Every trade starts slightly in the red, because you pay the spread and often a commission. This calculator shows exactly how far the price must move before a trade starts making money, and what the trade costs you.
Break-Even Calculator
How far the price must move to cover the spread and commission.
Exchange rates: ECB reference rates of 11 Nov 2026. Results are estimates for information only, not financial advice. Trading on leverage carries a high risk of losing money.
Why Trades Start At A Loss
When you buy, you pay the higher ask price. When you sell to close, you get the lower bid price. The gap between them is the spread, and it is a cost you pay on every trade. Many accounts also charge a commission per lot or per share. Together, they mean the price has to move in your favor by a certain amount just for you to get your money back.
That amount is your break-even move. For a day trader who takes small profits, it can be a large part of the target.
How To Use The Calculator
- Choose the market. Forex works in pips and lots. Stocks / CFDs / crypto works in price and quantity.
- Choose the direction of your trade.
- Enter the trade. For forex: the currency pair, entry price (filled in, and editable), trade size in lots, the spread in pips and any commission per lot for a round trip (opening and closing). For other markets: the entry price, quantity, spread in price units, total commission and the currency the instrument trades in.
The calculator shows the break-even price, the move needed in pips or price, the total cost in your account currency, the cost as a percentage of the position, and the break-even price if you traded the other way.
The Formula
Forex: break-even move in pips = spread + commission per lot ÷ pip value per lot.
Other markets: break-even move = (spread × quantity + commission) ÷ quantity.
For example, with a 0.8-pip spread and a $7 commission per lot on EUR/USD, where a pip is worth $10 per lot, the price must move 0.8 + 0.7 = 1.5 pips before the trade breaks even.
Why It Matters To Traders
If you aim for 5 pips and need 1.5 pips just to cover costs, 30% of every winning trade goes to your broker. That is why scalpers and very active day traders care so much about spreads and commissions, and why the same strategy can be profitable with one broker and lose money with another.
Knowing your break-even move also helps you set realistic targets and avoid trades where the costs eat most of the expected profit.
Tips
- Spreads widen at the market open, around news and outside the main trading hours. Use the spread you actually see when you trade.
- Raw-spread accounts have tiny spreads but charge a commission. Enter both to compare them fairly with a standard account.
- Compare what brokers would cost you per month with our trading cost calculator.
Related Trading Calculators
Alternatively, see our full suite of free online trading calculators.
DayTrading.com’s free trading calculators are for education and planning only and are not financial advice. Trading with leverage is high risk, and you could lose any money you invest. Trade responsibly.