Spread Basis
Costs & FeesThe qualifier that says what a quoted spread figure is — from, typical, average or fixed — and why two spreads only compare when the basis matches.
A spread basis is the qualifier that says what kind of figure a quoted spread actually is: a "from" spread is the best case a broker has observed and advertises, a "typical" spread is a representative figure it publishes, an "average" spread is measured across all quotes over a stated period, and a "fixed" spread is contractual under stated conditions. The digits mean nothing without the qualifier — 0.0 pips "from" and 0.0 pips "average" are different claims about the same number, and only one of them is a cost anyone can plan around.
Comparison only works when the basis matches. A broker advertising "from 0.1 pips" is not necessarily cheaper than one publishing "0.8 pips average": the first figure describes its best moment, the second describes every moment. Where a broker states the averaging window and the instrument the figure was measured on, the number is usable; where it publishes a bare digit with no basis attached, record the cost as unconfirmed rather than as low.