How crypto exchange fee tiers work: maker, taker and volume

A taker order fills straight away against an order that is already waiting on the order book. A maker order rests on the book at a set price until another trader fills it. Maker orders add depth to the market, so exchanges usually charge them less. (OKX Trading Fee Rules FAQ)

The fee follows how the order actually executes, not what you called it. OKX explains that a market order is usually charged as a taker, and that a limit order is also charged as a taker if it matches an existing order the moment you place it. It only pays the maker rate if it sits on the book first and is filled later.

Orders that never fill cost nothing in trading fees. Kraken states that orders cancelled before they execute incur no fee (How trading fees work on Kraken), and OKX says unfilled portions and cancelled orders are not charged. On perpetual futures, funding payments are a separate charge, not a trading fee.

Most exchanges lower the percentage as your activity grows. At Kraken, since 9 July 2026 your tier is whichever is more favourable of your 30-day spot trading volume or your Assets on Platform, the current USD value of eligible holdings. The entry tier charges 0.40% maker and 0.80% taker. Tier 3 needs $10,000 of 30-day spot volume or $20,000 held, and charges 0.22% maker and 0.38% taker. From $10 million in volume or holdings the maker fee is 0.00% and the taker fee 0.10%. (Kraken cross-platform fee tiers)

What counts matters as much as how much. Kraken counts spot and margin trades on Kraken Pro, including xStocks markets, but not Instant Buy purchases, conversions or forex and stablecoin pairs such as USDC/USDT. Assets on Platform is measured at a point in time, so a market drop or a withdrawal can move you down a tier straight away.

OKX also uses either route: 30-day trading volume or asset holdings, and if several product lines qualify you for different tiers you get the most favourable one. OKX takes a daily snapshot at 0:00 (UTC+8) and updates tiers between 4:00 and 6:00 (UTC+8). P2P trades and the PYUSD/USDT, USDC/USDT, RLUSD/USDT and USDG/USDT spot pairs do not count toward volume. The rates shown while logged out are not tied to your account, so check Assets > My trading fees after signing in. (OKX Trading Fee Rules FAQ)

Hyperliquid uses a rolling 14-day window, assessed at the end of each UTC day, and counts spot volume twice: weighted volume is perps volume plus two times spot volume. The base perps rate is 0.045% taker and 0.015% maker, and the base spot rate is 0.070% taker and 0.040% maker. Staking HYPE adds a separate discount, from 5% for more than 10 HYPE up to 40% for more than 500,000 HYPE. (Hyperliquid fees)

Kraken publishes its own arithmetic. A $10,000 order at a 30-day volume of $125,000, where the BTC/USD schedule is 0.12% maker and 0.25% taker, costs $25 if it executes as a taker and $12 if it executes as a maker. (How trading fees work on Kraken)

The same logic applies at any size: fee = order value x your rate. At Kraken’s entry tier, a $1,000 taker fill costs $8.00 and a $1,000 maker fill costs $4.00. Margin positions add opening and rollover fees on top: in Kraken’s margin example, a position held for 24 hours paid $28 in margin fees on top of $60 in trading fees.

Simple buy and convert screens are priced differently from the order book. Kraken charges 1% on instant and recurring buys and 1.5% on custom orders, and the price shown includes a spread, the difference between the market rate and the rate you receive. (Kraken fee schedule)

OKX describes its Buy/Sell and Convert flows the same way: you are quoted one all-in price instead of a separate fee, and the gap between the buy and sell quotes is the spread. The practical check is the amount you actually receive, not the fee line alone.

Use limit orders that rest on the book when you are not in a hurry, so the fill is charged at the maker rate. Concentrate trading where it counts toward a tier, and check which pairs count: at Kraken, and for the listed pairs at OKX, stablecoin trades add nothing to your volume.

A referral or discount code applied at signup can cut fees further on some platforms; the referral code guide explains when those discounts apply and when they do not. For campaigns that change fees temporarily, see our news on Ondo Perps fee tiers and Kraken’s liquidity provider tiers.

• OKX: Trading Fee Rules FAQ Checked 12 November 2026
• Kraken: Cross-platform fee tiers Checked 12 November 2026
• Kraken: How trading fees work Checked 12 November 2026
• Kraken: Fee schedule Checked 12 November 2026
• Hyperliquid Docs: Fees Checked 12 November 2026