One formula covers most of it: fee = trade value × fee rate. Mainstream spot fees are 0.1% — buying $10,000 of bitcoin costs $10. Futures add a second, quieter cost called the funding rate. Here's every piece, taken apart.
A maker order rests on the book waiting to be filled (a limit order) — you're supplying liquidity, so you pay less. A taker order fills immediately against the book (a market order, or a limit order priced to fill instantly) — you pay more. On the same platform, maker rates are often half the taker rate or less. The easiest fee-saving habit a beginner can learn: when you're not in a rush, place a limit order.
Buy $10,000 of BTC on Binance with a market order. Spot taker fee 0.10%: fee = 10,000 × 0.10% = $10, so you receive about $9,990 worth of BTC. Selling costs another 0.10%. A full round trip runs ~0.2% — and it compounds with every trade. Plenty of accounts aren't lost to bad direction; they're ground down by friction.
Futures fees are charged on notional position value, not on your margin. Example: $1,000 margin at 10× leverage = $10,000 notional. On Binance, opening as maker costs 0.02% ($2), closing as taker costs 0.05% ($5) — $7 total, or 0.7% of your margin. Now scale the leverage: the same $1,000 at 50× costs roughly $35 round trip — you've lost 3.5% before price even moves. Run your own numbers with our fee calculator, and read Leverage & Liquidation before touching futures at all.
Perpetual futures never expire, so exchanges use a funding rate to keep the contract price glued to spot: typically settled every 8 hours, longs pay shorts when the rate is positive, and vice versa. The quiet norm is 0.01% per interval, but in euphoric markets it can spike past 0.1% — on a $10,000 position that's $30 a day, close to $900 a month. Day traders barely notice it; anyone holding for days must count it as a real cost.
Moving coins out costs a withdrawal fee — fundamentally the blockchain's miner/gas fee plus a small platform charge. The same USDT can cost several dollars on ERC20 (Ethereum) and under a dollar on TRC20 (Tron). Before withdrawing, compare networks and triple-check that sender and receiver use the same chain; a mismatch is usually unrecoverable. Details in Wallet & Seed Phrase Safety.
| Exchange | Spot maker | Spot taker | Futures maker | Futures taker | Rebate cap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Binance | 0.10% | 0.10% | 0.02% | 0.05% | Up to 50% |
| OKX | 0.08% | 0.10% | 0.02% | 0.05% | Up to 50% |
| Bybit | 0.10% | 0.10% | 0.02% | 0.055% | Up to 30% |
| Bitget | 0.10% | 0.10% | 0.02% | 0.06% | Up to 50% |
Published base rates for regular (VIP0) users; platforms adjust them over time, so treat each exchange's live fee page as final. Rebate caps are the platforms' published maximums; actual terms follow their official referral policies.
Beyond the fee, market orders also pay the bid-ask spread and slippage — noticeable on thin, small-cap books. Limit orders on liquid majors keep both to a minimum.
Sign up through a referral link and a share of the fees you generate is returned to your account under the platform's rules (spot and futures rebates are handled separately). Rates and mechanics follow each platform's official referral policy; our comparison page lists the published caps.
Yes — liquidation closes your position under the normal fee logic, and many platforms deduct additional liquidation charges from what's left of your margin. Real liquidation losses are usually worse than the napkin math, which is why we keep steering beginners away from high leverage.
Some exchanges offer a discount for paying fees in their own token, with terms that change fairly often — check the current official rules. Nail the two big wins first: maker orders and signup rebates.