Maker vs Taker: Fees, Rebates & Why They Add Up
Posting liquidity and taking it are billed differently. Here's what that means for a retail trader and why small per-trade costs compound.
Most venues that match buyers and sellers run a maker-taker fee model, and it's worth understanding even though your broker hides it from you. A maker is someone whose resting order was already sitting on the book when a trade happened — they made liquidity available. A taker is whoever sends an order that crosses the spread and trades against that resting order — they took the liquidity. The venue typically pays the maker a small rebate and charges the taker a small fee, and it keeps the difference.
The economics, in plain numbers
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