Quick answer: The spread in forex is the gap between the bid price, where you can sell, and the ask price, where you can buy. It is the first cost of every trade: the moment a position opens it sits slightly negative, by exactly the spread. On EUR/USD a 1.5 pip spread costs $15 on a standard lot and $1.50 on a 0.10 lot. Spreads float — they are tightest during the London–New York overlap and widest around news releases, the daily rollover and thin weekend-adjacent hours.
Most beginners look at commission and swap first and treat the spread as background noise. That order is backwards. On a retail forex account it is usually the largest recurring cost, it applies to every single trade, and it is charged before your idea has had a chance to work. This guide covers what the two quoted prices actually mean, how to turn a spread into a money figure, why the number on your screen keeps changing, and how account structure changes the total. All FXPrimus figures below were read from the FXPrimus accounts page and the Fees & Leverage page — which also lists account leverage ratio tiers from 1:2000 down to 1:50 — in August 2026 and are indicative, self-reported by FXPrimus, and subject to change.
What’s Included
- What the spread represents and why it exists
- Bid vs ask: reading a forex quote
- Converting a spread into money, per lot
- Spread-only accounts vs raw spread plus commission
- Why spreads widen: liquidity, sessions and news
- Fixed vs floating spreads
- What the spread does to different trading styles
- Checking the spread on MT4 and MT5
- Eight practical ways to pay less
- FAQ, key takeaways and disclaimer
What Is the Spread in Forex?
The spread is the difference between the two prices your broker quotes for the same instrument at the same moment: bid and ask. Sell at the bid, buy at the ask, and the gap between them is what the market charges for taking the other side of your order. In FXPrimus terms, spreads are described as the difference between bid and ask prices and the main cost of each trade.
That gap is not arbitrary. Banks and non-bank market makers quote a price to buy and a price to sell, and the difference compensates them for holding inventory and for the risk that the price moves against them before they can offset it. Where competition for order flow is fierce, the gap narrows. Where it is thin, the gap widens.
Volume explains most of the pattern. The Bank for International Settlements collects OTC foreign exchange turnover data every three years from more than 1,100 banks and dealers across 52 jurisdictions; its April 2025 survey put FX spot turnover at $3 trillion per day, or 31% of global turnover across all instruments, up from 28% in 2022. Currency pairs sitting on top of that turnover — EUR/USD above all — get the tightest quotes. Exotic pairs, thinly traded and hedged at greater cost, get the widest.
Bid vs Ask: How a Forex Quote Works
A forex quote shows two numbers. Bid is what you receive if you sell the base currency. Ask (sometimes labelled «offer») is what you pay if you buy it. Ask is always the higher of the two, which is why a long position opens at a small unrealised loss and a short position does too.
| Instrument | Bid | Ask | Difference | Spread |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EUR/USD | 1.08520 | 1.08535 | 0.00015 | 1.5 pips |
| GBP/USD | 1.27340 | 1.27358 | 0.00018 | 1.8 pips |
| USD/JPY | 147.120 | 147.134 | 0.014 | 1.4 pips |
| XAU/USD | 3,412.20 | 3,412.55 | 0.35 | $0.35 per ounce |
Illustrative quotes for arithmetic, not live prices.
Two conventions trip people up. On five-decimal pairs a pip is the fourth decimal (0.0001) and the fifth decimal is a point, so a platform showing «15» is showing 15 points, which equals 1.5 pips. On JPY pairs a pip is the second decimal (0.01). Gold is quoted per ounce, and since a standard lot is 100 ounces, a $0.35 gap works out at $35 per lot.
How to Calculate Spread Cost in Money
Three inputs give the answer: the spread measured in pips, the value of one pip for your instrument, and your position size. Multiply them.
Spread cost = spread in pips × pip value × number of lots
For a USD-quoted pair such as EUR/USD, one pip on a standard lot is worth $10, on a 0.10 lot $1, and on a 0.01 lot $0.10.
| Position size | Pip value (EUR/USD) | Cost of a 1.5 pip spread | Cost of a 0.3 pip spread |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1.00 lot | $10.00 | $15.00 | $3.00 |
| 0.10 lot | $1.00 | $1.50 | $0.30 |
| 0.01 lot | $0.10 | $0.15 | $0.03 |
Read that as a starting handicap. Buy one standard lot of EUR/USD at a 1.5 pip quote and the position needs 1.5 pips of favourable movement to reach breakeven before swap. For pairs quoted in another currency, or for metals and indices, the FXPrimus pip calculator converts pip value into your account currency, which is the step most beginners skip.
Spread-Only vs Raw Spread Plus Commission
Brokers package the same cost in two ways. A spread-only account folds everything into a wider quote and charges no commission. A raw-spread account quotes close to interbank pricing and charges a separate commission per lot. Neither is automatically cheaper — the honest comparison is the all-in figure.
FXPrimus runs both models. Per its accounts page, PrimusCLASSIC starts from 1.5 pips with zero commission and a $15 minimum deposit; PrimusPRO starts from 0.3 pips with commission of $8 per lot on MT5 and $10 per lot on MT4, minimum deposit $500; PrimusZERO starts from 0.0 pips with $5 per lot, minimum deposit $1,000. Applying the arithmetic above to one standard lot of EUR/USD at those minimum quoted spreads:
| Account | Spread from | Commission per lot | Spread cost | Commission | All-in cost | Equivalent spread |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PrimusCLASSIC | 1.5 pips | $0 | $15.00 | $0.00 | $15.00 | 1.5 pips |
| PrimusPRO (MT5) | 0.3 pips | $8 | $3.00 | $8.00 | $11.00 | 1.1 pips |
| PrimusPRO (MT4) | 0.3 pips | $10 | $3.00 | $10.00 | $13.00 | 1.3 pips |
| PrimusZERO | 0.0 pips | $5 | $0.00 | $5.00 | $5.00 | 0.5 pips |
Conditions indicative, self-reported by FXPrimus, checked as of August 2026 against the published accounts page. Commission is quoted per lot; confirm with support whether it applies per side or per round turn before modelling costs. Minimum deposits differ, so the cheapest column is not available at every account size.
The pattern generalises beyond one broker. Headline spread alone tells you very little; a 0.0 pip quote with a heavy commission can cost more than a 1.5 pip quote with none. Convert both to an equivalent-spread figure and compare like with like.
Why Spreads Widen
Floating spreads track liquidity, and liquidity changes by the hour. Four situations account for most of the widening a beginner will see.
Session timing. Quotes are tightest when London and New York are both open, roughly 13:00–17:00 GMT, because that window carries the heaviest volume. The Asian session on GBP or EUR crosses is noticeably thinner, and the handful of hours around the Sydney open is thinner still.
Scheduled news. Market makers pull quotes ahead of high-impact releases — NFP, CPI, FOMC decisions, GDP and PMI prints — and a pair that trades at 1.5 pips can gap to 10 pips or more for a few seconds. Checking the economic calendar before placing an order takes ten seconds and prevents the most common «why did my stop trigger» complaint.
Daily rollover. Around 00:00 server time, as positions are rolled and liquidity providers reset books, spreads on many instruments widen briefly. Swap is applied in the same window, which is why some traders avoid entering positions there entirely.
Instrument choice. Majors are tightest. Minors and crosses run wider. Exotics can quote several times the spread of EUR/USD around the clock, not just at the edges of the session.
Weekend gaps deserve their own mention: on the Sunday reopen the first quotes are typically much wider than usual until volume returns.
Fixed vs Floating Spreads
A fixed spread stays at the same number regardless of conditions. A floating spread moves with the market. Most retail forex pricing is floating, including everything above.
| Fixed spread | Floating spread | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost in calm markets | Higher | Lower |
| Cost during news | Capped | Can widen sharply |
| Cost predictability | High | Variable |
| Typical use case | Planning around fixed costs | Active trading at peak liquidity |
| Requote risk | Higher | Lower |
Fixed pricing looks safer on paper, and it does remove a variable. The trade-off is that the broker prices the insurance in: the fixed number sits above what a floating quote averages across normal hours. Traders active during the London–New York overlap generally pay less on floating pricing; traders who hold through releases value the cap.
What the Spread Does to Your Trading Style
The same cost has very different weight depending on how far you are trying to move. Take a 0.10 lot EUR/USD position with a 1.5 pip spread, costing $1.50, against a range of targets.
| Profit target | Gross result at target | Spread cost | Spread as % of target |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 pips | $5.00 | $1.50 | 30.0% |
| 20 pips | $20.00 | $1.50 | 7.5% |
| 50 pips | $50.00 | $1.50 | 3.0% |
| 100 pips | $100.00 | $1.50 | 1.5% |
| 200 pips | $200.00 | $1.50 | 0.75% |
A scalper aiming for five pips hands back nearly a third of a winning trade before anything else is deducted. A swing trader aiming for 200 pips gives up less than one percent. This is why the account that suits a high-frequency approach rarely suits someone placing two positions a week.
Frequency compounds the difference. Twenty round turns a day on a single standard lot cost $300 daily at 1.5 pips all-in versus $100 at 0.5 pips — over a twenty-day month, $6,000 against $2,000. Those figures assume minimum quoted spreads throughout, which no live account achieves; the real gap is smaller but moves in the same direction.
How to Check the Spread on MT4 and MT5
Read the number before you trade rather than after. In MetaTrader, the Market Watch window shows real-time quotes and other price data including spread and volume, with the displayed columns configurable through its context menu; the symbol specification window opened from that same menu holds the full contract specification for the instrument. MT5 also carries a Trading tab showing the current spread alongside swap for long and short positions.
Three habits worth building:
- Add the Spread column to Market Watch on the pairs you actually trade, then watch how it behaves at 08:00, at 14:00 and at 22:00 GMT.
- Open the symbol specification for contract size and minimum stop distance before sizing a position.
- Run a week of observation on a demo account across both a spread-only and a raw-spread setup, on MT5 or MT4, before committing capital to either.
Eight Ways to Pay Less Spread
- Trade the majors. EUR/USD and the other high-volume pairs quote tighter than crosses and exotics at every hour.
- Concentrate entries in the London–New York overlap rather than the thin hours.
- Stay out of the first seconds after a high-impact release unless the strategy is built for it.
- Avoid opening around the daily rollover, when spreads widen and swap is applied.
- Compare accounts on all-in cost, not headline spread.
- Size positions so that the entry cost is a small fraction of the target, not a third of it.
- Use limit orders where the strategy allows, instead of chasing a moving market price.
- Recheck conditions periodically — spreads, commissions and account tiers change, and last year’s comparison may no longer hold.
FAQ
What is the spread in forex in plain terms?
It is the gap between the two prices quoted for one instrument: the bid, where you sell, and the ask, where you buy. That gap is the broker’s charge for executing your trade, taken automatically at entry rather than billed separately.
Is a 1.5 pip spread on EUR/USD good?
It is a normal spread-only figure for a commission-free retail account. Raw-spread accounts quote lower but add commission, and once that is included the all-in cost often lands near 0.5 to 1.3 pips. Compare the total, not the headline number.
Why did my spread jump to 10 pips?
Liquidity thinned. The usual causes are a scheduled release such as NFP or an FOMC decision, the daily rollover around 00:00 server time, the Sunday reopen, or trading a pair outside its main session. Floating spreads normalise once volume returns.
Do I pay the spread twice?
No. The spread is paid once per round turn, because you enter at one side of the quote and exit at the other. Commission works differently and may be charged per side depending on the account, so check the terms for your account type.
Is a zero spread account always cheaper?
No. A 0.0 pip quote carries a commission per lot, and whether the total beats a spread-only account depends on your position size and frequency. Zero-spread accounts also carry higher minimum deposits, which rules them out for smaller balances.
Does the spread affect my stop loss?
Yes. A buy position is closed at the bid, so a widening spread can reach a sell stop while the ask you watch on the chart has not moved. Placing stops just beyond obvious levels, rather than exactly on them, reduces this.
Which pairs have the tightest spreads?
The majors, led by EUR/USD, because they carry the highest turnover. Minors and crosses run wider, and exotic pairs can cost several times a major at any hour of the day.
Where do I see the spread before opening a trade?
In the MT4 or MT5 Market Watch window, where a Spread column can be enabled through the right-click menu. MT5 additionally shows current spread and swap together in its Trading tab.
Conclusion
Spread is the cost you pay most often and think about least. It is easy to measure — pips, times pip value, times lots — and once expressed in money it becomes comparable across accounts, instruments and trading styles. Two traders on identical strategies can end a year far apart purely on the pricing model they chose and the hours they traded.
Work out your own equivalent-spread figure for the pairs you trade and the size you trade them in. Then check it against the hours you place orders. That single calculation reveals more about a trading plan’s viability than most indicator settings.
Key Takeaways
- Spread is the bid–ask gap and the first cost of every position; a long trade opens negative by exactly that amount.
- Spread cost = pips × pip value × lots. A 1.5 pip EUR/USD spread costs $15.00 per standard lot and $1.50 on a 0.10 lot.
- Spread-only and raw-spread-plus-commission accounts must be compared on all-in cost. At published FXPrimus figures for one lot of EUR/USD, that works out at $15.00, $11.00 and $5.00 for CLASSIC, PRO on MT5 and ZERO respectively — equivalent to 1.5, 1.1 and 0.5 pips.
- Floating spreads widen at news releases, the daily rollover, the Sunday reopen and outside a pair’s main session.
- The same 1.5 pip cost consumes 30% of a five-pip target and 0.75% of a 200-pip target, which is why account choice follows trading style.
- MT4 and MT5 both display the spread in Market Watch; MT5 adds a Trading tab combining spread and swap.
Want to compare the two pricing models yourself? Open a PrimusDEMO account and watch the Spread column across a full trading day, then read the Fees & Leverage page for current conditions and leverage ratio tiers (1:2000 to 1:50). More beginner guides are available in the FXPrimus Beginner’s Academy.
Risk warning: Trading forex and CFDs involves a significant risk of loss and is not suitable for all investors. CFDs are complex products traded on margin, and a high leverage ratio such as 1:500 can amplify both gains and losses. Spreads, commissions and swap charges referenced in this article are indicative, self-reported by FXPrimus, checked as of August 2026 per the published account pages, and subject to change without notice. Past performance does not guarantee future results. This article is provided for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice, legal advice or tax advice. Review the full terms and conditions on the FXPrimus website before opening an account.