Am I a maker if I use a limit order?

Only if it rests. A limit buy priced above the best ask crosses immediately and is charged as a taker. If the maker rate is the reason you chose a limit order, use post-only so the venue enforces it.

Can a fee really be negative?

Yes. Some venues credit makers, funding it from taker fees. It is usually restricted to specific markets or to accounts that meet quoting obligations, so it is rarely available by simply placing a resting order.

Do fees apply to opening and closing?

Both. Budget for two fills whenever you size a trade, and for four if you expect to scale in and out. A strategy with a small edge per trade is the one where this decides whether it works.

Should I optimise for fees or for spread?

For total cost. On a deep market with a one basis point spread the fee dominates. On a long-tail market with a thirty basis point spread the fee is a rounding error next to the spread and the slippage.

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Maker and taker fees, and which one you are

Every fill has two sides, and most venues charge them differently. The distinction is not about which order type you clicked, it is about whether your order was waiting on the book or arrived and took something off it.

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Who is the maker and who is the taker

A maker posts an order that rests on the book and waits. In doing so they have made liquidity available for someone else. A taker sends an order that matches immediately against something already resting, removing it. A market order is always a taker. A limit order is a maker if it rests and a taker if it is priced so aggressively that it crosses the spread and fills on arrival, which people are frequently surprised by.

Why the two prices differ

A book with nothing resting on it is not a market. Venues need someone to carry the inventory risk of standing there with a live quote while the price moves, so they pay for it with a lower fee, and in some cases with a negative fee, meaning the maker is credited rather than charged. The taker fee funds that. It is a subsidy pointed at the thing the venue cannot function without.

What it costs on a round trip

Fees are charged on notional, not on margin, which is where the number gets larger than people expect. Suppose a venue charges five basis points to take and two to make. A ten thousand dollar position opened and closed as a taker on both sides costs ten dollars. That is trivial against the position. Against one thousand dollars of margin at ten times leverage, it is one percent of your capital gone before the price has moved at all. The same round trip filled as a maker on both sides costs four dollars, and the difference compounds across every trade you make.

Post-only, and what it costs you

A post-only flag tells the venue to cancel the order rather than let it cross, which guarantees the maker rate.

You always get the maker fee, or no fill at all
You give up certainty of execution, which is the whole point of a taker order
Resting orders are adversely selected: they fill most reliably when the market is coming toward you
On a fast move, a post-only entry can be cancelled repeatedly while the price runs away

The fee is not the cost

Total execution cost is the fee plus half the spread plus slippage plus funding for as long as you hold. A venue advertising zero fees with a wide book and thin depth is more expensive than one charging five basis points with real size resting. The way to compare is to price a realistic order on both and add everything up, rather than to read the fee schedule and stop there.

Tiers, rebates and where they actually apply

Most venues cut fees as thirty-day volume rises, and the top tiers are set where professional flow lives rather than where a retail account arrives. Genuine maker rebates usually come with obligations: quoting both sides, staying within a spread, maintaining uptime. If a venue offers you a rebate for nothing, the interesting question is what the taker side is paying to fund it.

Straight answers

Frequently asked questions

Am I a maker if I use a limit order?: Only if it rests. A limit buy priced above the best ask crosses immediately and is charged as a taker. If the maker rate is the reason you chose a limit order, use post-only so the venue enforces it.
Can a fee really be negative?: Yes. Some venues credit makers, funding it from taker fees. It is usually restricted to specific markets or to accounts that meet quoting obligations, so it is rarely available by simply placing a resting order.
Do fees apply to opening and closing?: Both. Budget for two fills whenever you size a trade, and for four if you expect to scale in and out. A strategy with a small edge per trade is the one where this decides whether it works.
Should I optimise for fees or for spread?: For total cost. On a deep market with a one basis point spread the fee dominates. On a long-tail market with a thirty basis point spread the fee is a rounding error next to the spread and the slippage.

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Perpetual futures are leveraged instruments and can lose more than your initial margin. Nothing on this page is investment advice.