Maker vs taker fees

How it works

Exchanges run an order book where buyers and sellers post limit orders at specific prices. When someone places a market order, it executes against the existing limit orders, "taking" them off the book. The trader who posted the resting order is the maker (they made liquidity); the one who triggered the fill is the taker (they took it).

Most exchanges charge taker fees higher than maker fees because makers provide the liquidity that makes the exchange functional. Charging makers less is the incentive to keep posting limit orders.

Higher-volume traders on most exchanges qualify for lower fees on a tiered schedule.

Example

You want to buy 1 ETH at $3,400. Two ways:

• Market order: Click buy. Fills instantly at the current best ask (say $3,402). On Coinbase Advanced you pay 0.60% taker fee = $20.41.
• Limit order at $3,400: Posts to the book. Sits there until ETH dips and someone sells into your bid. On Coinbase Advanced you pay 0.40% maker fee = $13.60. But it might not fill at all if ETH never comes back to $3,400.

The trade-off: makers save fees but accept execution uncertainty. Takers pay more but get certainty.

Why it matters

For active traders, the maker-vs-taker spread compounds quickly. 0.20% extra fee × 100 trades a year × $5,000 average size = $1,000/year. That's a meaningful drag.

Tactical implications:

• For one-shot buys ("I want to buy ETH this week"), the extra 0.20% probably isn't worth waiting around for. Take the certainty.
• For active position-building (DCA, rebalancing), use limit orders at slightly-below-market prices so you accumulate as makers.
• Look for "post-only" order options which guarantee maker fees by canceling rather than executing as a taker.
• The Coinbase mobile app vs Coinbase Advanced fee gap is huge. Trading on the basic app costs ~1.5%; same trade on Advanced costs 0.4–0.6%. Same company, same custody, same coins. Always use Advanced for anything but tiny amounts.

The Crypto Fee Calculator on this site shows what a specific trade would cost across the major exchanges side-by-side.