Where the fee is charged
Buy side: the fee is deducted from the fill, so coins = capital × (1 − fee) ÷ buy price.
Sell side: the proceeds are charged again, so net proceeds = coins × sell price × (1 − fee). What remains after both is the net profit.
Formulas
capital × (1 − fee) ÷ buy pricecoins held × sell pricegross proceeds × (1 − fee)net proceeds − capitalnet profit ÷ capital × 100%Worked example (recompute it yourself)
Capital 10,000 USDT, buy at 50,000 USDT, sell at 51,000 USDT (a 2% gross rise), 0.1% on both sides:
Coins = 10,000 × 0.999 ÷ 50,000 = 0.1998; gross proceeds = 0.1998 × 51,000 = 10,189.80 USDT.
Sell fee = 10,189.80 × 0.1% = 10.19 USDT, so net proceeds = 10,179.61 USDT.
Net profit = 10,179.61 − 10,000 = 179.61 USDT, a net return of +1.80%.
With no fees at all: coins = 0.2, proceeds = 10,200 USDT, profit 200 USDT (+2%). The gap is 20.39 USDT, about 10.2% of the gross profit.
Net return at different gross moves
| Gross move | Net return | Fee drag |
|---|---|---|
| +1% | +0.80% | 0.20 pp |
| +2% | +1.80% | 0.20 pp |
| +5% | +4.79% | 0.21 pp |
| +10% | +9.78% | 0.22 pp |
| +20% | +19.76% | 0.24 pp |
| +100% | +99.60% | 0.40 pp |
0.1% fee on both sides; drag = gross move − net return, in percentage points.
Notes
A net return below the gross move is unavoidable, since both legs are charged. The smaller the move, the bigger the fee share: at a 2% gross rise, about a tenth of the gross profit goes to fees.
This page counts trading fees only, not slippage, funding or withdrawal fees. Those would reduce the net return further.
The higher your rate or your trading frequency, the wider the gap. Use the fee-rate analysis to size the cost first.
FAQ
How far below the gross move is the net return?
At a 0.1% fee on both sides the gap is about 0.20 percentage points and widens slightly with the move: +2% gross becomes +1.80% net, and +20% gross becomes +19.76% net.
Why is the buy fee measured at the buy price?
The buy fee is normally deducted straight from the fill, so it reduces the coins you receive and is worth the buy-price value of those coins.
How do fees work when the trade loses money?
The formula is unchanged: net proceeds = coins × sell price × (1 − fee). Fees are charged on notional either way, so the loss comes out slightly larger than the gross loss.