Trading cost calculator: commission, spread and swap
Add up what a trade costs before it can pay you. Enter lots, commission, spread cost, swap and nights held to see the total and its share of your target.
Enter your lot size, your broker's commission, what the spread costs you and the swap for the nights you hold, and the calculator adds them into one cost per trade. Add the gross profit you aim for, and it shows what share of it the costs would eat. The example values are invented: 1 lot, 7 per lot round-turn commission, 10 of spread cost, a swap of -4 per lot per night over 2 nights, and a gross target of 150.
What counts as a cost of trading
Three costs sit between a price move and the money you keep, and only one of them is a line on a statement.
- Commission. A fee charged per lot, shown in the commission column of your history. Many brokers charge it on both the opening and the closing deal, so a figure quoted 'per side' needs doubling for a round turn. See MT5 commission explained.
- Spread. The gap between the bid and the ask. You pay it the moment you open, because you buy at the ask and the position is valued at the bid. It is not a separate line in history, it is baked into the result. Enter its cost per lot in your account currency; the tick value and tick size guide shows how to turn a spread in points into money.
- Swap. The overnight financing charge or credit, shown in the swap column. It can be negative or positive, and many brokers apply a triple rate on one night of the week. See MT5 swap explained.
How the calculator works
Commission is lots times commission per lot. Spread cost is lots times spread cost per lot. Swap is lots times swap per lot per night times the number of nights, with the sign flipped so that a negative swap shows as a cost. The total is the sum. If you enter a gross target, the calculator divides the total cost by it and shows the share. With the example inputs: commission 7, spread 10, swap 8 for two nights, total 25, which is 16.7% of a 150 target.
| Item | Formula | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Commission | lots x commission per lot | 1 x 7 = 7.00 |
| Spread cost | lots x spread cost per lot | 1 x 10 = 10.00 |
| Swap | -(lots x swap per night x nights) | -(1 x -4 x 2) = 8.00 |
| Total | sum of the three | 25.00 |
| Share of target | total / gross target | 25 / 150 = 16.7% |
Why cost per trade changes the picture
A fixed cost matters more the smaller the move you are chasing. If the same 25 of costs applies to a 150 target, it takes about a sixth. If the target is 40, the same costs take 62.5%, and a trade that wins its target nets 15. Scalpers and short-term traders feel this most, because they pay the same spread and commission on many small targets. Swing traders feel swap more, because they hold longer. A cost that looks small on one trade becomes large across a month of them, and it is the reason a strategy's backtest can look better than its live result.
It is also why 'gross' and 'net' should never be mixed in a journal. Your win rate, profit factor and expectancy should all be measured on net results, after commission and swap. The profit factor calculator and the expectancy calculator assume the numbers you give them are already net.
A worked comparison (hypothetical)
Two traders take 40 trades a month at 1 lot. The first aims for 150 per trade and holds two nights, so costs are 25 per trade, or 1,000 a month. The second aims for 40 per trade and closes within the hour, so there is no swap and costs are 17 per trade, or 680 a month. The second trader pays less in total, but 17 against a 40 target is 42.5%, far more than the first trader's 16.7%. A strategy needs its edge to be larger than its cost share, and the share is what this calculator shows.
Where to find your real numbers
- Commission and swap. Open the History tab and show the commission and swap columns, or read them from an exported report. Our guide to trading costs in trade history shows where each cost is recorded.
- Spread. Look at the symbol's specification in Market Watch for its typical spread, and remember that it varies through the day and widens around news.
- Your own totals. AI Trading Journal records each closed position's net result as profit plus commission plus swap, so costs are already inside the numbers on its dashboard. Its Excel report keeps the figures in separate tabs you can add up.
Limits of this calculator
- It works from the costs you enter. It does not read your account and does not know your broker's actual charges.
- Spread is a cost you enter as a money amount per lot; it varies with time and conditions.
- Swap rates change and some brokers apply different rules on certain days, so check your own statement.
- It is a planning aid, not trading advice or a prediction of results.
Frequently asked questions
How do I calculate the cost of a trade?
Is the spread a separate charge in MT5?
Does commission apply to both opening and closing?
Should my statistics include costs?
Does AI Trading Journal show net results?
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- Free risk to reward calculator
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- Free trading expectancy calculator
- Free forex and gold profit and loss calculator
- Free margin calculator for forex and gold
- Free trading compounding calculator
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- Prop firm drawdown calculator (daily and maximum loss)
- Prop firm risk calculator: how many losing trades until the limit
- All trading journal comparisons
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