How Exchange Fees Work

Why this page names no numbers

We do not publish any exchange's fee schedule. Rates change frequently, vary by volume tier, by product and by region, and a stale number on a comparison page is worse than no number at all — it looks authoritative and is wrong.

What we can usefully explain is the structure of the costs, so that you can read your own venue's fee page and know what you are looking at. Then put your own figures into the trading fee calculator.

The cost categories

Maker and taker fees

A maker order rests in the order book and adds depth. A taker order executes immediately against what is already resting and removes depth. Venues generally charge takers more, because depth is what makes a market usable.

If your approach fills mostly with market orders, you are paying the taker rate on every entry and every exit. That is two taker fees per round trip, and it is the single most common reason a strategy that looks profitable on paper is not.

Spread

The gap between the best bid and the best ask. You pay it implicitly: buy at the ask, sell at the bid, and the difference is gone before price has moved.

Spread is rarely itemised on a statement, which is why people forget it. It is a real cost and it widens exactly when you are most likely to be trading — during volatility and outside main hours.

Slippage

The difference between the price you expected and the price you got. It is a function of your order size relative to available depth, so it grows with size and shrinks with liquidity. See liquidity and order flow.

Funding and carry

On perpetual contracts, a periodic payment between longs and shorts. It is charged on notional, so leverage multiplies its effect on your capital, and it accrues for as long as you hold. See funding and carrying costs.

Deposit, withdrawal and network fees

Moving assets in and out has its own costs, sometimes fixed and sometimes variable with network conditions. For small accounts these can be a meaningful percentage.

Tiered pricing

Most venues reduce fees at higher 30-day volume, and some reduce them further for holders of the venue's own token. Two things follow:

1. The headline rate on a comparison site is usually the worst tier. It may not be the rate you pay, in either direction.
2. Fee tiers create an incentive to trade more than your plan calls for, in order to reach a cheaper tier. That is a poor reason to take a trade.

Working out your real cost

Take your typical position size and your typical holding period, then add:

• entry fee at the rate you actually fill at
• exit fee at the same
• an estimate of spread
• an estimate of slippage
• funding, if the position is leveraged and held across funding periods

The result is the move price must make before you are back to flat. The fee calculator will do the arithmetic; the numbers have to come from your own venue's published schedule.

What to check on a fee page

• Which rate applies to your volume tier, not just the headline
• Whether maker and taker are quoted separately
• Whether the rate differs for spot and derivatives
• Whether there is a discount you are already eligible for and not using
• Withdrawal fees for the specific asset and network you use