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How to Calculate the Spread in Forex, Then Price It Per Lot
Ask minus bid gives the spread in pips; pip value times lots prices it. Then add the commission: IC's 0.1-pip average plus $7.00 can make 0.80 pips.
To calculate the spread in forex, subtract the bid from the ask and count the difference in pips: the fourth decimal place, or the second on a yen-quoted pair. A 1.3089 bid and 1.3091 ask is 2 pips, and on one standard lot of GBP/USD that is $20.
How do you calculate the spread in forex?
Spread equals ask minus bid, divided by 0.0001 (0.01 for a yen quote) to give pips. Cost equals pips times pip value times lots; a 100,000-unit lot is $10 a pip on USD-quoted pairs.
How is spread cost calculated per lot on yen and sterling pairs?
Pip value is set in the quote currency: JPY 1,000 a lot on USD/JPY, GBP 10 on EUR/GBP. This desk read the ECB’s euro reference rates for 7 October 2026 on 8 October 2026: USD 1.1177, JPY 176.85 and GBP 0.84645 to the euro. Derived crosses: USD/JPY 158.23, GBP/USD 1.3205. The ECB publishes them for information only; your broker’s rate differs.
| Pair | Pip on 1 lot | In USD, ECB 7 Oct 2026 | $7.00 commission in pips |
|---|---|---|---|
| EUR/USD | $10 | $10.00 | 0.70 |
| USD/JPY | JPY 1,000 | $6.32 | 1.11 |
| EUR/GBP | GBP 10 | $13.20 | 0.53 |
Add the commission: the step the formula skips
IC Markets’ spreads page, read by this desk on 8 October 2026, states an “average EUR/USD spread* of 0.1 pips”, a published average, not a quote, its account unconfirmed here, and prices MetaTrader commission at USD 3.50 a side, USD 7.0 round turn, per standard lot. That is 0.70 pips on EUR/USD, so if that average applies to a commission account, the all-in cost is 0.80 pips, or $8.00 a lot. On those numbers the commission is seven-eighths of the bill.
No IC yen or sterling spread was read; add your own quote to the commission column. An illustrative 1.0 pip on USD/JPY totals 2.11 pips, $13.32 a lot.
cTrader and TradingView instead charge $3 a side per 100,000 USD traded: IC’s example is $3.90 and $3.93 on one EUR/USD lot, $7.83 round turn, priced across pairs in the cTrader vs MT4 comparison. Doubling is covered in per side or round turn; conversion in commission per lot into pips.
Questions readers ask
What is the spread in forex? The spread is the gap between the ask, the price a broker sells to you, and the bid, the price it buys from you. It is paid the moment a trade opens, so every position starts that far behind. Raw accounts add a commission on top.
How do forex spreads affect your trading costs? Every round trip pays the spread once, scaled by size: 2 pips on one standard lot of a USD-quoted pair is $20, on ten lots $200. Commission accounts add a fixed charge per lot, so compare spread plus commission in pips.
How is spread cost calculated per lot? Multiply the spread in pips by one lot’s pip value and by the number of lots. A 100,000-unit standard lot is $10 a pip on a USD-quoted pair; on a yen or sterling quote, convert the pip value into your account currency first.
IC Markets’ regulatory status is unchecked here against any register. Trading involves substantial risk of loss, and nothing on this site is financial advice.