Understanding Trading Fees on Perpetual DEXs: Maker, Taker, and Gas

Every perp trade has a cost, and if your fees eat up most of the profit, you will never come out ahead. Trading fees on perpetual DEXs break down into four parts: maker fees (charged on limit orders, typically 0.015%), taker fees (charged on market orders, typically 0.045%), gas fees (the blockchain transaction cost, zero on Hyperliquid and a few cents on L2 chains like Arbitrum), and funding rates (periodic payments between long and short traders every 8 hours). For a typical $10,000 position held for two days, total costs come out to about $13. The single biggest way to save is using limit orders instead of market orders, which cuts your trading fee by roughly 70%. This guide breaks down each fee type, shows how fees scale with leverage, and explains how to keep your costs as low as possible.

There are four costs to know about: trading fees (0.015% maker, 0.045% taker on Perpmate), gas fees (zero on Hyperliquid, a few cents on L2 chains), funding rates (a small periodic cost for holding a position), and slippage (the price difference you get on large or fast orders). For a typical $10,000 position held for two days, total costs run about $13. The biggest way to save is using limit orders instead of market orders.

The Four Types of Perp Trading Costs

When you trade perpetual futures on a DEX, there are up to four costs to be aware of:

1. Trading fees (maker/taker) - a small percentage charged each time you open or close a trade
2. Gas fees - a tiny blockchain transaction fee
3. Funding rates - a periodic cost (or earning) for holding a position open
4. Slippage - the difference between the price you expected and the price you actually got

Understanding each one helps you keep more of your profits.

1. Trading Fees: Maker vs Taker

Trading fees are charged as a percentage of your total position size (not just the money you deposited). This is important to understand - if you use leverage, your fee is based on the bigger, leveraged amount.

Maker Fees

A maker order is one that adds to the list of available orders (the order book). In practice, this means you place a limit order at a price that does not fill right away - it sits and waits.

Example: BTC is at $85,000. You place a limit buy at $84,800. Your order sits there waiting. When someone else sells at your price, your order fills and you are the "maker" because you made that price available.

Typical maker fee: 0.01% - 0.02%

On Hyperliquid (which powers Perpmate), the base maker fee is 0.015%. If you trade a lot, this gets even cheaper. High-volume traders can even earn rebates, meaning the exchange pays them a small amount for each trade.

Taker Fees

A taker order is one that fills immediately by taking someone else's order off the book. This happens when you place a market order (buy/sell right now at the current price).

Example: BTC is at $85,000. You hit "Market Buy" - it fills instantly at the best available price. You are the "taker" because you took an existing order.

Typical taker fee: 0.035% - 0.06%

How Fees Scale with Leverage

Because fees are based on your full position size, higher leverage means you pay more in fees compared to what you actually deposited:

Margin	Leverage	Position Size	Taker Fee (0.045%)	Fee as % of Margin
$1,000	1x	$1,000	$0.45	0.045%
$1,000	5x	$5,000	$2.25	0.225%
$1,000	10x	$10,000	$4.50	0.45%
$1,000	20x	$20,000	$9.00	0.90%
$1,000	50x	$50,000	$22.50	2.25%

At 50x leverage, a single taker trade costs over 2% of your margin. A round-trip (open + close) costs nearly 4.5%. This means your trade needs to move 4.5% in your favor just to break even on fees alone.

This is why cranking up leverage and trading frequently is so expensive. Even a strategy that picks good trades can lose money overall if fees eat up all the profits.

Round-Trip Fee Calculation

Every completed trade has two legs: opening and closing. Your total trading fee is:

Round-trip fee = (Entry fee + Exit fee) × Position Size

If you enter with a market order (taker, 0.045%) and exit with a limit order (maker, 0.015%), your round-trip is:

$10,000 position × (0.045% + 0.015%) = $6.00 total

If both legs are taker orders: $10,000 × (0.045% + 0.045%) = $9.00 total

The difference adds up over hundreds of trades.

2. Gas Fees

Gas fees are the small costs you pay to the blockchain network for processing your trade. Think of it like a tiny transaction fee. Centralized exchanges do not charge gas, but on a DEX, every trade happens on-chain.

Gas Costs by Network

Network	Typical Gas Per Trade	Notes
Arbitrum	$0.01 - $0.10	Most popular for perp DEXs
Base	$0.01 - $0.05	Low and stable
Optimism	$0.01 - $0.10	Similar to Arbitrum
Ethereum Mainnet	$1 - $20+	Not practical for active perp trading
Hyperliquid L1	$0	No gas fees for trading

On Layer 2 networks (faster, cheaper versions of Ethereum), gas is just a few cents per trade - basically nothing. It only becomes noticeable if you are making dozens of trades per day on more expensive networks.

Gas Optimization Tips

• Avoid trading during network congestion - gas spikes during high-activity periods
• Batch operations when possible - some DEXs let you adjust position and set stop-loss in a single transaction
• Keep small amounts of ETH in your wallet - running out of gas mid-trade is inconvenient and can leave you unable to close a position quickly

3. Funding Rates: The Cost of Holding

Funding rates are small payments that go back and forth between traders holding long and short positions. They are not a fee paid to the exchange - the money flows directly between traders. On most exchanges, funding is paid every 8 hours. On Hyperliquid (which powers Perpmate), it is paid every hour in smaller amounts (same total, just spread out).

Funding as a Trading Cost

Funding Rate (per 8h)	Daily Cost on $10,000 Position	Weekly Cost
0.001%	$0.30	$2.10
0.01%	$3.00	$21.00
0.05%	$15.00	$105.00
0.1%	$30.00	$210.00

During calm markets, funding is tiny (0.001-0.01%). But during volatile or trending markets, it can jump to 0.05-0.1%+ per interval - making it the single biggest cost of keeping a trade open.

How to Manage Funding Costs

• Check the funding rate before entering - do not be surprised by a 0.1% rate after you are already in a trade
• For quick trades (under 8 hours), funding does not matter if you close before the next payment
• For longer trades, add up how much funding will cost you while you hold — the funding rate calculator makes this easy. If you need BTC to move 3% to hit your target but funding will cost 1%, you actually need a 4% move to come out ahead
• Trade the less crowded side - when everyone is long and funding is positive, short positions actually get paid funding

4. Slippage: The Hidden Cost

Slippage is when you get a slightly different price than you expected. It mainly happens with market orders and large orders because there might not be enough orders at your exact price to fill everything.

What Causes Slippage

• Not enough orders at your price: If there are few orders available, your trade pushes the price as it fills
• Large position size: A big order on a small market will fill at worse and worse prices as it eats through available orders
• Fast-moving markets: When prices are swinging wildly, the gaps between available prices get wider
• Small or unpopular assets: Memecoins and small tokens have much more slippage than BTC or ETH

Estimating Slippage

Before placing a large market order, check the order book depth:

Order Size vs Available Liquidity	Expected Slippage
Order under 1% of top-10 levels	Minimal (under 0.01%)
Order = 5-10% of visible depth	Moderate (0.05-0.1%)
Order > 25% of visible depth	Significant (0.1-0.5%+)

Reducing Slippage

1. Use limit orders - specify your maximum acceptable price
2. Split large orders - instead of one $100,000 order, use five $20,000 orders
3. Trade liquid markets - BTC and ETH have the deepest books and lowest slippage
4. Avoid trading during extreme volatility - liquidation cascades temporarily drain liquidity

Total Cost Calculation: Putting It Together

Here is the true cost of a typical trade:

Example: $10,000 BTC Long, 10x Leverage, Held 2 Days

Cost Component	Calculation	Amount
Entry (taker)	$10,000 × 0.045%	$4.50
Exit (limit/maker)	$10,000 × 0.015%	$1.50
Gas (on Hyperliquid)	$0	$0.00
Funding (48 hourly intervals × 0.00125%)	$10,000 × 0.00125% × 48	$6.00
Slippage (BTC, deep book)	~0.01%	$1.00
Total Cost		$13.00
Cost as % of margin ($1,000)		1.30%
Cost as % of position		0.130%

Your trade needs to move 0.13% in your favor just to break even. On $1,000 margin at 10x, that $13 in costs requires a $130 price move on a $10,000 position - roughly a 1.3% return on margin.

Cost Comparison: Scalper vs Swing Trader

Metric	Scalper (20 trades/day)	Swing Trader (2 trades/week)
Position size	$10,000	$10,000
Trades per week	100	2
Trading fees per week	$500-800	$5-10
Gas per week	$5-10	$0.20
Funding per week	$0 (closes before intervals)	$21 (at 0.01% avg)
Total weekly cost	$505-810	$26-31

This shows why scalping requires high win rates and precise execution - the fee drag is massive. Swing trading has much lower total costs.

How to Minimize Your Trading Costs

1. Use Limit Orders Whenever Possible

Limit orders (maker) are typically 50-80% cheaper than market orders (taker). Over 100 trades per month with $10,000 positions, the difference really adds up:

• Market orders: 100 × $10,000 × 0.045% = $450
• Limit orders: 100 × $10,000 × 0.015% = $150
• Savings: $300/month

2. Choose the Right Leverage

Higher leverage means your fees take a bigger chunk out of your deposited money. If you do not need 20x, use 5x. The dollar amount of fees stays the same, but you have more breathing room.

3. Factor Funding Into Holding Duration

If funding is high (> 0.03% per interval), either:

• Reduce your holding time to close before the next interval
• Switch to the side that receives funding
• Accept the cost and adjust your profit target accordingly

4. Trade Liquid Markets

BTC and ETH have the tightest spreads and deepest books. Slippage on these markets is 5-10x less than on memecoins or small caps. For our trading guides on the most liquid perp markets, see BTC perps and ETH perps.

5. Track Your Costs

Many traders never calculate their total fee drag. Track your costs weekly:

• Total trading fees paid
• Total funding paid/received
• Total gas spent
• Net cost as % of portfolio

If your fees are eating more than 5-10% of your profits, adjust your strategy.

What to Learn Next

• Understanding Funding Rates - Deep dive into the largest variable cost
• Position Sizing Guide - Factor fees into your sizing math
• Leverage Trading Guide - Understand how leverage amplifies fee impact
• 10 Perp Trading Rules - Risk management rules for cost-efficient trading
• Top 10 Perp DEX Platforms - Compare fee structures across platforms

Summary

Trading fees on perpetual DEXs have four components: maker/taker fees (0.01-0.06% per trade), gas ($0.01-0.10 on L2), funding rates (variable, paid every 8 hours), and slippage (depends on liquidity and order size).

The biggest money-saver is simple: use limit orders and trade popular, high-volume markets. This alone can cut your total fees by 40-60% compared to market orders on less-traded assets. Keep an eye on funding rates before holding trades overnight, do not use more leverage than you need, and track your costs. Fees are the one thing in trading you can actually control.