Maker vs Taker Fees on Crypto Exchanges, Explained

Two traders buy the same amount of the same coin on the same exchange within the same minute. One pays several times more in fees than the other. The difference is not a VIP tier or a promotion — it is how their orders met the order book. One added liquidity and one removed it, and every major exchange prices those two acts differently.

Makers add liquidity, takers remove it

A limit order that rests on the order book makes liquidity: it sits there, visible, and other traders can now trade against it. A market order takes liquidity by consuming those resting orders immediately. The distinction is about what your order did to the book, not about what you intended.

That catches people out in one specific case: a limit order priced so aggressively that it crosses the spread executes instantly against resting orders and is charged as a taker. Placing a limit order is not enough on its own — the price has to leave it resting.

Why exchanges pay for one and charge for the other

An exchange with a thin order book is a worse product: spreads widen, large orders move the price, and traders leave for a deeper venue. Resting orders are what make a book deep, so exchanges subsidise the people who provide them.

At the retail end that subsidy is a lower percentage. At the professional end it becomes an actual rebate — the maker fee goes negative and the exchange pays a fraction of a percent to the trader for providing liquidity. Market-making firms build entire businesses on that spread between the maker rebate and the taker fee.

What the numbers look like in practice

Base spot tiers at the larger exchanges cluster around a tenth of a percent for both sides, with the maker side lower on most venues. From there, three things move the rate:

• 30-day volume tiers, which step the fee down as trading volume rises, and sometimes also count the balance of the exchange's own token.

• Paying fees in the exchange's token, which typically buys a fixed discount on both sides.

• The product. Perpetual futures are usually charged an order of magnitude lower than spot on the same venue, because the notional volumes are larger.

Two venues show how far those levers pull apart inside one company. BingX charges 0.10% to both sides of a spot trade at its entry tier, and 0.02% maker against 0.05% taker on perpetual futures — one exchange, an order of magnitude apart by product. LBank runs a flat 0.10% on both sides of spot for every user, with no volume tier to climb, so on its spot book the maker–taker distinction does not exist at all; it reappears only on futures, at roughly 0.02% maker against 0.06% taker.

The largest single difference on most exchanges is not a tier at all — it is the interface. A one-click "buy crypto" or convert screen is a separate product from the exchange's order book, and it is routinely several times more expensive per trade, with part of the cost hidden in the quoted price rather than shown as a fee. Moving the same purchase to the order book is often the biggest fee saving available to a retail trader.

The arithmetic on a real position

Percentages sound small until they are multiplied by a position and a round trip. On a $10,000 purchase, a 0.10% fee is $10 and a 0.60% fee is $60. Selling later doubles both: $20 against $120, on one round trip, for a difference that was decided by the order type.

For an active trader the compounding is the point. Ten round trips a month at $10,000 each costs $200 a year at one tenth of a percent per side and $1,200 at six tenths. That gap is larger than most traders' edge, which is why fee tiers are worth reading before choosing where to trade rather than after.

How to pay the maker fee on purpose

Place limit orders at or inside the current best price on your side of the book, rather than market orders, whenever you are not in a hurry. You wait longer, you often get a slightly better price, and you pay the lower fee on the same trade.

Most exchanges also offer a post-only order type, which is the reliable version of this: if the order would execute immediately against a resting order, it is cancelled or rejected rather than filled as a taker. That removes the risk of a limit order accidentally crossing the spread on a fast tick and being charged the higher rate.

Iceberg and time-in-force options are worth knowing for larger orders. A single large resting order tells the market what you are doing; splitting it keeps the maker fee while reducing the signal.

When paying the taker fee is the right call

The maker fee is not free. A resting order can sit unfilled while the price moves away, and the cost of not being in a trade is often larger than the fee saved on entering it. Exits are the clearest case: a stop-loss that waits for a better price is not a stop-loss.

Thin books are the second case. On a low-volume pair the spread can be wider than the entire fee difference, so a maker order that waits to be filled at a worse price has saved a fee and lost more than it saved. Compare the spread with the fee gap before deciding which one to optimise.

The costs that sit outside the fee table

Three costs are routinely larger than the maker-taker difference and appear in different places. The spread is one: a venue with tight books can be cheaper overall than one with lower headline fees. Slippage on large market orders is another, and it grows with order size relative to book depth. Withdrawal fees are the third, are set per asset and per network, and vary enormously between exchanges for the same coin.

Our exchange comparison lists maker and taker rates side by side along with withdrawal costs, so the gap is visible before you sign up rather than after the first round trip.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between a maker and a taker fee?

A maker fee applies when your order rests on the order book and adds liquidity; a taker fee applies when your order executes immediately against orders already there. The maker rate is lower on almost every exchange, and at high volume it can become a rebate.

Does a limit order always pay the maker fee?

No. A limit order priced across the spread fills instantly against resting orders and is charged as a taker. Use a post-only order if you need the maker rate guaranteed — it cancels rather than crossing.

Why is the one-click buy button so much more expensive?

The simple buy or convert screen is a separate product from the order book, priced with a markup that is partly built into the quoted rate rather than shown as a fee. The same purchase placed on the order book is usually several times cheaper.

How do I lower my fees on an exchange?

Trade on the order book rather than the instant-buy screen, use limit or post-only orders, pay fees in the exchange's token if it offers a discount, and check where the 30-day volume tiers sit — the first step down is often closer than people expect.

Are futures fees lower than spot fees?

Usually yes, often by an order of magnitude on the same venue. Perpetual futures carry a separate cost in the funding rate, which is paid between traders rather than to the exchange and can exceed the fee on a position held for days.

Is a maker rebate real money?

Yes, at high volume tiers on venues that offer it: the maker fee goes negative and the exchange credits a fraction of a percent for providing liquidity. Retail tiers rarely reach it, but it is why deep books exist.