Spread

The spread is the gap between the bid (the price you can sell at) and the ask (the price you can buy at). It’s usually measured in pips and is a core trading cost — you start each trade slightly down by the spread.

Spreads can be fixed or variable (widening in fast or thin markets). Raw-spread/ECN accounts show very tight spreads but add a commission. In MT4 the spread is the difference between the two prices in the Market Watch.

A tighter spread means lower cost per trade — see how brokers compare in our best MT4 brokers guide.