Introduction
This is the central cost page of exchangefacts.com. All cost components come together here: fees, spreads, funding, conversion costs and — on the plus side — yield on your balance. One number per exchange: the net true cost for your profile.
The cheapest exchange on paper is rarely cheapest for every profile; volume, spread and collateral yield change the result.
Calculate your costs
You will find the current figures per exchange in the comparison tool — set your own volume and the ranking recalculates live.
The four components
- Trading fees — explicit, per trade.
- Spread — hidden, in the price.
- Yield on collateral — income on your (idle) balance.
- Lending yield — extra income during open perp positions.
Formula: effective cost = fees + spread − yield − lending yield. Full explanation in True Cost of Trading.
Three example profiles
- Saver (buys €500/month, nothing else): spread and EUR rails determine everything; fees are almost irrelevant.
- Active trader (€1M+/month volume): fees and spread dominate; yield covers part of it.
- Positional trader (large balance, few trades): yield on collateral is the biggest item — the difference between 0% and ~4% APY is about €4,000/year on €100,000.
A worked example: net annual perpetuals costs per profile
Concrete calculation for three profiles (60% taker / 40% maker, BTC perpetuals, July 2026 snapshot — fees and APYs change; this illustrates the method):
| Profile | Backpack | OKX | Kraken |
|---|---|---|---|
| Retail — $10K collateral, $500K/mo volume | +$223 net income | +$160 net income | −$190 cost |
| Active — $50K collateral, $2.5M/mo | +$1,315 net income | +$895 net income | −$825 cost |
| Pro — $100K collateral, $10M/mo | +$1,850 net income | +$1,780 net income | −$4,200 cost |
What this shows: fees sit close together (0.010-0.045%), but yield on collateral makes the difference between net earning and net paying. At the pro profile the gap spans more than $6,000 per year on identical volume. Full method: True Cost of Trading.
Common mistakes
- "0% fees" does not exist — the margin hides in the spread.
- The advertised fee is the base tier; with volume you often pay less.
- Comparing costs without counting yield gives a distorted picture.
Frequently asked questions
Which exchange is cheapest?
It depends on your profile — hence the calculator. For most profiles see the current ranking on this page.
How current are these numbers?
Spreads are measured continuously, fees verified monthly. See Methodology.