Maker and taker, in one paragraph
Every order on an exchange either adds a price to the order book or takes one away. A limit order that waits on the book is a maker order: it makes liquidity for others. A market order, or a limit order priced to fill at once, is a taker order: it takes the liquidity that is already there. Exchanges charge takers more because makers are what keep the book full. The gap is not small: on most futures exchanges the taker pays two and a half to three times the maker rate.
This study puts those rates into a yearly bill. Our example trader trades $1M a month of notional (for instance twenty $50,000 round trips), which is active but not professional. We show what that costs on each exchange, as a maker and as a taker, and how much each VIP level changes it.
Futures: the yearly bill at VIP 0
Teal: the bill if every order is a maker order. Teal + orange: the bill if every order is a taker order. USD per year, USDT perpetuals, published rates checked 5–10 Nov 2026.
Show the numbers
| Exchange | Maker / taker | Maker, $100k/mo | Taker, $100k/mo | Maker, $1M/mo | Taker, $1M/mo | Taker, $10M/mo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lighter | 0% / 0% | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| Variational | 0% / 0% | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| MEXC | 0% / 0.02% | $0.00 | $240 | $0.00 | $2,400 | $24,000 |
| OurBit | 0.02% / 0.04% | $240 | $480 | $2,400 | $4,800 | $48,000 |
| Hyperliquid | 0.015% / 0.045% | $180 | $540 | $1,800 | $5,400 | $54,000 |
| Binance | 0.02% / 0.05% | $240 | $600 | $2,400 | $6,000 | $60,000 |
| OKX | 0.02% / 0.05% | $240 | $600 | $2,400 | $6,000 | $60,000 |
| BingX | 0.02% / 0.05% | $240 | $600 | $2,400 | $6,000 | $60,000 |
| Gate.io | 0.02% / 0.05% | $240 | $600 | $2,400 | $6,000 | $60,000 |
| WhiteBIT | 0.01% / 0.055% | $120 | $660 | $1,200 | $6,600 | $66,000 |
| Bybit | 0.02% / 0.055% | $240 | $660 | $2,400 | $6,600 | $66,000 |
| Bitget | 0.02% / 0.06% | $240 | $720 | $2,400 | $7,200 | $72,000 |
| KuCoin | 0.02% / 0.06% | $240 | $720 | $2,400 | $7,200 | $72,000 |
| HTX | 0.02% / 0.06% | $240 | $720 | $2,400 | $7,200 | $72,000 |
| BloFin | 0.02% / 0.06% | $240 | $720 | $2,400 | $7,200 | $72,000 |
| CoinW | 0.02% / 0.06% | $240 | $720 | $2,400 | $7,200 | $72,000 |
| LBank | 0.02% / 0.06% | $240 | $720 | $2,400 | $7,200 | $72,000 |
| Bitunix | 0.02% / 0.06% | $240 | $720 | $2,400 | $7,200 | $72,000 |
| WEEX | 0.02% / 0.08% | $240 | $960 | $2,400 | $9,600 | $96,000 |
As a taker, the bill on $1M a month runs from $0 on Lighter and Variational to $9,600 on WEEX. Most large exchanges sit at 0.05% to 0.06%: $6,000 to $7,200 a year. As a maker, nearly every exchange charges 0.02%, which is $2,400 a year, and a few charge less: WhiteBIT 0.01%, Hyperliquid 0.015%, MEXC 0%. The difference between the two lines is the price of impatience: on Binance it is $3,600 a year at this volume.
What Binance charges, level by level
| Level | Requirement | Futures maker / taker | Futures yearly | Spot maker / taker | Spot yearly |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VIP 0 | regular account | 0.02% / 0.05% | $6,000 / $2,400 | 0.1% / 0.1% | $12,000 / $12,000 |
| VIP 1 | 30-day futures volume ≥ $5M and ≥ 5 BNB | 0.018% / 0.05% | $6,000 / $2,160 | 0.09% / 0.1% | $12,000 / $10,800 |
| VIP 2 | 30-day futures volume ≥ $10M and ≥ 25 BNB | 0.016% / 0.04% | $4,800 / $1,920 | 0.08% / 0.1% | $12,000 / $9,600 |
| VIP 3 | 30-day futures volume ≥ $50M and ≥ 100 BNB | 0.012% / 0.032% | $3,840 / $1,440 | 0.04% / 0.06% | $7,200 / $4,800 |
At VIP 0, Binance charges 0.02% maker and 0.05% taker on USDT perpetuals and 0.1% either way on spot. Its VIP ladder is steep: futures VIP 1 needs $5M of 30-day volume plus 5 BNB and only lowers the maker fee to 0.018%. The taker fee first moves at VIP 2 ($10M a month and 25 BNB), to 0.04%. On spot, the taker fee stays at 0.1% until VIP 3 ($20M a month and 100 BNB). For our $1M-a-month trader none of these levels are in reach, so Binance's real lever is the order type, and the BNB discount (10% off futures, 25% off spot) which is not in these numbers.
OKX fees
OKX charges 0.02% maker and 0.05% taker on USDT perpetuals at its regular level, the same as Binance. Its spot maker fee is lower: 0.08% against Binance's 0.1%, with takers at 0.1% on both. On $1M a month of spot trading as a maker, that is $9,600 a year on OKX and $12,000 on Binance. When we checked, OKX's fee page served us a region-specific table, so its VIP levels are not in this study.
MEXC fees
MEXC is the outlier among the large centralised exchanges. Its BTC_USDT perpetual charges 0% maker and 0.02% taker, and BTCUSDT spot 0% maker and 0.05% taker (rates are set per pair; these are from MEXC's own API). A $1M-a-month futures trader pays $2,400 a year as a taker and nothing as a maker. Whether a low fee means a low total cost depends on the order book; our MEXC study adds the spread and slippage.
How much do VIP levels save?
| Exchange | VIP 0 taker | VIP 3 taker | VIP 3 requirement | Yearly at VIP 0 | Yearly at VIP 3 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Binance | 0.05% | 0.032% | 30-day futures volume ≥ $50M and ≥ 100 BNB | $60,000 | $38,400 |
| Bybit | 0.055% | 0.035% | shown after sign-in | $66,000 | $42,000 |
| Bitget | 0.06% | 0.037% | 30-day futures volume ≥ $20M or balance ≥ $250k | $72,000 | $45,000 |
| KuCoin | 0.06% | 0.06% | shown after sign-in | $72,000 | $72,000 |
| BingX | 0.05% | 0.035% | shown after sign-in | $60,000 | $42,000 |
| HTX | 0.06% | 0.045% | 30-day spot volume ≥ $600k, futures volume ≥ $10M or assets ≥ $60k | $72,000 | $54,000 |
| BloFin | 0.06% | 0.043% | 30-day futures volume ≥ $50M, spot volume ≥ $4M or assets ≥ $1M | $72,000 | $51,000 |
| LBank | 0.06% | 0.037% | shown after sign-in | $72,000 | $45,000 |
| Bitunix | 0.06% | 0.04% | 30-day spot volume ≥ $800k, futures volume ≥ $8M or balance ≥ $25,000 | $72,000 | $48,000 |
| Hyperliquid | 0.045% | 0.03% | 14-day weighted volume over $100M | $54,000 | $36,000 |
VIP levels are built for heavy traders. Most exchanges ask for millions of dollars a month (or a large balance) for each step, and the steps are small: VIP 3 futures takers mostly pay 0.03% to 0.045%, against 0.05% to 0.06% at VIP 0 (KuCoin keeps 0.06% through VIP 3 and only lowers the maker fee). At $10M a month that saves real money, often tens of thousands of dollars a year. At $1M a month the same trader will not reach those levels on most exchanges, and switching from market orders to limit orders saves more than any VIP level could. A few exchanges ask for less: HTX's Prime 1 starts at $300k of 30-day futures volume, and Bitunix's VIP 1 at $1M of futures volume or a $300 balance.
Spot costs more
| Exchange | Maker / taker | Yearly as maker | Yearly as taker |
|---|---|---|---|
| OurBit | 0% / 0% | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| MEXC | 0% / 0.05% | $0.00 | $6,000 |
| OKX | 0.08% / 0.1% | $9,600 | $12,000 |
| Binance | 0.1% / 0.1% | $12,000 | $12,000 |
| Bybit | 0.1% / 0.1% | $12,000 | $12,000 |
| Bitget | 0.1% / 0.1% | $12,000 | $12,000 |
| KuCoin | 0.1% / 0.1% | $12,000 | $12,000 |
| BingX | 0.1% / 0.1% | $12,000 | $12,000 |
| WEEX | 0.1% / 0.1% | $12,000 | $12,000 |
| Gate.io | 0.1% / 0.1% | $12,000 | $12,000 |
| WhiteBIT | 0.1% / 0.1% | $12,000 | $12,000 |
| CoinW | 0.1% / 0.1% | $12,000 | $12,000 |
| LBank | 0.1% / 0.1% | $12,000 | $12,000 |
| HTX | 0.2% / 0.2% | $24,000 | $24,000 |
| Kraken | 0.4% / 0.8% | $48,000 | $96,000 |
Most exchanges charge 0.10% on spot, twice the usual futures taker fee and five times the futures maker fee. HTX charges 0.20% at Prime 0. Kraken Pro, a US-founded exchange, charges 0.4% maker and 0.8% taker at Tier 1, though its Tier 2 starts at only $2,500 of monthly volume (0.3% / 0.6%). At the other end, OurBit and MEXC charge 0% to spot makers on BTC.
What to take from this
- The order type is the biggest lever. On most futures exchanges, maker orders cost 60% or less of taker orders.
- VIP levels matter above several million dollars a month. Below that, check the requirements before planning around them.
- Token and referral discounts are separate. A 10–25% token discount or a 20% referral discount applies on top of these rates on the exchanges that offer them.
- Fees are only part of the cost. A market order also pays spread and slippage, and a futures position pays funding. See our full-cost ranking.
The calculator lets you pick VIP 0 to VIP 3 on every exchange where the levels are verified and shows the fee for your exact order. Fee schedules change; each exchange page on CostDepth shows the date its rates were last checked.
Method
All rates come from CostDepth's fee files: the regular-account (VIP 0) maker and taker rates and, where verified, VIP 1–3, each read on the exchange's official fee page or public API between 5 and 10 November 2026, with the requirement for each level where the page shows it. A level we could not verify is left out, never guessed. OKX's and MEXC's VIP tables could not be read in a form we could verify (OKX served a region-specific table; MEXC lists per-pair rates), so only their VIP 0 rates appear. Coinbase is not included because its Advanced rates differ by account region.
Yearly cost = monthly volume × 12 × fee rate. We use $1M a month as the main example ($12M a year) and show $100k and $10M a month in the tables; the cost scales in a straight line with volume. The volume is the total traded (opening and closing both count).
Not included: token discounts (BNB on Binance, MNT on Bybit, and others), referral discounts, promotions on single pairs, spread, slippage and funding. Futures rates are for USDT perpetuals; MEXC's are for BTC_USDT and BTCUSDT, which have their own rates.
The numbers behind every chart and table are in data.json (free to reuse with a credit to CostDepth). This is fee and cost data, not financial advice.