I use their Integrated Client product with none of the extra bells and whistles. It's £300 per month +Vat + exchange fees.
In the 20 years I have traded they are the 5th data feed I have used and IMO the best by a big margin.
Their base costs (for non users of the integral trading platform) was reduced last month so the product is better value for money but the age old question of whether £5K P.A. is justified for each individual remains.
Correct me if I'm wrong (and I would like to be), but aren't you referring to Trader and not Integrated Client? I think the main difference between the two is the charting facility lacking on Trader. Or perhaps you could clarify what are the bells and whistles.
I have the latest invoice in front of me as I type this (it is one of many as I have been with them for about 4 years).
The charge for CQG Integrated Client is £300 + Exchange fees + VAT. I have the package that I started with which was originally purely charting but has had the trading interface added progressively over the past couple of years.
It includes the full range of charting with a heck of a lot of extras. The bells and whistles that I referred to are (1) Tradeflow and Order Ticker which are moderately priced if the in-built trading gateway platform is used but twice as expensive if the gateway is not used. (2) There are loads of add-ons by various analysts such as De Mark and Bill Williams Phd. and they are costly.
As for charting, I have used several different packages including Tradestation and CQG IMO is still the best. Adding bespoke indicators can be a pain but unlike Tradestation where hours are spent reading the easy language manuals, I get walked through it by their programmers . Customer service is brilliant.
I use three online brokers and one is an FCM with whom CQG have a gateway agreement.
I do not quite understand your question re; charged as FCM. As far as I can recall, CQG charges a standard rate for use of the gateway which is the same for any of the FCMs with whom they have an agreement. All of the charges and conditions (comms, margin, lot numbers) from the broker remain the same. The CQG charges are for a "man in the middle" server which offers more server and Dom held order types (smart orders) and for some people perhaps faster execution speed. Of course their platform may be an attraction for those who like it.
I use broker supplied TWS, Onyx and J-Trader. Those three provide for all my needs without requirement to pay quite a bit of money for something I neither need nor would use.