Taker fee
A taker fee is a trading fee on a crypto exchange with an order book. You pay this fee when you immediately fill an existing buy or sell order.
What is a taker fee?
An order book is a list of open orders to buy or sell crypto. If you immediately select an order that’s already listed, you’re a taker. You take an available order out of the list.
A market order is usually a taker order because it’s meant to be filled immediately. A limit order can also be a taker order if your price immediately matches an existing order.
So the crypto exchange looks at how your order is filled, not just the order type you choose. On many crypto exchanges, a taker fee is higher than a maker fee. A maker, by contrast, places an order that first stays in the order book.
An example of a taker fee
You want to buy $1,000 worth of crypto immediately. The crypto exchange charges a taker fee of 0.35%. You’ll pay $3.50 in trading fees.
Your order is filled right away using sell orders that were already listed. That makes you a taker, so the taker rate applies.
Why is a taker fee important in crypto?
Taker fees are often included in information about trading fees on crypto exchanges. Check the rate for the right trading pair and product. Rates can vary by platform.
A lower fee doesn’t always mean your total costs will be lower. If there are few open orders, a market order may be filled at several different prices. This is called slippage and is separate from the taker fee.
A taker fee also doesn’t mean your order will always be filled at one fixed price. If you want to trade quickly, you may face price differences and the spread in addition to the fee.
