Maker Fee
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Key Takeaway
A trading fee charged when a limit order is placed into the order book and waits for a counterparty, rewarding the trader for adding liquidity to the exchange.
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What Is Maker Fee?
A trading fee charged when a limit order is placed into the order book and waits for a counterparty, rewarding the trader for adding liquidity to the exchange.
How Maker Fee Works
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a maker fee in crypto trading?
A maker fee is the trading fee charged when you place a limit order that enters the order book and waits to be matched, rather than filling immediately. By placing an order that others can trade against, you are adding liquidity to the market — acting as a market maker. Exchanges reward this with lower fees compared to taker orders, which remove existing liquidity by executing against orders already in the book. Maker fees are expressed as a percentage of the trade value and are typically the lower of the two fee rates offered by an exchange.
How do I qualify for maker fees on a crypto exchange?
You qualify for the maker fee rate when your order adds liquidity to the order book rather than immediately matching with an existing order. In practice, this means placing a limit buy order at a price below the current best ask, or a limit sell order at a price above the current best bid. Because your order does not cross the spread and execute instantly, it enters the book as a resting order. When it eventually fills, the maker fee rate applies. Market orders always qualify as taker orders because they immediately consume existing book liquidity, regardless of the exchange platform you use.
Why are maker fees lower than taker fees on crypto exchanges?
Exchanges price maker fees lower because traders who add resting limit orders to the order book are providing a service that benefits the entire platform. Deeper order books attract more participants, reduce spreads, and improve the overall trading experience. Exchanges value this liquidity contribution and incentivise it with reduced costs. Taker orders, by contrast, consume existing liquidity and offer no equivalent benefit to the market. The maker-taker fee model is a deliberate structure designed to reward patience and planning in order placement over immediate, reactive market execution.
Common Misconceptions About Maker Fee
Only professional or institutional traders can benefit from maker fees.
Any trader at any level can access maker fee rates simply by using limit orders instead of market orders. There are no minimum trade sizes or special account requirements to qualify — the fee tier is determined solely by how your order interacts with the order book. If your limit order sits in the book before being filled, you pay the maker rate. Most exchanges display maker and taker fee rates clearly in their fee schedule, making it straightforward for any trader to understand which rate applies to their typical order types.
A limit order always qualifies for the maker fee.
Not always. A limit order qualifies for the maker fee only when it does not immediately match an existing order and instead rests in the book. However, if you place a buy limit order at or above the current best ask, it will match immediately against the existing sell order and execute as a taker — incurring the higher taker fee. The distinction is not the order type itself but whether the order adds to or removes from the book. An immediately executable limit order behaves like a market order from a fee perspective.
The maker fee is a fixed cost the same across all exchanges.
Maker fees vary significantly between exchanges and are often tiered based on your 30-day trading volume. Higher-volume traders typically unlock lower fee rates. Some exchanges offer zero maker fees as a permanent feature to attract activity; a few even pay negative maker fees, providing a small rebate to liquidity providers. Comparing fee schedules across platforms before committing to one is important, especially for active traders where small percentage differences in fees translate to meaningful cost differences across hundreds or thousands of trades executed over time.