When trading futures on MEXC or other major exchanges, your trading PNL is based on three components: Trading Fees: The cost incurred during the transaction. Funding Fees: Periodic settlements basedWhen trading futures on MEXC or other major exchanges, your trading PNL is based on three components: Trading Fees: The cost incurred during the transaction. Funding Fees: Periodic settlements based

Learn/Trading Guide/Futures/Calculation of Futures Yield and Trading Fees

Calculation of Futures Yield and Trading Fees

Author: MEXC

Sep 21, 2026MEXC

5 min

When trading futures on MEXC or other major exchanges, your trading PNL is based on three components:

Trading Fees: The cost incurred during the transaction.
Funding Fees: Periodic settlements based on the funding rate during the position holding period.
Realized PNL: The final profit or loss locked in after closing the position.

Understanding how these three are calculated helps traders accurately assess the true earnings of each trade, optimize strategies, reduce costs, and make rational decisions in different market conditions.

1. Trading Fees

In perpetual Futures trading, fees differ based on how the trade is executed:

Taker Fee: When you match directly with an order on the order book, you pay a higher rate.

Formula: Fee = Position Value × Taker Fee (0.040%)

Maker Fee: When you place a limit order on the order book and provide liquidity while waiting for it to be filled, the fee is usually lower, sometimes even zero.

Formula: Fee = Position Value × Maker Fee (0.010%)

Note: Rates are as of August 15, 2025. MEXC applies different fee standards for Futures and Spot trading, so it's recommended to check the latest rates before trading to choose the most cost-effective execution method.

2. Funding Fees

Funding fees are one of the main differences between perpetual and traditional futures contracts. They ensure that the price of a perpetual futures contract stays closely aligned with the underlying spot asset.

On MEXC, Perpetual Futures typically settle funding fees every 8 hours. Depending on whether the funding rate is positive or negative, and your position direction (long or short), you will either pay or receive funding fees.

If you hold a long position and the funding rate is positive, you will need to pay funding fees. If the funding rate is negative, you can receive funding fees. (Funding fees will be exchanged directly between users.)

Formula: Funding Fee = Funding Rate × Position Value (Contracts × Size × Fair Price at Settlement)

Tracking funding rate trends helps traders anticipate holding costs and plan their trading strategy more precisely.

3. PNL Calculation

PNL is divided into Unrealized PNL (floating) and Realized PNL (closed positions).

3.1 Unrealized PNL

USDT-M Futures

Long = (Fair Price – Entry Price) × Position Size

Short = (Entry Price – Fair Price) × Position Size

Coin-M Futures

Long = (1 / Entry Price – 1 / Fair Price) × Position Size

Short = (1 / Fair Price – 1 / Entry Price) × Position Size

3.2 Realized PNL

USDT-M Futures

Long = (Fair Price – Entry Price) × Position Size

Short = (Entry Price – Fair Price) × Position Size

Coin-M Futures

Long = (1 / Entry Price – 1 / Exit Price) × Position Size

Short = (1 / Exit Price – 1 / Entry Price) × Position Size

4. Example: PNL from Open to Close

A user takes a 0.1 BTC longposition in BTCUSDT Futures at 50,000 USDT as a Taker, using 500 USDT margin with 10× leverage.

In this example, the data selected is for demonstration purposes only: Taker Fee = 0.02%, Maker Fee = 0.00%, Funding Rate = -0.025%

The user needs to pay a fee of: 50,000 x 0.1 x 0.02% = 1 USDT

The funding rate is negative, so the user can obtain: -50,000 x 0.1 x (-0.025%) = 1.25 USDT Funding Fee

If a user sells their 0.1 BTC Futures position as a Maker when the BTC price is 60,000:

Then the realized PNL = (60,000 − 50,000) × 0.1 = 1,000 USDT

Closing fee = 60,000 × 0.1 × 0.00% = 0 USDT

Therefore, the user's total realized PNL = 1,000 − 1 + 1.25 − 0 = 1,000.25 USDT

Additionally, you can check your trade history to see the fees and funding rates charged for each transaction, as well as the PNL of every order.

5. Why You Should Master Futures PNL Calculations

Accurate Trade Evaluation: Understand the components of each trade's PNL, including trading fees, funding fees, and realized PNL, giving you a clear picture of your trading outcomes and helping avoid decisions based on rough estimates.
Optimized Trading Strategy: By analyzing PNL across different trading scenarios, you can identify which strategies are more effective and which steps incur unnecessary costs, allowing you to adjust your approach to improve efficiency and profitability.
Reduced Trading Costs: Knowing how trading fees and funding fees are calculated helps you choose the right role (Taker or Maker) and anticipate funding rate changes, enabling better cost management and avoiding unnecessary expenses.
Rational Investment Decisions: A comprehensive understanding of PNL calculations allows you to stay rational when trading, avoiding being misled by short-term market fluctuations, and preventing blind following or overtrading, making decisions aligned with your risk tolerance and investment goals.

6. Summary

Mastering the PNL calculation formulas for MEXC Futures helps you clearly assess trading results and risks, maintain strategic and rational decision-making, and develop more efficient and controllable trading plans across different market conditions. This enables you to avoid unnecessary costs and achieve long-term, steady profits.

You can log in directly to the MEXC website or App, click Futures on the top navigation bar, select USDT-M or Coin-M Futures, deposit or transfer assets into your Futures account, set your leverage and position direction (long/short), and start trading. For detailed step-by-step instructions, read: "MEXC Futures Trading Tutorial (App): How to Trade Futures on MEXC."