Maker-Taker Fees
A two-sided fee model where liquidity providers (makers) earn rebates and liquidity takers pay fees.
Net fee = Taker fee − Maker rebate (both in $/share or bps)
The maker-taker model is the dominant fee structure for electronic exchanges in equities, futures, and crypto. Exchanges charge takers a fee for immediately consuming liquidity and pay makers a rebate for posting resting orders.
The result: posting limit orders is cheaper (often negative cost after rebate) than crossing the spread with a market order. Sophisticated participants route orders to maximize maker rebates — a practice called rebate arbitrage.
Critics argue maker-taker distorts order routing incentives: brokers may route to exchanges paying higher rebates rather than to venues offering the best prices for clients.