Maker and taker fees: what they are and what you really pay
Every time you open or close a trade, the exchange charges a fee. It looks like very little, 0.0-something per cent, until you do the maths on a month’s traded volume. This is what maker and taker mean, how the fee is calculated and why it weighs so much with leverage.
By Bárbara Ruiz·Updated ·4 min read
Maker and taker, without the jargon
In the order book, people wait to buy and sell at specific prices. When you place a limit order that stays in the book without executing, you are a maker: you “make” the market, because you give others something to trade against. When you send a market order, or a limit order that matches another straight away, you are a taker: you “take” an order already there.
Exchanges reward makers with a lower fee because liquidity is what makes their market work.
How it’s calculated
The maths is: fee = order size × percentage. It’s charged when you open and again when you close. With example rates of 0.02% maker and 0.06% taker (your exchange’s may be different):
| 10,000 USDT position | On opening | On closing | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| Both as taker | 6 USDT | 6 USDT | 12 USDT |
| Open as maker, close as taker | 2 USDT | 6 USDT | 8 USDT |
| Both as maker | 2 USDT | 2 USDT | 4 USDT |
The same trade costs three times as much depending on how you place the orders.
With leverage, the fee eats into your margin
You open 100 USDT of margin at x50: the position is 5,000 USDT. If you open and close as a taker at 0.06%, you pay 3 + 3 = 6 USDT, 6% of your margin on a single trade, before the price has even moved. Ten trades like that come to 60 USDT, more than half the margin, even if you’re right half the time.
With high leverage, the price has to move in your favour by quite a bit more than the fee just for you to break even.
Traded volume is everything
What you pay each month doesn’t depend on how much money you have, but on traded volume: the sum of all the orders you open and close. With 1,000 USDT at x10, a single round trip moves 20,000 USDT of volume. Ten a month come to 200,000 USDT, and at 0.06% that’s 120 USDT in fees.
That’s why many exchanges lower their rates in tiers, based on your traded volume over the last 30 days or the balance you hold.
How to pay less in fees
To pay less in fees, what counts most is entering with limit orders that stay in the book, because then you pay as a maker, and trading less often, because every trade pays two fees. High leverage, on the other hand, multiplies them.
- Use limit orders when you’re in no hurry to get in: if they stay in the book, you pay as a maker. Some exchanges have a “post-only” option, which cancels the order if it would execute as a taker.
- Trade less often: every trade pays two fees.
- Be careful with high leverage, which multiplies the size the fee is charged on.
- Check whether your exchange offers discounts for using its token or by traded-volume tier.
Frequently asked questions
What is a maker fee?
The one you pay when your order sits in the order book waiting to execute, for example a limit order below the current price. It’s usually the lower of the two.
What is a taker fee?
The one you pay when your order executes immediately against another order that was already in the book, such as a market order. It’s usually higher than the maker fee.
Are fees charged on the margin or on the position?
On the full position size. With 100 USDT at x10, the fee is calculated on 1,000 USDT.
Does a stop loss order pay the maker or the taker fee?
A stop market order executes as a taker. A stop limit order can pay the maker fee if its order stays in the book, but it runs the risk of not executing.