Crypto exchange fees 2026: maker, taker and tiers
The trading fee is the easiest cost to compare, yet it is easy to get wrong. Fees differ ninefold between exchanges, and fee schedules hide separate stablecoin rates, token discounts and a pricier “simple” app.
Maker and taker: two different rates
A taker takes an offer already sitting in the order book, for example with a market “buy now” order. A maker adds a new offer, a limit order that waits for the other side. Exchanges usually reward makers with a lower fee because they provide liquidity.
When you buy crypto instantly, you almost always pay the taker rate, which is why our calculator uses it. If you are patient with limit orders you will pay less, at the risk of the price moving away.
What a trade costs on 10 exchanges
Below are base-level rates, i.e. for a new customer with no volume and no exchange tokens. The table reads from our fee schedules, checked on the exchanges’ official pages.
| Exchange | Maker | Taker | Taker: stable/FX pairs |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binance | 0.10% | 0.10% | — |
| Kraken | 0.40% | 0.80% | 0.20% |
| Coinbase | 0.40% | 0.60% | — |
| Bitstamp | 0.30% | 0.40% | 0.08% |
| Kanga Global | 0.20% | 0.20% | — |
| Bybit EU | 0.25% | 0.25% | — |
| OKX | 0.08% | 0.10% | — |
| Revolut X | 0% | 0.09% | — |
| Bitvavo | 0.15% | 0.25% | 0.10% |
| Crypto.com | 0.25% | 0.50% | — |
On a $10,000 purchase the gap between 0.09% and 0.80% is $9 versus $80. On $100,000 it is $90 versus $800.
Discount tiers: volume and exchange tokens
Rates fall with your 30-day trading volume. On Kraken the taker fee drops from 0.80% to 0.60% from $2,500 of volume and to 0.38% from $10,000. Some exchanges also discount fees for holding their own token:
- Binance: paying fees in BNB saves 25%.
- Kanga Global: staking KNG in Earn lowers the rate from 0.20% to 0.16% (200 KNG), 0.09% (1,000 KNG) or 0.03% (10,000 KNG).
- Crypto.com: a 50,000 CRO balance gives 0% maker and a lower taker fee.
Before buying a token for the discount, check whether the saving at your volume outweighs the risk of its price changing. Full tier tables are on the exchange pages, e.g. Kraken, Binance or Coinbase.
Separate rates you do not see at first
- Stablecoin and FX pairs. Kraken charges 0.20% on them, Bitstamp 0.08% (and 0.04% on USDT pairs), Bitvavo 0.10%. Swapping EUR to USDC can be much cheaper than buying BTC.
- USDC markets on Bitvavo cost 0.05%, five times less than euro markets, so the route EUR → USDC → BTC can beat a direct purchase.
- Simple app vs “pro” platform. Coinbase, Kraken and Crypto.com each have two versions. A simple in-app purchase usually costs several times more than trading on the Advanced/Pro order book.
The fee is not everything
The lowest fee does not guarantee the cheapest purchase. A low-fee exchange may lack a market in your currency, have a thin order book or charge a high withdrawal fee. In our comparison of the real cost of buying Bitcoin, an exchange with a higher fee sometimes wins because it saves on conversion or slippage.
Check your amount
The calculator compares 10 exchanges live for your amount and currency, with all costs included.
Open the calculatorThis article is educational and not investment advice. Tables marked “live” are calculated when the page is displayed.