Perp Fees: Your Effective Rate After a Rebate

A perp fee is notional value × fee rate, with taker around 0.05%, and what you really pay after a rebate is the effective rate = base rate × (1 − rebate rate). Binance's 0.05% taker with a 40% rebate works out to about 0.03%, and Gate's 70% rebate brings it to about 0.015% (checked September 2026).

Compared with the common 20% KOL referral codes you find online: a common code only takes Binance's 0.05% down to 0.04%, binding through Fee Otter takes it to 0.03%, and Gate goes to 0.015%, just 3/8 of the common code's effective rate. In money, at 1,000 USDT of monthly fees a common code returns 200 and Fee Otter returns 400–700 USDT, 2 to 3.5 times as much. (Rebate table and official fees as of September 2026.)

Quick answer

• Fee = notional value × fee rate, charged on notional, not margin.
• Effective rate = listed rate × (1 − rebate rate).
• Lowest effective rates: Gate about 0.015%, MEXC about 0.016%, XT.COM about 0.018%.
• Versus a common code: binding through Fee Otter returns 2 to 3.5 times a common 20% code (OKX 20% auto-rebate + exclusive rewards).

How is the fee calculated?

Fee = notional value × fee rate. Maker (posted, filled passively) is usually lower than taker (market, filled aggressively). At perp taker 0.05%, a 10,000 USDT notional fill costs about 5 USDT. For the maker/taker difference, see what maker/taker fees are.

Effective rate after rebate

A rebate lowers the rate you actually pay. Effective rate = base rate × (1 − rebate rate). Using each exchange's reference perp taker rate and rebate rate:

• Gate: 0.05% × (1 − 70%) = ~0.015% (lowest)
• MEXC: 0.04% × (1 − 60%) = ~0.016%
• XT.COM: 0.06% × (1 − 70%) = ~0.018%
• WEEX: 0.08% × (1 − 70%) = ~0.024%
• Pionex: 0.05% × (1 − 50%) = ~0.025% (15% exchange auto-rebate + 35% Fee Otter extra rebate)
• Binance: 0.05% × (1 − 40%) = ~0.03%
• Bitget: 0.06% × (1 − 50%) = ~0.03%
• HTX: 0.06% × (1 − 50%) = ~0.03%
• Bybit: 0.055% × (1 − 40%) = ~0.033%
• OKX: 0.05% × (1 − 20%) = ~0.04% (20% auto-rebate)

Common 20% code vs Fee Otter: effective rates side by side

Fees verified on 2026-09-24 (each exchange's official fee schedule: Binance, Bybit, Gate, Bitget, MEXC, OKX) · Methodology

Apart from OKX (20% either way), every effective rate via Fee Otter in the table is below a common 20% code. For per-exchange details, see the Gate fee rebate guide and the Bybit fee rebate guide; to compare all of them, the crypto exchange fee rebate comparison.

A worked example: the round-trip cost of one trade

Say you open a 10× position with 1,000 USDT of margin, so the notional is 10,000 USDT, and you open and close with market orders (taker). The fee is charged on notional twice: 20,000 × 0.05% = 10 USDT.

• Common 20% code: 2 back, 8 USDT net.
• Binance at 40% via Fee Otter: 4 back, 6 USDT net.
• Gate at 70% via Fee Otter: 7 back, 3 USDT net.
• Both legs as limit orders (maker 0.02%): 4 USDT in fees, 1.2 USDT net on Gate at 70%.

Do 100 such round trips a month and Binance fees come to about 1,000 USDT: a common code returns 200, Fee Otter 400, and Gate 700. If you're already a VIP on an exchange and want to rebind or sign up on another one, contact support: we can help you apply for special trading perks or a higher rebate rate. For full short-term trading scenarios, see fee rebate savings for day traders. Funding is paid between longs and shorts; it is not a trading fee and is not covered by rebates.

Why the effective rate beats grinding VIP tiers

Lowering fees via an exchange's VIP tier usually needs large volume or big token holdings; a rebate applies directly to every fee and works the moment you bind. On Gate, the 70% rebate cuts the effective rate from 0.05% to about 0.015%, a 70% cut most people can't reach on VIP upgrades alone. For how rebate is composed, see exchange auto-rebate vs extra rebate.

Common mistakes

• Calculating fees on margin: fees are charged on notional, so at 10× leverage you pay on ten times your margin.
• Comparing listed rates only: Bitget's 0.06% taker looks higher, but at 50% via Fee Otter it nets 0.03%, the same as Binance at 40%.
• Ignoring maker vs taker: placing the same trade as limit orders can cut fees by more than half; see maker vs taker fees explained.
• Using a 20%-only code: a bound code cannot be changed; switching means a rebind per the exchange rebind rules summary.

How to lower your effective rate

Register with a referral code and bind your UID on the rebate platform (Fee Otter), and the rebate applies automatically. To compare exchanges, see the 2026 exchange rebate rate comparison.

To cut your effective rate below what a common code gets you, register through our links and bind Fee Otter now (Gate's referral code is FEEOTTER). See the Binance referral code and the Gate referral code for details, and how to find your exchange UID for the number you bind.

How long can you hold before the funding rate exceeds your fees?

A rebate only covers trading fees, not the funding rate. Perpetual futures settle the funding rate every 8 hours (4 hours for some contracts), and the longer you hold, the bigger its share of your total cost. Estimated with a common baseline funding rate of 0.01% per 8 hours, using market orders to both open and close:

The lower your fees, the sooner the funding rate becomes your main cost. So for short-term traders (a few hours to a day), the rebate is nearly all the savings there is. If you hold for weeks, you also need to watch the funding rate. It can be positive or negative, and the actual numbers change daily; you can check live values and 30-day swings across exchanges in the Funding Rate Comparison.

The higher the leverage, the more margin fees eat

Fees are charged on notional, not on margin. For the same round trip, the higher your leverage, the larger the share of your margin the fees take:

If you use 50x leverage and do one round trip a day without a rebate, fees alone eat 5% of your margin each day. Before the market has even moved, your account is already down a chunk. This is also why high-leverage, high-frequency traders are the ones who feel rebates the most.

FAQ

How are perp fees calculated?

Fee = notional value × fee rate. Perp taker is ~0.05%, so a 10,000 USDT notional fill costs about 5 USDT; maker is usually lower.

What does "effective rate" mean?

It's the rate you actually bear after rebate = base rate × (1 − rebate rate). E.g. 0.05% taker with a 40% rebate gives an effective rate of about 0.03%.

Does rebate directly lower the fee shown when I place an order?

It doesn't change the rate shown on the exchange; rebate refunds part of the fee afterwards (some exchanges use charge-then-refund), which is equivalent to lowering your effective rate.

Which exchange has the lowest effective rate after rebate?

At each exchange's rebate rate, Gate is lowest at ~0.015%, followed by MEXC at ~0.016% and XT.COM at ~0.018%. Actual figures depend on your VIP tier at the exchange.

How is OKX counted?

The OKX effective rate is computed at its 20% auto-rebate; contact support about our exclusive OKX rewards and promotions.

How far does a common 20% referral code lower the effective rate?

Only by 20%. With Binance's 0.05% taker, a common code nets 0.04%; binding Binance through Fee Otter at 40% nets 0.03%, and Gate at 70% nets 0.015%: 2 to 3.5 times the rebate of a common code.

Does leverage increase trading fees?

Yes, because fees are charged on notional. 1,000 USDT of margin at 10× is 10,000 USDT notional, about 5 USDT per taker fill; the rebate is calculated on that same fee.

For how tokenized stock fees and funding compare, see tokenized stock perp fees: listings, liquidity and funding measured.

These are estimates at reference fee rates; actual fees and rebate follow the exchanges' official pages and the live Fee Otter platform. This article is for information only and is not investment advice.

ⓘ Rebate rates in this article are for futures; spot: Gate 65%, Bitget 45%, HTX 45%, WEEX 45%, XT.COM 45%.