Where is the swap rate in MetaTrader 5?

Right-click the symbol in Market Watch and choose Specification. The window lists Swap long and Swap short, and — critically — a Swap type field above them. If Swap type says Points, those figures are not currency: converting them wrongly is the most common mistake in any cost calculation. The exact charge in your account currency appears in the Swap column of the Trade tab once a position has been held over a rollover.

Why is the swap in my platform not in dollars?

Because MetaTrader lets the broker choose the unit. Swap type can be Points, Base currency, Interest, or Margin currency, and the number means something different in each. A EUR/USD swap shown as -7 points is not -$7. Rather than convert, read the actual amount from the Swap column of a position you have held overnight and divide by the lot size — that figure is already in your account currency and needs no interpretation.

Is the spread shown in Market Watch the one I pay?

It is the spread right now, on that symbol, at that second. Spreads widen around news releases and at the daily rollover, and they are widest exactly when you are most likely to be trading a move. Watch it across a few sessions before treating any single reading as typical, and if you trade outside London and New York hours, sample it then rather than during the quiet middle of the day.

Where do I find the commission?

Commission is often absent from the Specification window because it is an account property rather than a symbol property. The reliable source is your own trade history: open the History tab, find a closed trade, and read the Commission column. Divide by the lots traded, and check whether your broker quotes per side or per round turn — a $3.50 that is charged twice is $7 per lot, and using the wrong one puts every cost estimate out by half.

Where your platform hides what you are paying

Everything you need to price a year of your own trading is already on your screen. It is spread across three places, shown in units that are not always money, and two of those units trip up almost everyone. Ten minutes here, once, and every cost figure you produce afterwards is exact instead of approximate.

The three sources, worst to best

Least reliable
The spread in Market Watch

A live reading of one symbol at one instant. Useful, but it is the number at its friendliest: spreads widen around news and at rollover, which is when you are most likely to be in the market. Sample it across a few sessions, and sample it at the hours you actually trade.
Careful here
The Specification window

Right-click the symbol in Market Watch, choose Specification. It gives you contract size, spread, and Swap long / Swap short — everything the model needs, in principle.

In practice, look at Swap type first. MetaTrader lets the broker publish swap in points, base currency, interest, or margin currency, and the same number means something different in each. A EUR/USD swap of -7 under “Points” is not seven dollars.
Use this one
Your own closed trades

The History tab shows what you were actually charged, already converted into your account currency, with no convention to interpret. Take the Commission column from a closed trade and the Swap column from one you held over a rollover, divide each by the lots traded, and you have exact per-lot figures for your account.

This is the only source that cannot be misread, because there is nothing left to convert.

The two conventions that cost people money

Per side or round turn?

Brokers advertise commission per side because the number is half as large. You pay it twice — once opening, once closing. A “$3.50 commission” is $7 per lot of trading. Enter the round-turn figure, or every estimate you make is out by half.

Points are not dollars

A swap shown in points can be an order of magnitude away from the same figure in currency. If Swap type is anything other than your account currency, do not convert it by hand — read the charge off a position you have actually held.

A note on other platforms

cTrader puts the same information under Symbol Information, and its swap figures are usually quoted directly in the account currency, which removes the ambiguity above. TradingView, when connected to a broker, shows the broker’s own contract specification rather than a generic one — check it belongs to your account and not to a demo feed.

Whatever the platform, the principle holds: a figure you read off a closed trade needs no interpretation, and a figure you convert by hand might.

Then price the year

With the round-turn commission, a representative spread and a per-lot swap in your account currency, the trading cost calculator turns them into an annual figure — spread, commission and swap combined, priced across the instruments you actually trade. It runs in your browser and keeps nothing.

Questions

Where is the swap rate in MetaTrader 5?: Right-click the symbol in Market Watch and choose Specification. The window lists Swap long and Swap short, and — critically — a Swap type field above them. If Swap type says Points, those figures are not currency: converting them wrongly is the most common mistake in any cost calculation. The exact charge in your account currency appears in the Swap column of the Trade tab once a position has been held over a rollover.
Why is the swap in my platform not in dollars?: Because MetaTrader lets the broker choose the unit. Swap type can be Points, Base currency, Interest, or Margin currency, and the number means something different in each. A EUR/USD swap shown as -7 points is not -$7. Rather than convert, read the actual amount from the Swap column of a position you have held overnight and divide by the lot size — that figure is already in your account currency and needs no interpretation.
Is the spread shown in Market Watch the one I pay?: It is the spread right now, on that symbol, at that second. Spreads widen around news releases and at the daily rollover, and they are widest exactly when you are most likely to be trading a move. Watch it across a few sessions before treating any single reading as typical, and if you trade outside London and New York hours, sample it then rather than during the quiet middle of the day.
Where do I find the commission?: Commission is often absent from the Specification window because it is an account property rather than a symbol property. The reliable source is your own trade history: open the History tab, find a closed trade, and read the Commission column. Divide by the lots traded, and check whether your broker quotes per side or per round turn — a $3.50 that is charged twice is $7 per lot, and using the wrong one puts every cost estimate out by half.