Bybit Futures Fees Explained for Beginners

By Colonelby Editorial Team · Reviewed July 2026

Why Compare These?

If you’re new to crypto futures trading, the fee structure can feel like a foreign language. Maker, taker, funding rate — it’s a lot. Bybit is one of the most popular platforms for futures, but its fee model isn’t always obvious. Understanding how Bybit charges you (and sometimes pays you) is the difference between a profitable trade and one that bleeds out in costs. This guide breaks down every fee, when you pay it, and how to minimize it.

At a Glance

Maker vs Taker Fees — The Core Concept

Bybit uses a maker-taker model. It’s simple once you get it. A maker places a limit order that sits on the order book waiting to be filled. You’re “making” liquidity for the market. A taker places a market order (or a limit order that gets immediately filled) — you’re “taking” liquidity away. Bybit rewards makers with lower fees because they help the exchange function smoothly.

For standard USDT perpetual contracts, the maker fee is just 0.01%. The taker fee is 0.06%. That’s a 6x difference. If you’re scalping or day trading, that spread adds up fast. A $10,000 trade as a taker costs $6 in fees. The same trade as a maker costs $1. So which one are you? If you’re using market orders, you’re always a taker. If you’re patient and use limit orders, you’re a maker most of the time.

• ✅ Pro: Maker fees are among the lowest in the industry at 0.01%.
• ❌ Con: Taker fees at 0.06% can eat into profits, especially for high-frequency traders.

Funding Rate — The Hidden Cost (or Bonus)

This is the fee that confuses most beginners. Funding rate is not a fee Bybit keeps — it’s a periodic payment between long and short traders. It’s designed to keep the perpetual contract price close to the spot price. Every 8 hours (at 00:00, 08:00, and 16:00 UTC), if you hold a position, you either pay or receive funding.

The rate varies. On a typical day, it might be 0.01% — meaning long traders pay 0.01% of their position value to short traders every 8 hours. That’s 0.03% per day. On a $10,000 position, that’s $3 per day. But during volatile markets, funding can spike to 0.1% or more per period. That’s $30 every 8 hours. And it can flip — if shorts are paying, you earn instead.

Here’s the kicker: funding rate is not a fee you can avoid by being a maker. It applies to all open positions, regardless of order type. The only way to dodge it is to close your position before the funding timestamp. Many experienced traders time their entries and exits around these 8-hour windows.

• ✅ Pro: You can earn passive income if you’re on the receiving side of funding.
• ❌ Con: High funding rates during bull runs can wipe out small profits.

Liquidation and Other Fees

If your position gets liquidated (stop loss hit, margin exhausted), Bybit charges a liquidation fee. For USDT perpetual contracts, this is typically 0.5% of the position value. For inverse contracts, it can be up to 1.5%. That’s on top of any unrealized loss. So if you had a $1,000 position with $100 margin, a liquidation could cost you $5 in fees plus your entire margin. Ouch.

There’s also the insurance fund. Bybit uses it to cover losses when a position is liquidated at a price worse than the bankruptcy price. You don’t pay into it directly — it’s built into the system. But if the insurance fund runs dry (rare, but happens in extreme volatility), the exchange uses a socialized loss mechanism. That means all profitable traders in that contract share the loss. This happened in March 2020 during the COVID crash. It’s a risk worth knowing about.

And don’t forget withdrawal fees. Moving USDT off Bybit costs around 1 USDT per withdrawal on Ethereum network, or 0.8 USDT on BSC. Not huge, but if you’re withdrawing small amounts frequently, it adds up.

Tax Bracket Optimization for Profitable Traders

Head-to-Head: When Does Each Fee Matter Most?

Scenario 1: The Scalper — You’re taking 10 trades per day, each $5,000. As a taker, that’s 10 × $5,000 × 0.06% = $30 per day in fees. As a maker, it’s $5. Over a month, that’s $900 vs $150. For scalpers, maker status is everything.

Scenario 2: The Swing Trader — You hold a $20,000 position for 3 days. Funding rate averages 0.01% per period. That’s 9 funding periods × $20,000 × 0.01% = $18 in funding costs. Plus entry and exit fees (if you use limit orders, $2 each). Total: about $22. If you used market orders, it’d be $24 in fees alone. The funding cost dominates.

Scenario 3: The Hedger — You open a short futures position to hedge spot holdings. You plan to hold for weeks. Funding rate is your biggest enemy. In a bull market, longs pay shorts — so you might earn funding. But if funding flips, you’re paying. Hedgers should check the current funding rate before opening and consider using dated futures contracts instead of perpetuals to avoid funding entirely.

How To Trade Bitcoin Perpetual Futures In 2026 The Ultimate Guide

Which Should You Choose?

Here’s the decision framework:

• If you trade more than 5 times per day: Prioritize being a maker. Use limit orders. Accept slower fills. The fee savings are massive.
• If you hold positions for more than 24 hours: Check the funding rate history. If it’s consistently above 0.05% per period, consider using quarterly futures instead of perpetuals. Or enter on the receiving side of funding.
• If you’re a beginner with small capital: Use Bybit’s testnet first. Practice placing limit orders. Even saving 0.05% per trade matters when your account is under $500.
• If you trade large volume (over 500 BTC per month): Apply for VIP. The fee discount can cut your costs by 30-50%. It’s worth the application process.

And here’s the thing — Bybit’s fee structure is actually competitive. Binance charges 0.04% maker / 0.10% taker for standard futures. Bybit’s 0.01% / 0.06% is cheaper on both sides. But the funding rate is the wildcard. A platform with low trading fees but high funding can still cost you more. So always factor in both.

So what’s the takeaway? Don’t just look at the maker/taker table. Look at the total cost of holding a position for your expected time frame. That’s where the real money goes.

Risks of Ignoring Fee Structures

The biggest risk is that fees silently drain your account. A beginner who uses market orders for every trade on a $1,000 account might pay 0.06% entry + 0.06% exit = 0.12% per round trip. After 50 trades, that’s 6% of your capital gone to fees alone — before any trading losses. Add in funding rate costs, and you could be down 10-15% without a single losing trade. That’s the hidden tax of careless trading.

Another risk: liquidation fees. If you overleverage (say 50x on a $500 position), a liquidation fee of 0.5% on $25,000 notional = $125. Your margin was only $10. You owe $115 beyond your deposit. Bybit will deduct from your wallet balance. This can cascade into account wipeout.

Lastly, funding rate spikes. During the 2021 bull run, funding rates on Bitcoin perpetuals hit 0.2% per 8 hours. A trader holding a $50,000 long for three days would have paid $900 in funding alone. That’s a real cost that catches many off guard.

Sources & References

• Bybit Official Fee Structure
• Investopedia: Maker-Taker Fee Model Explained
• CoinDesk: Understanding Funding Rates