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Spread Cost Calculator

See exactly how much you pay in spread costs across 10 top forex brokers. Enter your pair, lot size, and monthly volume — get per-trade, monthly, and annual costs plus the cheapest broker for your setup.

Your Trading Profile

Enter your trading parameters to calculate real spread costs.

Your Results

Based on your inputs, here is what you are paying.

Cheapest Broker
Cost Per Trade
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Per round-trip
Monthly Cost
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Annual Cost
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Annual Cost by Broker (sorted cheapest to most expensive)
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Hidden Spread Costs Brokers Do Not Advertise

The "advertised spread" is almost never what you actually pay. Here is where the real costs hide.

News Event Widening

Market makers widen spreads 3x-10x during NFP, CPI, and FOMC. A 0.8 pip EUR/USD can hit 8+ pips for 30 seconds. True ECN brokers barely move.

Weekend Gap Spreads

Sunday 22:00 UTC reopens: spreads triple for the first 30-60 minutes. Avoid this window unless you trade gaps deliberately.

Asian Session Tax

Liquidity drops 60% during Asian hours on EUR/USD and GBP/USD. Spreads widen 15-25% silently — most traders never notice.

Markup on "Raw" Accounts

Some "raw" accounts add 0.1-0.3 pip markup on top of interbank. Combined with commission, you pay more than a tight standard account.

Swap (Overnight) Rollover

Positions held past 17:00 NY time pay swap fees. Wednesday has triple swap. This is separate from spread but stacks.

Dealing Desk Requotes

Market-maker brokers may requote you at a worse price on volatile entries. This adds hidden slippage that does not show on spread reports.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is spread cost calculated?

Spread cost = spread in pips x pip value x lot size. For EUR/USD at 1 standard lot (100,000 units), each pip equals $10, so a 0.8 pip spread costs $8 per round-trip trade. For USD/JPY, pip value is roughly $9.20 per standard lot. For XAU/USD (Gold), pip value is $10 per lot.

Do brokers widen spreads during news?

Yes. Market makers and some ECN brokers widen spreads 3x to 10x during high-impact news like NFP, CPI, and FOMC. True ECN brokers like IC Markets and Pepperstone show minimal widening because they route directly to interbank liquidity providers.

What is a good EUR/USD spread in 2026?

Anything under 0.5 pips on a Raw or Zero account is excellent. Standard accounts should offer 0.8 to 1.2 pips. Above 1.5 pips on EUR/USD means you are overpaying and should switch brokers immediately.

Are Raw spread accounts cheaper than Standard?

Raw accounts charge tighter spreads but add a commission ($6 to $7 round-trip per lot). For scalpers and high-volume traders (50+ lots/month), Raw is almost always cheaper. For position traders under 20 lots/month, Standard typically wins.

Which broker has the lowest EUR/USD spread in 2026?

Based on live 2026 data, Exness Zero and IC Markets Raw consistently show 0.0 to 0.1 pips on EUR/USD during London and New York sessions (plus commission). Standard account leaders are Exness (0.7 avg) and Pepperstone (0.77 avg).

Disclaimer: Spread data is based on our 2026 live testing across London and New York sessions. Actual spreads vary by market conditions, account tier, and broker entity. Trading forex and CFDs carries a high level of risk. 74-89% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with leveraged products. This page contains affiliate links — we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.