Educational content. This article explains the cost items of a CFD trade and how they add up over time. It does not constitute investment advice or a recommendation. CFD trading carries significant risk of loss and may not be suitable for all investors.
The total cost of a CFD trade is the spread plus any commission, any swap charged for nights held, and any slippage on the fill. The spread is paid on every trade. The other three depend on the account type, how long the position stays open and market conditions at execution. A 1 pip spread on 1 lot of EURUSD is USD 10 before anything else is added.
This article is about how the items combine, not about each item alone. Each has its own page, linked below. The new material is a cost ledger by holding period, a count of how many nightly swap charges a position collects, and a table of how the swap structure differs by asset class in the live feed.
What Are the Four Cost Items of a Trade?
A trade can carry four cost items: spread, commission, swap and slippage. Only the spread is always present; the others appear under specific conditions.
| Cost item | When it is paid | What it depends on | Present on every trade? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spread | On opening, realised when the position closes | Instrument, liquidity, time of day | Yes |
| Commission | On entry and exit, per lot | Account type (raw-spread accounts) | No |
| Swap | Each night the position is open at rollover | Direction, instrument, nights held | No |
| Slippage | At execution, either side | Volatility, liquidity, order type | No, and it can be positive |
Each row has a definition elsewhere on the site. The spread is the gap between bid and ask. Swap is the overnight financing charge or credit. Slippage is the difference between the expected and the executed price. The commission is a separate per-lot charge that some accounts use in exchange for a tighter spread.
The rest of this article puts them on one timeline.
How Is the Spread Paid on a Round Trip?
The spread is paid once per round trip, not twice. A buy opens at the ask and closes at the bid. If the market does not move, the position closes lower than it opened by exactly the spread.
Worked example on EURUSD, with illustrative prices. One lot is 100,000 units of the base currency, so one pip is worth USD 10 (the feed lists the EURUSD contract size as 100,000; see what is a lot and what is a pip).
- Bid 1.16634, ask 1.16644: the spread is 0.00010, or 1 pip.
- Buy 1 lot at 1.16644.
- Market unchanged, close at the bid, 1.16634.
- Result: 1 pip x USD 10 = USD 10 lost, with no price movement at all.
The spread is therefore the entry fee, and the price has to move by at least that distance in your favour before the position shows a profit. The mechanics of bid and ask are covered in the spread article; this article only needs the one number.
Why Does a Fixed Cost Weigh More on a Short Target?
A fixed cost is a larger share of a smaller target, so short-horizon trades are the most sensitive to it. The spread does not shrink when the planned move does.
With a 1 pip spread, the cost as a share of the planned move is:
| Planned move | Spread as a share of the move |
|---|---|
| 5 pips | 20% |
| 10 pips | 10% |
| 20 pips | 5% |
| 50 pips | 2% |
| 100 pips | 1% |
The calculation is spread divided by target: 1 / 5 = 20%, 1 / 10 = 10%, 1 / 50 = 2%. The same ratio applies to a commission: any cost expressed in pips can be divided by the target in the same way.
The cost also changes the risk-reward ratio of a trade, because it widens the real risk and shrinks the real reward; the effect is worked through in what is the risk-reward ratio.
How Does the Commission Change the Picture?
A commission replaces part of the spread, so the two have to be added before accounts are compared. On a raw-spread account the quoted spread is tighter and a separate per-lot charge applies on entry and exit. On a spread-only account the whole cost sits inside the bid-ask gap.
The comparison rule is: total entry-and-exit cost per lot = spread cost + commission. Comparing a raw spread on one account with a marked-up spread on another says nothing until the commission is added to the first. This article does not quote commission amounts; they are published with the account terms, and the figure to read is the all-in cost per lot for the instrument and size you trade.
One practical consequence: because the commission is charged per lot, it scales with position size in a straight line, while the swap scales with time. The next section shows the time side.
How Many Swap Charges Does a Position Collect?
A position collects one nightly swap unit for each rollover it is open through, and the triple-swap day counts as three. The result is not a simple count of calendar nights.
For an instrument with a Wednesday triple day (forex and metals in the feed), the charges are:
| Opened | Closed | Rollovers crossed | Swap units |
|---|---|---|---|
| Any day | Same day, before rollover | 0 | 0 |
| Monday | Tuesday | Monday | 1 |
| Tuesday | Thursday | Tuesday, Wednesday | 1 + 3 = 4 |
| Monday | Friday, before rollover | Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday | 1 + 1 + 3 + 1 = 6 |
| Thursday | Next Monday | Thursday, Friday | 1 + 1 = 2 |
| Monday | Next Monday | Monday to Friday | 1 + 1 + 3 + 1 + 1 = 7 |
The Wednesday charge of three units is the weekly triple, so Friday's rollover on forex is a single unit; the triple day of each symbol is in the feed and the symbol specification. Why Wednesday and why three is explained in what is triple swap day.
The sign matters as much as the count. The swap is a debit on one side and can be a credit on the other, depending on the instrument, so the table counts units, not dollars. A credit reduces the total cost; a debit adds to it. Indices and energies follow the same counting with Friday as the triple day: a position opened Monday and closed Friday before the rollover collects 4 units, and one held to the next Monday collects 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 3 = 7.
How Does the Swap Structure Differ by Asset Class?
The swap structure differs by class in two ways: which day is tripled and which side pays. The figures below come from the live feed and show structure only, not amounts, because swap amounts change.
| Asset class | Symbols in feed | Triple swap day | Both sides debited | Long debited, short credited | Long credited, short debited |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Forex | 42 | Wednesday (all 42) | 5 | 11 | 26 |
| Metals | 2 | Wednesday (both) | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Indices | 18 | Friday (all 18) | 10 | 8 | 0 |
| Energies | 3 | Friday (all 3) | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| Cryptocurrencies | 12 | None | 0 | 12 | 0 |
Source: Vanto feed snapshot, 10 October 2026. "Debited" and "credited" describe the sign of the quoted swap at the snapshot; they can change.
Three observations follow from the table, and none depends on a swap amount:
- Forex is mixed. In the snapshot, 26 of 42 pairs credit the long side and debit the short side, 11 do the opposite and 5 debit both. Direction alone does not tell you whether the nights cost or pay; the specific symbol does. The reason is the interest-rate gap between the two currencies, covered in carry trade explained.
- Indices lean toward a debit on the long side. All 18 index symbols debit the long side at the snapshot, and 10 of them debit the short side too.
- Crypto has no triple day. With none in the snapshot, a crypto position's nightly units are not multiplied on any weekday. All 12 crypto symbols debit the long side and credit the short side at the snapshot.
The sign pattern is a snapshot, not a rule. The page for the exact instrument, or the trading calculator, shows the current values before a position is held overnight.
What Does Slippage Add to the Total?
Slippage adds a cost that is not known in advance and can be zero or negative. It is the gap between the price you saw and the price you were filled at, and it is positive when the fill is better.
Take 1 lot of EURUSD and a stop-loss order. The stop is at 1.16544. In a fast move the market jumps through it and the fill is 0.5 pip worse, at 1.16539.
- Planned loss at the stop: 1 lot x 10 pips x USD 10 = USD 100 (from an entry at 1.16644).
- Actual loss: 10.5 pips x USD 10 = USD 105.
- Slippage cost: USD 5, on top of the USD 10 spread already built into the entry.
Slippage is largest around news and thin liquidity, and it applies to market orders and to stop orders that become market orders when triggered. A limit order fills at its price or better, but it can stay unfilled. The causes are in the slippage article; for the ledger, treat it as a variable item rather than a fixed one.
A Cost Ledger: Three Holding Periods Compared
The balance between the items changes with the holding period: spread and commission dominate short trades, swap grows with every night, and slippage can appear at any point. A ledger makes the shift visible.
The ledger below uses a hypothetical long position of 1 lot on one instrument, with no real swap amount stated. The unit N is the swap charge for one nightly rollover on that position, and S is the spread cost (USD 10 in the EURUSD example).
| Holding period | Spread | Commission | Swap | Slippage |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intraday (closed same day) | S, once | Entry and exit if applicable | 0 | Possible on either fill |
| Monday to Friday close | S, once | Entry and exit if applicable | 6N | Possible on either fill |
| Monday to next Monday | S, once | Entry and exit if applicable | 7N | Possible on either fill |
Two things stay constant down the table: the spread and the commission are the same however long the position is held. The only line that changes with time is the swap.
A useful comparison is the number of units at which the swap equals the spread. If N were one tenth of S, then 10 units of swap would equal one spread, which is a bit more than one working week of the Wednesday-triple pattern (7 units per week, so 10 / 7 = 1.4 weeks). If N were one half of S, the swap would equal the spread after 2 units. Whether N is a debit or a credit on your side of the trade decides which direction this cost moves in; a credit offsets the spread rather than adding to it.
Which Costs Are Not on the Ledger?
Some costs are not trading costs at all, and they should be kept separate from the four items above. Margin is a deposit, not a cost: it is held while a position is open and returned when it closes (see what is margin in trading). Currency conversion is an effect, not a fee: a position whose profit is in another currency is converted into the account currency at the prevailing rate.
In the feed, 38 of 42 forex pairs and 12 of 18 indices have a profit currency other than USD, so for a USD account the result is converted at the rate at closing. That is a movement of the exchange rate, which can help or hurt, and it is not a charge. Fees for deposits and withdrawals depend on the payment method and are outside the scope of a trade's cost.
When Does the Ledger Mislead?
The ledger misleads when it treats a snapshot as a constant, and when it counts a cost without checking its sign. Common mistakes:
- Quoting the spread from a quiet period. A spread seen at a low-liquidity hour or at the weekend can be far from the figure during active trading, so a one-time reading is not a cost estimate.
- Adding spread twice. The spread is paid once on a round trip, not on both the entry and the exit.
- Ignoring the swap sign. A swap can be a credit, and counting it as a pure debit overstates the cost of a holding period, just as ignoring a debit understates it.
- Forgetting the triple day. A position held through Wednesday on forex or Friday on indices collects three units that night, not one.
- Treating slippage as an average. It is an event, concentrated in news and thin markets, and it appears on stops more often than on limits.
- Comparing accounts on the spread alone. A raw spread without the commission is half of the cost per lot.
- Confusing cost with margin. The margin deposit is not spent; a margin call at 100% and a stop-out at 50% are separate risk limits, not costs.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the total cost of a trade?
The total cost of a trade is the spread, any commission, the swap for each night held, and any slippage on the fill. Only the spread is present on every trade. The others depend on the account type, the holding time and market conditions.
Is the spread the only cost of trading CFDs?
No. The spread is the only cost that every trade pays, but a position held overnight also collects swap, a raw-spread account adds a per-lot commission, and a fill in a fast market can include slippage. Swap can also be a credit, which lowers the total.
Do I pay the spread when I open or when I close?
You pay it once per round trip. A buy opens at the ask and closes at the bid, so the position starts the trade behind by the spread; you do not pay a second spread on the exit.
Why does holding a position over Wednesday cost more?
Wednesday is the triple-swap day for forex and metals, so the rollover is booked three times. A position open through that rollover collects three swap units that night instead of one. For indices and energies the triple day is Friday.
Can the swap make a trade cheaper?
Yes. On some instruments one side of the market receives a credit instead of paying a debit, and the sign can differ between long and short. A credit offsets part of the spread, but it can change, so it is not a reliable offset.
How do I see all the costs before I open a position?
Read the spread and contract size in the MT5 symbol specification, the commission in your account terms, and the swap and triple day for the symbol. The Vanto calculator shows the swap and triple day for each instrument, and the figure that matters is the cost for your lot size and holding period.
Calculate the Numbers Before You Hold
The Vanto trading calculator shows the pip value, margin, swap direction and triple swap day for each instrument, which is enough to fill in the ledger above for a planned lot size and holding period. For how this fits a wider routine, see the forex trading guide, and for why some pairs are costly to hold, why exotic currency pairs cost more to hold overnight. A demo account lets you read the booked charges in the account history without risking capital.
Risk warning. Trading securities, futures, options, and contracts for differences are complex financial instruments that require knowledge and understanding. Prices can fluctuate significantly and securities may become valueless. Investors may incur losses exceeding the potential for profits. Trading on margin can result in losses greater than the amount initially deposited. Past performance is not necessarily a guide to future performance. The information in this article is for educational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice, a recommendation, or an offer to buy or sell any financial instrument. Consider whether CFD trading is appropriate for your circumstances and seek independent advice if necessary.