loss (slippage)
Unrealized PnL at entry comes from slippage. In real markets, when you place a large order, you push through parts of the order book. This usually causes your fill price to slip slightly. In practice, prices often bounce back quickly because market makers and arbitrage bots restore balance.
So while your position may start slightly negative in CLEO’s simulation, this is what actually happens in live trading. If you open and close a very large order instantly, the costs will be very visible – just as they would be on any real exchange.
Why does slippage feel so big?
Slippage depends on two things:
- Your order size
- Market liquidity (depth of the order book)
For example, let’s say you place an $85,000 market order:
- Best ask price at the moment: 0.5228
- Liquidity at that level: 249 units (tiny compared to your order)
- To fill $85k, your order would “eat through” multiple levels of the order book, ending up at 0.5243.
The result is a slippage of about 0.0008 on average. This matches exactly with what CLEO calculates and what would happen if you dropped the same order on Binance. The reality is simple: placing a huge market order in a thin market will always cost you money.
Why CLEO shows this (and others don’t)
Some platforms make slippage and commissions invisible. That may feel better in the moment, but it’s misleading. It encourages traders to take oversized positions under the illusion that execution is “free.” In reality, those costs always exist, and ignoring them can blow up accounts fast.
CLEO takes the opposite approach. We want you to see the real cost of trading – every commission, every slip in price – so you can make smarter decisions.
We were among the first to integrate transaction costs in our Market Replay Backtester.
Yes, it may feel harsher at first, especially if you’re used to platforms that hide these details. But over time, this transparency protects you.
The takeaway
- Slippage is real. It happens everywhere.
- Commissions are real. Every exchange charges them.
- CLEO just shows them clearly, while others often hide them.
Our goal is not to make trading look easier than it is, but to give you the most realistic picture possible. Because the best traders are the ones who see the full truth.
CLEO is on your side – even when it shows you something you might not want to see.
