Spot vs perpetual · standard spread
Spot-futures spread: screener for the spot vs perpetual price gap
A coin on spot and its perpetual, on another exchange or the same one, often trade at different prices. VVARB compares them every few seconds across 19 spot and 21 futures exchanges and shows the spread you can take from the order books right now: what to buy, what to short and what is left after fees and funding.
Free after sign-up, on data six hours old.
What is the spot-futures spread
The spot-futures spread is the gap between a coin's spot price and the price of its perpetual. When the perpetual is dearer, you buy the coin on spot and short the same amount of the perpetual. The position is delta neutral: the price moving up or down barely changes the result; the profit is the gap itself, closed as the prices converge, plus funding when it is paid to shorts.
The screener shows the spread as it can be taken: buying at the spot ask, selling at the perpetual bid. Not the gap between mid prices, which looks good on a chart and is eaten by the book on a trade.
Standard spread vs return to normal
- Standard spread - the price gap right now, with no average worked out. For gaps that are large on their own: a sharp drop on one exchange, a listing, news. It works like the futures and spot screeners.
- Deviation and return to normal - takes the pair's average spread and the deviation from it into account. For many pairs the perpetual sits above spot by the same amount for weeks, and the profit is not in the gap but in its return to the usual level. That view is described on the spot-futures arbitrage page.
- Both views live in one screener, switched with a button above the table.
A worked example
| Prices converge: spot $0.0530, perpetual $0.0532 | |
| Spot: 20,000 × ($0.0530 − $0.0487) | +$86.00 |
| Perpetual short: 20,000 × ($0.0560 − $0.0532) | +$56.00 |
| Fees: spot 0.1% in and out, perpetual 0.05% in and out | −$3.12 |
| Funding over 8 hours (shorts receive it at a positive rate) | +$0.40 |
| Total | +$139.28 |
| On about $1,350 of capital ($974 spot + perpetual margin at 3x) | ≈ 10.3% |
The example is illustrative: large spreads are rare and close quickly. Most gaps are fractions of a percent, and then fees, the book and funding decide the outcome - the screener takes them off for you.
What the screener shows
- Spread from the books: buying at the spot ask, selling at the perpetual bid - what you will actually get.
- Net result after both legs' fees, the exit through the book and funding over your holding time.
- Funding as an annual rate and what it adds or costs over the holding time.
- Price chart of both legs in Price, Deviation (bp) and Ratio modes over 1-12 hours.
- Spread chart with entry and exit lines set by the pair's usual swing, never below break-even.
- The order right under the chart: where to buy, where to short, quantity, capital needed and how far the price can rise before the short is closed.
- Warnings: a large gap that does not move, a thin book, low volume, funding against the position.
Large spreads are not hidden
Many scanners silently cut everything above 10-20%. We show spreads up to 100%: those are the minutes with the best chances - a coin crashed on one exchange and the perpetual elsewhere has not followed yet. But a large gap just as often means another token under the same ticker, closed transfers or a delisting. Such rows are marked, and if the spread sits still for the whole chart the screener shows a warning with what to check first.
How to use the screener
Sign up
A free account opens the screener with every calculation on six-hour-old data.
Pick "Standard spread"
The switch above the table. Sort by net result, spread or funding.
Check the pair
Look at the leg and spread charts, the book in the Order book tab and the numbers in the Calculation tab.
Open both legs
Buy the coin on spot and short the same quantity of the perpetual - on one exchange or two, as the ticket says.
Close as they converge
When the spread reaches the yellow exit line, close both legs - or hold and collect funding.
Sign-up takes a minute
What eats the profit
| Risk | What happens | What the screener does |
|---|---|---|
| Fees | Four trades: in and out on two legs | Takes off your own fees or the exchange defaults |
| Order book | A large order moves the price and eats the spread | Shows the spread from the book and depth for your size |
| Funding | A negative rate is charged to the short every few hours | Counts funding over your holding time |
| Short liquidation | The coin jumped and the perpetual margin ran out | Shows how far the price can rise before the close |
| False spread | Another token under the same ticker, or halted trading | Marks large and motionless gaps |
A spread is not a guarantee. Prices can drift further apart before they meet. Keep spare margin on the perpetual leg and check it is the same coin on both exchanges.
Free and with a subscription
| Free | Subscription | |
|---|---|---|
| Spreads, charts, tickets, calculation | Yes | Yes |
| Data | 6 hours delayed | Real time, every 5 seconds |
| Order book and depth | - | Yes |
| Telegram signals | - | Yes |
Free access has no time limit: study how spreads open and close on real data.
Spot-futures spread questions
What is the spot-futures spread?
The gap between a coin's spot price and its perpetual's price, usually in percent. A positive spread means the perpetual is dearer than spot.
How does the standard spread differ from return to normal?
The standard spread is the price gap right now. Return to normal takes the pair's usual spread and shows how far it has moved from it.
Do I need to move coins between exchanges?
No. The coin is bought on spot, the perpetual is shorted, and both positions close where they were opened.
Do I need to borrow the coin?
Not for the main direction. Borrowing is only needed for the reverse - selling spot and buying the perpetual - which is off by default.
Why does the screener show spreads up to 100%?
So real chances in sharp moves are not hidden. Such rows are marked, and large gaps that do not move come with a warning.
What is the difference between free and subscription?
The free tier opens the same screener with every calculation on six-hour-old data. A subscription adds live data, the order book and signals.
Read more: spot-futures arbitrage with return to normal, futures arbitrage between exchanges, funding screener.
Start with free access
Free with no time limit: spreads, charts and tickets on real data delayed by six hours. A subscription from $19.92 a month opens live data, the order book and Telegram signals.
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