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Calculate the real dollar cost of spreads for any currency pair. See how spreads affect your trading profit.
Typical spread pre-filled; adjust to match your broker.
EUR/USD market price; editable if your broker quote differs.
Spread Cost
$10.00
EUR/USD · 1 lot(s) · 1 pip spread
Per Lot
$10.00
Your Trade
$10.00
Break-even
1 pips
5 Trades/Day
$50.00
The spread is the difference between the bid (sell) price and the ask (buy) price of a trading instrument. It represents the broker's fee for executing your trade. Every time you open a position, you start with a small loss equal to the spread cost. For example, if EUR/USD has a 1-pip spread and you trade 1 standard lot, you pay $10 just to enter the trade.
Every tradable instrument has two prices: the bid (what buyers will pay) and the ask (what sellers want). The spread is the gap between them.
Think of it like exchanging currency at an airport. The booth buys your euros at 1.0790 and sells them at 1.0800. That 10-pip difference is the spread — and it is how the booth (or your broker) makes money. You do not pay a separate fee; the cost is baked into every trade you open.
When you open a buy trade, you enter at the ask price (higher). When you close, you exit at the bid price (lower). So the moment your order fills, you are already down by the spread amount. Your trade needs to move in your favor by at least the spread before you break even.
Spreads vary wildly. EUR/USD typically has 0.8–1.5 pips. GBP/NZD can be 4+ pips. Gold (XAUUSD) often sits at 20–50 pips. The tighter the spread, the less you pay to enter each trade — which is why scalpers obsess over spread costs.
The formula is straightforward:
You need to know the pip value for your pair and account currency. If you do not know it, our pip calculator will give you the exact number.
EUR/USD spread = 1.0 pip. Pip value for a standard lot (100,000 units) with a USD account = $10.
That $10 is gone the instant you click "buy." You need EUR/USD to move 1 pip in your favor just to get back to zero.
Gold spread = 25 pips. Pip value per standard lot (100 oz) = $1.00.
Gold needs to move $0.25 in your direction before you start making money. That sounds small relative to gold's price, but if you are trading multiple lots or making several trades per day, it compounds fast.
These are approximate spreads during normal London/New York trading hours. Actual spreads depend on your broker, account type, and market conditions.
| Category | Pair | Typical Spread | Cost per Std Lot |
|---|---|---|---|
| Major | EUR/USD | 0.8 – 1.5 pips | $8 – $15 |
| Major | GBP/USD | 1.0 – 1.8 pips | $10 – $18 |
| Major | USD/JPY | 0.8 – 1.5 pips | $5 – $10 |
| Cross | EUR/GBP | 1.2 – 2.0 pips | $15 – $25 |
| Cross | GBP/JPY | 2.0 – 3.5 pips | $13 – $23 |
| Cross | GBP/NZD | 3.5 – 5.0 pips | $21 – $30 |
| Exotic | USD/TRY | 10 – 50 pips | $30 – $150 |
| Metal | XAU/USD | 20 – 50 pips | $20 – $50 |
Notice gold's "high" pip spread translates to a relatively modest dollar cost because each gold pip is only $1 per lot. Meanwhile, a 4-pip spread on GBP/NZD costs around $24 per standard lot — far more expensive in dollar terms than many traders realize.
Spreads are not fixed. They move with liquidity. Here are the most common scenarios where you will pay more:
Practical advice: if you are a day trader or scalper, always check the spread before clicking. Most platforms show it in real time. If the spread is 3x its normal width, step back and wait. No trade is worth paying triple the entry fee.
Here is where it gets real. The spread is not just a small number — it is a percentage of your trade's potential profit.
Swing trade example: You catch a 30-pip move on EUR/USD with a 1.5-pip spread. Spread cost as a percentage of profit: 1.5 / 30 = 5%. Not terrible. You keep 95% of the move.
Scalp trade example: You target a 10-pip move on the same pair. Spread cost: 1.5 / 10 = 15%. Now the spread is eating a serious chunk of your profit. Do that 20 times a day and spread cost becomes your biggest expense.
This is why scalpers need ECN accounts with sub-pip spreads, and why swing traders can tolerate standard accounts. The math is different depending on your style.
Use our profit calculator to see the net profit after accounting for spread. And if you are sizing your positions, the position size calculator helps you factor spread into your risk management.
This is one of the most confusing choices for new traders. The answer depends on how you trade.
Standard accounts have wider spreads (1–2 pips on majors) but zero commission. The broker makes money from the spread markup. Simple and predictable.
ECN accounts offer raw spreads close to zero (0.0–0.3 pips on majors) but charge a per-lot commission, typically $3–7 round trip (open + close). The total cost can be lower or higher than standard, depending on the commission and the pair.
| Account Type | EUR/USD Spread | Commission | Total Cost / Lot | Best For |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | 1.2 pips | $0 | $12.00 | Swing traders, beginners |
| ECN | 0.2 pips | $7.00 | $9.00 | Scalpers, high-frequency |
In this example ECN wins. But if the ECN commission is $10 per lot, then the total cost is $12 — same as standard. Always compare total cost, not just the spread number your broker advertises.
0.8–1.5 pips on standard accounts, 0.0–0.3 pips on ECN accounts (plus commission). If your broker consistently shows above 2.0 pips, compare alternatives. Total cost (spread + commission) matters more than the spread number alone.
For USD-quoted pairs, 1 pip of spread per standard lot costs $10. For JPY pairs it varies with the exchange rate — roughly $6–7 at current levels. For gold, 1 pip = $1 per lot. Use the pip calculator for exact values on any pair.
Gold trades at ~$3,300/oz. A 25-pip spread ($0.25) is only 0.01% of the price — similar to EUR/USD's 1-pip spread relative to its price. The pip count looks large but the dollar cost is moderate ($25/lot). Higher volatility also leads market makers to widen spreads.
Yes. Buy orders execute at the ask price, but your stop loss triggers at the bid. The effective loss is your stop loss distance plus the spread. On a 20-pip stop with a 2-pip spread, your actual risk is 22 pips. Always add the spread to your intended stop loss distance when calculating risk.