# Crypto exchange fees comparison for 2026

Updated: 24 September 2026. Rate pages read 18 September 2026. Books timed 21 September 2026. The Cost Per Trade pricing desk

## The crypto exchange fees comparison, model by model

Ordered by the overall score. Each venue represents a different way of charging for the same trade.

| Line | Venue | Maker | Taker | Fees on $10,000 | Book adds | All-in on $10,000 | Score of 50 | Perp markets |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lighter | 0% | 0% | $0.00 | $0.86 | $0.86 | 42.8 | 214 |
| 2 | Extended | 0% | 0.025% | $5.00 | $0.12 | $5.12 | 38.4 | 325 |
| 3 | Aster | 0% | 0.040% | $8.00 | $0.16 | $8.16 | 36.3 | 578 |
| 4 | Hyperliquid | 0.015% | 0.045% | $9.00 | $0.12 | $9.12 | 33.1 | 324 |
| 5 | EVEDEX | 0.015% | 0.045% | $9.00 | $4.12 | $13.12 | 32.5 | 52 |

Weights: Published rate 40 · Execution cost 30 · Where the money sits 12 · Security record 8 · What the rate buys 6 · Who may pay it 4, on a scale of zero to 50, fixed 22 September 2026 before any venue was priced. Method in full: https://thundermessage.com/how-we-price

Rates are the entry tier, read 18 September 2026. The fee column is twice the taker rate on a $10,000 position; the book column is what the order-book readings show that order paying past the mid price, in and out; all-in is the two added. Every venue here restricts access by jurisdiction; the list is in each one's own terms.

## The verdict

This crypto exchange fees comparison sets four ways of charging for one trade against each other on
24 September 2026: a zero rate bought with latency, one flat schedule, a volume ladder and cashback on fees
already paid. Lighter scores 42.8 of 50 and costs $0.86 all in.

## Notes on this sheet

1. Zero with latency: nothing published, 300 milliseconds added, $0.86 once the book is counted.
2. Flat: 0% maker / 0.025% taker for every account, $5.00 a round trip, no tier and no delay.
3. Ladder: 0.015% maker / 0.045% taker at the base, falling with 14-day volume and staked HYPE.
4. Cashback: 0.015% maker / 0.045% taker fixed, with up to 35% of a trader's own fees returned afterwards.
5. Whichever model charges the trade, the margin behind a leveraged position can go in full, and no fee model returns it.

## Line 1. [Lighter](https://lighter.xyz) — $0.86 all-in on $10,000, for the zero rate, paid for in milliseconds

Standard accounts pay 0% both ways; Premium pays 0.004% and 0.028% and fills takers in 140
milliseconds instead of 300 ([Lighter fees](https://docs.lighter.xyz/trading/trading-fees), checked 18 September 2026). Its book held
$16.2 million within 10 basis points.

- Buys: The only model here where the published bill is nothing; Nine external audits and a documented forced exit on Ethereum.
- Not covered: The free tier is the slow tier, by design; No public bug bounty, by its own disclosure policy.
- Not for: strategies that measure their edge in milliseconds.

## Line 2. [Extended](https://extended.exchange/) — $5.12 all-in on $10,000, for the flat rate, with nothing to work out

0% maker / 0.025% taker for everyone, plus 0.010% for takers on real-world assets
([Extended fees](https://docs.extended.exchange/extended-resources/trading/trading-fees-and-rebates), checked 18 September 2026). A $10,000 round trip is $5.00
whoever places it.

- Buys: Predictable to the cent, whatever the account does; Maker rebates above 0.5% of 30-day maker volume.
- Not covered: A large account pays the same as a new one; 278 of 325 markets are request-for-quote.
- Not for: accounts whose volume would earn a discount elsewhere.

## Line 3. [Aster](https://www.asterdex.com) — $8.16 all-in on $10,000, for free to post, charged to cross

Makers pay nothing at every tier since 2 February 2026; VIP 1 takers pay 0.040%
([Aster fee documentation](https://docs.asterdex.com/trading/perpetuals/fees-and-specs/fees), checked 18 September 2026). The model pushes flow into limit orders,
and the 0.01 bps median spread suggests it works.

- Buys: 0.01 bps median spread, level with Lighter at the tightest on this sheet; 578 perpetual markets.
- Not covered: A taker pays 0.040%, more than Lighter or Extended charges; Its own pages quote two different schedules.
- Not for: anyone who trades at market.

## Line 4. [Hyperliquid](https://hyperliquid.xyz) — $9.12 all-in on $10,000, for the ladder, for accounts that can climb it

0.015% maker / 0.045% taker at the base, falling with 14-day volume and staked HYPE, one tier across
every market ([Hyperliquid fees](https://hyperliquid.gitbook.io/hyperliquid-docs/trading/fees), checked 18 September 2026). The book held
$7.3 million within 10 basis points.

- Buys: The discount is published and reachable, not negotiated; Bug bounty of up to 1 million USDC.
- Not covered: The base rate is the same 0.045% that EVEDEX charges here; Vault losses in March and November 2025.
- Not for: accounts that will never leave the base tier.

## Line 5. EVEDEX — $13.12 all-in on $10,000, for a fixed rate with money returned afterwards

0.015% maker / 0.045% taker and no volume tier (EVEDEX documentation, noted 18 September 2026). Cashback returns part of the
fees already charged, up to 35% of a trader's own, so the effective taker rate reaches 0.02925%. The
base rate grows with a gamification level open to every user, and a Prime subscription adds a fixed
five percentage points.

- Buys: The discount does not depend on volume at all; $18.3 million resting within 10 basis points of the BTC mid price.
- Not covered: The rate on the screen stays at 0.045% whatever the account does; 52 perpetual markets, the shortest list here; No bug bounty listed on its CertiK Skynet page, checked 18 September 2026.
- Not for: traders who want the headline number itself to fall.

## Four models, one trade

**Zero bought with latency.** Lighter charges nothing on its Standard account and delays taker orders
by 300 milliseconds ([Lighter fees](https://docs.lighter.xyz/trading/trading-fees), checked 18 September 2026). The saving is real and so is
the delay.

**One flat rate.** Extended charges 0% maker / 0.025% taker to every account and order type, with no
tier ([Extended fees](https://docs.extended.exchange/extended-resources/trading/trading-fees-and-rebates), checked 18 September 2026). Nothing to work out and nothing to reach.

**A volume ladder.** Hyperliquid starts at 0.015% maker / 0.045% taker and descends with 14-day volume
and staked HYPE ([Hyperliquid fees](https://hyperliquid.gitbook.io/hyperliquid-docs/trading/fees), checked 18 September 2026), and it is the only ladder
on this page: every rung is published in basis points rather than percentages. A ladder rewards the
accounts that need it least.

**Cashback after the fact.** EVEDEX charges 0.015% maker / 0.045% taker and returns part of what has been
paid, up to 35% of a trader's own fees, so the effective taker rate reaches 0.02925%
(EVEDEX documentation, noted 18 September 2026). The rate on the screen never changes; the balance does.

## Quoted from the rate pages

> "For each user, there is one fee tier across all assets, including perps, HIP-3 perps, and spot." — Hyperliquid documentation, Fees, 18 September 2026. https://hyperliquid.gitbook.io/hyperliquid-docs/trading/fees
> "For both perpetual futures and spot markets, Lighter currently charges no maker or taker fees for Standard Accounts, allowing all participants to trade across all markets free of charge." — Lighter documentation, Trading fees, 18 September 2026. https://docs.lighter.xyz/trading/trading-fees
> "Currently, Extended features a flat fee structure for both perpetuals and spot markets: Taker: 0.025% Maker: 0.000%" — Extended documentation, Trading Fees, 18 September 2026. https://docs.extended.exchange/extended-resources/trading/trading-fees-and-rebates
## FAQ

### How do crypto exchange fees work?

A venue charges a share of the notional each time an order fills, with a lower rate for orders that
wait in the book than for orders that remove one. On this page the rates run from nothing to
0.045%, and every position is charged twice, once in and once out.

### Which fee model is cheapest?

For a small account, the zero rate: Lighter charged nothing and cost $0.86 all in on a $10,000 round
trip. For an account that will not accept added latency, the flat schedule: Extended charges
0% maker / 0.025% taker, which is $5.00 a round trip.

### Are volume discounts worth chasing?

Only if the volume is real. Hyperliquid's ladder starts at 0.045% and needs
14-day turnover, plus staked HYPE, before the first rung below it is reached at all. Trading more in
order to pay less is how a fee saving turns into a loss.

### What is fee cashback on a crypto exchange?

Money returned after the fee has been charged, rather than a lower rate. EVEDEX returns up to 35% of a
trader's own fees, set by a gamification level available to every user plus a fixed five percentage
points for Prime subscribers, taking an effective taker rate to 0.02925%.

### Do maker and taker fees differ much between exchanges?

The maker side varies most of all. Three of the venues on this page charge makers nothing at all,
while EVEDEX and Hyperliquid both charge 0.015%. On the taker side the range across
this page runs from nothing to 0.045%, a gap of four and a half basis points.

### Is a flat fee better than a tiered fee?

For most accounts, yes, because most accounts never reach a tier at all. Extended's flat
0.025% beats the entry rung of the one ladder on this page, with no turnover
requirement attached. Hyperliquid's base tier charges takers 0.045%, and descending
it takes 14-day weighted volume or staked HYPE that a small account will not have.

### how do you compare fee structures that aren't alike?

Price one trade you would actually make. A $10,000 market round trip costs nothing on Lighter,
$8.00 on Aster, $5.00 on Extended and $9.00 on
the two venues charging 0.045%, before the book is counted. Then add what the book took
on that same order, because no rate card prints it.

### Do exchanges change their fee models often?

Often enough to date every figure. Aster moved maker fees to zero on 2 February 2026 and Paradex
dropped retail fees on 15 June 2026, both of them inside the year this sheet was read on
18 September 2026. A comparison older than a quarter is worth re-reading before it is trusted.

### What is a fee holiday?

A window in which a venue charges nothing on a particular market, set for a fixed period and then
withdrawn; none was running on any venue on this page on 24 September 2026. They are a marketing
instrument rather than part of the published schedule.

### Does a cheaper fee model mean a worse exchange?

Not by itself. The score weights the published rate at 40 and execution cost at 30, so a cheap rate on
a thin book scores badly while a dear rate on a deep one scores well. The readings behind that are on
[the sheet for large orders](/lowest-fee-crypto-exchange-for-large-orders).

## How this sheet was priced

Quoted off each venue's own pages, 18 September 2026: rates, market counts, sign-in rules, audits.
Read off the public book here: every BTC perpetual, 00:00 to 23:54 UTC on 21 September 2026, at ten-minute stops. The weights came
first, 22 September 2026, before any of the 5 venues was priced
([how we rate](/how-we-price)). No order was sent.

The price here leaves out volume tiers, staking, rebates and cashback. Funding is billed on its own
clock. One contract was timed: BTC. What a chain is told, and what the past 24 months hold, come from
the venue's telling, not from anything tested here.

One published formula, fixed before anything was priced. Every figure carries the day it was taken. Corrections: desk@thundermessage.com.

The Cost Per Trade pricing desk, 24 September 2026

This price desk is paid to publish, and a venue on the sheet may be the party that paid; the order of every column is the published formula.