Raw-spread accounts can quote XAUUSD from roughly 5 to 12 cents in liquid hours plus commission, while standard accounts typically sit at 15 to 30 cents. Both widen sharply at the 21:00 UTC rollover and around US data releases.
On a 100-ounce lot every cent of spread is one dollar, so a 20 cent spread costs 20 dollars per standard lot round trip. Six gold trades a day at 0.50 lots is roughly 60 dollars daily, about 1,200 dollars a month before a single loss.