How much do crypto futures trading fees actually cost?

It depends on the exchange, the order type, and your position size — but as a baseline, standard non-VIP round-trip fees on major exchanges run roughly 0.02%–0.11% of the position's notional value, split between the entry and exit fills.

What's the difference between maker and taker fees?

A maker order (typically a limit order that doesn't fill instantly) adds liquidity to the order book and is charged a lower fee, sometimes zero. A taker order (a market order, or a limit order that fills immediately) removes liquidity and pays a higher fee. Most exchanges publish both rates separately.

Which exchange has the lowest futures trading fees?

Among the exchanges compared here, MEXC's standard schedule (0% maker / 0.02% taker) is consistently the cheapest at the non-VIP tier, followed by OKX (0.02%/0.05%) and Bybit (0.02%/0.055%). Rankings can shift once VIP tiers, token discounts or promotions are factored in.

Do affiliate or referral links actually lower my fees?

Many exchanges' affiliate programs pay a rebate to the referrer out of the fees a referred trader generates, and some also apply a fee discount directly to the referred account — the exact split varies by exchange and program. Check the specific offer before assuming a discount applies automatically.

Home › Tools › Futures Trading Fee Comparison Calculator

Futures Trading Fee Comparison Calculator

The exact same trade costs a different amount depending on which exchange fills it. Enter your position size and whether you enter and exit with a limit (maker) or market (taker) order to see the round-trip fee on each exchange, cheapest first.

Fee comparison

Position size (USD)

Entry order type

Exit order type

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Cheapest round trip

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Savings vs. priciest

Exchange	Entry fee	Exit fee	Total fee	% of position

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Why the exchange you pick changes your bottom line

Every futures trade pays a fee on the way in and on the way out, charged as a percentage of the position's notional value. That rate is not the same everywhere — exchanges compete on it directly, and the gap between the cheapest and priciest venue on this page can be several times over on the exact same trade. For a trader running dozens of round trips a month, that gap compounds into a real, ongoing cost that has nothing to do with market direction or trading skill.

This calculator uses each exchange's published, non-VIP USDT-margined perpetual futures schedule: MEXC charges 0% maker / 0.02% taker, OKX charges 0.02% maker / 0.05% taker, and Bybit charges 0.02% maker / 0.055% taker at the regular tier. Round-trip cost is entry fee plus exit fee, each computed on the same position size.

Maker vs. taker — the order type matters as much as the exchange

A taker order (a market order, or any limit order that fills immediately against the order book) removes liquidity and pays the higher rate. A maker order (a limit order that sits on the book until someone else fills it) adds liquidity and is rewarded with a lower fee — sometimes zero. Switching from an all-taker round trip to an all-maker one can cut the fee bill to a fraction of the taker cost, but it trades certainty of execution for a lower price: a maker order might not fill at all if price never reaches it. Many traders enter with a limit order (maker) and exit with a market order (taker) when they need to close a position immediately, which is why this calculator lets entry and exit order types be set independently.

Reading the result

The highlighted row is the cheapest exchange for the exact inputs entered — change the position size or order types and the ranking can shift, since not every exchange scales the same way between maker and taker rates. "Savings vs. priciest" is the dollar amount kept in your pocket by routing the trade to the cheapest venue instead of the most expensive one, on this single trade alone; multiply that by however many round trips are typical in a month to see the real annualized impact.

These are each exchange's baseline, non-VIP rates — real accounts can do better. VIP tiers (unlocked by trading volume or token holdings), fee-token discounts (paying fees in the exchange's native token, often for a flat percentage off), and affiliate fee rebates can all pull the effective rate below what's shown here. Treat this calculator as the floor most traders start at, not the ceiling of what's possible.

Frequently asked questions

How much do crypto futures trading fees actually cost?: It depends on the exchange, the order type, and your position size — but as a baseline, standard non-VIP round-trip fees on major exchanges run roughly 0.02%–0.11% of the position's notional value, split between the entry and exit fills.
What's the difference between maker and taker fees?: A maker order (typically a limit order that doesn't fill instantly) adds liquidity to the order book and is charged a lower fee, sometimes zero. A taker order (a market order, or a limit order that fills immediately) removes liquidity and pays a higher fee. Most exchanges publish both rates separately.
Which exchange has the lowest futures trading fees?: Among the exchanges compared here, MEXC's standard schedule (0% maker / 0.02% taker) is consistently the cheapest at the non-VIP tier, followed by OKX (0.02%/0.05%) and Bybit (0.02%/0.055%). Rankings can shift once VIP tiers, token discounts or promotions are factored in.
Do affiliate or referral links actually lower my fees?: Many exchanges' affiliate programs pay a rebate to the referrer out of the fees a referred trader generates, and some also apply a fee discount directly to the referred account — the exact split varies by exchange and program. Check the specific offer before assuming a discount applies automatically.