Phemex Fees Explained: Maker, Taker and How to Pay Less

What Phemex actually charges

Phemex charges 0.10% maker and 0.10% taker on spot, and 0.01% maker and 0.06% taker on USDT perpetuals at the standard tier.

The spot side is flat: maker and taker both cost 0.10%, the rate most venues still treat as standard. The contract side is where Phemex gets unusual. Its 0.01% maker rate is among the lowest anywhere, but the 0.06% taker is on the higher end, so the gap between resting an order and crossing the book is wider here than on most exchanges. The figures come from the official Phemex fee schedule, and we list every tier, including VIP rates, on our Phemex fees page.

Perpetual traders also pay funding every 8 hours. Funding moves between longs and shorts and Phemex only passes it through, so it belongs in your cost math but no discount program reduces it.

What a year of Phemex trading costs

At 5M USDT of monthly volume, taker fees on Phemex run about 36,000 USDT a year.

Run the numbers and the size becomes obvious. Each position is billed when you open it and again when you close it, so a 20,000 to 30,000 USDT trade turns over close to 60,000 USDT per round trip. Hold that pace at 2 to 3 a day and a month lands near 5M USDT, a full year near 60M. The 0.06% taker rate on 60M works out to 36,000 USDT. Trade the identical year as maker at 0.01% and the cost falls to 6,000 USDT, the steepest maker advantage of any exchange in this series.

Your figure depends on size and frequency. The cashback calculator takes both and shows what your year costs, and what 30% of it looks like coming back.

The 3 levers that cut your Phemex bill

Three levers move what you pay on Phemex: cashback on every trade, maker orders, and the PT token plus VIP ladder.

Lever 1 is cashback. Trade Reclaim returns 30% of every trading fee you pay on Phemex, from the first trade, with no volume requirement. It is the only lever that works at any account size, and it stacks with the rest. The current rate and setup are on the Phemex cashback page.

Lever 2 is order type, and it matters more on Phemex than anywhere: filling as maker takes the contract rate from 0.06% to 0.01%, six times lower. Lever 3 is the discount stack. Phemex retired its Premium subscription for 2026, so the live paths are holding the PT token, climbing VIP tiers on volume, and locking PT as vePT for a standing reduction. All of them combine with cashback, and none rules out another.

How the 30% cashback works

Trade Reclaim returns 30% of what Phemex charges you, in USDT, withdrawable anytime from 20 USDT.

One month makes it concrete: 3,000 USDT in fees returns 900 USDT. That money starts as Phemex's affiliate commission. The exchange routes a cut of your fees to whoever referred you, and Trade Reclaim forwards most of that cut straight to your balance. Your trading stays exactly as it is. Onboarding is a single step: join through the affiliate link, then add your Phemex UID inside Trade Reclaim so the affiliate dashboard can tie your activity to your account. There is never a request for API keys, a password, or any access to the exchange itself. The how it works page lays out the full flow.

Cashback and the discount stack do not compete. Lower your rate with PT or a VIP tier and the 30% simply applies to the smaller fee you now pay.

Is Phemex legit, and can US traders use it?

Phemex is an established exchange that has run since 2019. It does not serve US residents, so the cashback route is for traders outside the US.

Phemex has operated since 2019 with a public insurance fund and proof of reserves, which is the legitimacy bar most active traders care about. The real constraint is access: Phemex requires KYC and does not accept US residents, so the affiliate and cashback setup applies to traders in supported regions. For everyone eligible, the 30% return runs on top of whatever Phemex rate you already pay.

Are Phemex fees competitive in 2026?

For makers, clearly. For takers it is middling, but 30% back pulls the effective rate below most stock schedules.

With cashback, the standard contract rates land at 0.042% taker and 0.007% maker. The maker number is hard to beat anywhere; the taker sits in the middle of the pack until you add maker discipline or a VIP tier. How Phemex stacks against the other 10 platforms we track is in the exchange fee comparison, and the mechanics behind fee cashback are in the cashback guide.