How do you calculate crypto futures fees?

Futures fees are charged on the notional value of your position: fee = notional value × fee rate, where notional value = margin × leverage (also entry price × quantity). You pay once when you open and once when you close, at different maker and taker rates — on the exchanges loweef tracks, taker is 0.04–0.05% and maker is 0–0.02%. Funding is a separate payment and isn't part of the trading fee.

The formula

Notional value = margin × leverage = entry price × contract quantity
Fee per side = notional value × fee rate (maker or taker)
Round-trip fee = opening fee + closing fee

The key point: the fee is charged on the notional value, not on the margin you put up.

A worked example

Say you open a position with 1,000 USDT of margin at 10x leverage, so the notional value is 10,000 USDT. If you open and close with market orders at a 0.05% taker rate:

Opening fee = 10,000 × 0.05%
Closing fee ≈ 10,000 × 0.05% (the price moves before you close, so the notional differs slightly)
Together, roughly twice the one-side fee

Filled as a limit (maker) order, the rate is lower — see maker vs taker fees.

Does leverage increase trading fees?

Leverage doesn't change the exchange's percentage rate, but it raises the amount you pay. The same 10,000 USDT position pays the same fee at 5x or at 20x. The difference is that the same margin at higher leverage opens a bigger position — so the fee is bigger, and as a share of your margin it grows by exactly the leverage factor: at 10x, each taker fill costs 10 × 0.05% of your margin.

Funding is not part of the trading fee

Perpetual contracts also exchange funding payments between longs and shorts at set intervals. That is not an exchange fee and it isn't covered by a rebate — see what a funding fee is.

Your real cost after a rebate

An account registered through a fee rebate platform gets part of every fee back. On loweef's partner exchanges that share is 50–65% of each fee paid, accruing daily in USDT. By exchange:

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%

To run your own volume, use the calculator, and to compare standard rates across more exchanges, see the crypto futures fee index — if you write about trading, the same calculator can be embedded on your own site. Figures above are standard published rates; your actual rate depends on your VIP tier.

MEXC may apply a different futures maker fee in some regions (such as parts of Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Latin America). Go by the rate shown on your trading screen.

Frequently asked questions

Are futures fees charged on margin or on position size?

On the notional position size. At 10x leverage the fee is charged on ten times your margin, which is why futures fees add up faster than spot fees.

Do I pay a fee when I close a position?

Yes. Opening and closing are two separate fills, and each one is charged at the maker or taker rate.

How is a fee rebate calculated?

Rebate = the fee you actually paid × the rebate share. On loweef's partner exchanges the share is 50–65%, whether the trade wins or loses.