Maker fee
A maker fee is the rate charged on orders that add liquidity to the order book — limit orders that rest before filling. It is the lower of the two standard rates, 0.02% on loweef's partner exchanges, because exchanges want resting liquidity.
When you place a limit order that does not fill immediately, it sits in the order book waiting for a counterparty. You are "making" the market — providing liquidity that other traders can trade against. Exchanges reward this with a discounted rate, and on some venues high-tier makers even receive a small negative fee (a payment) for resting volume.
Whether an order counts as maker is decided at fill time, not at placement. A limit order priced aggressively enough to match an existing order fills instantly and is charged the taker fee instead. Post-only order flags exist precisely to prevent this: they cancel the order rather than let it take.
For cost-sensitive strategies the maker/taker gap is significant — often around half the taker rate. Combining maker execution with a fee rebate stacks two independent savings: a lower headline rate, and 50–67% of whatever you still pay coming back.
Maker vs taker fees — full comparison →