Exchange fees: how much they really take
The month ended green on trades and red on the account. The difference is in a line almost nobody looks at: fees. Per trade it's pennies; over a month of active trading it's often the biggest expense. Here is how to calculate it and where you can save.
Maker and taker
- Taker — you take liquidity from the order book: a market order or a limit order filled immediately. The rate is higher.
- Maker — your limit order sits in the order book and waits to be filled. The rate is lower; on some exchanges and tiers it's zero or negative.
Rates depend on the exchange, the market (spot or futures), your volume and discounts. Check the current values on your exchange's fee page: they change.
How the fee is calculated
On futures, the trade value is the whole leveraged position, not the margin. The fee is charged both on entry and on exit.
The rate is for illustration. Plug in your own — the size of the number usually surprises.
Fees in R
It's convenient to measure fees as a share of risk. If you risk 50 USDT per trade and the entry plus exit fee is 5, that's 0.1R. A 1R win leaves 0.9R net, and a loss becomes −1.1R. For a system with a 50% win rate and a 1:1 ratio, that's enough to go negative.
A 0.1R fee turns +1R into +0.9R, and the stop into −1.1R.
Where you can save
- Limit entries instead of market ones where it doesn't break the setup.
- Fewer trades with more potential: a trade with a 3R target carries the fee more easily than five trades at 0.5R.
- Exchange discounts: paying fees with the exchange's token, volume tiers.
- Grid step for bots no smaller than two fees plus the spread — otherwise the bot works for the exchange.
The main mistake — not accounting for fees at all
If the journal counts results as “exit minus entry”, a losing system looks almost break-even and a weakly profitable one looks good. Fees and funding must be deducted from every trade.
Ordo Trade takes actual fees from the exchange together with trades. For manual trades without a fee entered, the journal applies your exchange's rates and marks the number as an estimate. Total fees for the period are shown as a separate line — so it's clear how much goes to the exchange.
In short: frequently asked questions
What is the difference between maker and taker fees?
A maker adds liquidity with a limit order that waits in the order book and usually pays less. A taker removes liquidity with a market or immediately filled order and pays more.
Is the futures fee charged on the margin?
No, on the value of the whole position including leverage — both on entry and on exit.
How can I reduce fees?
Use limit orders, trade less often with more potential per trade, use exchange discounts and don't set a bot's grid step smaller than two fees.
