/fees-optimizations

name: fees-optimizations
description: "Use when the user asks about fees, fee optimization, slippage, maker vs taker, post-only or ALO orders, fee tiers, builder code fees, effective spread, order pricing, lowering trading costs, or why a live Hyperliquid Freqtrade strategy underperforms its backtest. Also use proactively for high-turnover designs (5m or faster, ROI under 0.5%), where fees usually decide the outcome."
metadata:
  version: 0.1.0
  updated: 2026-05-07

Freqtrade × Hyperliquid: Fee Optimization

When to use

• A user asks why their backtest PnL doesn't match live PnL.
• A user designs a tight-target scalp / market-making / grid strategy and you want to flag fee-as-a-fraction-of-edge concerns _before_ they deploy.
• A user explicitly asks about maker vs taker, post-only, fee tiers, builder code, or slippage.
• Any time you're about to suggest an order_types/entry_pricing/exit_pricing block, anchor it to this skill's recommendations.

What you're actually paying

Fees on a Superior Trade Hyperliquid deployment have **three layers**, each tunable:

1. Hyperliquid exchange fees (the floor)

Hyperliquid's perp fees as of writing (verify against `https://hyperliquid.gitbook.io/hyperliquid-docs/trading/fees` for current numbers):

| Tier | Maker | Taker | | -------------------- | ------------------------------------- | --------------- | | Default | 0.010% (1 bp) | 0.045% (4.5 bp) | | Tier 2 ($5M 14d vol) | 0.005% | 0.040% | | Tier 3+ | scales toward 0% maker / 0.030% taker |

**Spot** is typically slightly lower; **HLP/staking discounts** can shave another 0.001-0.005%.

The big takeaway: **maker is ~4.5× cheaper than taker.** A round-trip taker trade pays ~9 bp; a round-trip maker trade pays ~2 bp. On a 0.6% scalp target, taker fees consume **15% of gross PnL** before slippage.

2. Builder code fee (Superior's cut)

Every order on Superior-managed Hyperliquid deployments goes through a **builder code**, which adds a separate fee that goes to Superior. Default is **5 bp on volume traded**, taker or maker. Verify the actual rate for the user's account in the Superior dashboard.

This fee is **always paid** regardless of order type. It can't be optimized away with maker/post-only — it scales with notional volume traded. The only knob is reducing turnover (fewer trades, larger size, longer holds).

3. Slippage (the variable cost)

Slippage = the difference between the price your strategy assumed and the price you actually filled at. On Hyperliquid:

• **Liquid majors (BTC, ETH, SOL)**: typically 0–2 bp on $10K notional with tight spread.
• **Mid-cap perps**: 5-20 bp on $10K notional.
• **Thin alts / new listings**: can be 50+ bp on a single market order.

Slippage is **always taker-flavored** for market orders and **near-zero** for filled limit orders. Backtest engine uses last-trade price assumption, which understates real-world slippage on illiquid pairs.

The four knobs Freqtrade exposes

Knob 1: `order_types` — limit vs market

{
  "order_types": {
    "entry": "limit",
    "exit": "limit",
    "stoploss": "market",
    "stoploss_on_exchange": false
  }
}

| Setting | Effect | When to use | | -------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | `entry: "limit"` | Posts a limit at the bid (long) / ask (short). Maker if it sits, taker if it crosses. | **Default**. Pairs with `entry_pricing.price_side: "same"` to maximize maker fills. | | `entry: "market"` | Crosses immediately at best opposing quote. Always taker. | Only when entry timing dominates fee cost (e.g. funding-rate exit window closing). | | `stoploss: "market"` | Stops fire as market orders. | **Always**. A limit stop in a fast move never fills. | | `stoploss: "limit"` | Stops fire as limit at stop price. | **Never** in production — gets bag-held in real moves. |

Knob 2: `entry_pricing` / `exit_pricing` — where on the book

{
  "entry_pricing": {
    "price_side": "same",
    "use_order_book": true,
    "order_book_top": 1,
    "price_last_balance": 0.0,
    "check_depth_of_market": { "enabled": false }
  },
  "exit_pricing": {
    "price_side": "same",
    "use_order_book": true,
    "order_book_top": 1
  }
}

| Field | Maker-friendly | Taker-friendly | | -------------------- | ----------------------------------------------- | -------------------------------------- | | `price_side` | `"same"` (long buys at bid, short sells at ask) | `"other"` (cross the spread) | | `use_order_book` | `true` + `order_book_top: 1` (joins best level) | `false` (uses last trade — random) | | `price_last_balance` | `0.0` (pure book level) | `1.0` (interpolates toward last trade) |

**Default for cost-sensitive strategies:** `price_side: "same"`, `use_order_book: true`, `order_book_top: 1`, `price_last_balance: 0.0`. This posts at the best bid (long) / best ask (short), maker-only unless the market crosses you.

Knob 3: `unfilledtimeout` — how patient is the maker?

{
  "unfilledtimeout": {
    "entry": 10,
    "exit": 10,
    "exit_timeout_count": 0,
    "unit": "minutes"
  }
}

A limit order sitting on the book is great until the market walks away. `unfilledtimeout` is when Freqtrade gives up