Some exchanges, such as Binance work on a maker-taker fee structure. This means that the fee they charge is different for the makers and for the takers.

Makers? Takers?

Makers place order on the exchange that may be matched in the future. The order will stay in the order book and wait for someone else to fill it later. This means the maker is providing liquidity for the order book. This is somewhat analogous to putting products on a store shelf.

Takers on the other hand consume the book liquidity by taking an order from the book. A taker is someone who decides to place an order that is instantly matched with an existing order on the order book. This is analogous to buying a product from a store shelf. Market orders are always takers since they are executed immediately at the current market price.

What about the fee structure?

Trading fees on Binance and on other exchanges that follow this structure are different for makers and takers. The fees are usually lower for makers as a way to stimulate trading activity. The lower fee incentivizes people to provide liquidity on the exchange.

High-frequency trading firms are usually makers, and try to exploit rebates by buying and selling shares at the same price to profit from the spread between rebates.

For example, if the current price for 1 BTC is $10,000 and you place a market order, you will pay $10,000 and a taker fee since you have taken liquidity from the order book. However, if you place a limit buy at $9,995, you will instead pay the maker fee IF the price moves into your limit of $9,995.