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A crypto exchange fee is the amount a platform charges to process a trade, a deposit or a withdrawal. Every exchange sets its own rates, and the published trading rate covers only one part of what a transaction costs. This article explains each fee type, shows how six exchanges structure their published rates, and sets out the four things that change the amount a customer pays. All rates come from the exchanges’ own fee pages, and the verification date sits at the end.
What crypto exchange fees are
Crypto transactions carry several separate charges. Each one covers a different part of the process, so a customer can pay several of them on a single purchase.
Maker and taker fees
A maker fee applies to an order that sits on the order book and waits for someone to fill it. The order adds liquidity to the book, so the exchange charges less for it. A taker fee applies to an order that fills immediately against an order already on the book. The order removes liquidity, so the exchange charges more for it. Most exchanges publish the two rates as a pair and lower both as a customer’s 30-day trading volume grows.
Spread
A spread is the gap between the price an exchange quotes and the mid-market rate. The exchange quotes a price above the market rate on buys and below it on sells, so the customer pays the difference inside the price and never sees a separate charge. Exchanges commonly include a spread in the prices quoted on their standard buy interfaces.
Deposit fees
A deposit fee applies when a customer moves money into an exchange account. The amount depends on the payment method, because each method costs the exchange a different amount to process. Card payments carry percentage charges. Bank transfers inside a single currency area often carry none.
Withdrawal fees
A withdrawal fee applies when a customer moves money or crypto out of an exchange account. Fiat withdrawals carry a flat charge that the exchange sets. Crypto withdrawals carry a charge that tracks the cost of the underlying blockchain transaction, so the amount moves with network conditions.
Network fees
A network fee is the amount a blockchain charges to confirm a transaction. Validators receive this payment, so the money goes to the network and never reaches the exchange. Congestion raises the amount, which is why the same withdrawal costs different amounts on different days.
Conversion fees
A conversion fee applies when a customer swaps one asset for another outside the order book. The exchange routes the trade through a quote engine, so the cost arrives either as a stated percentage or inside the quoted price.
Why the published rate is not the total cost
A published trading rate covers the trade itself. Three other charges land on the same transaction, and together they usually cost more than the trade does.
Take a customer who buys $1,000 of Bitcoin with a debit card and then withdraws the Bitcoin to a private wallet. The card payment costs 2%, which removes $20 and leaves $980 to trade. The order fills at a taker rate of 0.2%, which removes $1.96. The buy interface quotes a price 0.3% above the mid-market rate, which removes another $2.94. The withdrawal costs around $2 in network fees. The customer pays roughly $26.90 in total, and the trading fee accounts for less than a tenth of that.
The same customer using a bank transfer and a limit order pays a different amount. The bank transfer costs nothing, the limit order fills at the maker rate, and the price sits at the level the customer set. The trading rate stayed identical across both routes, so the payment method and the order type produced the whole difference.
Anyone comparing crypto exchanges with low fees needs all four numbers for the route they plan to use. An exchange with a 0.1% taker fee and a 4% card charge costs more on a card purchase than an exchange with a 0.3% taker fee and a free bank transfer.
The percentages in this example are round illustrative figures. They do not describe any single exchange.
Fee structures at six exchanges
The table below shows published spot trading rates at six platforms. The list runs alphabetically and does not rank them.
| Exchange | Spot fee, entry tier | Spot fee, final volume tier | Native token discount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binance | 0.1000% maker, 0.1000% taker | 0.011% maker, 0.023% taker | BNB, 25% off spot fees |
| CEX.IO | 0.25%, one rate for maker and taker | 0.10% | None |
| Coinbase | Not published | Not published | None |
| Gemini | 0.600% maker, 1.200% taker | 0.000% maker, 0.020% taker | None |
| Kraken | 0.40% maker, 0.80% taker | 0.00% maker, 0.05% taker | None |
| OKX | 0.0800% maker, 0.1000% taker | -0.0075% maker, 0.0175% taker | None |
Binance
Binance is a global exchange that runs spot, futures and options markets. Spot trading starts at 0.1000% for makers and 0.1000% for takers at the Regular User level. The rates reach 0.011% for makers and 0.023% for takers at VIP 9, which requires 30-day volume above $4 billion and a holding of 5,500 BNB. Customers who pay fees with BNB receive a 25% reduction on spot trades. Binance keeps its deposit and withdrawal schedules behind a customer login, so the card charges and network charges appear only after sign-in.
CEX.IO
CEX.IO is a cryptoasset exchange that runs spot and margin markets alongside a wallet. The spot schedule publishes one fee per volume tier and lists no separate maker rate or taker rate. That fee starts at 0.25% for 30-day volume up to $10,000 and moves through eight tiers to 0.10% at the $20,000,000 level. Margin trades cost 0.1% to open a position and 0.1% to close one. Card deposits and card withdrawals cost 0.49% to 4.99% plus a service charge that varies by provider and country. SEPA and Faster Payments deposits cost nothing, and withdrawals through those two methods cost €2.99 and £2.99.
Coinbase
Coinbase is a US-listed exchange that runs a standard buy interface alongside a separate advanced trading platform. Coinbase does not publish a spot fee table. The platform calculates the fee when a customer places an order, and the amount depends on the payment method, the order size, market conditions and the customer’s region. Coinbase includes a spread in the prices it quotes on standard buy, sell and convert orders, and it states that it may retain any excess spread. SEPA deposits cost nothing, and crypto withdrawals carry Coinbase’s estimate of the network fee.
Gemini
Gemini is a US exchange that runs a standard interface alongside its ActiveTrader platform. ActiveTrader spot fees start at 0.600% for makers and 1.200% for takers at the entry tier. The rates reach 0.000% for makers and 0.020% for takers once 30-day volume passes $250,000,000. Stablecoin pairs carry 0.00% for makers and 0.01% for takers, and three pairs carry no fee on either side. Debit card purchases cost 3.49% of the purchase amount, PayPal deposits cost 2.50%, and ACH deposits cost nothing.
Kraken
Kraken is a cryptoasset exchange that runs a standard interface alongside the Kraken Pro platform. Pro spot fees start at 0.40% for makers and 0.80% for takers at Tier 1, and they reach 0.00% for makers and 0.05% for takers at the Pro 5 tier. The standard interface charges 1% on recurring trades and on trades placed through the regular buy flow, and 1.5% on custom orders, and Kraken includes a spread in every price it quotes there. Debit card deposits cost 0.25 in the deposit currency plus 3.75%, and Kraken publishes that rate for USD, EUR, GBP and CAD. SEPA and Faster Payments deposits cost nothing.
OKX
OKX is a global exchange that runs spot, margin and derivatives markets. Regular users pay 0.0800% on maker orders and 0.1000% on taker orders in spot markets. VIP 9 customers in fee group 1 pay -0.0075% on maker orders, so OKX credits them on those orders, and they pay 0.0175% on taker orders. OKX states that holding OKB carries no effect on fee discount tiers and that OKB cannot offset trading fees. Card purchases through the express buy flow cost 1.99% in EUR, 2.49% in USD and 1.50% in AUD.
Zero-fee and commission-free models
Some exchanges advertise a 0% rate. Three mechanisms sit behind those headlines, and each one recovers the cost somewhere else in the transaction.
The first mechanism is a promotional rate on a limited set of markets. The exchange waives the maker fee, the taker fee or both on specific pairs for a set period, and the standard schedule returns once the promotion ends.
The second mechanism is a native token discount. The customer pays trading fees in the exchange’s own token to reduce the rate, and the reduction lasts only while the customer keeps paying that way. Binance reduces spot fees by 25% for customers who pay in BNB. OKX states that OKB carries no equivalent function.
The third mechanism is a spread. The exchange removes the visible trading fee and quotes a price above the mid-market rate on buys and below it on sells, so the cost arrives inside the price. Coinbase, Gemini and Kraken all state that they include a spread in the prices quoted on their standard buy flows, and all three state that they may retain any excess.
A 0% headline therefore describes one line of a transaction. Reading the deposit schedule, the withdrawal schedule and the spread disclosure alongside it shows what the whole transaction costs.
What changes the fee you pay
Four things change the amount a customer pays on the same trade.
The order type sets the trading rate. A limit order that waits on the book fills at the maker rate, and a market order that fills immediately takes the taker rate.
The 30-day trading volume sets the tier. Exchanges measure volume over a rolling window and move customers down the schedule as that figure grows.
The payment method sets the deposit charge. Cards carry percentage charges, and bank transfers inside a single currency area often carry none.
The blockchain network sets the withdrawal cost. Each network charges its own amount to confirm a transaction, so the same USDT withdrawal costs a different amount over Tron and over Ethereum.
Frequently asked questions
What is a maker fee and what is a taker fee?
A maker fee applies to an order that waits on the order book and adds liquidity. A taker fee applies to an order that fills immediately and removes liquidity. Exchanges charge less on maker orders because those orders give other customers something to trade against.
Do crypto exchanges charge for deposits?
The answer depends on the method. Bank transfers inside a single currency area often cost nothing. Card payments and payment app transfers usually carry a percentage charge, because the exchange pays a processing cost on every one of them.
Why do withdrawal fees differ between exchanges?
Crypto withdrawal fees track the cost of a blockchain transaction, and each exchange sets its own policy on top of that cost. Some pass the network charge through at the rate applying at that moment. Others charge a fixed amount per asset and absorb the difference themselves.
What is a spread on a crypto purchase?
A spread is the gap between the price an exchange quotes and the mid-market rate. The customer pays it inside the price, so it never appears as a separate charge on the receipt.
What affects the total cost of a Bitcoin purchase?
Four items set the total. The payment method charge comes first, the trading fee comes second, the spread inside the quoted price comes third, and the withdrawal fee applies if the customer moves the Bitcoin off the platform.