An ECN account will pass your order directly to the broker's matching engine. You will not have to wait for your order to be matched by the broker, but the ECN broker's matching engine will immediately match your order. The ECN account is ideal for traders who benefit from lower latency times and those who want to trade without dealing with third-party brokers. On the other hand, a standard account is similar to a traditional brokerage account, where traders place their buy and sell orders with the broker through their trade ticket system. Standard accounts are usually more expensive than ECN accounts because they require brokers to match orders instead of using automated systems manually. A standard account passes orders to an external liquidity provider, and your trades must go through dealing desks.