Spread (bid-ask spread)

Every market has two prices: the highest someone is currently willing to pay (the bid) and the lowest at which someone wants to sell (the ask). The difference is the spread.^[1] On an exchangeGlossaryExchange (crypto exchange)A trading platform where buyers and sellers trade bitcoin with each other via an order book. The price results from supply and demand; fees usually follow the maker-taker model.On the learning path: Stage 4 · Step 1 – Ways to get Bitcoin →In the glossary →×, it results from the order bookGlossaryOrder bookA list of all open buy and sell orders for a trading pair such as BTC/USD, sorted by price. The price forms between the highest bid and the lowest ask.On the learning path: Stage 4 · Step 1 – Ways to get Bitcoin →In the glossary →× and is usually small for bitcoin; there you mainly pay a maker or taker feeGlossaryMaker and taker feesA fee model used by exchanges: whoever places an order in the order book and so provides liquidity (maker) usually pays less than someone who immediately accepts an existing order (taker).On the learning path: Stage 4 · Step 1 – Ways to get Bitcoin →In the glossary →×. With a brokerGlossaryBroker (crypto broker)A provider that sells you bitcoin or buys it from you at a displayed price, instead of letting you trade in the order book yourself. The costs usually come from the spread, a fee or both.On the learning path: Stage 4 · Step 1 – Ways to get Bitcoin →In the glossary →× or an app, the provider sets both prices itself and earns from the gap.

Example

An app shows $81,000 to buy and $79,000 to sell at the same moment (example prices). The difference of $2,000 is 2.5% of the mid price of $80,000. If you buy and immediately sell again, you lose around 2.5% – even though no fee was shown anywhere.

Why this matters

‘Fee-free’ doesn’t mean ‘free’: the German app BISONProvider · ExchangeBISONCrypto app from the Boerse Stuttgart Group: no trading fee, but a spread – withdrawals to your own wallet: €0 fee (as of 09/2026).Licence: MiCA (BaFin, Germany) · reviewed Sept 2026Costs: no trading fee, average Bitcoin spread 1.25% per buy or sell (as of Sept 2026)On the learning path: Stage 4 · Step 2 – Choosing a provider →Our profile →Official website ↗×, for example, charges no order fee, but according to its cost overview the spread for bitcoin averages 1.25% on each purchase and each sale (as of September 2026) – around 2.5% for a round trip.^[2] With a savings planGlossarySavings plan (Bitcoin savings plan)Automatically buying bitcoin at fixed intervals with a fixed amount, for example $50 a month. A savings plan takes the question of the right moment off your hands, but doesn’t promise a higher return.On the learning path: Stage 4 · Step 4 – Setting up a savings plan →In the glossary →×, the spread applies to every instalment.

How to find out the spread

1. Look at the buy and sell prices at the same moment.
2. Compare the buy price with the market price in the same currency, for example via the live charts below.
3. Check the provider’s cost overview.

The fee calculator shows which cost structure is cheaper for your amount.