Taker orders vs Maker orders: A choice that determines your trading costs

In cryptocurrency trading, choosing the right order type may seem simple, but it profoundly impacts your trading costs and ultimate profits. Taker orders and Maker orders represent two very different trading philosophies: one prioritizes speed, the other efficiency. Understanding the difference is a key first step in optimizing your trading strategy.

What is a Taker Order: The Cost of Immediate Execution

When you need to enter or exit a position quickly, a Taker order is your choice. The core feature of a Taker order is immediate execution—it matches directly with existing orders on the order book, instantly absorbing market liquidity.

This immediacy has its advantages. If you are concerned about rapid price changes or need to complete a trade at a specific moment, a Taker order guarantees execution at the current market price, preventing the situation where your order remains unfilled. Day traders, arbitrageurs, or traders with strict speed requirements often rely on Taker orders.

However, convenience comes at a cost. Compared to Maker orders, Taker orders incur higher fees. For example, in perpetual contracts, the Maker fee might be 0.02%, while the Taker fee is 0.055%, more than 2.7 times higher. This fee difference can significantly impact large-volume trades.

The Advantage of Maker Orders: Waiting for Lower Fees

Contrary to Taker orders, Maker orders follow the principle “slow is fast.” When you submit a Maker order, it enters the order book and becomes a provider of market liquidity. Your buy or sell price is not immediately matched; instead, you wait for a Taker order from another trader to match with yours.

Market makers contribute by increasing market depth, narrowing bid-ask spreads, and stabilizing prices. As a reward for this contribution, exchanges charge lower fees for Maker orders—typically about one-third of Taker fees. Long-term holders, grid traders, and cost-conscious traders tend to prefer Maker orders.

The limitation of Maker orders is uncertainty. Your order may take some time to fill, or it may not fill at all due to market volatility. But for traders who are not in a rush to execute immediately, this waiting period for lower costs is often worth it.

Cost Comparison: Same Trade, Different Profits

Numbers speak louder than theory. Let’s look at a concrete example to see how Taker and Maker orders affect your actual returns.

Suppose you trade BTCUSDT perpetual contracts with a volume of 2 BTC, buying at 60,000 USDT and selling at 61,000 USDT, with an initial profit of 2,000 USDT.

Scenario 1: Opening and closing with Maker orders

• Opening fee: 2 × 60,000 × 0.02% = 12 USDT
• Closing fee: 2 × 61,000 × 0.02% = 12.2 USDT
• Total fees: 24.2 USDT
• Final profit: 2,000 − 24.2 = 1,975.8 USDT

Scenario 2: Opening and closing with Taker orders

• Opening fee: 2 × 60,000 × 0.055% = 66 USDT
• Closing fee: 2 × 61,000 × 0.055% = 67.1 USDT
• Total fees: 133.1 USDT
• Final profit: 2,000 − 133.1 = 1,866.9 USDT

The result is striking. Although both traders have the same gross profit (2,000 USDT), the actual net income differs by about 66 USDT—roughly a 3.3% difference, which can compound over multiple trades. Over time, this cost difference can significantly erode your profits.

Why Are Taker Orders More Expensive?

Exchange fee structures are designed with a simple logic: liquidity providers should be rewarded, liquidity takers should pay the cost. When you execute a market order (Taker behavior), you consume existing market depth, enjoying liquidity provided by others. Therefore, exchanges charge higher fees to incentivize traders to place limit orders that add to market depth.

This mechanism benefits the overall market—encouraging more traders to build liquidity through Maker orders, leading to a more stable market with narrower spreads.

When to Choose Taker or Maker

Your choice should depend on several factors:

When to choose Taker orders:

• When market conditions present sudden opportunities requiring immediate entry
• When quick risk management (e.g., stop-loss) is necessary
• During high-frequency intraday trading where speed outweighs cost
• When trading pairs have low liquidity, making limit orders unlikely to fill promptly

When to choose Maker orders:

• For medium- to long-term positions
• When engaging in periodic investments or grid trading
• When cost sensitivity is high, aiming to maximize long-term returns
• When trading pairs have sufficient liquidity, making limit orders easy to fill

How to Properly Place Maker Orders

If you decide to adopt a Maker strategy, follow these steps:

1. Use limit orders instead of market orders
2. Enable “Post-Only” mode (if available), ensuring your order enters the order book without immediate execution
3. Set your prices based on market depth:
   • Buy orders: set below the current best ask, leaving a spread
   • Sell orders: set above the current best bid, avoiding immediate match
4. Submit the order and patiently wait for it to fill

Note: If your limit order immediately matches the current market price, it will be canceled or executed as a Taker order automatically. This often happens during rapid market movements or if your price level is too close to the current market price.

Reassess Your Trading Costs

Many traders overlook the impact of fees, thinking that a few tenths of a percent are negligible. But in reality, for the same trading volume and frequency, order type choice directly affects how much profit you retain.

If you average 10 trades per month and always use Taker orders instead of Maker orders, you could be giving away thousands of dollars annually in fees. This cost can be avoided simply by adjusting your order strategy—if you’re willing to sacrifice a bit of execution speed in certain situations.

When optimizing your trading approach, start with cost control. Understanding the difference between Taker and Maker orders and choosing flexibly based on your actual trading needs will make each trade more efficient.