Trade Cost Calculator

Add up the spread, commission and overnight swap on one forex trade, and see how many pips it must move before you break even.

Pair

Sell (bid)

Buy (ask)

Spread: $10.00
Commission: $0.00
Overnight swap: $0.00
Total cost: $10.00
Move needed to break even: 1.0 pips

Example price, not a live quote. Amounts in US dollars for a USD account.

How it works

Every forex trade has three costs, and only one of them is visible on the trade ticket. The spread is the gap between the price you can buy at (the ask) and the price you can sell at (the bid); you pay it the moment a position opens, which is why a new trade starts slightly in the red. Commission is a separate fee per lot that some accounts charge on top of a tighter spread, usually quoted per side or per round trip. The overnight swap is the financing adjustment applied to a position held past the daily rollover; it can be a charge or a credit, and it is typically tripled on one weekday to cover the weekend. This calculator adds the three up for one position. The spread cost is the spread in pips times the value of a pip times the number of lots. Commission is the round-trip fee per lot times the number of lots. Swap is the charge per lot per night, times the nights held, times the lots. The total, divided by what one pip is worth on the position, is the number of pips the market has to move in your favour before the trade is back to zero. The figures to enter come from your broker: its published spreads or the live spread on its platform, its commission schedule, and its swap table for the pair. Two accounts that look different on the pricing page can cost the same once the three are added up on the same pair and the same size, and this is the sum to do before you compare them.

Frequently asked questions

What does a forex trade cost?

Three things: the spread (the gap between the buy and sell price), any commission per lot, and the overnight swap if the position is held past the daily rollover. Add them up for the pair and position size you actually trade.

Is a zero-commission account cheaper?

Not necessarily. Zero-commission accounts usually build their charge into a wider spread. Compare the total of spread plus commission on the same pair and size; the cheaper account is the one with the lower total, not the one with the lower headline fee.

What does break-even in pips mean?

It is how far price has to move in your favour just to cover the cost of the trade. A trade that costs $9 on a position where one pip is worth $10 needs a 0.9-pip move before it shows any profit.

Why is swap sometimes a credit?

Swap reflects the interest-rate difference between the two currencies, minus the broker's markup. Holding the higher-yielding currency can earn a small credit; holding the lower-yielding one costs you. Brokers publish swap rates per pair and per direction.

Worked example

Take one standard lot of EUR/USD (a pip is worth $10). Account A: 1.2-pip spread, no commission. Spread cost = 1.2 × $10 × 1 = $12.00 Total = $12.00, break-even = 1.2 pips Account B: 0.2-pip spread, $7 commission per lot round trip. Spread cost = 0.2 × $10 × 1 = $2.00 Commission = $7 × 1 = $7.00 Total = $9.00, break-even = 0.9 pips Hold account B's position for 3 nights at a swap charge of $0.80 per lot per night and the total becomes $9.00 + $2.40 = $11.40.

The figures here are examples, not any broker's real prices. Spreads move: they widen around news, at the daily rollover and in thin markets, so a quoted minimum or average spread is not what every trade pays. Swap rates change with interest rates and differ by direction. If your account is not in US dollars, your broker converts these amounts at its own rate.

Terms in this calculation

Next step

Guide

Spreads, Commissions and the Real Cost of a Trade

Spread, commission and swap are the three costs on every forex trade — what each one is, when spreads widen, and how to compare pricing fairly.

Read the guide

Definition:Total Cost of Trading