Crypto exchanges with no maker fee in 2026
The Cost Per Trade pricing deskUpdated: Books timed
Cheapest here
$0.86
Lighter
$0.00 in fees and $0.86 to the book, opening and closing $10,000 at market.
Dearest here
$191.52
Paradex
$0.00 in fees and $191.52 to the book, on the same position.
The verdict
Four of the six venues here charge makers nothing. Crypto exchanges with no maker fee earn from takers, from latency or from volume tiers instead, so the saving depends on how an account trades. On 24 September 2026 Lighter and Paradex charged nothing on either side, and Aster nothing to makers at every tier.
- 01Aster, Extended, Lighter and Paradex charge makers nothing; Aster has done so at every tier since 2 February 2026.
- 02The two venues that do charge makers both ask 0.015%, a dollar and a half on a $10,000 resting order.
- 03A maker rate of zero is worth nothing to an account that only trades at market.
- 04Two of the four zero-maker venues charge takers as well, and two charge nobody anything.
WeightsPublished rate40Execution cost30Where the money sits12Security record8What the rate buys6Who may pay it4how we rate
Crypto exchanges with no maker fee, and what their takers pay
Ordered by the published taker cost of a $10,000 round trip. The maker column is the point of the page. What no column here shows is the size of the position behind the fee: push the leverage up and a small move against the trade takes the margin with it.
| Line | Venue | Maker | Taker | Fees on $10,000 | Book adds | All-in | Score of 50 | Perp markets | Priced for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1= | Lighter | 0% | 0% | $0.00 | $0.86 | $0.86 | 42.8 | 214 | neither side charged at all |
| 1= | Paradex | 0% | 0% | $0.00 | $191.52 | $191.52 | 31.9 | 63 | posting and crossing both free on the web |
| 3 | Extended | 0% | 0.025% | $5.00 | $0.12 | $5.12 | 38.4 | 325 | a zero maker rate that needs no conditions |
| 4 | Aster | 0% | 0.040% | $8.00 | $0.16 | $8.16 | 36.3 | 578 | zero to makers at every tier, not only the top |
| 5= | Hyperliquid | 0.015% | 0.045% | $9.00 | $0.12 | $9.12 | 33.1 | 324 | makers who will earn a rebate through volume |
| 5= | EVEDEX | 0.015% | 0.045% | $9.00 | $4.12 | $13.12 | 32.5 | 52 | a small maker rate that cashback reduces |
Entry-tier rates, read on 18 September 2026. Fees are twice the taker rate on $10,000; the book column is what a market order of that size paid past the mid price, in and out. An equals sign marks a shared line. Every venue here turns away some jurisdictions, and each one's terms carry its own list.
Line 01 shared
$0.86
all-in on $10,000
- Published fee
- $0.00
- Paid to the book
- $0.86
- Score
- 42.8 of 50
Lighter — neither side charged at all
The Standard account pays 0% maker and 0% taker on every perpetual market (Lighter fee documentation, checked 18 September 2026). Maker orders are delayed 200 milliseconds and cancels 300, which is the real cost of posting for free here.
Points by criterion, each out of ten before the weights
Price buys
- Nothing charged to either side of the trade
- $16.2 million resting within 10 basis points of the BTC mid price
Price omits
- Maker orders are delayed 200 milliseconds and cancels 300
- No public bug bounty, by its own disclosure policy
Not for: market makers who need to cancel quickly.
Rate page: lighter.xyz
Line 01 shared
$191.52
all-in on $10,000
- Published fee
- $0.00
- Paid to the book
- $191.52
- Score
- 31.9 of 50
Paradex — posting and crossing both free on the web
Retail orders through the web interface pay nothing on either side, in force since 15 June 2026, with a 300-millisecond speed bump (Paradex fee documentation, checked 18 September 2026). Programmatic orders on the Pro 0 tier pay 0.003% to makers and 0.045% to takers.
Price buys
- No maker fee and no taker fee on web orders
- Audited bridge contracts and a Sherlock bounty of up to 500,000 USDC
Price omits
- Retail orders are capped at three a second, thirty a minute
- Its book held only $870.00 within 10 basis points in the readings
Not for: anyone posting size.
Rate page: paradex.trade
Line 03
$5.12
all-in on $10,000
- Published fee
- $5.00
- Paid to the book
- $0.12
- Score
- 38.4 of 50
Extended — a zero maker rate that needs no conditions
Makers pay nothing and takers 0.025% under one flat schedule that applies to every account (Extended fee documentation, checked 18 September 2026). Makers with at least 0.5% of 30-day maker volume also receive rebates.
Price buys
- Zero maker rate with no latency penalty attached
- Rebates on top for makers above 0.5% of 30-day maker volume
Price omits
- 278 of its 325 active markets are request-for-quote, where posting works differently
- $7.8 million within 10 basis points, thinner than most venues here
Not for: traders who cross the spread more than they post.
Rate page: extended.exchange
Line 04
$8.16
all-in on $10,000
- Published fee
- $8.00
- Paid to the book
- $0.16
- Score
- 36.3 of 50
Aster — zero to makers at every tier, not only the top
Maker fees at all VIP tiers were set to zero on 2 February 2026 and VIP 1 takers pay 0.040% (Aster fee documentation, checked 18 September 2026). Its perpetuals overview page still shows 0.01% and 0.035%, so the VIP page is the one to read.
Price buys
- No maker fee at any tier, including the entry tier
- 0.01 bps median spread and 578 perpetual markets
Price omits
- Takers pay 0.040%, more than three other venues here
- Two of its own pages quote different fee schedules
Not for: takers.
Rate page: asterdex.com
Line 05 shared
$9.12
all-in on $10,000
- Published fee
- $9.00
- Paid to the book
- $0.12
- Score
- 33.1 of 50
Hyperliquid — makers who will earn a rebate through volume
The base tier charges makers 0.015% and takers 0.045%, falling with 14-day weighted volume and staked HYPE (Hyperliquid fee documentation, checked 18 September 2026). One tier covers perpetuals, builder-deployed markets and spot.
Price buys
- Maker rates fall with volume and with staking
- Every order and cancel is recorded on its own chain
Price omits
- Makers pay 0.015% until the volume arrives
- Its community vault lost money in March and November 2025
Not for: small accounts posting occasionally.
Rate page: hyperliquid.xyz
Line 05 shared
$13.12
all-in on $10,000
- Published fee
- $9.00
- Paid to the book
- $4.12
- Score
- 32.5 of 50
EVEDEX — a small maker rate that cashback reduces
Makers pay 0.015% and takers 0.045%, fixed, with cashback returning up to 35% of a trader's own fees after they are charged (EVEDEX documentation, noted 18 September 2026). On a $10,000 posted order the maker fee is $1.50 before any cashback.
Price buys
- Cashback applies to maker fees as well as taker fees
- $18.3 million resting within 10 basis points of the BTC mid price
Price omits
- Makers pay something, where four venues here charge them nothing
- 52 perpetual markets, so there are fewer books to post into
- No bug bounty listed on its CertiK Skynet page, checked 18 September 2026
Not for: makers comparing against a zero rate.
01
What a venue gives up, and what it takes back
A maker rate of zero is a recruitment offer for resting orders, and it is paid for somewhere. Aster set maker fees to zero across all VIP tiers on 2 February 2026 and still charges takers 0.040% (Aster fee documentation, checked 18 September 2026). Extended charges nobody a maker fee and takers 0.025% under a single flat schedule (Extended fee documentation, checked 18 September 2026). Lighter and Paradex charge neither side and take latency instead: 300 milliseconds on a taker order at both.
The venues that do charge makers are not necessarily dearer once the book is counted. Hyperliquid asks makers 0.015%, which on a $10,000 posted order is a dollar and a half, while its takers pay 0.045%. Paradex charges neither side, and on the readings its book turned the same $10,000 round trip at market into $191.52 against $9.12 on Hyperliquid.
02
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 6 venues was priced (how we rate). 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.
Questions readers ask about these fees
What is a zero maker fee?
It means an order that waits in the book costs nothing to place. The venue earns from the trader who crosses the spread instead. Four venues here do it: Aster and Extended charge takers 0.040% and 0.025%, while Lighter and Paradex charge takers nothing.
Why do exchanges pay makers?
Because resting orders are the product. A book with nothing in it cannot fill anyone, so venues waive or rebate maker fees to attract quotes. Extended goes further and pays rebates to makers above 0.5% of its 30-day maker volume, on top of the zero rate.
Is a limit order always cheaper than a market order?
In fees, never dearer, and cheaper on the four venues here that charge the two sides differently. In total cost, not always: a limit order that never fills leaves a leveraged position uncovered while the price moves. The saving is real, though — on Aster it is the whole 0.040% taker rate.
Which exchange has no trading fees at all?
Lighter's Standard account and Paradex's retail web orders charge neither makers nor takers. Both buy that with latency: 300 milliseconds on taker orders. Once the order book is counted, the same $10,000 round trip cost $0.86 on Lighter and $191.52 on Paradex.
Do maker fees apply to perpetual futures?
Yes, on any venue with an order book, and they are charged separately from funding. On this page maker rates run from nothing to 0.015%. Pool-priced venues have no maker side at all, because there is no book to post into.
How much can a maker save in a year?
Take an account posting $1 million of notional a month. At 0.015% that is $150 a month, or $1,800 over a year, and on the four zero-maker venues on this page it is nothing at all, whatever the volume posted and whatever the account has traded in the thirty days before it.
Updated: . Price errors and corrections: desk@thundermessage.com. The Cost Per Trade pricing desk.