What is Spread?
The gap between an exchange's buy and sell price — a hidden cost on top of the stated fee.
The spread is the gap between the price you can buy at and the price you can sell at — and on crypto platforms' instant-buy screens it's routinely the largest cost of the trade, dwarfing the advertised fee. A platform quoting "1% commission" with a 1.5% spread costs more than one quoting "2% commission" with a tight spread; only the all-in number matters.
Spreads are also how "zero-fee" trading works: the cost moves from the receipt into the price, where most customers never look. Our $1,000 study measured real spreads across Australian exchanges, and the fee calculator includes them in every comparison. The reliable rule: on platforms offering both, the order-book interface prices better than the instant-buy screen — same venue, same coin, different cost.
See it in practice
Related terms: Maker/taker fees · Market cap · Custodial · full glossary
FAQ
Why don't exchanges advertise their spreads?
Because spreads are variable, unflattering, and legally easier to leave unquoted than fees. The absence is informative: platforms with tight spreads tend to mention them; platforms with wide ones talk about "zero commissions" instead.
How do I see the spread before I buy?
Compare the platform's quoted buy price against a reference mid-market price (our AUD coin pages work). The difference, doubled, approximates the round-trip cost of buying and immediately selling.
General information only, not financial advice. Definitions are maintained in our fact database and reviewed with the daily rebuild.