Crypto futures, which often refer to perpetual futures contracts, have become popular among traders who want to profit from the ups and downs of cryptocurrency prices. But many beginners do not fully understand how much crypto futures trading fees actually add up to. If you are planning to start trading crypto futures, it’s important to know all the trading fees and charges, visible and hidden.
In this blog, we will explain what crypto futures are, answer exactly what fees perpetual futures have, and break down all the important costs, including how Mudrex compares to other platforms, to help you make better decisions and avoid surprises while trading.
What Fees Do Perpetual Futures Have?
Perpetual futures trading fees fall into three categories: a trading fee charged when you open or close a position, a funding fee paid between long and short traders every few hours, and a liquidation fee charged if your position is forcibly closed. Some platforms also add withdrawal fees and, in India, GST and TDS on top of the trading fee itself. The sections below break down each of these in detail.
The 3 Core Costs of Trading Crypto Futures
1. Trading Fees (Maker vs. Taker Fees)
Every time you open or close a futures trade, the exchange charges a trading fee. This is a basic cost that applies to all traders.
There are two types of trading fees: maker fees and taker fees.
- A maker fee is charged when your trade adds liquidity to the exchange’s order book. Because you are adding liquidity, exchanges usually charge you a lower fee for this.
- A taker fee, on the other hand, is charged when your trade removes liquidity from the order book. In this case, you are “taking” liquidity by removing an existing order from the market.
Example:
If the taker fee is 0.05% and you place a trade worth ₹10,000, you will pay ₹5 as a trading fee. If you are a maker with a fee of 0.02%, the cost would be ₹2 for the same trade.
The exact fee depends on the exchange you use and your trading volume. For instance, Mudrex charges a trading fee of 0.03%-0.05% on crypto futures trades. These exact fee percentages vary based on your 30-day trading volume, which means the more you trade, the lower your trading fee.
2. The Funding Fee
The funding fee is a charge that applies to futures contracts. Unlike regular futures, perpetual futures do not have an expiry date. So, to keep their price close to the real market price of the cryptocurrency, exchanges use funding fees.
This fee is paid between traders, not to the exchange. It works like this:
- When the funding rate is positive, traders who have taken long positions (betting the price will go up) pay a small fee to traders who have short positions.
- When the funding rate is negative, traders who have short positions (betting the price will go down) pay the fee to long traders.
Example:
If the funding rate is +0.01% and you are holding a long position worth ₹1,00,000, you will pay ₹10 in funding fees during that funding interval (usually every 8 hours).
Funding rates change often depending on market conditions. You should always check the current rate before holding a position for a long time. See the dedicated funding fee section further down this guide for more detail on reading and interpreting funding rates.
3. Liquidation Fees
Liquidation is the forced closing of a trader’s leveraged position by the exchange when their margin falls below the required level due to adverse price movements. If you are using leverage (borrowing money to trade a larger amount), your risk of liquidation is higher.
When you get liquidated, the exchange automatically closes your position to stop further loss. This is done to protect both the trader and the platform. When this happens, the exchange usually charges a liquidation fee.
The liquidation fee is often a percentage of the trade size, and it varies by platform, so check your specific exchange’s fee schedule rather than assuming a flat number across the industry.
Example:
If you open a trade worth ₹50,000 and it gets liquidated, you might be charged a liquidation fee of 1%, which is ₹500. Some exchanges may also charge extra fees to cover the cost of closing the trade.
To avoid liquidation, you should:
- Use lower leverage
- Set stop-loss orders
- Monitor your margin level regularly
What Are Crypto Futures?
Crypto futures are contracts that allow you to buy or sell a cryptocurrency at a future date, at a price agreed upon today. You do not actually own the cryptocurrency. Instead, you are betting on whether the price will go up or down.
Let’s say you think the price of Bitcoin will increase. You can enter a long position, which means you expect the price to rise. If you think the price will drop, you can enter a short position. If your prediction is right, you make a profit. If it’s wrong, you make a loss.
Crypto futures can be powerful tools to earn money quickly, but they also come with certain risks. One of the most important things to understand is the cost of trading them. There are three main types of fees you need to know about.
Does Leverage Itself Have a Fee?
A common point of confusion is whether leverage carries its own separate charge, sometimes searched as “leverage charges.” In crypto perpetual futures, leverage itself is not directly billed the way a traditional margin loan charges daily interest. Instead, the cost of using leverage shows up indirectly through two channels already covered above: the funding fee (which applies to your full leveraged position size, not just your margin) and the higher risk of paying a liquidation fee, since leveraged positions can be closed out faster.
Higher leverage does not mean a higher trading fee percentage on the same platform, but it does mean funding fee amounts and liquidation risk scale up with your position size.
Crypto futures can offer high rewards, but they also come with several types of fees that traders must understand. Before you start trading, it’s important to know the three main costs:
- Trading fees, which apply whenever you place a trade
- Funding fees, which are ongoing payments between long and short traders
- Liquidation fees, which apply when your position is forcefully closed due to losses
What Are Funding Fees? Funding Rate Explained
The funding fee mechanism deserves its own closer look, since it’s the cost most new futures traders underestimate.
A funding rate is a periodic payment exchanged directly between long and short traders on a perpetual futures contract, designed to keep the contract’s price tethered to the underlying asset’s real spot price. Since perpetuals never expire, there needs to be a different mechanism to prevent the contract price from drifting too far from spot, and the funding rate is that mechanism.
How Do You Read the Funding Rate on an Exchange?
Most exchanges display the current funding rate directly on the futures trading screen, along with a countdown to the next funding settlement (commonly every 8 hours). A positive rate means longs pay shorts; a negative rate means shorts pay longs. Some platforms also show a predicted next funding rate, which can shift before actual settlement.
What Does a Negative Funding Rate Mean?
A negative funding rate means short positions are paying long positions. This typically happens when the futures price trades below the spot price, signalling more traders are positioned short than long. For a trader already holding a long position, a negative funding rate is a small, ongoing benefit rather than a cost.
Futures Trading Fees Calculator: How to Estimate Your Costs
You don’t need a dedicated calculator tool to estimate your trading costs, the formula is straightforward:
Trading fee = Position size × Fee rate
Worked example: You open a ₹50,000 position on a platform charging a 0.05% taker fee.
Trading fee = ₹50,000 × 0.0005 = ₹25
For a full round-trip cost estimate (opening and closing), double the calculation, plus add funding fees accrued while the position was open:
Total estimated cost = (Position size × Fee rate × 2) + (Position size × Funding rate × number of funding intervals held)
Worked example: The same ₹50,000 position, held through two 8-hour funding intervals at +0.01% each:
Trading fees (open + close) = ₹50,000 × 0.0005 × 2 = ₹50
Funding fees = ₹50,000 × 0.0001 × 2 = ₹10
Total estimated cost = ₹60
How Do Perp Fees Compare to CFD Fees?
A CFD (contract for difference) is a leveraged product common in forex and stock trading that lets you speculate on price movement without owning the underlying asset, similar in spirit to a perpetual futures contract, but structured differently. Perpetual futures (perps) and CFDs are both leveraged derivative products, but they charge for costs differently:
- Perps use maker/taker trading fees plus a periodic funding fee (typically every 8 hours) paid directly between long and short traders, as covered above.
- CFDs typically build their cost into the spread (the gap between the buy and sell price) rather than charging a separate visible trading fee, plus an overnight financing fee (sometimes called a swap fee) charged by the broker for holding a leveraged position past a daily cutoff.
- CFD financing fees are broker-set and one-directional (you generally pay the broker to hold overnight, rather than potentially receiving a payment as you can with a negative perp funding rate), while perp funding fees are paid peer-to-peer and can flow either direction depending on market positioning.
- Perps are typically traded on crypto-native exchanges, while CFDs are more common on traditional forex and stock brokers and are restricted or banned for retail traders in some jurisdictions, including the US.
In practice, an actively traded perp position and a similarly leveraged CFD position can end up costing a similar amount over time, but perps make the cost more visible (an explicit fee and funding rate you can check anytime), while CFD costs are partly embedded in the spread.
Which Exchange Has the Best Funding Rate, and What’s BTC’s Rate Today?
Neither question has a fixed answer worth publishing in an article. Funding rates aren’t a stable platform feature like a trading fee, they recalculate every 8 hours based on that specific market’s positioning on that specific exchange, so the “best” platform for BTC funding can flip by the next interval, and any “today’s rate” figure would already be outdated by the time you read it.
Rather than looking for a fixed answer, compare live rates for your specific asset directly on your exchange’s futures screen at the time you’re actually trading, that live figure, not a number quoted here, is the one that actually applies to your trade.
Conclusion
By learning about these costs in advance, you can plan your trades better, reduce your risks, and avoid unexpected charges. Always read the fee structure of your trading platform carefully and stay updated with any changes.
Want a closer look at Mudrex’s trading fees? Find our detailed fee breakdown here! And, to start trading, download the Mudrex app now.
FAQs
What fees do perpetual futures have?
Three core fees: a trading fee (maker or taker) on every open and close, a funding fee exchanged between longs and shorts every few hours, and a liquidation fee if your position is forcibly closed. Some platforms add withdrawal fees and, in India, GST and TDS on top.
What are maker and taker fees?
A maker fee applies when your order adds liquidity to the order book (typically a limit order that doesn’t fill immediately); a taker fee applies when your order removes liquidity (typically a market order). Maker fees are usually lower since exchanges want to reward liquidity providers.
What is a funding fee (funding rate), and what does a negative rate mean?
A funding fee is a periodic payment between long and short traders on a perpetual futures contract, settled roughly every 8 hours, designed to keep the contract’s price close to the real spot price. A negative rate means shorts are paying longs, which usually happens when the futures price trades below spot; if you’re long, that’s a small ongoing benefit rather than a cost.
How do you calculate futures trading fees?
Multiply your position size by the fee rate: Position size × Fee rate = Trading fee. For a full round-trip estimate, double that for opening and closing, then add funding fees based on how many funding intervals you held the position through. See the worked example above.
How much money do you need to trade crypto futures?
There’s no fixed minimum, it depends on the platform’s minimum position size and available leverage. Practically, you want enough capital that a normal price swing doesn’t push you toward liquidation, not just the smallest amount the platform technically allows.
Which exchange has the lowest futures trading fees, and what should you compare before choosing?
Among the platforms compared in this guide, Mudrex, CoinDCX, Delta Exchange, and HTX start around 0.02%-0.03% maker fee, while Bitget and CoinEx sit slightly higher on the taker side. But the maker/taker rate is only one factor, also compare funding rate history, the liquidation fee percentage, deposit/withdrawal costs, GST/TDS treatment if trading from India, and volume-based discount tiers, since these can change which platform is actually cheaper after all charges.
How do perp fees compare to CFD fees?
Perps charge visible maker/taker fees plus a periodic funding fee paid between traders; CFDs typically build their cost into the spread plus a broker-set overnight financing fee. Perp costs are more transparent and can occasionally pay you (via negative funding), while CFD financing fees are one-directional.
What is a liquidation fee?
A fee charged when your leveraged position is forcibly closed by the exchange because your margin fell below the required maintenance level. It’s usually a percentage of the trade size, and the exact rate varies by platform, so check your specific exchange’s fee schedule.
