Maker vs Taker Fees: How They Work and How to Pay Less

Direct answer: A maker order rests on the order book and waits to be matched; a taker order matches immediately against resting orders. Exchanges charge takers more because takers remove liquidity. At VIP 0 the gap is largest in perpetual futures: Binance, OKX and Gate charge 0.02% maker versus 0.05% taker, Bybit 0.055% and Bitget 0.06% taker (checked 2026-11-01), so an all-maker trader pays 60% less than an all-taker trader on the same volume. In spot, Binance, Bybit, Bitget and Gate charge 0.10% either way at VIP 0, and only OKX (0.08% maker) and Hyperliquid (0.04% maker) reward makers at the entry tier. To pay less: use post-only limit orders where the maker rate is lower, verify any fee-token discount in your account, and check whether your volume qualifies for a higher tier.

How maker and taker are decided

The label is assigned by the matching engine at fill time, not by the order type you selected. If your order can be matched immediately against something already on the book, you are the taker for that fill. If it cannot, it is posted to the book and when another trader later hits it, you are the maker. A market order is always taker. A limit order is maker only if its price does not cross the current best bid or ask at the moment it arrives; a "limit" buy placed above the best ask fills instantly and is charged as taker. A single large limit order can also be partly taker (the part that crossed) and partly maker (the remainder that rested). Exchanges offer post-only orders to remove the ambiguity: on Binance Futures a post-only order that would immediately match an existing order is cancelled instead of filled (per Binance's futures order types page, checked 2026-11-01). The post-only explainer covers the common surprise of a limit order paying the taker rate.

Why exchanges price the two sides differently

Resting orders are what make an order book deep. The more size sits near the mid-price, the smaller the spread and the less slippage every other trader pays, which attracts volume to the venue. Exchanges therefore subsidise the behaviour that builds depth and charge for the behaviour that consumes it. At high VIP tiers the maker rate can fall to zero or go negative (a rebate) on some venues, while the taker rate stays positive. At the entry tier the subsidy is usually confined to derivatives, because spot books on the big venues are already deep enough that the exchange does not need to pay retail makers.

VIP 0 rates side by side

All rates are the standard entry-tier figures from each exchange's fee page, checked 2026-11-01; promotions, regional entities and higher tiers differ. Binance's fee page labels the entry tier "Regular User" and moves accounts to VIP 1 at 1,000,000 USD of 30-day spot volume plus a 5 BNB balance (checked 2026-11-01). The fee comparison tool keeps the full tier tables.

Worked example: 100,000 USDT of monthly perpetual volume

Assume a trader turns over 100,000 USDT of notional per month on Binance USDⓈ-M perpetuals at VIP 0 (0.02% maker / 0.05% taker, checked 2026-11-01).

Two lessons. First, moving from all-taker to mostly-maker saves more than any difference between the five CEXs' published taker rates. Second, the saving is only real if the maker orders actually fill; an order that never fills saves 100% of the fee and 100% of the trade. The maker/taker mix fee model shows how to measure your true mix from fill history, and the break-even win rate article converts the blended rate into the hit rate a strategy needs.

Step-by-step: how to pay less

1. Export your last 100 fills and count how many were maker versus taker. Most beginners discover they are 80–100% taker.
2. Switch non-urgent entries to limit orders placed inside or at the spread, with post-only enabled when the venue offers it, so a crossing order is rejected rather than charged as taker.
3. Keep market orders for exits that cannot wait, such as stop-losses. Paying 0.05% to get out of a losing position is cheaper than waiting for a maker fill that never comes.
4. Check fee-token discounts in your own account. Binance shows a 25% spot discount and a 10% USDⓈ-M futures discount when fees are paid in BNB (checked 2026-11-01); the fee page shows the exact effective rate for your tier. Holding the token is a price exposure, so treat it as a position, not a free coupon.
5. Verify referral benefits in the account ledger, not on a landing page. A rebate counts only after it is credited; our guide to checking whether a referral code is applied explains where to look, and the rebate calculator estimates what a given rebate share is worth.
6. Check tier thresholds once a quarter. If your 30-day volume is near a tier boundary, a small shift in timing can move you up a tier for the following month.
7. Audit the whole cost, not just the fee line. Spread, slippage and funding often exceed the maker/taker difference; the trading fee audit tool and the cost audit checklist walk through it.

Mistakes that cancel the saving

• Assuming "limit order" means "maker". Only a resting order is maker. Check the fee column on each fill.
• Chasing the maker rebate in spot on venues where maker equals taker. On Binance, Bybit, Bitget and Gate spot at VIP 0 both sides pay 0.10% (checked 2026-11-01), so there is no fee reason to prefer a limit order there, only a price-control reason.
• Letting maker orders turn into missed trades. If your edge depends on getting filled, a maker-only policy can cost more in missed moves than it saves in fees.
• Counting the fee-token discount without counting the token's drawdown. A 25% discount on 0.10% is 2.5 bps per trade; a 10% drop in the token is 1,000 bps on that holding.
• Comparing one exchange's VIP 3 to another's VIP 0. Tier definitions differ; compare at the tier your volume actually earns.
• Treating a referral rebate as a rate cut before it is credited. Rules on binding, eligible products and existing accounts differ by venue; see the existing-account rules.

Related tools and guides

• Fee comparison tool
• Rebate calculator
• Trading fee audit
• Maker vs taker fees for beginners
• How to minimize trading fees
• Binance fee rebates explained
• OKX fee rebates explained
• Limit vs market orders

FAQ

Is a maker fee always lower than a taker fee?

No. At VIP 0 the spot maker and taker rates are identical on Binance, Bybit, Bitget and Gate (0.10%, checked 2026-11-01). The maker discount at the entry tier is mainly a derivatives feature, plus OKX and Hyperliquid spot.

Does a stop-loss order pay maker or taker?

A stop-market order becomes a market order when triggered, so it pays taker. A stop-limit order can be maker if the limit price rests after triggering, but in a fast market it may not fill at all.

How do I know which fee I was charged?

Every fill in the trade history shows the fee amount and usually a maker/taker flag. Divide the fee by the fill's notional to get the effective rate and compare it with the fee page.

Do rebates change the maker/taker rate?

A referral rebate returns part of the fee after the fact; the displayed rate does not change. A VIP tier or fee-token discount changes the rate charged. Both reduce cost, but only credited rebates should be counted.

Is it worth trading as a maker if I trade small amounts?

The percentage saving is the same at any size, but in absolute terms it matters most for frequent traders. A 1,000 USDT monthly spot buyer saves nothing on Binance spot at VIP 0; a 100,000 USDT monthly perpetual trader saves up to 30 USDT a month.

Bottom line

Maker versus taker is decided by whether your order rested on the book, and at the entry tier the discount lives mostly in perpetual futures. Measure your real mix, move patient entries to post-only limit orders, keep market orders for exits that cannot wait, and count discounts and rebates only when your account confirms them.

Educational content only, not investment advice. Fee rates, tier thresholds and discount programmes change; verify the figures on the logged-in fee page of your exchange before relying on them.