Maker vs Taker on Polymarket: Who Pays What and Who Earns (October 2026)
On Polymarket, the maker-taker split decides whether you pay fees, pay nothing, or get paid to trade. On spot event markets: takers pay a category-based formula fee, makers pay zero and collect daily rebates. On perps: both sides pay volume-tiered notional rates — but at the top tier, makers earn a negative fee (a rebate).
Who is the maker and who is the taker?
- Maker — your order rests on the book and someone else fills into it. You added liquidity
- Taker — your order fills against resting orders immediately. You took liquidity
The same fill has one of each: every trade makes one side’s order rest and the other’s cross.
What does each side pay on spot markets?
| Side | Fee |
|---|---|
| Taker | shares × feeRate × p × (1−p) — peaks at $1.75/100 sh (crypto) |
| Maker | $0 — always |
Taker fee rates: crypto 0.07, sports/economics/culture 0.05, finance/politics/tech/ mentions 0.04, geopolitics 0 (fee-free entirely).
What do makers earn back?
Taker fees fund the Maker Rebates program — a daily pUSD payout to liquidity providers, weighted by the fee value their filled liquidity generated:
| Category | Maker rebate share |
|---|---|
| Finance, Politics, Economics, Culture, Weather, Tech, Mentions, Other | 25% |
| Crypto | 20% |
| Sports | 15% |
Rules: paid daily at a $1 minimum accrual; competition is per-market — you rank only against other makers in the same book.
How do perps fees differ?
Perps run a flat notional rate tiered by trailing 30-day volume, re-evaluated daily:
| 30-day volume ≥ | Taker | Maker |
|---|---|---|
| $0 | 0.0400% | 0.0125% |
| $1M | 0.0370% | 0.0100% |
| $5M | 0.0350% | 0.0080% |
| $25M | 0.0300% | 0.0050% |
| $100M | 0.0270% | 0.0020% |
| $500M | 0.0250% | 0.0000% |
| $1B | 0.0200% | −0.0050% (rebate) |
At the base tier a 20x taker open-plus-close round trip costs 0.04% × 2 × 20 = 1.6% of equity before the market moves.
What does this mean for strategy?
- Posting limit orders inside the spread converts you from fee-payer to rebate-earner on the same trade intent — the cost swing is the full taker fee plus your rebate share
- Near-extreme prices (under 10¢, over 90¢) carry the highest fee as a percentage of trade value — taker entries on longshots are the most expensive retail trade on the platform
- Post-only orders (perps) guarantee maker status by rejecting any fill that would take liquidity
- Referral stacking — rebates reduce your own fees first (tiered taker rebate program), and referred users’ net fees feed your referral share
FAQ
Q: Do makers pay fees on Polymarket? A: Never on spot markets — makers pay zero and earn daily rebates on top. On perps, makers pay a small notional fee that shrinks with volume and turns negative (a rebate) at the $1B tier.
Q: How much does a taker pay per 100 shares? A: Up to $1.75 in crypto markets at the 50¢ price. Sports and economics peak at $1.25; politics, finance, tech and mentions at $1.00; geopolitics is free.
Q: When are maker rebates paid? A: Daily, in pUSD, directly to your wallet — provided you’ve accrued at least $1.
Q: How is my rebate share calculated? A: Your filled maker liquidity’s fee-equivalent, divided by the total for that market, times that market’s rebate pool — you compete only within your own market.
Q: Can a taker get fees back? A: Yes — the tiered Taker Rebate Program returns a portion of fees to active takers, and referral earnings are computed on net fees after the referred user’s own rebate.
Sources
- docs.polymarket.com — Fees
- docs.polymarket.com — Maker Rebates
- docs.polymarket.com — Perps FAQ (fee tiers)
Disclaimer
Not financial advice. Educational purposes only. Updated October 2026.
