FxRobotEasy Tools · Last reviewed
Forex Swap Cost Calculator — Overnight Rollover
How swap and rollover cost is calculated
Swap Cost per Night = Swap Points × Point Size × Contract Size × Lot Size × FX Rate Total Cost = Σ per-night costs, with Wednesday × 3 multiplier Where: Swap Points = broker's quoted rate (negative = cost, positive = credit) Point Size = pip_size / 10 (e.g. 0.00001 for FX majors) Contract Size = 100,000 (FX), 100 (XAUUSD), 5,000 (XAGUSD) Lot Size = 1.0 standard, 0.1 mini, 0.01 micro FX Rate = 1 if account currency = quote currency Wednesday triple = 3× the daily rate to cover Sat + Sun + Mon
Swap reflects the interest-rate differential between the two currencies in the pair. When you hold a long EURUSD position overnight, you're effectively borrowing USD (selling it) and lending EUR (buying it). The broker pays you the EUR interest rate and charges you the USD interest rate. If EUR rates are lower than USD rates (as in 2022-2024 USD-strength regime), you net pay the difference each night — a negative swap. If you reverse the trade (short EURUSD), you pay EUR rates and receive USD rates — positive swap. Brokers quote swap in points (raw price increments). The conversion to monetary value uses the point size — typically 1/10th of a pip on modern 5-decimal pricing. For a 0.10 lot EURUSD position with -7.5 swap points: cost = -7.5 × 0.00001 × 100,000 × 0.10 = -$0.75 per night. Over 7 nights with one Wednesday triple: cost = $0.75 × 6 + $0.75 × 3 = $4.50 + $2.25 = $6.75 per week. Most retail brokers' swap rates include a 'broker markup' on top of the actual interbank rate. ECN brokers tend to pass through near-market swaps; market-maker brokers add 2-5x premium. Always compare broker swap rates if you plan to hold positions multi-day.
Worked example
Inputs
- Currency pair: USD/JPY
- Position side: Long
- Long swap rate: +1.2 points
- Lot size: 0.5 lot
- Nights held: 5 (Mon-Fri)
- Account currency: USD
Calculation
- Identify point size for USDJPY: pip = 0.01, so point = 0.001.
- Per-night swap in JPY: 1.2 × 0.001 × 100,000 × 0.5 = ¥60.
- Convert to USD at JPY 150: ¥60 / 150 = $0.40 per night.
- 5 nights with 1 triple-swap Wednesday: 4 regular nights + 1 triple = 4 × $0.40 + 3 × $0.40 = $2.80.
- Sign: positive swap, so this is a $2.80 CREDIT to the account.
Result: +$2.80 swap credit over 5 nights of holding 0.5 lot USDJPY long
Edge cases & special pairs
- Triple swap day timingStandard convention: Wednesday is triple swap for forex (to cover Sat + Sun + Mon settlement). For metals (XAUUSD), some brokers use Friday for triple. Confirm in your broker's swap schedule. Missing the triple multiplier underestimates weekly cost by ~30%.
- Negative carry on both sidesSome exotic crosses (e.g. EURTRY) have negative swap on BOTH long and short because broker markup exceeds the actual rate differential. Holding either direction overnight costs money. Common on exotic CFDs and crypto.
- Positive carry tradeLong high-yield vs short low-yield currencies generates positive swap (e.g. long MXNJPY when MXN rates >> JPY rates). Some strategies are explicitly designed around earning carry — common in low-volatility pairs. The math is the same; just sign-flip the calculator output.
- Islamic / swap-free accountsSome brokers offer swap-free accounts (typically for Islamic clients). No overnight swap charged or credited, but the broker may charge a separate per-day 'administration fee' that effectively replicates the swap. Read the broker's swap-free terms carefully — sometimes the administration fee is worse than the original swap.
- Holiday rolloversSome bank holidays produce 'extra-swap' nights (e.g. US Thanksgiving Wednesday closure pushes triple swap to Tuesday some years). Brokers publish holiday calendars. For systematic strategies that hold multi-day, integrate the broker's holiday schedule into the position-cost model.
- Gold / metals swapXAUUSD swap is typically more punitive than FX (10-20 points per night, both sides negative). For multi-day gold positions, swap is a meaningful cost. Friday is usually the triple-swap day for metals (not Wednesday).
- Crypto CFD swapCrypto CFDs have very high swap rates (often 0.5-2% of position value per night). A 1.0 lot BTCUSD position at $65,000 with 1% daily swap costs $650/night — usually crippling for any multi-day hold. Crypto CFDs are designed for intraday trading; multi-day positions are typically uneconomic vs spot crypto.
When to use this calculator
Use this calculator for any strategy that holds positions overnight or multi-day. The calculator answers two questions: (1) what is the cumulative swap cost over my planned holding period, and (2) is the swap meaningful relative to the trade's target profit. For an EA targeting 50 pips on EURUSD ($50 on 0.10 lot), holding the position for 14 days at -$0.75 swap per night costs $10.50 in swap — 21% of the target profit. That's not trivial; the strategy effectively needs 60-pip wins (not 50) to maintain its net target. For multi-week swing strategies, swap cost can exceed transaction costs and become the dominant expense. The calculator also helps identify positive-carry opportunities — if a pair has positive long swap of 5+ points, holding the position pays you to wait, which improves any directional strategy's break-even threshold.
Related guide: How to choose a broker (swap rates section) →
Frequently asked questions
Why does my broker show swap as negative when I hold long?
Swap = (base_currency_rate − quote_currency_rate) × position_value / 365 − broker_markup. For long EURUSD with EUR rate 4% and USD rate 5.25%: theoretical swap = (4% − 5.25%) × $100,000 / 365 = -$3.42 per day per lot, before markup. Most brokers add 1-2 points markup, taking the realized swap to -7.5 to -10 points (-$0.75 to -$1.00 per 0.10 lot). This compounds quickly on multi-day holds.
Can I make money from positive swap alone?
Carry trades work when the high-yield currency holds steady or appreciates. The historical risk: 2008 unwinds saw JPY appreciate 20% in weeks, wiping years of carry profit on AUDJPY / NZDJPY trades. For pure-carry strategies, hedge the directional component (long high-yield spot + short futures, or use options). Carry trade alone is high-variance and inappropriate for retail.
How does swap cost compare to spread cost?
Example for 0.10 lot EURUSD: round-turn spread cost on ECN = $0.30 (commission) + ~$0.50 (spread) = $0.80. Per-night swap = -$0.75. After 1 night held, swap cost equals spread cost. After 7 nights, swap is 7× spread cost. For systematic strategies that hold positions days-to-weeks, optimize broker selection on swap competitiveness, not just spread.
Do different brokers have different swap rates for the same pair?
Concrete data (2026-05 sampling): EURUSD long swap at IC Markets = -7.3 points, OANDA = -9.1, FXCM = -12.5. Same pair, same week, different brokers, ~70% spread on the swap cost. For a strategy holding 100 lot-nights per month, the difference is $50-100/month between best and worst broker. Worth optimizing for swap-sensitive strategies.
What time does swap actually charge?
The 5pm cutoff is the conventional 'end of trading day' globally. MT5 reports the swap as a separate line item in the closed-trade details. Some EAs include logic to automatically close positions 5 minutes before 5pm NY to avoid swap — useful for intraday strategies where target profits are too small to absorb the swap cost. Multi-day strategies obviously don't use this trick.
Do swap rates change over time?
Swap responsiveness to rate changes is lagged. After a central bank rate cut (e.g. ECB cuts EUR rate 25 bps), broker swaps typically adjust within 1-2 weeks. Pre-emptive front-running on expected rate changes is sometimes profitable (e.g. EUR is expected to cut → long-EUR swap will become less negative → adjust positions accordingly). Most retail traders don't worry about this; institutional carry-trade desks do.