The trading cost calculator does one job well: it turns the abstract idea of "trading costs money" into a single, concrete number for the trade in front of you. Plug in your fees, spread, slippage, and a safety buffer, and it returns the cost-to-beat — the hurdle a trade must clear before it makes anything. It uses the same model the bot uses to reject weak signals, so the number you see is the number the discipline runs on.
What you will need
Have four inputs ready: your exchange's fee rate for the pair, the current bid-ask spread, a sensible slippage estimate for your order size, and a buffer for uncertainty. None of these are guesses pulled from nowhere — they come from your venue and the current market — and the calculator simply assembles them.
Steps
- Enter the exchange fee. Input the maker or taker fee rate your venue charges for the pair you plan to trade.
- Add the spread. Enter the current bid-ask spread; this is a cost you pay the instant you enter and exit.
- Estimate slippage and buffer. Add a slippage estimate for the fill and a safety buffer for uncertainty in volatile conditions.
- Read the cost-to-beat. The total is the hurdle a trade must clear before it makes anything; compare it directly to your expected edge.
What the number is for
The calculator does not place trades and it does not tell you what to trade — it quantifies a scenario so you can make your own decision with the costs in plain view. Run it before committing to a setup, and run it again when volatility changes, because a wider spread or larger slippage raises the bar. It is a planning utility, not a recommendation, and nothing it shows is financial advice.
For the concept behind the number, read the true cost of a crypto trade. To see the same math decide real signals, see how to read a signal cost breakdown, and for broader market context, the futures and index reference for crypto.