All terms
The gap between the best buy price and the best sell price.
The spread is an immediate cost. Buy at the ask and sell at the bid and you have already lost the spread before price moves at all.
Tight spreads indicate healthy competition between market makers. Wide spreads indicate that few people want to quote both sides, which is a liquidity warning.
A 0.01 percent spread on a major pair is normal. A 3 percent spread means you start every trade meaningfully behind.
Where to go next
More trading terms
Want this explained out loud?
Some of these land faster in conversation than in writing. Sessions are one to one and you can ask anything, including the things that feel too obvious to ask.