When you close a trade, most platforms show you a gross profit — the raw difference between your entry and exit price. But your actual earnings, your net profit, is lower once fees are subtracted.
The Formula
Gross PnL = (Exit Price − Entry Price) × Quantity × Leverage
Fees = Position Size × Leverage × Fee Rate × 2
Net PnL = Gross PnL − Fees
PnL % = Net PnL / Position Size × 100Fees are multiplied by 2 because you pay once to open the trade and once to close it.
Example: BTC Long Trade
- Entry: $60,000
- Exit: $65,000
- Quantity: 0.5 BTC
- Leverage: 5×
- Taker fee: 0.05%
Gross PnL = (65,000 − 60,000) × 0.5 × 5 = $12,500
Fees = (60,000 × 0.5) × 5 × 0.0005 × 2 = $150
Net PnL = $12,500 − $150 = $12,350Why Fees Matter More at High Leverage
At 10× leverage on a $5,000 position, your notional exposure is $50,000. A 0.05% taker fee twice means $50 in fees on a trade that might only make $200 gross. That's 25% of your profit gone to fees.
Switching to limit (maker) orders, which typically charge 0.01–0.02%, can cut that fee impact significantly.
The Break-Even Price
To know the minimum exit price needed to cover fees:
Break-Even = Entry + (Total Fees / Quantity / Leverage) [for longs]This is especially important for short-term scalping where moves are small and fees consume a large share of the profit.