Trade enough and you'll notice fees add up as a significant hidden cost. The good news is Binance offers multiple ways to lower your fees. Use them well and you could save a substantial amount each year. If you're about to register a new account, using a referral link to sign up for Binance itself comes with a fee discount.
Method 1: Use BNB for Fee Deduction
The simplest and most common way to save.
How to:
- Buy some BNB on Binance
- Go to Profile → Fee Settings
- Enable "Use BNB to Pay Fees"
Savings:
- Spot trading: 25% off (0.1% → 0.075%)
- Futures trading: 10% off (Taker 0.05% → 0.045%)
How much BNB do you need? Not much — fees auto-deduct from your BNB balance. Keep at least $50–100 worth on hand.
Method 2: Referral Cashback
Accounts registered through referral links receive a portion of trading fees returned.
Cashback rates typically range from 10%–20%, depending on the referrer's settings. Some referral codes offer even higher rates.
Already registered without a referral code? Unfortunately, Binance doesn't support adding referral codes after registration. But other fee-saving methods still apply.
Method 3: Upgrade Your VIP Level
Binance assigns VIP tiers based on 30-day trading volume and BNB holdings. Higher tiers mean lower fees.
Spot Fee Comparison:
| Tier | Maker | Taker | Savings vs Standard |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | 0.100% | 0.100% | — |
| VIP 1 | 0.090% | 0.100% | Maker 10% off |
| VIP 2 | 0.080% | 0.100% | Maker 20% off |
| VIP 3 | 0.070% | 0.080% | Up to 30% off |
| VIP 4 | 0.060% | 0.070% | Up to 40% off |
For average users, VIP upgrades may be unrealistic. Focus on BNB deduction and limit orders instead.
Method 4: Use Limit Orders Over Market Orders
This is especially impactful for futures trading.
- Market order fee (Taker): 0.05%
- Limit order fee (Maker): 0.02%
That's a 2.5x difference. On $1M monthly futures volume:
- All market orders: $500 in fees
- All limit orders: $200 in fees
- Monthly savings: $300
Not every situation calls for limit orders — sometimes speed matters. But use them when you can.
Method 5: Catch Binance Fee Promotions
Binance periodically runs fee promotions, such as:
- Zero-fee trading on specific pairs (BTC/USDT has had zero-fee events multiple times)
- Fee waivers during new token listings
- Time-limited rate discounts
Follow Binance announcements and app notifications to catch these.
Method 6: Hold BNB for Extra Rate Benefits
Beyond direct fee deduction, larger BNB holdings help you reach higher VIP tiers, since BNB balance is a factor in VIP qualification.
Real-World Savings Example
Assume monthly volumes of:
- $200K spot trading
- $500K futures trading
Without optimization:
- Spot: $200K x 0.1% x 2 (buy+sell) = $400
- Futures: $500K x 0.05% x 2 (open+close) = $500
- Monthly total: $900
Fully optimized:
- Spot with BNB: $200K x 0.075% x 2 = $300
- Futures with limits + BNB: $500K x 0.018% x 2 = $180
- Monthly total: $480
Monthly savings: $420. Annual savings: $5,040.
Best Combinations by Trader Type
Low-volume (<$100K/month):
- Enable BNB deduction
- Use limit orders when possible
Medium-volume ($100K–$1M/month):
- BNB deduction + limit orders
- Consider referral cashback
High-volume (>$1M/month):
- All of the above + pursue VIP status
- Watch for zero-fee events
- Contact Binance BD for custom rates
The key to saving on fees is building good habits: enable BNB deduction and prefer limit orders. These two simple practices capture most of the available savings.