Crypto trading fees explained

What fees does a crypto trade actually pay?

An exchange can show a 0.10% trading fee while the completed trade costs materially more. Five separate costs may appear:

Cost	When it applies	How to measure it
Maker or taker fee	Every filled order	Notional value × fee rate
Bid-ask spread	When crossing the book	Best ask minus best bid
Slippage	When the fill moves beyond the expected price	Average fill minus decision price
Funding or borrow interest	While holding leveraged exposure	Notional × rate × intervals
Withdrawal or network fee	When moving assets out	Quoted amount for the selected asset and chain

The distinction matters because only the first number appears in a fee schedule. Our exchange fee comparison stores dated maker and taker rates. The live prices page shows whether venues are actually printing the same price.

How is the trading commission calculated?

Commission is normally calculated from notional, the full value bought or sold. A $2,000 spot purchase at 0.10% costs $2. Selling $2,100 later at the same rate costs another $2.10. The round-trip commission is $4.10.

For derivatives, leverage does not shrink this fee base. A trader may post $200 to control $2,000 at 10x leverage, but a 0.05% taker fee is still $1 per execution because the contract exposure is $2,000.

The common mistake: calculating a futures fee from margin instead of notional understates it by the leverage multiple.

Why does maker versus taker matter?

A marketable order removes liquidity and normally pays the taker rate. A limit order that waits in the book adds liquidity and can receive the maker rate. Merely selecting “limit” does not guarantee maker pricing: a buy limit above the best ask can execute immediately as a taker.

Use post-only when the venue supports it and the intention is to avoid taking. It rejects or reprices an order that would immediately match. The full execution logic is in our maker versus taker guide.

What is the complete cost of a $1,000 trade?

Assume a $1,000 market buy, a 0.10% taker fee, a 0.06% quoted spread and 0.04% adverse slippage. Commission is $1, half the displayed spread is roughly $0.30 if the decision price is the midpoint, and slippage is $0.40. Entry cost is about $1.70. Reversing the trade under similar conditions takes the round trip near $3.40.

Advertised rate	Entry fee	Approximate round trip before spread
0.05%	$0.50	$1.00
0.10%	$1.00	$2.00
0.25%	$2.50	$5.00

Are deposits and withdrawals free?

Crypto deposits are commonly free at the receiving exchange, but the sending wallet still pays for the on-chain transaction. A withdrawal can include a venue-set charge, a network charge or both. The amount varies by asset and network. Sending USDT on one chain can cost far less than using another, but choosing an unsupported network can lose the funds entirely.

Check the withdrawal screen immediately before sending. Fee pages become stale; the confirmation screen is the amount that matters.

How should exchanges be compared?

Compare the same region, account tier, product and order type. Then test the market at the size you actually trade. A venue with a lower commission but a 0.30% wider spread is not cheaper for an urgent order. For active traders, record average fill, commission and balance change from several real trades rather than trusting the headline rate.

Practical rule: optimise execution first on thin markets and fee tier second on liquid majors.