Forex Glossary
What Is Spread?
The gap between the bid and ask price of a currency pair; one of a broker’s core trading costs.
The tighter the spread, the lower the cost; majors have tight spreads, exotics wide. Our calculators help you estimate the cost.
Risk warning. Leveraged forex trading carries high risk and in Türkiye may only be offered by SPK-authorised intermediaries; leverage is capped at 1:10 (half of that may apply if the initial margin at account opening is below TRY 50,000). This content is not investment advice; user statements belong to their authors.
How the spread forms
The spread is the gap between a pair's bid and ask price, and one of a broker's core trading costs. You start that far behind the moment you open; the price must first move in your favour by that much to break even.
Its width depends on market conditions: tight on majors, wide on exotics. When liquidity falls — around news, session closes, the weekly open — spreads widen.
Fixed or variable spread?
A fixed spread offers predictability but is usually wider on average; a variable spread is tighter in calm markets and widens in volatile ones. Which suits you depends on your trading style, and there is no single right answer.
What matters is not the advertised "minimum spread" but the value under typical conditions. A firm highlighting only its best-case figure is a weak signal on fee transparency.
Spread alone does not mean cheap
On ECN accounts the spread can be very tight but a per-trade commission is added. "Zero spread" or "zero commission" show the cost has changed line, not disappeared.
The right comparison is total cost: spread + commission + swap if you hold overnight. You can compare how firms publish these in the broker directory.