Maker vs Taker Fees Explained
Understanding the difference between maker and taker fees is essential for minimizing your trading costs on crypto exchanges.
What is a Maker?
A maker is someone who adds liquidity to the order book by placing a limit order that doesn't execute immediately. When you place a buy order below the current market price or a sell order above it, you're "making" the market by providing liquidity for other traders.
Example:
Bitcoin is trading at $50,000. You place a limit buy order at $49,500. This order sits in the order book until someone sells at that price, making you a maker.
What is a Taker?
A taker is someone who removes liquidity from the order book by placing an order that executes immediately. Market orders and limit orders that match existing orders make you a "taker" because you're taking liquidity from the market.
Example:
Bitcoin is trading at $50,000. You place a market buy order that executes instantly at the current price. You're a taker because you took an existing sell order from the book.
Why Are Maker Fees Lower?
Exchanges incentivize liquidity provision because it creates tighter spreads and better prices for all traders. By offering lower fees to makers, exchanges encourage traders to place limit orders, which improves overall market quality.
| Exchange | Maker Fee | Taker Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Binance | 0.10% | 0.10% |
| Bybit | 0.10% | 0.10% |
| OKX | 0.08% | 0.10% |
Tips to Pay Lower Fees
- 1.Use limit orders instead of market orders when possible
- 2.Set limit orders slightly away from the current price to ensure maker status
- 3.Check if your exchange has a "Post Only" option to guarantee maker status
- 4.Use referral codes to get additional fee discounts on both maker and taker fees