Forex Trading Cost Calculator
Total every cost on a forex trade — spread, commission and swap combined.
Please note: Forex trading carries a high risk of loss, amplified by leverage. Exchange rates must be entered manually — no live market data is used.
What the Forex Trading Cost Calculator does
Total forex trading cost combines the spread paid on entry, commission on both sides, and swap for every night held. Together they set the break-even move — the distance price must travel before you are ahead.
Formula
Spread cost = Spread pips × Pip valueCommission = Rate per lot × Lots × 2Swap = −Swap rate × Lots × NightsBreak-even pips = Total cost ÷ Pip value
Inputs explained
| Input | Unit | Required | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trade size (lots) | number | Yes | Accepts more than 0. |
| Lot type | one of 4 options | Yes | — |
| Pip size | one of 3 options | Yes | — |
| Spread | pips | Yes | Accepts 0 or more. |
| Commission per lot per side | selected currency | Optional | Accepts 0 or more. |
| Swap per lot per night | number | Optional | — |
| Nights held | number | Optional | Accepts 0 or more. |
| Quote → account currency rate | number | Yes | Accepts more than 0. |
| Currency | one of 10 options | Optional | — |
How to use it
- Choose Lot type and Pip size.
- Enter Trade size (lots), Spread and Quote → account currency rate.
- Optionally add Commission per lot per side, Swap per lot per night and Nights held.
- Select Calculate.
Worked example
1 lot, 1-pip spread, $3.50 per lot per side, −$4 swap for 3 nights.
- Lots
- 1
- Spread
- 1
- Commission
- 3.50
- Swap
- -4
- Nights
- 3
$10 spread + $7 commission + $12 swap = $29, a 2.9-pip break-even.
Reading the result
- "Cost as % of notional" turns an absolute dollar cost into a rate comparable across account sizes and instruments, useful for judging whether a broker's overall cost structure is competitive independent of position size.
- Swap is signed in this total — a positive swap rate reduces total cost and can even make it negative, so "total cost" is not always a burden; read it as a net figure, not an assumed cost.
Assumptions and limitations
- Spread and commission are both single static figures for the whole trade — the same simplification the profit/loss calculator uses, and it directly drives the break-even pip target here.
- Swap applies uniformly per night at the entered rate, with no triple-swap-day adjustment — the dedicated swap calculator models that separately, so an accurate multi-week estimate needs that added on.
Common mistakes
- Treating this break-even figure as fixed regardless of when the trade is placed — real spreads widen around news events and low-liquidity sessions, so the true break-even at execution can differ from what is modelled here.
- Carrying this calculator's flat nightly swap model over a period that includes a triple-swap day without adjusting — it will understate the true swap cost for that period.
Frequently asked questions
Which cost dominates?
For intraday trading, the spread and commission. For swing and position trading held over weeks, swap usually becomes the largest component.