Updated
A rebate is the exchange returning part of the fee you paid to you; a commission is the exchange giving part of the fee you paid to the referrer. Both numbers are based on the fee you pay, but they go to different people. Referral code pages often mix up “rebate”, “fee discount”, “commission” and “trial funds”, so the numbers look big while what you actually get back is different. This page explains the common terms and how to work it out when several discounts apply at once.
To understand a rebate, check three things: whether the rate is a percentage of the fee or a percentage of the referrer’s commission; that the rebate is calculated on the net fee, meaning what you actually paid after exchange token discounts, vouchers and trial funds; and that when several discounts apply at once they multiply rather than add up.
The referral fee discount is an official offer from each exchange, which also sets the rate. The terms below follow the exchanges’ official descriptions, and there is also a comparison of how 13 exchanges calculate and pay rebates, for reference.
Key points
The invitee rebate (rebate, cashback, kickback) is the part of the fee the exchange returns to the invitee; the referrer commission is the part of the fee the exchange gives the referrer. The invitee’s rebate is carved out of the referrer’s commission.
If a referrer advertises a “60% rebate” meaning 60% of their commission, and the commission is 70% of the fee, you only get back 42% of your fee.
Most exchanges calculate rebates on the net fee. MEXC states that net fee = fee − bonuses − discounts; Binance states that market maker rebates are deducted first.
With a standard fee of 0.1%, a 20% exchange token discount and a 20% referral rebate, the effective fee is 0.064%: a 36% saving in total, not 40%.
Binance stops counting referral commission once a spot invitee reaches VIP 3 or above, and OKX pays no commission at VIP7 and above.
The information below was checked against official pages on 2026-10-14 (fact-check date), for reference.
What does referral code mean?
A referral code is the code you enter when you sign up for an exchange to link your account to the person who referred you. Some exchanges call it an invite code, and it also appears as a referral ID. The exchange issues the code to the referrer; a new user types it into the referral code (or invite code) field on the sign-up page, the account is linked to that referrer, and the exchange then uses that relationship to calculate the referrer’s commission and the invitee’s rebate. On most exchanges you can only enter it at sign-up; the names each exchange uses and when you can enter one are covered in what a referral code is.
What do rebate, fee discount and referrer commission mean?
The first ten terms in the table are the ones referral code pages use most; the last five come up when you read the exchanges’ rules. The “Who gets it” column matters most: the same percentage means something different when it goes to the referrer than when it goes to you.
| Term | Meaning | Who gets it |
|---|---|---|
| Referral code / invite code | The code you enter at sign-up to create the referral relationship; in English it also appears as referral code, invite code or referral ID | — |
| Invitee rebate (rebate, cashback, kickback) | The exchange returns part of the fees an invitee pays; also often described as a “fee discount” | The invitee (whoever signs up with the referral code) |
| Referrer commission | The exchange gives the referrer part of the fees the invitee pays | The referrer |
| Affiliate | A referrer on a higher commission rate than ordinary users, who can choose how much to pass on to invitees | The referrer |
| Net fee | The fee actually paid after all offsets; most exchanges calculate rebates on it | — |
| VIP fee rate | A lower fee rate once trading volume or assets reach a threshold; unrelated to referral codes | All users |
| Exchange token discount | A discount for paying fees with the exchange’s own token, e.g. BGB, MX, GT | All users |
| Trial funds, vouchers, rebate cards | Credit handed out in exchange promotions that can pay fees; the part it covers usually earns no rebate | Users in the promotion |
| Third-party rebate | Money paid separately by a person or site other than the exchange; not the exchange’s official rebate | Depends on how the third party pays |
| Maker / Taker | A resting order that gets filled is a maker; an order that fills against someone else’s resting order is a taker. Taker fees are usually higher | — |
| Referral relationship (binding) | The link between referrer and invitee that the exchange records once a referral code is entered. Rebates and commissions are only calculated when this link exists, and most exchanges don’t let you change it after binding | — |
| Adding a code later, rebinding | Adding a code later means entering a referral code after signing up without one; rebinding means moving the referral relationship to another referrer. Whether either is possible, and for how long, varies by exchange | The invitee |
| Commission sharing | The share of an affiliate’s own commission passed on to the invitee; the part passed on is the invitee’s rebate | The invitee gets the part passed on; the referrer keeps the rest |
| Market maker rebates, negative fees | Negative fees some exchanges pay to the maker side. OKX and Bitget state that when the counterparty is on a negative fee, commission is calculated only on the actual net fee | Market makers or eligible makers |
| Rebate period | How long rebates are calculated after the referral relationship is created. Some have no limit, some only run for a set period or stop once you reach a certain VIP level | — |
Referrer commission and invitee rebate are the two numbers most often confused; the difference is covered separately in referrer commission vs invitee rebate.
Each exchange names the invitee’s share differently. XT.COM’s referral guide calls the fees an invitee saves Futures/Spot Cashback and what the referrer earns Futures/Spot Commission; both can be found under “Spot Account → Fund Records → Distribution” (XT.COM referral guide). Ourbit’s referral page calls the invitee’s rebate a “self-rebate” and lists it under “Self-rebate records” (Ourbit referral page). Binance’s referral rules announcement uses “kickbacks” for the invitee’s share (Binance Referral Pro update announcement). This site always writes “automatic exchange rebate (fee discount)”, and all of these mean the part of the fee the exchange returns to you directly. How to check whether your own account is bound to a referral code, and where to find rebate records, is covered in how to check whether your referral code is bound.
Pionex’s documentation puts this relationship most plainly: the inviter can set part of their own commission rate as the friend’s rebate rate, and that part becomes the friend’s trading fee discount (Pionex Affiliate Program v3). That is also why an invitee’s rebate can’t exceed the referrer’s commission: it is carved out of that commission in the first place.
A referrer says “60% rebate”: do I get 60% of my fees back?
Not necessarily. This is the most common number trap: 60% of the commission isn’t 60% of the fee. Say you pay 100 USDT in fees and the exchange gives the referrer 70 USDT of it as commission. If the referrer advertises a “60% rebate” meaning 60% of their commission, you get 70 × 60% = 42 USDT back, only 42% of your fee.
Every rate on this site is a share of the fee you pay, refunded automatically by the exchange, not a share of the referrer’s commission.
The conversion is simple: the share of your fee you get back = the referrer’s commission rate × the share they pass on to you. When you see a percentage, first ask what it is a percentage of. If the other side can’t say whether it is a share of the fee or a share of the commission, you can’t compare it with other referral codes.
The affiliate rates exchanges publish work as a ceiling to compare against. Bitget’s affiliate page lists a starting rate of 40% and up to 50% (Bitget affiliates page). That is the share of the fee a referrer can get, and the invitee’s rebate has to come out of it. If someone claims an official Bitget rebate higher than this ceiling, they are most likely counting money a third party pays separately, or using a different base.
What is the net fee, and how does each exchange calculate rebates?
The net fee is what you actually pay after all offsets. Most exchanges calculate rebates on the net fee; where they differ is what gets deducted. The table shows the calculation basis and payout method that 13 exchanges state officially; where they don’t say, the cell reads “not stated officially”.
| Exchange | Rebate calculated on | When and where it is paid | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binance | Net fee, after deducting market maker rebates (from 2026-04-29 for spot and 2026-07-15 for futures) | Converted to USDC every hour and paid to the spot account within 6 hours | Binance Referral Pro FAQ |
| OKX | Net fee; when the counterparty is on a negative fee, calculated on the actual net fee | Not stated officially | OKX affiliate program rules |
| Bybit | This site has no automatic exchange rebate for Bybit; the Bybit affiliate commission base = fees − market maker rebates − Bonuses/Coupons | The rebate channel is Fee Otter, and Fee Otter pays it | Bybit Affiliate Program FAQ |
| Bitget | The net amount after costs and adjustments; when the counterparty is on a negative fee, calculated on the actual net fee | Not stated officially | Bitget affiliate policy |
| MEXC | Net fee = fee − bonuses − discounts | Paid the day after the trade; shown in Capital History | MEXC referral rules |
| Gate | Not stated officially | Returned to the spot account automatically after the trade completes; 1–2 hours in special cases | Gate referral FAQ |
| BingX | Trading fees actually paid after discounts | Not stated officially | BingX rebate rate announcement |
| KuCoin | Trading fees actually paid | Not stated officially | KuCoin affiliate program |
| HTX | Net fees actually paid, excluding spot rebate vouchers, futures trial funds, zero fees and negative fees | Not stated officially | HTX referral trading reward rules |
| XT | Effective fees actually paid; the part covered by vouchers doesn’t count | Returned to the spot account the day after the trade (T+1); shown under “Fund Records → Distribution” | XT.COM referral guide |
| WEEX | Fees actually paid; if trial funds or vouchers bring the actual fee to zero, there is no commission | Payout timing for invitees not stated officially | WEEX partner FAQ |
| Pionex | Calculation basis not stated officially; the commission share the inviter passes on becomes the friend’s fee discount | Returned in USDT to the main account after the trade; records update every hour | Pionex rebate rules |
| Ourbit | Fees actually paid, excluding the part covered by trial funds or vouchers; spot currently has 0 fees, so no rebate | The next day at about 08:00 (spot) / 09:00 (futures), UTC+8, paid in the fee currency | Ourbit referral page |
The table shows two things. First, most exchanges don’t pay a rebate on fees covered by trial funds, vouchers or rebate cards, because you never actually paid that money; how each type of voucher works and how the covered part is treated is covered in fee vouchers vs referral rebates. Second, trades that cost 0 in fees have no rebate. Ourbit spot currently has 0 fees, so only futures earn a rebate; MEXC’s maker fee for ordinary users is 0% on both spot and USDT-M futures (MEXC fee overview), so trades filled as a maker have a net fee of 0 and the rebate is 0 too.
Bybit is a special case. This site has no automatic exchange rebate for Bybit; the rebate channel is Fee Otter, and the extra rebate is paid by Fee Otter, not by the exchange and not by Kevin Wu. This money is the “third-party rebate” in the glossary; how it works is explained in Bybit fee rebate (Fee Otter).
Can referral, exchange token and VIP discounts stack?
A referral discount, an exchange token discount and a VIP rate can all apply at once, but stacked discounts multiply; you can’t simply add them up. With a standard fee of 0.1%, a 20% token discount and a 20% referral rebate:
| Step | Calculation | Effective fee |
|---|---|---|
| Standard fee | — | 0.1% |
| 20% exchange token discount | 0.1% × (1 − 20%) | 0.08% |
| 20% referral rebate | 0.08% × (1 − 20%) | 0.064% |
That’s a 36% saving in total, not 20% + 20% = 40%, because the rebate is calculated on the net fee and the part paid by token discount isn’t rebated again. Bitget’s affiliate page states it as “rebate = net fee × rebate ratio” (Bitget affiliates page). The 20% figures are examples only; how each exchange token discount works and whether it affects the rebate follows each exchange’s rules.
As a formula: effective fee = standard fee × (1 − token discount) × (1 − rebate rate). In amounts it’s clearer: with 10,000 USDT of monthly volume at a 0.1% fee, the fee is originally 10 USDT; after the token discount you pay 8 USDT; the rebate is calculated on that 8 USDT, so 1.6 USDT comes back and you end up paying 6.4 USDT. If you added the discounts, you would expect to pay only 6 USDT; the 0.4 USDT gap is the 2 USDT covered by the token discount, which earns no rebate, multiplied by the rebate rate.
VIP levels work the same way: a lower VIP fee rate means a smaller net fee, so the rebate amount shrinks too. Some exchanges stop calculating rebates at very high VIP levels, such as OKX at VIP7 and above, while VIP5 and VIP6 have a monthly commission cap (OKX affiliate program rules). Binance sets the bar lower: spot and margin invitees stop earning referral commission at VIP 3 and above, and futures commission only counts for regular users and VIP 1–2. Futures referral commission only runs for 12 months from when the invitee opens a futures account, unless the referrer has passed the review for a commission rate of 30% or more (Binance Referral Pro FAQ). How each exchange’s VIP thresholds relate to rebates is covered in VIP levels and referral rebates.
Here it is with a real fee rate: Bitget’s spot VIP 0 fee is 0.1% for both maker and taker (Bitget fee schedule). Sign up with this site’s Bitget referral code KEVINWU and the current automatic exchange rebate (fee discount) is 20%. The table below shows the rebate at different monthly volumes without the exchange token discount. Bitget spot lets you pay fees with BGB for a 20% discount, bringing the fee to 0.08% (Bitget BGB fee deduction guide); whether the part covered by BGB counts toward the net fee is not stated officially.
| Monthly volume | Fees (0.1%) | Auto rebate (20%) | Net fees |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10,000 USDT | 10 USDT | 2 USDT | 8 USDT |
| 100,000 USDT | 100 USDT | 20 USDT | 80 USDT |
| 1,000,000 USDT | 1,000 USDT | 200 USDT | 800 USDT |
Example at a spot fee rate of 0.1% and the current 20% automatic rebate (rate updated 2026-10-24). Your exchange statement prevails.
Why do different sites show different referral rebate rates?
The same exchange often shows different referral rates on different sites, usually for these reasons:
- The figure is the referrer’s commission cap, not what the invitee gets.
- The referral, exchange token and VIP discounts were added together.
- A rebate paid separately by a third party was counted in.
- The rate has changed and the page wasn’t updated.
A third-party rebate isn’t necessarily a problem, but the money comes from a different place than the automatic exchange rebate. The exchange pays its automatic rebate straight into your account; a third-party rebate has to be paid to you separately by the third party, and whether and when it pays depends on the third party’s terms. What to look at when comparing rebate sites is covered in the rebate site comparison.
Rates on this site sync with the exchanges daily, and every change is logged. Current rates are compared on the exchange referral code overview, and fees after the rebate in trading fees after the referral rebate.
FAQ
Is a referral code the same as an invite code?
Yes. Referral code, invite code and referral ID are different names for the same thing, and which one you see depends on the exchange. It is the code entered at sign-up to link a new account to a referrer, and the exchange only calculates the invitee’s rebate and the referrer’s commission once that referral relationship exists.
Are a rebate and a fee discount the same thing?
In the context of referral codes, yes: both mean the exchange returns part of the fees the invitee pays. The only differences are in how each exchange words and pays it. Binance converts it to USDC every hour and pays it to the spot account; Pionex’s rules describe the share the inviter passes on as the friend’s fee discount, returned in USDT to the main account after the trade.
What is the difference between referrer commission and invitee rebate?
Commission goes to the referrer and the rebate goes to the invitee, and the invitee’s rebate is carved out of the referrer’s commission. So the “commission rate” is usually higher than the “rebate rate”, and comparing a commission rate with someone else’s rebate rate overstates how much you can actually get back.
What is deducted to get the net fee?
It varies by exchange. Common deductions are bonuses, trial funds, vouchers, exchange token or other discounts, and market maker rebates. MEXC states that net fee = fee − bonuses − discounts; HTX excludes spot rebate vouchers, futures trial funds, zero fees and negative fees; Binance deducts market maker rebates before calculating, from 2026-04-29 for spot and 2026-07-15 for futures.
If I pay fees with the exchange token, does my rebate shrink?
The rebate amount shrinks, but your total cost is still lower. The rebate is calculated on the fee you actually pay after the discount. For example, with a 0.1% fee, a 20% token discount and a 20% rebate, the effective fee is 0.064%, lower than the 0.08% you’d pay with the rebate alone.
Is the rebate for life?
It depends on the exchange and the type of trading; there’s no single answer. Binance spot states no time limit, but it stops once the invitee reaches VIP 3 or above; futures only count for 12 months from when the futures account is opened. Bitget says it is valid long-term with no expiry date, and Gate has no time limit for as long as the referral relationship lasts. OKX’s rules state that the referral relationship doesn’t guarantee lifetime rebates.
What does “self-rebate” mean?
A self-rebate is the rebate the invitee gets back, which is what this site calls the automatic exchange rebate. Ourbit’s referral page calls the record “Self-rebate records”, and XT.COM calls it Cashback. It is not the same as self-referral: inviting your own account is banned on every exchange; the rules are in rebate cancellation rules.
How long does a rebate take to arrive?
Anywhere from every hour to the next day. Binance converts it every hour and pays it to the spot account within 6 hours; Gate returns it to the spot account automatically after the trade completes, 1–2 hours in special cases; XT.COM and MEXC pay the day after the trade; Ourbit pays the next day at about 08:00 (spot) or 09:00 (futures), UTC+8. If it still hasn’t shown up after that, go through the checklist for a rebate that hasn’t arrived.
Can I get a third-party rebate and an exchange rebate at the same time?
Yes, provided you signed up with that third party’s referral code. The money a third party pays comes from the referral commission it receives from the exchange; it isn’t an extra bonus from the exchange, and the payout conditions depend on the third party’s terms. On this site the Bybit channel is Fee Otter, and the extra rebate is paid by Fee Otter.
Current referral codes and automatic rebates for each exchange are listed in the exchange referral code overview. If you forgot to enter a referral code at sign-up, see adding a referral code after signing up.