Live Data
Total cost calculator
Compare live fees, slippage and spread across 45+ perp and 20+ spot exchanges. Find the cheapest venue for BTC, ETH, SOL, XRP, BNB, DOGE and HYPE at any size.
Custom entries use the nearest supported order size.
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Order-book estimates use current visible depth. Pool and oracle rows use documented or live position-increase price impact when it is available. Actual execution can differ.
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Risk Warning: Trading perpetual futures involves substantial risk of loss and is not suitable for all investors. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Only trade with funds you can afford to lose.
Spot vs Perp Trading Costs Explained
Total trading cost is more than just the taker fee. When you market-buy into an order book you walk up the ask side, paying progressively higher prices — the gap between the mid-price and your volume-weighted average price (VWAP) is slippage. On thin books or large sizes, slippage can easily dwarf the base fee, and even a 1 bps spread costs you $1 per $10,000 traded.
Toggle between Spot and Perps to compare execution costs across markets. We pull live order-book snapshots from 45+ perp venues and 20+ spot venues. We then simulate the selected trade size. Pool and oracle venues such as Jupiter Perps and GMX use a position-opening fee. Their rows include documented or live price impact when it is available. Use the asset, size, and fee-type selectors to see how costs change with market conditions.
For most retail-size trades ($10K–$100K), the cheapest spot venues right now are MEXC (0% maker / 5 bps taker), WEEX (0% maker), and Deribit (0% on BTC/ETH/SOL USDC pairs). On the perp side, Lighter (0 bps taker), Hyperliquid (4.5 bps), and Aster (4 bps) lead among DEXes; Binance, OKX, and Bitget tie at 5 bps among CEXes. Fees alone do not tell the full story — Kraken's 40 bps spot taker and Coinbase Advanced's 120 bps intro tier make them the most expensive options for retail volume despite being the most regulated, so total-cost ranking depends heavily on your size and tier. Use the Monthly Volume selector to see the breakeven point where VIP discounts make a CEX cheaper than a low-fee DEX.
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Data refreshed live · last reviewed April 2026
Why this comparison is different
- Live spot + perp side-by-side. Other comparison sites cover one or the other. We pull both order books in parallel so you can switch markets in one click.
- Spread and price-impact components. Most fee tables show only a headline rate. We add the supported spread and price-impact components for the selected size.
- VIP simulator + custom size. Choose a supported order size, then select your 30-day volume to apply each eligible venue's published fee ladder. Custom entries use the nearest supported size so the displayed depth always matches the measured order.
Frequently asked questions
What is the cheapest crypto exchange for spot trading?
For retail-size trades, MEXC is the cheapest spot exchange with 0% maker fees and 5 bps taker. WEEX also offers permanent 0% maker. Deribit charges 0% on BTC/ETH/SOL spot pairs. Among major regulated venues, Binance, OKX and Bitget are tied at 10 bps for both maker and taker. Kraken (40 bps) and Coinbase Advanced (120 bps intro) are the most expensive options for retail volume.
What is the cheapest perp DEX in 2026?
Lighter publishes a 0 bps standard maker and taker tier. Hyperliquid uses a maker/taker schedule. GMX and Jupiter use position fees instead. Their pool-based fills can include price impact, borrowing, funding, and network costs, so a headline fee is not an all-in quote.
How is total trading cost calculated?
Total cost = base fee + half the bid-ask spread (the cost of crossing to the touch) + slippage, where slippage is the fill's volume-weighted average price (VWAP) versus the best quote — the book impact beyond the touch. The half-spread is its own term and is never also baked into slippage, so nothing is double-counted. We pull live snapshots every 90 seconds and express the result in basis points, converted to USD at your chosen size. Oracle and pool rows use a position-opening fee and include documented or live price impact when that value is available.
Do VIP tiers and referral codes affect the cost shown?
The default view uses base-tier fees. It applies no VIP or referral discount. Select Monthly Volume to estimate an eligible venue's VIP rate. Turn on Referral Discount to apply only the benefits in our venue map. A Trade link does not confirm eligibility. Read the venue terms before you register.
Why does the same exchange show different fees on spot vs perp?
Spot and derivatives are typically priced on separate fee schedules. Most CEXes use one VIP ladder spanning both products with 30-day combined volume, but the base-tier rate often differs — for example, Bitget charges 10 bps both sides on spot but 2 bps maker / 6 bps taker on perps. DEXes diverge more sharply: Hyperliquid's spot Tier-0 taker is roughly 7 bps versus 4.5 bps on perps.
Which venues are excluded from the comparison and why?
Hibachi, Apex Omni, Lighter, Bluefin and GRVT do not offer spot products and only appear in the Perp view. Aster spot exists but lacks BTC/ETH/SOL/XRP USDT pairs at meaningful depth, so it appears only on the perp side. dYdX spot routes via Solana DEX liquidity (effectively Jupiter) and is excluded as redundant. BloFin's public API does not expose a real spot order book.