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Guide · By Stephan Kulik · Updated 2026-09-29

Aster Fees Explained

Every figure on this page was re-read from Aster's official docs on 2026-09-16; the perp category rates were re-read on 2026-09-29, after Aster restructured them (RWA taker to 1.25 bps from 7 September, a Group B schedule, and USD1 crypto pairs at the general 0.04%). Compared with the July version: the third perp family is now labelled "RWA Perpetual Contracts" in the docs (not just stocks), the spot VIP grid is transcribed from the image the docs publish, the market-maker rebate tiers, the AFEE fee token, and the separate fee rules for Shield Mode and 1001x are added, and the funding formula is quoted in full.

Aster's main product, the order-book perps it calls Pro mode, splits contracts into fee categories: Crypto General pairs, Crypto Group B pairs and RWA pairs (stocks, indices and commodities), with USD1-quoted contracts following the same split, alongside a spot market. At the base rate every maker order on any perp category costs 0%; takers pay 0.04% on Crypto General pairs (USDT- or USD1-quoted, varying by VIP tier), 0.1% on Group B pairs and a flat 0.0125% on RWA pairs. Spot runs 0.005% maker and 0.04% taker before the VIP grid. Aster also runs two other products with entirely different fee logic, Shield Mode and 1001x, covered below, so "Aster fees" depends first on which product you are in.

At a glance

Pro perps: base rates by contract family

The fee is charged on notional: "Transaction fee = Nominal value × Fee rate", where nominal value is contracts times price. The docs' own example: a market buy of 0.1 BTC at $80,000 is $8,000 of notional and costs $3.20 in USDT at 0.04%; a resting limit sell at $85,000 costs "0 USDT". Which family you are in is set by the contract, not by you: check the collateral and the market before assuming a rate. One inconsistency to know about: the docs' Perpetuals overview page lists "0.01% maker fee, 0.035% taker fee" under key features, while the Fees page carries the schedule above. This site follows the Fees page; if the overview is the newer number, the fee line in the app will show it.

What 0% maker means

A maker order rests on the book, a limit order away from the current price that waits for a taker. At Aster's base rate, resting orders on any perp family cost nothing to fill. That is unusual; most perp exchanges charge makers something. Taker orders, market orders or limits that fill on placement, carry the fee at whichever rate applies to the family.

Paying fees in ASTER

"Save 5% on perp trading fees by paying with $ASTER. Simply deposit $ASTER into your perp wallet and it will automatically be used to cover fees." On spot the same 5% applies once you "toggle on 'Pay fee in ASTER'" with ASTER in the spot wallet. Makers on perps are already at 0%, so the discount only bites on taker and spot fees.

Spot fees and the VIP grid

The spot fee page states that "Aster is introducing a VIP program on Aster spot and Aster perpetual. Fees are based on your rolling 14 day volume and are assessed at the end of each day in UTC", and publishes the grid as an image titled "VIP Fee Tier Updates — Spot Fee Structure". Transcribed on 2026-09-16; a tier needs both the volume and the ASTER-holding threshold as the image shows them:

The docs publish no equivalent perp VIP grid as text or image on the pages read here; the perp fee page carries only the family base rates. Treat the grid as the spot schedule, and read the app's fee line for any perp VIP rate.

Market makers: rebates on the maker side

Separately from VIP, the Market Maker programme sets "preferential fees" by rolling 14-day volume or share of maker volume, with a negative maker fee, a rebate, "calculated and disbursed every hour". A pair only counts if the maker meets spread and depth standards for at least 70% of the day. RWA maker volume "now counts 10x toward the Market Maker fee tiers".

AFEE: the fee-offset token

Aster documents "a fee discount token called AFEE, which allows users to offset their trading fees on Pro Mode", applied automatically: 1 AFEE = 1 USDT, total supply 100,000, usable only against trading fees ("it cannot be used to deduct funding rates, liquidation fees, or other costs") and not as margin. When fees are paid with AFEE, "market makers and referrers will receive AFEE tokens as rebates". A separate BonusUSD token is trading collateral for campaigns, not a fee instrument, and cannot be withdrawn.

Products with their own fee rules

• Shield Mode. A simplified, non-order-book product. On the check date its fee page read: "To celebrate the launch of Perp Shield Mode, we're conducting a limited-time zero-fee event. Both opening and closing positions will incur no fees." Its standing model is either a profit share, "a fee range from 15% to 20% will be charged on the profits" with "no fees" on losing positions (the docs give 15% for BTCUSDT and ETHUSDT), or a flat fee of 0.03% of notional chosen at open. Its funding is not the Pro formula: an hourly charge derived from the long/short open-interest imbalance, with a floor and cap Aster can adjust, paid at each hour mark.
• 1001x. The high-leverage product charges 0.08% to open and 0.08% to close on classic pairs and leverage below 500x. At 500x, 750x or 1001x there is no opening fee; instead a dynamic closing fee of max(PnL × share rate ÷ notional, minimum rate), with the docs' defaults of a 15% share rate and a 0.03% minimum, so a losing or small-profit close pays the 0.03% floor. An execution fee is charged once at open, "$0.50 (BNB Chain) or $0.20 (Arbitrum)". Funding there accrues every block from the long/short imbalance and a borrow rate, and "directly affects the liquidation price".

Funding on Pro perps

Funding is a payment between longs and shorts, not a fee to Aster. The docs publish the formula: F = [Average Premium Index + clamp(interest rate − Premium Index, 0.05%, −0.05%)] / (8 / N), where N is the funding interval in hours and the interest rate is 0.01%, "except BNBUSDT perpetual contract, for which the interest rate is set to 0%". The premium index is calculated every 5 seconds from impact bid and ask prices against an external-exchange index; for intervals longer than an hour the average is time-weighted toward the end of the interval. The default interval is 8 hours, and Aster "reserves the right to adjust the funding rate floor, cap, and the funding interval for perpetual contracts"; the public API reports the interval per symbol — on 2026-09-29 its fundingInfo endpoint listed 312 symbols at 8 hours, 356 at 4 hours, 93 at 1 hour and 3 at 2 hours — and the site's funding screener shows the live rates. Two operational notes from the docs: there is "a 15-second deviation between the actual time and when the funding fee is charged", so a position opened seconds after the hour can still be charged; and funding "will be deducted from your Perps Account balance. If your balance is insufficient, fees may be taken from your position margin, potentially impacting your liquidation price". For the concept, see the funding rates guide.

How Aster compares

On posted base rates Aster undercuts Hyperliquid: 0% maker across its perp categories against Hyperliquid's 0.015%, a 0.04% crypto taker rate against Hyperliquid's 0.045%, and 0.0125% on RWA pairs. Group B pairs are the exception at 0.1% taker. See Hyperliquid vs Aster for the fuller picture, or the fee comparison for every venue in one table.

FAQ

Is trading really free for makers on Aster?

On Pro perps at the posted base rate, yes: 0% maker on every category — Crypto General, Group B and RWA, USDT- or USD1-quoted. Spot makers pay 0.005% at VIP 1, falling to 0 bps from VIP 4. Market makers in the programme are paid a rebate.

Which is cheaper: USDT-margined or USD1-margined perps?

Neither, for crypto pairs: USD1-quoted BTC, ETH and SOL pay the same 0.04% taker as the general schedule, and RWA pairs pay 0.0125% in either quote. Makers pay 0% on both.

Does Aster have a VIP programme for perps?

The docs say the VIP programme covers "Aster spot and Aster perpetual", but the only grid they publish is titled as the spot fee structure. This page does not assert perp VIP rates; check the fee line in the app.

Can I lower Aster fees further?

Pay fees in ASTER for 5% off, hold AFEE if you have any (it offsets Pro-mode fees one-to-one), climb the spot VIP grid, and, if the programme applies to you, use a referral link; see the Aster referral breakdown for what the docs say about that.

Are Shield Mode and 1001x fees the same as Pro perps?

No. Shield Mode charges a share of profit or a 0.03% flat fee (currently waived in a promotion), and 1001x charges 0.08% each way or a dynamic close fee plus a fixed execution fee. Read the product's own fee page before assuming the Pro schedule.

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