Maker vs Taker Fees Explained: VIP Levels and How to Pay Less on Binance and Bybit

Quick answer

Every trade on an exchange has two sides. The maker places an order that waits in the order book. The taker fills that waiting order right away. Exchanges reward makers with lower fees because they add liquidity, which makes the market easier for everyone to trade.

If you use market orders, you are almost always a taker. If you use limit orders that do not fill immediately, you are usually a maker.

Maker and taker in one example

Say Bitcoin is trading at 60,000 USDT.

• You place a limit buy at 59,900. Nobody sells at that price yet, so your order waits in the book. When it fills later, you are the maker.
• Someone else places a market sell. Their order fills against your waiting order immediately. They are the taker.

The key question is: did your order fill the moment you placed it? If yes, you paid the taker fee. If it waited, you paid the maker fee.

Note: a limit order priced at or beyond the current market price fills at once and counts as a taker order. Many exchanges offer a Post-Only option that cancels the order instead of letting it fill as a taker.

Base fee rates (regular users)

Exchange	Market	Maker	Taker
Binance	Spot	0.10%	0.10%
Binance	USDⓈ-M futures	0.02%	0.05%
Bybit	Spot	0.10%	0.10%
Bybit	Perpetual futures	0.02%	0.055%

These are the standard rates for regular (non-VIP) accounts as of 2026-11-15. Rates can change and may differ for some trading pairs, promotions or regional entities. Check the official fee pages linked in the boxes above before you trade.

What the numbers mean in money

The fee is a percentage of the trade value, not your profit.

Trade	Calculation	Fee
Spot buy worth 1,000 USDT on Binance or Bybit	1,000 × 0.10%	1.00 USDT
Futures position worth 10,000 USDT, Binance taker	10,000 × 0.05%	5.00 USDT
Futures position worth 10,000 USDT, Bybit taker	10,000 × 0.055%	5.50 USDT
Futures position worth 10,000 USDT, maker on either	10,000 × 0.02%	2.00 USDT

On futures, the fee is charged on the full position size, including leverage. A 1,000 USDT margin at 10x leverage is a 10,000 USDT position, so you pay fees on 10,000 USDT when you open and again when you close.

How VIP levels work

Both Binance and Bybit have VIP tiers. Higher tiers get lower maker and taker fees.

• How you qualify: usually by your 30-day trading volume, your asset balance, or (on Binance) your BNB holdings. The exact thresholds are on each exchange’s fee page.
• How often it updates: VIP levels are usually reviewed daily based on the rolling 30-day period.
• Who benefits: VIP levels mainly help very active traders and large accounts. Most beginners stay at the regular level for a long time.

Do not increase your trading just to reach a VIP level. More trading usually means more fees overall, and more risk.

Ways to lower your fees

1. Use limit orders

Limit orders that wait in the book pay the maker rate. On futures, the maker fee is much lower than the taker fee (0.02% vs 0.05% on Binance, 0.02% vs 0.055% on Bybit). Use Post-Only if you want to be sure.

2. Pay fees with BNB on Binance

Binance gives a 25% discount on spot fees when you pay them with BNB. Turn on “Use BNB to pay for fees” in your fee settings and keep a small BNB balance. The discount on futures fees is different, so check the fee page. Holding BNB means you are exposed to its price movements, so only use this if that suits you.

3. Use a referral code at sign-up

On Binance, signing up with a referral code that shares commission gives you a fee rebate. Our code CODEGUIDE10 returns 10% of your spot trading fees. Referral codes must normally be entered when you create the account.

4. Trade less often

Fees add up with every trade. Ten trades of 1,000 USDT at 0.10% cost 10 USDT, even if your balance never grows. Fewer, planned trades usually cost less than many small ones.

5. Watch other costs

Trading fees are not the only cost:

• Spread: the gap between the best buy and sell price. Thin markets have wider spreads.
• Slippage: large market orders can fill at worse prices than you expected.
• Funding fees: on perpetual futures, long and short traders pay each other every few hours. This can cost more than trading fees if you hold positions for a long time.
• Withdrawal fees: these depend on the coin and network.

Example: the same trade, three ways

You buy 1,000 USDT worth of a coin on Binance spot and sell it later.

Method	Fee each side	Total for buy + sell
Market orders, no discounts	1.00 USDT	2.00 USDT
Market orders, paying with BNB (25% off)	0.75 USDT	1.50 USDT
BNB discount plus a 10% referral rebate	about 0.675 USDT	about 1.35 USDT

The last row is approximate. How rebates and discounts combine is shown in your fee history, and rules can change.

Risk warning

Futures and leveraged trading can lose money very fast. With leverage, a small price move against you can wipe out your margin and close your position (liquidation). Lower fees do not make leveraged trading safe. Never trade with money you cannot afford to lose, and never trade futures just to chase a bonus or a lower fee tier.

FAQ

Is a market order always a taker order? Yes. A market order fills immediately against orders already in the book, so it pays the taker fee.

Why do makers pay less? Makers add orders that others can trade against. That liquidity makes the exchange more useful, so exchanges reward it with lower fees.

Are the fees the same for every coin? Not always. Some pairs have promotional or different rates. Check the fee page for the pair you trade.

Does the BNB discount apply on Bybit? No. BNB fee payment is a Binance feature. Bybit lowers fees through VIP levels and its own promotions.

Do deposit and withdrawal fees count as trading fees? No. They are separate. Deposits are usually free on the exchange side, while withdrawal fees depend on the coin and network.