Maker vs Taker Fees: Why Your Trading Order Choice Impacts Your Profits

When you place an order on a cryptocurrency exchange, you’re making a critical decision that goes beyond just predicting price direction. The choice between maker and taker orders directly affects your transaction costs—and ultimately, your bottom line. Understanding maker vs taker fees is essential for optimizing your trading strategy and protecting your profitability.

Why Traders Face Different Fee Structures

Every trade on an exchange involves two sides: someone providing liquidity (adding an order to the order book) and someone taking it (executing against an existing order). This fundamental distinction in market mechanics has shaped how exchanges structure their fee systems. Taker orders execute immediately at the current market price by matching against existing orders—this creates a cost premium. Maker orders add liquidity to the order book and wait for a matching taker order—this typically results in a fee discount. The reasoning is straightforward: markets reward participation that builds liquidity depth.

Taker Orders: The Speed Premium

A taker order prioritizes execution speed above all else. When you place a market order to enter or exit a position immediately, you’re removing liquidity that someone else provided. This immediacy comes with a price: taker fees are typically higher than maker fees. Most exchanges charge somewhere between 0.04% to 0.10% for taker orders, depending on your trading volume and account tier.

Why pay more? Because sometimes execution speed is worth it. If you’re reacting to breaking news, protecting against sudden price moves, or need to exit a position urgently, the cost of taker fees becomes justifiable. However, day traders and frequent users who accumulate thousands in fees monthly should carefully evaluate whether this approach aligns with their profit targets.

Maker Orders: Building Liquidity Positions

Maker orders represent a patient, strategic approach to trading. By placing a limit order at a price that isn’t immediately matched—perhaps slightly better than the current best available price—you’re offering other traders a deal. In exchange for this contribution to market depth, exchanges reward maker orders with reduced fees, often ranging from 0.00% to 0.05%.

The catch? Your order might not execute. If the market moves away from your limit price, you’ll be waiting indefinitely. This uncertainty makes maker orders unsuitable for time-sensitive strategies but ideal for swing traders, scalpers with clear levels, and anyone who can afford to be patient.

The Real Impact: A Numbers Example

Consider two traders opening and closing a 2 BTC position on BTCUSDT perpetual contracts:

Scenario A: Using Maker Orders (0.01% fee)

• Opening fee: 2 BTC × $60,000 × 0.01% = $12
• Closing fee: 2 BTC × $61,000 × 0.01% = $12.20
• Position profit (before fees): $2,000
• Final P&L: $2,000 - $12 - $12.20 = $1,975.80

Scenario B: Using Taker Orders (0.06% fee)

• Opening fee: 2 BTC × $60,000 × 0.06% = $72
• Closing fee: 2 BTC × $61,000 × 0.06% = $73.20
• Position profit (before fees): $2,000
• Final P&L: $2,000 - $72 - $73.20 = $1,854.80

The difference? $121 in additional costs—a 6% hit to profitability from a single trade. For active traders executing dozens of trades monthly, this compounds into thousands of dollars in lost gains.

Strategic Decision Framework

Your choice between maker and taker orders should depend on your trading style:

Choose Taker Orders When:

• Time-sensitive opportunities require immediate execution
• You’re trading during low-liquidity periods and market orders are your only reliable option
• Your profit per trade is large enough to absorb the fee premium
• You’re protecting against adverse price movement

Choose Maker Orders When:

• Your strategy allows flexibility on entry and exit prices
• You’re trading major pairs with sufficient liquidity
• You execute multiple trades where fee savings compound significantly
• Your risk tolerance permits waiting for orders to fill

The difference between maker and taker fees isn’t just an exchange technicality—it’s a fundamental factor in trading profitability. Professional traders carefully orchestrate their order types to minimize costs, while casual traders often overlook this lever entirely. By understanding your fee structure and aligning your order choice with your strategy, you transform what seems like a small detail into a meaningful edge in your trading results.