Bisq’s trading fees are low, but the way they work confuses many first-time users – especially the difference between the trading fee, the Bitcoin mining fee, and the refundable security deposit. This page explains exactly what you pay, shows real cost examples for a typical trade, and how to cut your fees by up to 50%.
The short answer: On Bisq 1, a full trade costs
1.3% total (0.15% if you make the offer, 1.15% if you take one) when you pay in Bitcoin – or about
half that if you pay in BSQ.
Bisq Easy (the beginner mode in Bisq 2) has
no trading fees at all for smaller trades.
What you’ll actually pay: real examples
The single most common question is “how much will a trade actually cost me?” Because Bisq fees are percentages, the math is simple. Here’s what the trading fee works out to on typical trades, depending on your role and which currency you pay in:
| Trade size |
Maker, pay in BTC (0.15%) |
Maker, pay in BSQ (0.075%) |
Taker, pay in BTC (1.15%) |
Taker, pay in BSQ (0.575%) |
| $1,000 | $1.50 | $0.75 | $11.50 | $5.75 |
| $5,000 | $7.50 | $3.75 | $57.50 | $28.75 |
| $10,000 | $15.00 | $7.50 | $115.00 | $57.50 |
So a $1,000 trade costs as little as $0.75 (if you make the offer and pay in BSQ) or up to $11.50 (if you take an offer and pay in BTC). For very small trades there is a tiny absolute minimum fee (0.00005 BTC or 0.03 BSQ) to avoid creating uneconomical “dust” transactions on the Bitcoin network, but for any normal trade the percentage above is what applies.
Maker vs Taker: why the fee differs so much
Bisq charges two different rates depending on how you enter a trade:
- Maker (0.15%) – you create a new offer and wait for someone to accept it. Makers add liquidity to the order book, so Bisq rewards them with a much lower fee.
- Taker (1.15%) – you accept an existing offer from the order book. It’s faster and more convenient, but you pay roughly 8× more than a maker.
The practical takeaway: if you’re not in a hurry, create your own offer instead of taking one. You set the price and payment method, and you pay a fraction of the fee. If speed matters more, taking an existing offer is fine – just know it costs more.
How to get the ~50% BSQ discount
Bisq has its own token, BSQ, used to fund the project’s development through the Bisq DAO. If you choose to pay your trading fee in BSQ instead of BTC, the system automatically applies a discount of roughly 50%. The exact rate is adjusted every DAO cycle to keep the discount near its target as the BSQ/BTC exchange rate moves.
You don’t need BSQ to start trading – it’s optional. But if you trade regularly, holding a small amount of BSQ to pay fees is the easiest way to cut your trading costs in half.
Current fee rates (per 1 BTC traded)
The percentages below are stable; the exact BSQ amounts float slightly each DAO cycle, so always confirm the live figure shown in the app before you confirm a trade.
| Role | Fee paying in BTC | Fee paying in BSQ |
|---|
| Maker | 0.0015 BTC (0.15%) | ~0.075% in BSQ |
| Taker | 0.0115 BTC (1.15%) | ~0.575% in BSQ |
Trading fee vs mining fee vs security deposit
This is where most new users get confused. When you make a trade on Bisq you’ll see more than one Bitcoin amount leave your wallet – but only one of them is actually a Bisq fee. Here’s what each one is:
- Trading fee – the maker/taker percentage above. This goes to the Bisq network to fund development. This is the only “real” fee Bisq charges.
- Bitcoin mining (network) fee – a standard Bitcoin transaction fee paid to miners, not to Bisq. It depends on how busy the Bitcoin network is at that moment, and applies to any on-chain Bitcoin transaction anywhere.
- Security deposit – a refundable amount (commonly around 15% of the trade, set by the maker) that both traders lock up to keep everyone honest.
Important: the security deposit is
not a fee. It is fully returned to you when the trade completes successfully. It only exists to discourage bad behavior – if someone tries to cheat or abandons a trade, the
escrow and mediation system uses the deposit to protect the honest party. Complete your trade normally and you get every satoshi of it back.
Bisq Easy: zero trading fees
If you’re new and trading smaller amounts, Bisq 2’s “Bisq Easy” mode is the cheapest way to start: it has no trading fees and no security deposit. Instead of deposits, it uses a reputation-based model between buyer and seller, and is designed for trades up to roughly 600 USD. It’s the simplest, lowest-cost entry point – you can download it here and follow the getting started guide.
How to choose which currency pays the fee
You decide whether to pay in BTC or BSQ right before executing a trade. When creating a new offer or taking an existing one, look at the “Advanced options” block in the bottom-left corner of the interface. Toggle the switch to your preferred currency, and the system instantly recalculates the total. Choosing BSQ is what gives you the ~50% discount.
