Rakebk / Exchanges / Kraken vs Lighter
Kraken vs Lighter: which costs less after the rebate?
It depends on your monthly volume:
Under $25M: Lighter is cheaper · $252 vs $400 at $1M
From $25M up: Kraken is cheaper · $28,800 vs $50,400 at $200M
Cheaper from $25M up
Kraken
20% back · fee 0.05%
$400
net cost at $1M / month
VS
Cheaper under $25M
Lighter DEX No KYC
10% back · fee 0.028%
$252
net cost at $1M / month
Your monthly volume$1M
$100K$1M$10M$100M$1B
Kraken code · 20% back
35c3kz8s
Lighter code · 10% back
763613SX
Cheaper from $25M upKraken
Krakensaves $21,600 a month at $200M
Cheaper under $25MLighter
Lightersaves $148 a month at $1M
Fee after rebate at $1MKraken0.0400%Lighter0.0252%
Kraken0.0400%Lighter0.0252%Saving at $1M
$148
a month on Lighter · $1,776 a year
What every $1M you trade costs, after the rebate
The more you trade, the cheaper each exchange's fee tier gets. Where the lines cross, the cheaper exchange changes. Hover to price any volume.
KrakenLighterWhat you actually pay each month
Trading fees minus the rebate, at five monthly volumes. Green is the cheaper one.
Volume / month
Kraken netLighter netDifference
$100K
$40
$25
Lighter saves $15
$1M
$400
$252
Lighter saves $148
$10M
$3,200
$2,520
Lighter saves $680
$50M
$10,000
$12,600
Kraken saves $2,600
$500M
$60,000
$126,000
Kraken saves $66,000
Which one is for you
Choose Kraken if
- You trade $25M a month or more: it costs you less after the rebate
Choose Lighter if
- You trade under $25M a month: it costs you less after the rebate
- You want the lower fee from your very first trade: 0.028% vs 0.05%
- You want to trade without KYC (no ID verification)
Side by side
KrakenLighterRebate
20%
10%
Entry taker fee
0.05%
0.028%
Fee after rebate
0.0400%
0.0252%
Net cost at $1M
$400
$252
Markets
Perpetuals, Spot
Perpetuals, Spot
Payout
Auto, usually 24h
Weekly, every Monday, in USDC
Code
35c3kz8s
763613SX
KYC (ID verification)
Required
Not required
Kraken
- Kraken Futures is a separate product from Kraken spot and is priced far lower, so switch the toggle rather than reading one ladder for both.
- Since July 2026 Kraken sets ONE tier across the whole platform, on the best of your 30 day spot volume, your 30 day futures volume or the assets you hold there, read live rather than averaged, so spot trading can be what earns you a cheaper futures fee.
Lighter
- Lighter figures here are for its Premium account (0.028% taker, 0.004% maker), the only one that pays fees.
- Its default Standard account trades perps and spot at 0%, with nothing to get back.
- Staking LIT cuts the Premium fee by up to 30%, not modelled here.
The two fee ladders
The evidence behind every figure above, as each exchange publishes it.
Kraken · Derivatives
Tier
30-day volume
Maker
Taker
Tier 1
$0
0.02%
0.05%
Tier 2
$5,000,000
0.0175%
0.045%
Tier 3
$10,000,000
0.015%
0.04%
Tier 4
$15,000,000
0.0125%
0.035%
Tier 5
$25,000,000
0.01%
0.03%
Tier 6
$40,000,000
0.0075%
0.0275%
Tier 7
$50,000,000
0.005%
0.025%
Tier 8
$75,000,000
0.005%
0.0225%
Tier 9
$100,000,000
0%
0.02%
Tier 10
$150,000,000
0%
0.018%
Tier 11
$250,000,000
-0.003%
0.0175%
Pro 1
$400,000,000
-0.003%
0.016%
Pro 2
$500,000,000
-0.005%
0.015%
Pro 3
$1,000,000,000
-0.006%
0.0135%
Pro 5
$5,000,000,000
-0.006%
0.0125%
Lighter · Derivatives
Tier
30-day volume
Maker
Taker
Premium
$0
0.004%
0.028%
Questions
Which is cheaper, Kraken or Lighter?
It depends on your monthly volume:
- Under $25M: Lighter is cheaper · $252 vs $400 at $1M
- From $25M up: Kraken is cheaper · $28,800 vs $50,400 at $200M
Why does the bigger rebate not always win?
A rebate is a share of the fee. A higher fee can hand back more dollars and still cost you more.
- Kraken: 20% back on a 0.05% fee → you pay 0.0400%
- Lighter: 10% back on a 0.028% fee → you pay 0.0252%
- What you pay is the fee after the rebate, not the rebate %
Can I use both codes?
Yes.
- They are separate exchanges, so each account gets its own rebate
- Open each one through its own Rakebk link or code
- A code only works on a new account
How are these numbers worked out?
- Every order counted as a taker
- At the fee tier your monthly volume reaches on each exchange's published ladder
- Minus the rebate
- Both ladders are on this page, read from each exchange's own fee page
- Updated 26 Oct 2026
Go deeper
Kraken code and fees20% back · full fee ladder · what it is worth
Lighter code and fees10% back · full fee ladder · what it is worth
