MEXC and Gate sit at opposite extremes: MEXC has the lowest listed fees (futures 0.01% maker and 0.04% taker, 0% spot maker), while Gate has the highest fee rebate (60% up to 70% when you bind through Quant Nova, against MEXC's 50% up to 60%). Put the two together and the net futures taker fee comes out almost identical: at Lv.1, MEXC is 0.04% × (1 − 50%) = 0.02% and Gate is 0.05% × (1 − 60%) = 0.02%, a dead heat; at the top tier MEXC is 0.016% and Gate 0.015%, just 0.001 points apart. What really moves your costs is not which exchange you pick but which referral code you bind. The common KOL codes you find online mostly pay 20% or 25%, while MEXC's 60% maximum is 3 times 20%, and Gate's 70% maximum is 3.5 times. On 1,000 USDT of monthly fees, a typical 20% code returns 200 USDT; mexc-NOVA888 returns 500–600 on MEXC, and QUANTXXX returns 600–700 on Gate. The two codes differ: MEXC is mexc-NOVA888 and Gate is QUANTXXX.
Quick verdict
- More than double what common KOL codes pay: At the no-threshold Lv.1, MEXC's 50% is 2.5 times a typical 20% code and Gate's 60% is 3 times; at the top tier they are 3 and 3.5 times.
- MEXC's listed fees are lower across the board: futures 0.01% / 0.04% vs 0.02% / 0.05%, spot 0% / 0.05% vs 0.10% / 0.10%.
- Gate's rebate is 10 points higher at every tier: Lv.1 60% vs 50%, SVIP 65% vs 55%, maximum 70% vs 60%.
- Net futures cost is nearly a tie: taker is 0.02% on both at Lv.1; maker is always lower on MEXC (Lv.1 0.005% vs 0.008%); Gate only edges ahead at the top tier when more than two-thirds of your volume is taker.
- BTC, ETH and spot are MEXC's home ground: BTC and ETH perps currently charge 0.01% taker and 438 contracts are fee-free; net spot taker after the rebate is about 60% of Gate's.
- Tokenized stocks and existing accounts: we have only measured Gate's tokenized stocks (183 listed); MEXC lets you add a code yourself within 30 days of signup, while Gate does not, so you sign up again with a new email.
Listed fees: MEXC is lower in every cell
| Trade type | MEXC | Gate |
|---|---|---|
| Spot maker / taker | 0% / 0.05% | 0.10% / 0.10% |
| Spot with platform token | None (MX deduction currently 0%) | GT → 0.09% (about 10% off) |
| USDT-M futures maker (standard) | 0.01% | 0.02% |
| USDT-M futures taker (standard) | 0.04% | 0.05% |
| Promotional low-fee contracts | BTC, ETH 0% / 0.01%; 438 contracts 0% / 0% | None |
| Tokenized US stocks (TradFi perpetuals) | Not yet measured by us | Separate schedule, 0.02% maker / 0.05% taker |
Fees verified on 2026-09-24 (each exchange's official fee schedule).
On list price alone, MEXC is the cheapest of the twelve exchanges we cover: its futures taker fee is a fifth below Gate's, its maker fee is half, and spot maker orders are free. MEXC's fee page loads with JavaScript, so the figures come from MEXC's public API as returned on 2026-09-24; 685 of its 1,189 contracts sit at the standard 0.01% / 0.04%.
But list price is only half the story. The rebate is a share of the fee you actually pay, so on a low-fee exchange the same rebate rate is worth less money. That is why this pair has to be compared on the net fee after the rebate. For current rates, see the official pages: MEXC fee schedule · Gate fee schedule.
Rebate rates: Gate pays 10 points more at every tier
| Item (bound through Quant Nova) | MEXC | Gate |
|---|---|---|
| Referral code | mexc-NOVA888 | QUANTXXX |
| Layer 1 (exchange, automatic) | 20% | 20% |
| Layer 2 (Lv.1 → SVIP → Supernova) | 30% → 35% → 40% | 40% → 45% → 50% |
| Total at Lv.1 (no threshold) | 50% | 60% |
| Total at SVIP (highest reachable by trading) | 55% | 65% |
| Total at Supernova (invitation only) | 60% | 70% futures, 65% spot |
On both exchanges the first layer is the 20% the exchange returns automatically, and Quant Nova settles the second layer by tier. Gate's affiliate share is higher to begin with, so at the same tier it always pays 10 points more than MEXC. For how the two layers work, see automatic vs extra rebate.
More than double what common KOL codes pay. Most referral codes you can find online give 20% or 25%. When you bind through Quant Nova, MEXC's Lv.1 50% is 2.5 times a 20% code and 2 times a 25% code, and its 60% maximum is 3 times 20%; Gate's Lv.1 60% is 3 times 20%, and its 70% maximum is 3.5 times. On 1,000 USDT of monthly fees, a typical 20% code returns 200 USDT, mexc-NOVA888 returns 500–600 USDT and QUANTXXX returns 600–700 USDT, a difference of 3,600–6,000 USDT a year.
Net cost after the rebate: taker is a tie, maker goes to MEXC
| Tier | MEXC net maker | MEXC net taker | Gate net maker | Gate net taker |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| List price | 0.01% | 0.04% | 0.02% | 0.05% |
| Lv.1 | 0.005% | 0.02% | 0.008% | 0.02% |
| SVIP | 0.0045% | 0.018% | 0.007% | 0.0175% |
| Supernova | 0.004% | 0.016% | 0.006% | 0.015% |
Formula: net fee = listed fee × (1 − rebate rate). For example, MEXC Lv.1 taker: 0.04% × (1 − 50%) = 0.02%; Gate Lv.1 taker: 0.05% × (1 − 60%) = 0.02%; MEXC Supernova maker: 0.01% × (1 − 60%) = 0.004%; Gate SVIP taker: 0.05% × (1 − 65%) = 0.0175%. At Lv.1 the net taker fee is 0.02% on both, and MEXC's net maker fee is lower at every tier.
The tipping point: your taker share
Few people trade 100% taker. Call your taker share t: net fee = [t × taker + (1 − t) × maker] × (1 − rebate rate). At Lv.1, MEXC = 0.005% + 0.015% × t and Gate = 0.008% + 0.012% × t, so they only tie at t = 100% and MEXC is cheaper everywhere else; at SVIP, MEXC is cheaper while t stays below 83%; at the top tier, MEXC = 0.004% + 0.012% × t and Gate = 0.006% + 0.009% × t, so Gate's net cost only drops below MEXC's at the top tier, once more than two-thirds of your volume is taker. With a common 70% taker / 30% maker mix, the blended list rate is 0.031% on MEXC and 0.041% on Gate, giving net rates of 0.0155% vs 0.0164% at Lv.1 and 0.0124% vs 0.0123% at the top tier.
In money: one order and one month
One order: 2,500 USDT margin at 20x leverage
Notional = 2,500 × 20 = 50,000 USDT. Opening as taker costs 50,000 × 0.04% = 20 USDT on MEXC and 50,000 × 0.05% = 25 USDT on Gate. At Lv.1 you pay a net 20 × (1 − 50%) = 10 USDT on MEXC and 25 × (1 − 60%) = 10 USDT on Gate, exactly the same; at the top tier you pay 20 × (1 − 60%) = 8 USDT on MEXC and 25 × (1 − 70%) = 7.5 USDT on Gate. Opening as maker instead, the fee is 5 USDT on MEXC (2.5 USDT net at Lv.1) and 10 USDT on Gate (4 USDT net at Lv.1).
500,000 USDT a month, all taker
| How you are bound | MEXC rebate | MEXC net cost | Gate rebate | Gate net cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Typical 20% code | 40 USDT | 160 USDT | 50 USDT | 200 USDT |
| Quant Nova Lv.1 | 100 USDT | 100 USDT | 150 USDT | 100 USDT |
| Quant Nova SVIP | 110 USDT | 90 USDT | 162.5 USDT | 87.5 USDT |
| Quant Nova Supernova | 120 USDT | 80 USDT | 175 USDT | 75 USDT |
Monthly fees are 500,000 × 0.04% = 200 USDT on MEXC and 500,000 × 0.05% = 250 USDT on Gate; rebate = monthly fees × rebate rate, and net cost = monthly fees − rebate. The two exchanges are never more than 5 USDT a month apart, but switching codes on the same exchange moves your cost by 60–125 USDT: on Gate, net cost falls from 200 with a typical 20% code to 100 at Lv.1, saving 1,200 USDT a year; on MEXC it falls from 160 to 100, saving 720 USDT a year.
Choosing the right code matters more than choosing the exchange. Bound through Quant Nova, 500,000 USDT a month of taker volume costs 75–100 USDT net on either MEXC or Gate; bound to a typical 20% code, it costs 160–200 USDT, about twice as much. If you already trade on one of them, check which code your account is bound to before you think about moving.
BTC, ETH and zero-fee contracts: MEXC's extra edge
Everything above uses MEXC's standard rates, but its two most-traded contracts are not at the standard price right now. On 2026-09-24, BTC and ETH perpetuals were 0% maker and 0.01% taker, and 438 other contracts were 0% on both sides (see the MEXC zero-fee page). If you only trade BTC and ETH perps, MEXC's net taker fee after the rebate is just 0.005% (Lv.1) to 0.004% (top tier), about a quarter of Gate's at the same tier. Zero-fee contracts charge nothing, so there is nothing to rebate on them. These are promotions: MEXC's announcements set the end date, after which the standard 0.01% / 0.04% applies again.
Spot: free maker orders on MEXC, and cheaper taker too
| Tier | MEXC net taker | Gate net taker | Gate net taker with GT |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lv.1 | 0.025% (50% rebate) | 0.04% (60% rebate) | 0.036% |
| Maximum | 0.02% (60% rebate) | 0.035% (65% spot maximum) | 0.0315% |
Working: MEXC Lv.1 = 0.05% × (1 − 50%) = 0.025%; Gate Lv.1 = 0.10% × (1 − 60%) = 0.04%; Gate with GT at the maximum = 0.09% × (1 − 65%) = 0.0315%. On 100,000 USDT a month of spot taker trades, MEXC charges 50 USDT (25 USDT net at Lv.1) and Gate charges 100 USDT (40 USDT net at Lv.1). Spot maker orders cost 0% on MEXC, while on Gate they still cost 0.04% after the Lv.1 rebate, so spot-first traders save most on MEXC. For more on spot, see fee rebates for spot investors.
Tokenized stocks: we have only measured Gate
Our tokenized-stock tests cover six exchanges. Gate is one of them and MEXC is not, so this section can only give Gate's numbers. Gate lists 183 TradFi perpetuals (matched against Binance's 198 as the baseline), at 0.02% maker and 0.05% taker; measured 24-hour volume on 2026-09-20 was 34.6M USDT for CL crude oil, 11.4M for MSTR, 2.6M for NVDA and 0.2M for SPY. At 500,000 USDT a month, all taker, the net cost after a 70% rebate is 75 USDT. We have not yet measured MEXC's tokenized stocks, so if you want to trade them with a rebate backed by data, choose Gate for now. The full comparison is in tokenized stock perpetual fees compared.
Adding a code later and rebinding: MEXC has 30 days, Gate needs a new email
| Item | MEXC | Gate |
|---|---|---|
| Adding a code after signup | Self-service within 30 days of signup, main account, no referrer bound yet | Not possible |
| Changing referrer after binding | Not possible | Not possible |
| Main rebinding method | Sign up again with a new email | Sign up again with a new email |
| Accounts per KYC identity | 2 (counted per person; if both are used, close one first, which takes up to 15 working days) | 5 |
MEXC is one of the few exchanges with an official window: within 30 days of signup you can add mexc-NOVA888 yourself, with no new account needed. The conditions are a main account, no referrer bound yet, and a referrer who signed up before you (see MEXC's self-service referrer linking guide). After 30 days, sign up again with a new email through the referral link; the steps are in the MEXC rebind guide. Gate has no way to add a code later, but rebinding is just as simple: sign up again with a new email and enter QUANTXXX. A phone number is not required, and a passkey or Google Authenticator can take its place; see the Gate rebind guide. On either exchange, finish by binding the new account's UID on Quant Nova; binding needs only the UID, never an API key or password.
Neither exchange uses NOVA888. On MEXC enter mexc-NOVA888 (prefix included), and on Gate enter QUANTXXX. Plain NOVA888 is invalid on both, and a wrong code is the same as no code; signing up through the referral link fills it in for you. For code details, see the MEXC referral code and Gate referral code pages.
Which one should you choose
- Mostly BTC and ETH perps → MEXC. The 0.01% promotional taker fee drops to 0.004%–0.005% after the rebate.
- Mostly limit orders, or under two-thirds taker → MEXC. Net maker is lower than Gate's at every tier (Lv.1 0.005% vs 0.008%).
- Heavy taker volume that can reach the top tier → Gate. The 70% rebate brings net taker to 0.015%, just under MEXC's best of 0.016%.
- Mostly spot → MEXC. Maker is 0%, and net taker at Lv.1 is 0.025% against Gate's 0.04%.
- Tokenized stocks → Gate. 183 TradFi perpetuals with measured volume data; we have not yet measured MEXC.
- Account less than 30 days old with no referrer yet → add the code through MEXC's self-service linking first; it is the least effort.
Next step: the net-cost gap between these two is small, but the wrong code can double what you pay, so do not settle for a 20% rebate. For MEXC, sign up with mexc-NOVA888 using the link in the MEXC referral code guide, or add it yourself within 30 days as shown in the MEXC rebind guide. For Gate, sign up with QUANTXXX via the Gate referral code guide, or re-register with a new email following the Gate rebind guide. Bind both and you see every rebate in one dashboard; once your UID is bound, your next trade starts earning.
Frequently asked questions
Which is cheaper, MEXC or Gate?
MEXC is cheaper at list price, but after the rebate the two are almost equal. Bound through Quant Nova, net futures taker is 0.02% on both at Lv.1 and 0.016% vs 0.015% at the top tier; for maker orders and spot, MEXC is cheaper at every tier.
Gate rebates 70% and MEXC only 60%, so why is the net cost so close?
Because the rebate is a percentage of the fee, and MEXC's fee is smaller. MEXC's 0.04% taker less 60% leaves 0.016%, and Gate's 0.05% less 70% leaves 0.015%; the 10-point higher rate is almost exactly cancelled by a fee that is a fifth lower.
What are the referral codes for MEXC and Gate?
MEXC is mexc-NOVA888 and Gate is QUANTXXX. Plain NOVA888 is invalid on both; signing up through our referral links fills in the right code automatically.
How much more do I get than with a typical 20% code?
More than double. MEXC's 50%–60% is 2.5–3 times a 20% code, and Gate's 60%–70% is 3–3.5 times; on 1,000 USDT of monthly fees, a typical code returns 200 USDT, MEXC 500–600 and Gate 600–700.
My MEXC account is more than 30 days old. Can I still get the rebate?
Yes, by signing up again with a new email. MEXC allows up to 2 accounts per KYC identity, so if you have one left, re-register through the referral link and confirm mexc-NOVA888 is filled in; if both are used, close one first, which takes up to 15 working days.
My old Gate account has no referral code. How do I get the rebate?
Sign up again with a new email and enter QUANTXXX. Gate does not let you add a code later, but one KYC identity can register up to 5 accounts, and the new account is bound the moment it is created.
For BTC perpetuals, MEXC or Gate?
MEXC, for now. BTC and ETH perps on MEXC carry a 0.01% promotional taker fee, which is 0.005% net at Lv.1 against Gate's 0.02% at the same tier; once the promotion ends and standard rates return, the two are close again on taker.
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