Crypto spread: what it is and why it costs you

The buy-sell gap in plain English

The crypto spread is just the difference you see between the price you can buy a coin for and the price you could sell it at, right at that moment. The buy price almost always sits above the sell price, and you cover that gap each time you trade.

If you use an order-book exchange, the spread comes straight from the distance between the lowest price a seller asks (the best ask) and the highest a buyer will pay (the best bid). When there are lots of trades, that space tightens up. If things turn quiet or erratic, it can widen by quite a bit.

Why zero-fee apps still earn money

You’ll see plenty of apps advertising that you pay no trading fee. They still make money, though, by offering a buy price just above the real mid-market and a sell price just below it. What sits between those two quotes and the true price is their profit margin. You’ll see this difference too if you take a close look while comparing a crypto exchange versus a broker.

This kind of margin is easy to overlook because the charge is simply built into the price itself. The only way to really see it is to compare exactly how many coins you’d get at that moment with the going mid-market rate from a reference you trust.

How to measure the real cost

The mid-market price is halfway between the best bid and ask on a strong exchange, or just a well-known reference price taken at the same second. Work out how many coins you actually receive for your euros versus what that midpoint would have got you. If you add the spread and any marked fees, that gives you the real cost you paid the app.

If you’re trading something less popular, the spread tends to be wider. It can also get worse if you send a large order that soaks up available liquidity. Big trades can trigger slippage, meaning you pay a different price than first quoted. Prices change rapidly, so try to compare quotes at nearly the same moment.

A worked example of a round-trip spread

Let’s say a coin’s mid-market price is 100 euros. You see a buy quote at 101 euros and a sell quote at 99 euros on the app. If you buy for 1,000 euros you end up with about 990 euros in coins at the mid-point. If you turn right around and sell those at 99 euros, you'll get about 980 euros back in total.

The full round trip costs you about 20 euros, which is close to 2 percent, before any extra fees. These numbers are for illustration only.

Frequently asked questions

Is the spread a fee?

No, not exactly. The spread doesn’t appear as a separate entry on your receipt, but it’s still a cost because your buy price is above and your sell price is below the actual mid-market value. Sometimes platforms show a fee openly; others wrap it into the quoted price. For a breakdown, see the exchange fees guide.

How can I reduce the spread I pay?

You’ll pay less spread by trading where there’s a deeper order book and a tighter gap between prices, and by checking quotes before you lock in the trade. If you’re able to use a limit order, you might avoid paying the spread at all, but it could take time to fill. If you steer clear of particularly large orders compared to the amount on offer, and avoid trading during the most volatile stretches, you can often keep your costs down.