I had a discussion with austinp about this already http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=126326&perpage=6&pagenumber=6 then I stumbled on an article of him that says the same thing "A bid/ask spread in either case is never actually "paid" by any individual." http://www.tradingmarkets.com/.site/forex/how_to/articles/Some-Truths-About-FX-78176.cfm It is correct that there is no seperate debit in your account for the spread cost as there is for commissions BECAUSE the spread is a HIDDEN cost. A bigger spread means you pay a higher price when you buy and get a lower price when you sell. Example: forex broker A with 1 pip spread , forex broker B with 3 pip spread A : EUR/USD 1.5001/1.5002 B : EUR/USD 1.5000/1.5003 going long at 1.5002 with A going long at 1.5003 with B market goes up 10 ticks A :1.5011/1.5012 B :1.5010/1.5013 sell at 1.5011 with A > +9 pips profit sell at 1.5010 with B > + 7 pips profit Difference in profit is 2 pips > spread difference between broker A and B. If the spread is 1 pip then it takes a 1 pip move in the market to overcome that cost. The typical spread cost for futures is double the commission cost so it's an important cost factor to overcome. ES : spread $ 12.5 commission $5 a good article > http://www.theessentialsoftrading.c...rstanding-the-bidask-spread-in-stock-trading/ If it's not crystal clear by now.... Even an expert as you can still learn some basics from a noob as me