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What are maker and taker fees?
Maker-taker fees are a pricing model where a trading venue charges different fees depending on whether your order adds liquidity or removes it. A maker places an order that rests on the order book; a taker trades immediately against a resting order and usually pays the higher fee.
What it means for you
The same trade can cost different amounts depending on order type. A market order, or a limit order priced to fill at once, is a taker order and pays the taker fee; a limit order that waits on the book usually pays less, or earns a rebate, but may never fill. Check the venue's fee schedule for both rates.
How it works
The model began with electronic trading venues in the late 1990s. A venue pays a rebate to members who post resting, liquidity-providing orders and charges a fee to those who execute against them, keeping the difference. In the SEC staff's example, a market charges 0.3 cents per share to take liquidity and pays 0.2 cents to make it, earning 0.1 cents. A few venues invert the model. Supporters say it can give retail investors better prices; critics say it can worsen conflicts between brokers and customers.
An example
Say a platform charges makers 0.1 percent and takers 0.2 percent. Buying $10,000 of a coin with a market order costs $20 in fees. A resting limit order that later fills costs $10, but only if the price comes to it.
Sources: SEC Division of Trading and Markets: Maker-Taker Fees on Equities Exchanges (2015), SEC Investor Bulletin: Understanding Order Types · checked 4 October 2026
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