Maker versus taker
A maker adds liquidity by placing an order that rests in the book. A taker removes liquidity by filling an existing order.
Taker fees are always higher. If you use market orders exclusively, you pay the taker rate on every trade.
The BNB discount mechanism
Holding BNB and enabling the discount option deducts fees from your BNB balance at a reduced rate. The discount applies to trading fees, not to deposit or withdrawal costs.
It is opt-in; many users never turn it on and overpay for years.
VIP tiers
VIP levels are driven by 30-day trading volume and BNB holdings. Reaching the first tier requires meaningful volume.
For most retail users the standard rate plus BNB discount is the realistic endpoint.
The real cost calculation
Frequency dominates
A 0.1 percent fee sounds trivial until you trade daily. Twenty round trips a month at 0.2 percent round-trip cost is 4 percent of capital annually, before any market movement.
Spread is a hidden fee
In thin order books the bid-ask spread often exceeds the stated fee. Check depth before assuming a market is cheap to trade.
Withdrawal fees are fixed
Network fees do not scale with amount. Small withdrawals can carry disproportionate cost.
Practical takeaway
Enable the BNB discount, prefer limit orders over market orders, and trade less. The last one has the largest effect and costs nothing.