Coinbase Advanced charges maker or taker fees based on each fill
updated
Coinbase Advanced assigns maker or taker fees according to whether a spot order provides liquidity or matches existing orders. Market orders take liquidity; limit orders can do either, including a mixture within one order. Post Only restricts an accepted order to maker execution, while the applicable fee tier sets the rate. Choosing a limit price alone does not guarantee a lower fee.
Order type controls price and execution conditions, while available liquidity determines which quantities actually trade. A fee preview describes the proposed order. Filled quantity, execution prices, and recorded charges establish what the trade ultimately costs.
The short version: Post Only preserves maker execution by rejecting immediate matches, so an accepted order can still remain unfilled.
Post Only Entry, Rejection, and Retry
A Post Only submission needs sufficient available funds for the order and fees, plus a limit price that avoids immediate matching. The selected market must also permit that order instruction and size.
The relevant book is the one that exists when the order reaches the matching engine. If any portion would execute immediately, the engine rejects the whole Post Only order. That rejection prevents a taker fill, and the intended trade has not occurred.
| Stage | Order State | Execution Boundary |
|---|---|---|
| Order Entry | Limit price, size, and Post Only instruction specified | Available funds and market size rules must be satisfied |
| Matching Engine Arrival | Accepted to rest, or rejected entirely | Any immediate match causes rejection |
| Subsequent Matching | Maker fill, partial fill, or remaining open quantity | Acceptance alone does not establish completed execution |
| Fee Outcome | Maker pricing applies to executed fills | A resting order can remain unfilled |
After rejection because an order would match immediately, a retry requires a limit that avoids matching the opposing orders. A buy below the best ask or a sell above the best bid can satisfy that condition. The book can move again before arrival, so rejection remains possible. Confirm the prior rejection before resubmitting; then check the new order’s filled quantity and recorded fees in its details.
Market Orders and Executable Limit Prices
Immediate matching makes a market order a taker order and can make a limit order a taker order too. A market order buys or sells against the best available opposing orders. Several fills can use different prices because liquidity is not unlimited at the top of the book. A prior trade’s price does not guarantee the next order’s execution price.
Buy and Sell Price Boundaries
A limit price bounds the execution price before trading fees while allowing immediate matching whenever opposing orders satisfy that bound.
Buy Limits
A buy limit sets the maximum acceptable execution price. A price at or above the best ask can match immediately.
Sell Limits
A sell limit sets the minimum acceptable execution price. A price at or below the best bid can take liquidity.
Allow Taker permits immediate matches within that price boundary. A remaining portion can rest if the chosen time-in-force instruction allows it.
Mixed Fees Within a Partially Filled Order
A limit order can incur both maker and taker fees. During continuous order-book trading, immediate fills use taker pricing; later matches against the resting quantity use maker pricing. The total fee reflects the value traded through each execution role, so applying one rate to the entire submitted size can misstate the charge. An open remainder represents quantity still awaiting a match. It has not yet contributed another executed trade, even if the order already shows some fills.
What Determines the Fee Rate on Coinbase Advanced?
Your applicable product schedule and account tier set the rate, while maker or taker status selects the relevant charge. The Fees view shows the rates available to your account, and the order preview displays the proposed charge.
Qualifying trading volume uses a trailing 30-day window. Eligible USDC balances can also qualify an account for a tier under the applicable requirements. Market and jurisdiction affect those requirements, so a rate quoted for another account is not a universal rate.
The tier at order placement governs the charge. A trade that qualifies the account for another tier does not retroactively reprice itself.
A maker label does not promise a discount of any fixed size. Maker and taker rates can be equal, or the schedule can price them differently. Order size also affects the fee amount: more executed value incurs a larger charge at the same positive percentage rate. A lower rate and a smaller total bill therefore describe different changes.
Advanced spot trading and derivatives can use different pricing conditions. A derivatives contract does not inherit the fee assumptions of a spot order.
Trading Fees, Spread, and Slippage
The bid-ask spread affects execution prices even though Advanced order-book trading does not include an added spread in its pricing. The spread here means the gap between the highest bid and lowest ask. Immediate buys trade against offers, while immediate sells trade against bids. The trading fee is separate from that market price difference.
Slippage is the difference between a reference price and the prices that actually fill an order. Thin available liquidity can push a market order through several price levels. Spot market and limit orders also face a market-specific price protection boundary. If matching would exceed that boundary, the remaining quantity is canceled. A limit order preserves its execution-price boundary, but it can leave quantity unfilled. Funding a trade or transferring assets afterward can involve separate charges; changing the execution instruction does not eliminate those costs.
Time in Force and the Unfilled Remainder
Time-in-force instructions determine whether unfilled quantity can wait for a match or expires after the immediate attempt. Good ’Til Canceled leaves unfilled quantity active until it fills or is canceled; Good ’Til Time adds an expiry. Immediate or Cancel fills what it can immediately and cancels the rest. Fill or Kill requires immediate, complete execution where that instruction is available. Both immediate instructions produce taker fills on the book. Canceling a partially filled order removes its unfilled remainder, preserving completed trades and their fees.
Stop Triggers, Exit Orders, and TWAP Execution
Conditional and scheduled orders change when execution occurs without creating a universal maker rate for those order types.
Stop-Limit and Linked Exits
A stop-limit order posts a limit order after its stop condition triggers. That limit can match immediately or rest under the applicable trading rules. Stop orders do not provide a Post Only guarantee. Triggering does not guarantee a fill; a fast move beyond the acceptable limit can leave the order unexecuted.
A bracket order links an existing position’s profit target and stop trigger. Attached take profit/stop loss (TP/SL) instructions activate an exit order as the parent fills. On spot markets, attached TP/SL is available with buy orders, and its active size follows the filled parent quantity. These exit orders allow taker execution. For spot bracket and active TP/SL orders, even a partial profit-side fill disables the stop trigger for the remaining exit quantity. If the stop triggers first, the profit limit is replaced by a stop-limit order. Downside execution can fail during high volatility.
Time-Weighted Average Price Orders
Time-weighted average price (TWAP) orders distribute a chosen quantity across scheduled suborders within a limit price. Each suborder begins passively and can switch to aggressive execution when its interval ends. That switch can change which fills take liquidity. Quantity that cannot execute within the limit can move into later suborders. The duration, price boundary, and remaining liquidity govern how much ultimately fills. The TWAP order details show individual suborders and executed trades under Fills.
Popular questions about Coinbase Advanced
Does Coinbase One Waive Advanced Spot Trading Fees?
Coinbase One’s zero trading fee benefit does not cover Advanced trades. Eligible plans can provide a separate rebate on Advanced spot trading fees, paid in USDC. Availability and caps depend on membership terms. That benefit changes the eligible net fee cost without changing whether the original execution was maker or taker.
Are Stablecoin Pair Fees Identical to Other Spot Market Fees?
Some stablecoin pairs have a separate fee schedule. The Stablecoin Pairs tab specifies the applicable terms for those markets, so standard spot maker and taker rates need not apply unchanged. The order’s execution role and the pair’s pricing schedule both matter when determining the applicable charge.
What Does a Negative Maker Rate Mean?
A negative maker rate credits a rebate for qualifying maker fills. It applies only when the relevant market and fee schedule offer that rate. A maker order does not automatically earn a rebate: positive, zero, and negative maker rates produce different fee outcomes.
In Which Currency Does Coinbase Charge Order-Book Trading Fees?
Coinbase charges these trading fees in the market’s quote asset. The quote asset is the currency in which the base asset’s price is expressed. Order details may display a local-currency fee value, so the display currency and the asset used for the charge describe different things.
Can an Order Fail Because Its Quantity Is Below a Market Minimum?
An order can be rejected if its size does not satisfy the selected market’s minimum or required increment. These requirements belong to the trading product, so a valid quantity in one market need not work in another. Choosing Post Only does not remove the market’s size rules.
How Can an API Client Retrieve Fees for Individual Fills?
The Advanced Trade API’s List Fills response reports commission for individual fills and identifies their order. It also includes execution price and size. Those records describe executed trades, while the original order request describes the submitted quantity. This distinction matters when several fills contribute to one order’s total fee.
Is Post Only Available During an Order-Book Auction?
Post Only limit orders are not accepted during an order-book auction. Auction mode accepts limit orders with Allow Taker, while matches wait until the auction opens. Orders that cross the final opening price then match, with both sides charged taker fees. A Post Only instruction cannot enforce maker execution through that auction.
Are Simple-Interface Limit Orders Priced the Same as Advanced Limit Orders?
Simple-interface limit orders have a separate pricing structure that includes a dedicated limit-order execution charge. Advanced order-book limit orders use applicable maker-taker pricing. The shared Limit label does not mean that the interfaces apply the same fee schedule. Each order preview displays the charges for its trading interface.