Makeers vs. Takers: Strategy Selection and Its Impact on Profitability

Trade dynamics on cryptocurrency exchanges are largely determined by two key participant types: makers and takers. Each has their own approach to interacting with the market, which directly affects the amount of fees paid and the final trading outcome. Understanding the differences between a maker and a taker is the first step toward optimizing your trading strategy.

What Drives Takers: Speed vs. Costs

A taker is a market participant who prioritizes execution speed. When a taker places an order, they are willing to accept the current market price to execute the trade immediately. This approach means the taker “takes” liquidity provided by other participants who have already placed their orders in the order book.

The main advantage of this strategy is speed. If you need to quickly open or close a position without waiting for a better price, the taker path is your choice. However, convenience comes at a cost: takers usually pay higher trading fees. On most platforms, the taker fee is about 0.055% of the trade value, while other participant categories benefit from reduced rates.

Taker orders can be market orders (executed at the best available price) or limit orders that match existing offers in the order book.

Maker Strategy: Patience and Reward

A maker approaches trading differently. Instead of accepting market prices, the maker creates these prices themselves by placing limit orders that remain in the order book until executed. Thus, the maker provides liquidity for other participants—and the market rewards this with lower fees.

Maker fees are typically around 0.02%, significantly lower than taker fees. This difference may seem small, but active trading accumulates it over time and can substantially impact overall profitability.

The main requirement for a maker is patience. Their order may stay in the book for some time before finding a matching order. Additionally, makers influence market spreads (the difference between buy and sell prices), narrowing this gap and making the market more efficient.

Practical Calculation: Comparing Costs

To understand how fee differences affect actual income, let’s consider a specific example. Assume both traders are trading a BTCUSDT contract:

• Position size: 2 BTC
• Entry price: $60,000 USDT
• Exit price: $61,000 USDT
• Direction: buy (long)

Maker trader:

At opening: 2 × 60,000 × 0.02% = $24
At closing: 2 × 61,000 × 0.02% = $24.40
Gross profit (excluding fees): 2 × (61,000 – 60,000) = $2,000
Net profit: 2,000 – 24 – 24.40 = $1,951.60

Taker trader:

At opening: 2 × 60,000 × 0.055% = $66
At closing: 2 × 61,000 × 0.055% = $67.10
Gross profit (excluding fees): $2,000
Net profit: 2,000 – 66 – 67.10 = $1,866.90

The profit difference is about $85 in favor of the maker—more than 4% of the initial profit. Scaling this activity over a year of active trading makes the effect even more significant.

How to Choose the Right Style for You

Choosing between a maker and a taker depends on your trading goals and style:

Opt for taker if:

• You need to enter and exit positions quickly
• You engage in scalping or day trading with frequent trades
• Execution speed is more important than minimizing costs
• You are a beginner still learning the market

Prefer makers if:

• You are willing to wait for the optimal entry price
• You conduct medium- or long-term trading
• You want to minimize the impact of fees on profitability
• You prefer a calmer, more calculated approach

To effectively use the maker strategy, keep in mind several key points:

1. Use only limit orders, placing them strategically
2. Consider enabling “Post-Only” mode, which guarantees your order won’t be executed immediately and will be classified as a maker order
3. When buying (long), set your price below the current best ask; when selling (short), set it above the current best bid

Important note: if a limit order executes immediately, it automatically becomes a taker order and will be canceled if “passive order” mode is active. This protects you from unexpected fees.

The bottom line: before starting to trade, clearly determine which style suits you. Most professional traders combine both approaches—using makers to position at favorable levels and takers for urgent actions at key moments. This flexible approach helps optimize costs and maximize profits regardless of market conditions.