What is a normal spread?

On major coins, hundredths of a percent. Tenths of a percent means a thin market, and anything approaching a percent means the cost of a round trip is comparable to a decent move.

How do I avoid slippage?

Limit orders instead of market orders where the entry can wait, and smaller size relative to what sits in the book. Neither helps in a fast move — that is when the book empties and slippage is unavoidable.

Is the spread part of the exchange fee?

No, and that is why it gets missed. The fee is stated; the spread is paid silently on both the entry and the exit, and on an illiquid coin it is usually the larger of the two costs.

Spread and slippage

The gap between the best buy and sell price, and the difference between the price you expected and the price you got. The costs that do not appear on the fee schedule.

Updated September 4, 2026

The spread is a cost you pay twice

The spread is the distance between the highest price someone will buy at and the lowest someone will sell at. Enter with a market order and you cross it; exit with one and you cross it again.

On a liquid coin it is a rounding error. On an illiquid one a 0.5% spread means a 1% round trip before the market has moved at all — often more than the exchange fee, and invisible in the fee statement.

Slippage is the spread under pressure

The spread describes the best price for a small order. Slippage is what happens when your order is larger than what sits at that price: you eat through the book and the average fill is worse than the quote.

It grows with three things — order size, thinness of the book, and speed of the market. In a violent move all three worsen together, which is precisely when people place market orders.

Why illiquid coins are expensive twice

A thin market charges on the way in and again on the way out:

Entry costs more than the quote, because your order walks the book.
Exit costs more again — and exits are usually more urgent, so they are usually market orders.
Worst of all, the exit is most expensive exactly when you most want it: a sharp move empties the book, so the moment you need out is the moment liquidity is thinnest.

Measure it before, not after

The card shows the spread as a percentage precisely so it can be compared across coins and read before the trade. Comparing it against your expected move is a one-second sanity check: a 0.4% spread against a 1% target is a bad trade before it starts.

The same number is the honest reason some coins are not worth trading at all, however good the setup looks.

Common questions

What is a normal spread?: On major coins, hundredths of a percent. Tenths of a percent means a thin market, and anything approaching a percent means the cost of a round trip is comparable to a decent move.
How do I avoid slippage?: Limit orders instead of market orders where the entry can wait, and smaller size relative to what sits in the book. Neither helps in a fast move — that is when the book empties and slippage is unavoidable.
Is the spread part of the exchange fee?: No, and that is why it gets missed. The fee is stated; the spread is paid silently on both the entry and the exit, and on an illiquid coin it is usually the larger of the two costs.