Fees, spread and slippage: where the edge goes
A 5-point edge disappears fast when you pay the spread twice.
5 minute read · updated with the phase that shipped this page
Every trade crosses a spread. If the best bid is 0.60 and the best ask is 0.64, a buyer pays 0.64 and a seller receives 0.60. The 4-point gap is not a fee anyone invoices; it is the price of immediacy, and it is paid on entry and often again on exit.
Slippage is the difference between the price you saw and the price you got. It grows with order size relative to the book. On a market with $500 of depth at the top, a $5,000 order may move the price several points.
Fees are the visible part. On some venues they are zero and the spread carries the cost; on others they are explicit. Qvicom Signal does not model a fee schedule it cannot verify, so our calculator asks you to enter your own assumption — and shows you the break-even probability after that assumption.
The practical consequence: an edge smaller than your round-trip cost is not an edge, it is a donation. The calculator exists so you can see that before you trade, not after.
- What is the spread right now, in points?
- What does my order do to the price if the book is thin?
- After costs, what probability do I need to be right about to break even?
Educational material only. Qvicom Signal is not a broker, exchange or adviser, cannot place orders, and does not accept deposits or wagers.