How do you calculate the break-even price of a futures trade, fees included?

Why fees move your break-even

A futures fee is charged on the notional value twice: once when you open and once when you close (see how futures fees are calculated). So a trade closed at exactly the entry price is not flat — it is down by both fees. The break-even price is where the price gain covers them.

The formulas

Let E be the entry price, f_open the opening fee rate and f_close the closing fee rate, written as decimals.

• Long: break-even = E × (1 + f_open) ÷ (1 − f_close)
• Short: break-even = E × (1 − f_open) ÷ (1 + f_close)

The closing fee sits in the denominator because it is charged on the exit price, not the entry price. For everyday fee levels the result is very close to the shortcut E × (1 ± (f_open + f_close)) — the exact formula is just slightly further away.

A worked example

Say you go long at 60,000 USDT and open and close with market orders at a 0.05% taker rate:

• The price has to rise by a little more than 2 × 0.05%
• In USDT that is roughly 60,000 × 2 × 0.05% above your entry
• A short needs the same move downwards

If you exit with a limit order that rests in the book, the closing side is charged the lower maker rate and your break-even comes closer — see maker vs taker fees.

Leverage does not change the break-even price

Both the price gain and the fee scale with position size, so 5x and 20x on the same entry have the same break-even price. What leverage changes is how the fee looks against your margin: at 10x, a round trip costs about 10 × (f_open + f_close) of your margin, which is why a position can show a small loss the moment it opens.

Funding shifts it over time

On perpetual contracts, longs and shorts exchange funding at set intervals. If you pay funding while the position is open, add the total paid to your costs and the break-even moves further away; if you receive it, it moves closer. Funding is not a trading fee — see what a funding fee is.

Why it matters for short trades

The smaller your target, the larger the share eaten by fees. A scalp aiming for a move only a few times larger than f_open + f_close hands a big slice of every win to fees, and a target smaller than that loses money even when the price goes your way. Run the break-even before you set the take-profit.

How a fee rebate lowers the break-even

A fee rebate returns part of every fee you pay. If a share r comes back, your net fee rate is f × (1 − r), so the net break-even becomes E × (1 + f_open × (1 − r)) ÷ (1 − f_close × (1 − r)) for a long. On loweef's partner exchanges r is 50–65%, accruing daily in USDT — it arrives after the trade, so your exchange still shows the full fee at the moment you close. Compare the effective rates:

Exchange	Total rate	Welcome boost	Effective taker
AlphaX	65%	—	0.0175%
BingX	60%	70%	0.0200%
OKX	50%	60%	0.0250%
MEXC	55%	65%	0.0180%

Figures are standard published rates; your actual fee depends on your VIP tier. To run your own volume, use the calculator.