Spread Monitor MT5: Check the Live Spread in MetaTrader 5

MT5 shows the current spread natively — it is one column of the Market Watch window. Open Market Watch (Ctrl+M or View → Market Watch), right-click inside the window, enable Spread, and every symbol shows its live spread in points next to Bid and Ask. What MT5 does not give you is spread history or statistics — the terminal records nothing, so monitoring beyond the live number means a custom indicator or a stricter quote-check routine.

The spread — the difference between ask and bid — is the direct cost of every round trip, which is why traders watch it. For the current number you need no add-on, but MT5 is built to show today's spread, not to remember it. Here is where the live spread lives, what each way costs, and what fills the gap.

1. The Built-In Spread Monitor: MT5's Market Watch Column

The fastest way to see the current spread of many symbols at once is the Market Watch column. The window shows Bid and Ask by default, and the column list — which can include High, Low, Volume, and Spread — is configurable from its context menu; the official MetaTrader 5 help and Myforex's Market Watch column guide describe the same route.

1. Press Ctrl+M (or View → Market Watch) to open the window.
2. Right-click inside the Market Watch window and choose which columns to show.
3. Enable Spread — each row then displays its current spread in points next to the Bid/Ask prices.

When this fits: you trade from the terminal anyway, want one glance across your watchlist before entering, or compare instruments side by side.

The limitation: it is a live snapshot. The column updates tick by tick and records nothing, so you cannot tell whether today's spread is high or low for that symbol. It answers "what is it right now", not "what has it been doing".

2. Right-Click a Symbol for a Per-Symbol Menu

For a single instrument, right-clicking its row in Market Watch opens a context menu with trading actions, opening a chart, and managing the list. Broker manuals — the Admirals Market Watch guide and this forex.com guide on customizing Market Watch — confirm the same right-click behaviour, and the MQL5 guide for editing the symbol list covers adding and removing symbols to keep the watchlist readable.

When this fits: you are focused on one pair, want to open its chart from the quote list, or need to trim the watchlist so the Spread column stays readable.

The limitation: it is still current-spread-only and manual — one symbol at a time, no logging, no alerting when the spread widens.

3. What MT5 Does Not Have: Spread History or Statistics

This is the part most "spread monitor" searches are really about — and the honest answer is that the terminal has no built-in spread history. There is no panel recording typical spreads per hour or per session; it is a long-standing request on the official MQL5 forum, where users note that tracking average spreads requires continuous recording the platform does not provide. Brokers sometimes post average spread tables on their sites, and third-party indicators on the MQL5 Market exist precisely to add this missing piece.

When this fits: you trade news sessions or compare brokers on typical spreads. The cost: an external tool (or broker data) to install, maintain, and accept as non-native.

4. The MQL5 Route: Read It Yourself

If you code, the current spread is fully exposed to MQL5: SymbolInfoInteger with SYMBOL_SPREAD returns the current spread in points, and SYMBOL_SPREAD_FLOAT tells you whether the broker uses a floating spread — both documented in the MQL5 symbol properties reference and the SymbolInfoInteger entry. A small script or indicator can sample spreads and record them to a file — the only fully self-built way to get spread history.

When this fits: you want history or alerts and are comfortable writing and maintaining MQL5 code.

The trade-off: it is the highest-effort option; for a trader who only wants today's spread, an indicator is more setup than the problem deserves.

5. Watchlist Quotes from the System Tray: Camovia Tray

Once you know the spread lives in Market Watch, the remaining annoyance is bringing up the terminal to look at it. Camovia Tray turns MT5 (and MT4) into a tray tool: hover its tray icon and a popup shows the live quotes of your watchlist — glance, let it close, never open the MT5 window. For MT5 it connects directly with no EA; for MT4 you attach the included bridge EA (CamoviaBridge) once, about 30 seconds of one-time setup. Quotes are 100% read from your local terminal and stay on your computer; nothing is uploaded.

When this fits: you check quotes many times a day while working in other applications, or you keep the terminal window closed and want a quote glance that does not demand opening it.

The limitation to be clear about: Camovia Tray shows quotes at a glance — it is a quote monitor, not a spread analyzer, and it has no spread history or statistics. When you need the exact spread number, the Spread column in Market Watch is still the place to look.

When to Use Which

Combining Them

These options are not mutually exclusive; they stack. A common setup: enable the Spread column in Market Watch once, right-click symbols for deeper per-instrument work, and keep Camovia Tray in the tray for quote glances when the terminal is hidden — leaving spread history to an indicator only if you really need it. Whatever you combine, the pattern stays the same: the live spread is native to MT5, and everything beyond "right now" is something you add on purpose.