How do I convert the spread into a cost?

The spread is the gap between bid and ask. Buying and immediately selling pays it once in full. In money: spread times position size. On a EUR 50 share with a two-cent spread and 200 shares that is EUR 4 — on a EUR 10,000 order 0.04 %, roughly the size of the commission. Outside main trading hours and in illiquid names the spread can multiply several times over.

What is a realistic FX markup?

In practice it ranges from around 0.02 % at brokers with genuine FX execution to over 1 % at providers quoting a blanket rate. With a euro account and a US-dollar share it applies on both legs. On EUR 10,000 of volume at 0.5 % per leg that is EUR 100 — more than most commissions. A foreign-currency sub-account avoids the second conversion, where the broker offers one.

Does break-even maths apply to ETF savings plans too?

In principle yes, but the cost structure differs. Savings plans often waive the execution fee, while the fund's ongoing charge and the venue's trading spread do the work. Because you buy continually and sell rarely, the entry cost spreads over many years — the deciding figure is then the annual total cost, not the move per trade. The ETF savings plan calculator is the right place for that.

Does the calculation include tax?

No, it works pre-tax. Capital gains tax, withholding tax and stamp duties vary too much by residence, account location and product to assume sensibly. Note also that tax falls due on realised gains only — the break-even threshold before that point stays a pure cost figure.

Calculators

Break-even calculator

How far price must move to cover costs.

Every trade starts underwater. Before a single cent of profit exists, the price has to earn back the cost of getting in and out. This calculator adds up all the cost components and turns them into one number: the move you need simply to break even.

Inputs

Price per unit

Position size (units)

Account currency

Commission model

Buy commission (EUR)

Sell commission (EUR)

Spread (price points)

FX markup per leg (%)

Holding period (days)10

Position is leveraged (financing applies)

Round trips per month4

Round-trip cost

€13.80

Volume: €10,000 · Cost as % of volume: 0.14 %

Price move needed

0.0690

Break-even price: 50.0690

as a percentage

0.14 %

One-off: €13.80

Cost load per year

€662

48 × Round-trip cost — 6.6 % at this frequency and size

What the cost is made of

Buy€4.9036 %
Sell€4.9036 %
Spread€4.0029 %

How cost grows with holding period

Commission and spread are paid once. Financing keeps running every calendar day — it is the part that turns a good idea into an expensive one.

Holding period	One-off	Financing	Total	Move needed
1 day	€13.80	€0.00	€13.80	0.14 %
5 days	€13.80	€0.00	€13.80	0.14 %
20 days	€13.80	€0.00	€13.80	0.14 %
60 days	€13.80	€0.00	€13.80	0.14 %
125 days	€13.80	€0.00	€13.80	0.14 %
250 days	€13.80	€0.00	€13.80	0.14 %

Why many small trades lose

Round trips / year	Cost per year	as % of volume
12	€166	1.7 %
48	€662	6.6 %
120	€1,656	16.6 %
250	€3,450	34.5 %
500	€6,900	69.0 %

Assumptions behind this calculation

A long position is modelled, opened in full and closed in full. Partial fills add cost where commission is flat per order.
The spread is paid once per round trip in full: buy at the ask, sell at the bid.
The FX markup applies on both legs against the volume — that is how most brokers charge an account held in another currency.
Financing accrues on calendar days, not trading days, and on the full volume. Many brokers also book three days on Wednesdays (triple swap).
Excluded: custody and inactivity fees, exchange venue charges, market data, tax and slippage.
The break-even price is purely cost-based and says nothing about whether the price will get there.

Note: These calculators are for information only and are not investment advice. Content on Brokaro is for information purposes only and is not investment, legal or tax advice.

How this is calculated

Five kinds of cost, not one

Commission is the most visible line but rarely the largest. Alongside it sit the spread, paid at the ask on the way in and the bid on the way out; the FX markup where account and trading currency differ — often 0.25 % to 1 % per leg on foreign shares; overnight financing on leveraged positions; and flat custody or inactivity fees that attach to the account rather than the trade. The calculator covers the first four.

Why small positions cost proportionally more

A flat EUR 4.90 per side costs about two percent round trip on a EUR 500 order — the price must rise two percent for the position to stand at zero. On EUR 5,000 it is 0.2 %, on EUR 50,000 it is 0.02 %. This is where a minimum sensible order size comes from: it falls out of the fee schedule, not from a rule of thumb.

Frequency is the biggest lever

The cost of one trade looks manageable. Multiplied by trading frequency it becomes the real hurdle to any return: twenty round trips a month at 0.5 % each is a 120 % annual cost load on the volume deployed. The strategy has to clear that before it starts producing anything. The table in the calculator shows the relationship for your own numbers.

Holding costs grow quietly

Commission and spread are paid once; financing accrues every calendar day. At a 6.5 % annual rate a leveraged position costs roughly 0.018 % per day — after three months that is 1.6 % of volume, frequently several times the commission. Leveraged products are built for short horizons. Holding them longer means comparing the financing against the rate on an ordinary margin loan.