Enter a market, a stake per point and the opening and closing levels. The calculator returns your profit or loss, the spread cost at each of the 14 ranked brokers’ published spreads (1 Aug 2026) and the margin required under the FCA’s retail limits. It needs no sign-up.
Spread betting calculator
Cost, profit or loss, and margin on one bet
On GBP/USD one point is a 0.0001 move, so £5 per point is £5 per pip. 1.3521 is 13,521 points.
GBP/USD is quoted in index points: one point is a 1.0 move of the level, and the bet is priced per index point.
Opening level from the Fri 4 Sept 2026 5pm New York close Opening level: your own figure, from your platform's deal ticket Spread: Pepperstone published, 1 Aug 2026 Spread: your own figure
A buy at £5 per point that closes 80 points higher makes £400.00 before the spread. Pepperstone's published 1.0-point spread costs £5.00 on this bet, leaving £395.00. The margin held to open it is £2,253.50.
Enter the level from your platform's deal ticket and your provider's spread in points; the ledger then prices the bet.
Spread betting profits are free of Capital Gains Tax and stamp duty for most UK residents; see how spread bets are taxed. Overnight funding is not included; use the overnight funding calculator. Spreads are the brokers' own published averages, read on 1 Aug 2026, or your own figure where you type one; neither is a quote at the moment you deal. Margin uses the FCA COBS 22.5 retail leverage cap for the market class.
Level 1.3521, Fri 4 Sept 2026 5pm New York close Level: your own figure Major pair: FCA cap 30:1, margin 3.33%
£5 per point on GBP/USD at 1.3521 is £67,605 of exposure and needs £2,253.50 margin. With £3,000 in the account, a fall of 375 points to 1.3146 takes equity to 50% of that margin, the point at which FCA rules require the broker to close the bet.
£5 per point on GBP/USD needs £2,253.50 margin, and the £3,000 balance is below it: the bet cannot be opened at this size.
Enter the level from your platform's deal ticket; the ledger then computes the margin and the close-out level.
Margin uses the FCA COBS 22.5 retail cap for the market class, which every FCA-regulated broker must apply; a broker may hold more, never less. Close-out is the FCA's 50% margin rule; brokers may act sooner. The walk ignores the spread and overnight funding.
Published spreads read 1 Aug 2026, 13 FCA-regulated brokers Industry average on GBP/USD: 1.3 points
At £5 per point, GBP/USD costs between £5.00 and £9.00 per bet in the spread across the 13 brokers with a published figure. Over 20 bets a month that is £100 to £180.
| Broker | Published spread | Per bet | 20 bets / month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pepperstone | 1.0 pt | £5.00 | £100.00 |
| FXCM | 1.0 pt | £5.00 | £100.00 |
| Spread Co | 1.0 pt | £5.00 | £100.00 |
| ThinkMarkets | 1.1 pt | £5.50 | £110.00 |
| Capital.com | 1.3 pt | £6.50 | £130.00 |
| Spreadex | 1.4 pt | £7.00 | £140.00 |
| OANDA | 1.4 pt | £7.00 | £140.00 |
| IG | 1.4 pt | £7.00 | £140.00 |
| Trade Nation | 1.4 pt | £7.00 | £140.00 |
| CMC Markets | 1.4 pt | £7.00 | £140.00 |
| City Index | 1.5 pt | £7.50 | £150.00 |
| Vantage | 1.6 pt | £8.00 | £160.00 |
| FxPro | 1.8 pt | £9.00 | £180.00 |
| Rows above the line are our ranked brokers, cheapest published spread first; rows below it are harvested but unranked. Spreads are each broker's own published average for the pair, read on 1 Aug 2026. A published average is not a quote at the moment you deal. | |||
Between 61% and 76.6% of retail investor accounts lose money across the 14 brokers we compare.
The other calculators on this site
How To Use Our Spread Bet Calculator
Follow these basic steps as you use the spread betting calculator above.
1. Choose Your Market
Pick one of the nine forex pairs from our monthly spread dataset, or one of the three indices. Forex opening levels preload from the dated 5pm New York close shown in the widget. Index levels do not preload: enter the level from your platform’s deal ticket.
2. Choose Your Stake Per Point
Enter your stake in pounds per point. When trading spread bets this sets the value of every point the market moves: at £5 per point, an 80-point move is worth £400 before the spread, and at £200 per point, a 100-point move is worth £20,000.
3. Pick A Broker Or Type Your Own Spread
The broker menu carries each ranked broker’s published average spread for the chosen pair and prices its cost in pounds on your bet. Choose Custom spread to type your own provider’s figure instead. A published average is not a quote at the moment you deal.
4. Set The Closing Level Or The Points Moved
Type a closing level or a move in points, and the calculator derives the other. A buy profits when the market closes higher than it opened; a sell profits when it closes lower.
5. See Your Margin Requirements
Margin is your exposure divided by the FCA retail leverage cap for the market class: 30:1 on major pairs, and 20:1 on non-major pairs and major indices. Exposure is the level in points multiplied by your stake. The Margin mode adds your account balance and shows the level at which the FCA’s 50% close-out rule would require the broker to close the bet.
6. Review Your Profit And Loss
The ledger prices the move, the cost of the spread and the margin separately; the net result is the move minus the spread. The Compare brokers mode runs the same stake across every published spread at once, per bet and per month. That monthly number is the spread cost at your chosen stake, not your risk. Your risk per trade is your stake multiplied by the distance in points to your stop, and this calculator does not set a stop. The tool assumes an exact fill; our spread betting slippage page measures the gap between the level and the fill on live orders.
Why Use The Spread Betting Calculator?
When I trade, I use the spread betting calculator in two ways:
Firstly, I use the tool to calculate my potential profit from a position.
And secondly, but equally importantly, I used it to calculate calculate the potential risk. Once you’ve modelled the numbers, shortlist a provider from our best spread betting platforms comparison.
The spread betting calculator gives me insight into the total points, target price, and my stop loss, all of which helps me to improve my betting odds.
This is why I recommend you use this calculator too. Inputting the details of your trade into the calculator will help you decide if the position is “worth it” or not.
Personally, if the potential loss outweighs the potential profit (or payout), I wouldn’t make the bet. Or, I’d make sure that I closed the bet long before the loss was incurred.
SpreadBet’s co-founder, Noam Korbl, had this to say about the calculator usefulness:
“I feel this spread betting calculator is a great tool for both beginners and experts alike,” Noam said.
“Whatever your background it will help you learn more detail about how spread betting works, and how you can develop your own strategy.”
Please note that this calculator only works for financial spread betting, not sports betting such as football, cricket or horse racing.
How Is The Spread Bet Calculated?
Imagine you are developing a spread betting strategy for the EUR/USD forex pair (remember that spread betting strategies are different from CFD trading strategies).
Your online broker’s pricing is 1.1150 to sell EUR/USD, and 1.1152 to buy EUR/USD.
You believe the Euro will strengthen against the dollar, so you buy at 1.1152 with a bet size of £10 per point. The market moves in your favour. Then, when the sell price reaches 1.1172 and the buy price reaches 1.1174, you decide to close out your position.
- Opening price level: 1.1152
- Closing price level: 1.1172
As the market moved 20 points in your favour from 1.1152 to 1.1172, your result is £200 profit.
According to the following formula, your profit would be:
Points the market moved = (1.1172 - 1.1152) = 0.0020 = 20 points
Profit = 20 points x £10 = £200
Take a look at some of the other examples I’ve provided to discover more about calculating spread betting profits on instruments like forex currency pairs, gold and stocks.
How Does Your Margin Affect Your Calculator?
Use the following margin calculation when spread betting:
Margin = total exposure x margin factor.
As a practical example, if the margin offered by a broker was 5% (known as 20:1 leverage) for an exposure of £100,000, then you would need to put down £5,000 to open the trade. This is simply 5% of £100,000.
Learn more about the role of leverage at our margin spread bet page.
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FAQs
Is Spread Betting Profitable?
Yes, spread betting can be profitable if your predictions are correct. However, you need to keep in mind that there are risks involved, so you could end up losing out.
I advise you to develop a robust betting strategy before you start opening large spread bets. Also, you’ll need to use effective risk management techniques.
Our co-founder Noam Korbl shared some of his own strategic insights as he targets profitable spread bets:
“For me personally, I tend to diversify my bets across different securities. This improves my chances of scoring an overall profit, even if one or two of my bets don’t come in,” he said.
“But the most effective way to manage your risk is to limit your bets. Never bet more money than you can afford to lose.”
Which Brokers Can I Use For Spread Betting?
The full comparison of the best spread betting platforms in the UK scores every account on trading cost, trading experience, trading platform, trust, range of markets and customer service.
Other strong brokers you might want to consider include City Index, IG, and FXCM. Make sure the broker you choose is properly regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA): all the brokers I’ve mentioned here are.
I also advise you to try the broker’s demo account before you make a final decision.
Ask an Expert
Can I use this calculator for stocks or crypto too?
no