What are maker and taker fees?
Quick Answer
Exchanges charge two trading fee rates: makers (orders that rest on the book adding liquidity) pay less; takers (orders that execute immediately against existing ones) pay more. The gap rewards people who make markets deeper.
TL;DR
Add liquidity (resting limit order) = maker, cheaper. Remove liquidity (instant fill) = taker, pricier.
Key Takeaways
- 1A limit order that waits = maker; any instant fill = taker
- 2Typical spot rates run ~0.02–0.1% with maker below taker
- 3A limit order that fills immediately counts as taker
- 4High-volume tiers and exchange-token discounts cut both rates
Full Explanation
An order book needs standing offers to function. Exchanges encourage them with a price split: place a limit order that doesn't fill immediately and you've 'made' liquidity — when someone later trades against it, you pay the lower maker fee. Hit an existing offer for instant execution and you've 'taken' liquidity — you pay the taker rate.
The label depends on execution, not order type: a limit buy priced above the current ask fills instantly and is charged as taker. To reliably earn maker rates, price your order where it must wait — at or below the best bid when buying. Some platforms offer 'post-only' orders that cancel rather than execute as taker.
Does it matter? At typical spot spreads of a few hundredths of a percent, a casual monthly buyer can ignore it. Trade frequently or in size and it compounds fast — the difference funds itself many times over. Combined with volume tiers and native-token discounts, fee structure is one of the main objective criteria for comparing exchanges, which is exactly how our comparison pages weigh it.