Gate vs Phemex

Gate or Phemex: which to use

Gate vs Phemex is two centralized exchanges with the same order-book matching, so the choice rests on fees, market count, leverage and access terms. Gate charges 2 bp maker and 5 bp taker, lists 1022 perp markets and offers up to 200x. Phemex charges 1 bp maker and 6 bp taker, lists 132 markets and offers up to 150x. Both require KYC. Pick Gate for taker fees, breadth of markets and the highest leverage. Pick Phemex for the lower maker fee and a funding schedule limited to 4 or 8 hours.

How each exchange is built

Gate is a centralized exchange (CEX): you open an account with the company, and the account holds your funds. It matches orders on a central limit order book.

Phemex is built the same way: an account at the company holds your funds, and orders match on a central limit order book. So the differences sit in the terms below.

Fees and what they mean

Gate's base tier is 2 bp maker and 5 bp taker, per Gate's fee announcement. Phemex's base tier is 1 bp maker and 6 bp taker, per Phemex's fee page.

A market order pays the taker fee to open and again to close: 10 bp per round trip on Gate, 12 bp on Phemex. A limit order that rests on the book pays the maker fee instead, 2 bp on Gate and 1 bp on Phemex. If you mostly post limit orders, Phemex's maker rate is lower. If you mostly use market orders, Gate's taker rate is lower.

Fees are only part of a trade's cost. Slippage is the price you move by eating through the order book, and it grows with size. The round trip in the cost table above includes both at each size, and every exchange's trading cost is compared on one page.

Markets and leverage

As of 1 October 2026 Gate lists 1022 active perps, 301 of them stocks, commodities, FX or other real-world assets. Phemex lists 132, of which 67 are real-world assets. Gate has the larger count in both groups. Phemex has the higher share of real-world assets among its markets.

Gate offers up to 200x and Phemex up to 150x on their highest-leverage markets. Most markets on both allow less.

Gate pays funding every 1 hour, 4 hours or 8 hours depending on the market. Phemex pays every 4 hours or 8 hours. Check a market's interval before you hold it: an hourly market settles 24 times a day, an 8-hour market three times. The list further down this page shows the markets both exchanges have and each one's funding rate.

Who can use them

Both require KYC. On Gate you complete KYC before the futures account opens, and an unverified account can only withdraw and close positions. On Phemex, KYC covers spot and futures trading, and an unverified account cannot withdraw at all. If you hold an unverified account, Gate at least lets you take funds out and close positions.

Token

Gate's token is $GT.

Reading the numbers on this page

Gate publishes open interest as longs plus shorts, both sides of every position. Phemex publishes one side of open positions. For the same positions Gate's figure reads about twice as large, so the open interest row and chart above are not a like-for-like comparison of size.

Neither exchange has a TVL row or chart, as is usual for a centralized exchange. Use the volume and depth rows in the Head to head table, and the BTC page for BTC funding, price and liquidity on both.

Which one fits you

• Pick Gate if you trade with market orders: 5 bp taker against 6 bp.
• Pick Gate if you want a wide choice of perps: 1022 markets, 301 of them real-world assets.
• Pick Gate if you need up to 200x leverage, against 150x on Phemex.
• Pick Gate if you want markets with hourly funding, which Phemex does not have.
• Pick Phemex if you rest limit orders on the book: 1 bp maker against 2 bp.
• Pick Phemex if you want a smaller list of 132 perps, with 67 of them real-world assets.