Perpetual Futures: The Real Cost of a Position (Funding Rate + Fee + Rebate)

On a $10,000 perpetual position, a total carrying cost of 0.21% is $21. At 10x leverage, that is 2.1% of posted margin before price direction enters the conversation.

That is the real trap in perpetuals: traders think about entry, then P&L, and only later about costs. The exchange already thought about costs first.

The Full Cost Formula

Use this model:

Total cost = (Entry fee + Exit fee) + (Funding rate x holding periods) - Rebate

That is the minimum honest version.

Map the Cost Layers

Current official docs show the layers clearly:

• Bybit's current fee explainer lists non-VIP perpetual and futures trading at 0.06% taker / 0.01% maker.
• Bybit's funding fee calculation page states funding is exchanged every 8 hours, and the funding fee formula is Position Value x Funding Rate.
• Binance Academy's funding rates article explains the same 8-hour rhythm and notes Binance's default interest component of 0.03% daily, split into three 0.01% funding events.

So the trader pays, or receives, from several layers:

Cost layer	When it hits	Formula
Entry fee	On execution	Notional x fee rate
Funding	Every 8 hours while open	Position value x funding rate
Exit fee	On close	Notional x fee rate
Liquidation fee, if applicable	On forced close	Venue-specific

Across accounts on our platform, traders usually underestimate the third line, not the first. Funding feels small until it repeats nine times across a multi-day hold.

Worked Example: 3-Day Perpetual Hold Across Three Account Sizes

Assume:

• Position notional: $10,000
• Leverage: 10x
• Margin posted: about $1,000
• Entry fee: 0.06%
• Exit fee: 0.06%
• Funding rate: 0.01% every 8 hours
• Holding time: 3 days = 9 funding windows

Now calculate the base $10,000 case:

Component	Rate	Dollar cost
Entry fee	0.06%	$6.00
Exit fee	0.06%	$6.00
Funding over 9 periods	0.09%	$9.00
Total cost before rebate	0.21%	$21.00

If Sliceback returns 40% of paid trading fees, the rebate applies to the fee portion, not the funding portion:

Fee portion = $6 + $6 = $12
Rebate = $12 x 40% = $4.80
Net total cost = $21 - $4.80 = $16.20

The useful way to read this is by scale:

Position notional	Entry + exit fees	Funding over 3 days	Total cost before rebate	Rebate at 40% of fees	Net total cost
$10,000	$12	$9	$21	$4.80	$16.20
$100,000	$120	$90	$210	$48.00	$162.00
$500,000	$600	$450	$1,050	$240.00	$810.00

Why Leverage Makes the Cost Feel Worse

Fees and funding are charged on notional, not on your posted margin.

That means the same 0.21% notional cost becomes very different depending on how thin the posted margin is:

Leverage	Margin posted on $10,000 notional	Total 3-day cost	Effective cost on margin
5x	$2,000	$21	1.05%
10x	$1,000	$21	2.10%
20x	$500	$21	4.20%

If the market chops sideways for three days, the position can lose meaningful performance without being "wrong" on direction yet.

Pro Insight: Traders usually call funding the "small" cost and fees the "obvious" cost. On leveraged swing holds, the better framing is this: fees are fixed at entry and exit, but funding is a timer that keeps charging rent on indecision.

A Small But Important Venue Detail

The phrase "liquidation fee" should always be checked against the venue, not assumed.

Bybit's current fee overview explicitly states that it does not charge a liquidation fee for perpetual and futures trading. That does not mean all venues or products behave the same way. It means you should model the actual contract you trade, not a generic futures template.

Where the Rebate Fits

A rebate does not change:

• the funding rate,
• the holding period,
• or the direction of the trade.

It does reduce the most controllable layer: execution fees.

That is why Hidden Trading Costs: How Fees Eat 30% of Profit and What Is a Trading Rebate? Full 2026 Guide are the two most relevant adjacent reads here. One frames the drag; the other explains the recovery mechanism.

Bottom Line

Perpetuals are not just "entry plus exit."

They are a stack of costs that compounds with time, leverage, and execution style. On a $100,000 position, the same plain-vanilla 3-day hold returns $48 in rebate. On $500,000, it returns $240. That is no longer a rounding error.

Once you model the full stack, the rebate stops looking like a bonus and starts looking like basic cost recovery. Sliceback returns up to 40% of paid fees on eligible referral-linked accounts: create your account.