> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.novig.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.
# Trading Fees
> How Novig prices trading fees, and when they apply
Novig charges a single trading fee, on one side of a trade. On straight contracts it applies only while the underlying event is live; [RFQ trades](#rfq-trades) are priced on their own schedule.
## The Formula
```
Total Fee = P × (1 − P) × Coefficient × Contracts
```
| Term | Meaning |
| ------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| `P` | The **execution price** of the fill, between \$0.00 and \$1.00 — not your limit price |
| `Coefficient` | Currently **0.03** for live taker fills |
| `Contracts` | The number of contracts in the fill, where one contract pays \$1.00 at settlement |
**Watch the units.** `Contracts` counts \$1.00-payout contracts, but the API's `qty` field is denominated in minimal units: **100 `qty` = 1 contract** (`qty` of 1 is \$0.01 of payout). Divide `qty` by 100 before putting it in the formula, or you will overstate the fee by 100×.
Each fill is priced independently, so a partially filled order accrues a fee per fill rather than one fee on the parent order.
**Fees are charged exactly, including sub-cent amounts** — there is no rounding up to the cent and no minimum fee. The only quantization is the ledger's own precision, 5 decimal places (\$0.00001), applied with standard half-up rounding. A fill small enough to owe a fraction of a cent is charged that fraction.
The formula is symmetric around \$0.50: `P` and `1 − P` produce the same fee, so a fill at \$0.30 costs exactly what a fill at \$0.70 costs. The fee peaks at `P = 0.50`, where `0.03 × 0.25` works out to \$0.0075 per contract — 0.75% of payout, or 1.5% of notional at even money — and falls toward zero at both tails.
### Worked Examples
At the current 0.03 coefficient:
| Fill | `qty` on the wire | Calculation | Fee charged |
| ---------------------- | ----------------- | --------------------------- | ----------- |
| 100 contracts @ \$0.50 | 10,000 | `0.50 × 0.50 × 0.03 × 100` | \$0.75 |
| 100 contracts @ \$0.30 | 10,000 | `0.30 × 0.70 × 0.03 × 100` | \$0.63 |
| 100 contracts @ \$0.70 | 10,000 | `0.70 × 0.30 × 0.03 × 100` | \$0.63 |
| 100 contracts @ \$0.10 | 10,000 | `0.10 × 0.90 × 0.03 × 100` | \$0.27 |
| 500 contracts @ \$0.45 | 50,000 | `0.45 × 0.55 × 0.03 × 500` | \$3.7125 |
| 1 contract @ \$0.50 | 100 | `0.50 × 0.50 × 0.03 × 1` | \$0.0075 |
| 0.01 contract @ \$0.50 | 1 | `0.50 × 0.50 × 0.03 × 0.01` | \$0.00008 |
The last three rows are the sub-cent rule: \$3.7125 is charged as \$3.7125, not rounded to \$3.72, and a one-`qty` fill owes \$0.000075, charged as \$0.00008 after the ledger's 5-decimal quantization. A cent floor on that fill would be a \~125× overcharge, which is why there isn't one.
## Who Pays
| Side | Fee |
| --------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Taker** | Pays the fee above. Debited from your balance at match time |
| **Maker** | Pays **no fee**, and may earn a [Maker Credit](/maker-credit-program) on the same fill |
There is no maker fee, and no opt-in or contract is required to collect Maker Credits. The Maker Credit is currently 50% of the taker fee actually collected on the trade, which works out to:
```
Maker Credit = P × (1 − P) × 0.015 × Contracts
```
See the [Live Trading Maker Credit Program](/maker-credit-program) for the full terms, eligibility, and crediting schedule.
**Maker Credits are straights only. RFQ makes do not earn a Maker Credit.** Quoting an RFQ makes you the maker on a combination contract, and combination contracts are excluded from the Program — see [Eligible Markets and Scope](/maker-credit-program#2-eligible-markets-and-scope). No amount of RFQ volume accrues Maker Credits; only straight-contract makes matched in-game do.
## RFQ Trades
RFQ executions are priced on their own coefficient and their own form of the same quadratic.
| | Straight contracts | RFQ (combination contracts) |
| ----------------------- | ------------------------------------------ | --------------------------- |
| Taker coefficient | 0.03 | **0.10** |
| Maker fee | none | none |
| Maker Credit | 50% of the taker fee, when matched in-game | **not eligible** |
| Charged only while live | yes | no — assessed on execution |
A combination contract has no single contract price, so the taker fee is expressed in stake form. With `wager` the taker's stake and `collateral` the pricer's, the implied probability is `wager / (wager + collateral)`, and `Coefficient × P × (1 − P) × Pot` reduces to:
```
RFQ Taker Fee = 0.10 × wager × collateral ÷ (wager + collateral)
```
Two differences from the straight schedule worth calling out. The RFQ taker fee **is not gated on event liveness** — RFQs execute before the event begins, so the charge applies on execution rather than only during live play, and it is not a Live Trading fee for Maker Credit purposes. And the maker side, the EMM pricing the RFQ, pays **no fee** but likewise earns **no credit**.
## When Fees Apply
**Straight-contract fees are charged only on fills matched while the underlying event is live** — that is, while the event's status is `OPEN_INGAME`. A fill matched at any other time is not charged, on either side, and generates no Maker Credit. ([RFQ trades](#rfq-trades) are the exception: they are charged on execution, live or not.)
Liveness is evaluated **at match time**, not when the order was placed. A resting order placed hours before kickoff that fills in the second quarter is a live fill and is charged; a live-priced order that fills during a suspension is not.
Because the charge follows the event's status at the moment of the match, knowing whether an event is live is a fee question, not a cosmetic one. There are two ways to know, and they are covered in detail on the [Market Lifecycle Channel](/api-reference/WSS/lifecycle-channel) page:
The `lifecycle` channel publishes `EVENT_GOLIVE` when an event enters live play and `EVENT_UNLIVE` when it leaves. Fees begin on `EVENT_GOLIVE` and stop on `EVENT_UNLIVE`.
`GET /nbx/v2/emm/events/{eventId}` returns the event's `status`. `OPEN_INGAME` is exactly the fee-charged condition. Use it to bootstrap on connect and after any reconnect.
**The live window can open more than once.** A game that is delayed or suspended mid-play goes `OPEN_INGAME → DELAYED → OPEN_INGAME`, so fees switch on, off, and on again. Each `EVENT_GOLIVE` also cancels every order resting across that event's markets. Track the edges rather than assuming one live window per event — see the [repeatability warning](/api-reference/WSS/lifecycle-channel#event-liveness-event_golive-and-event_unlive).
## Scope and Notes
* **Two schedules.** The formula at the top of this page prices straight contracts. Combination contracts (multi-leg or "parlay" contracts, including everything traded via RFQ) are priced by the [RFQ schedule](#rfq-trades) and are not eligible for Maker Credits.
* **Trading fees only.** "Fees" here means Novig's trading fees. Clearing, banking, and payment processing fees are not included.
* **The coefficient can change.** The coefficient above is the current live trading fee schedule, posted pursuant to Rule 3.6 of the Ludlow Rulebook. Read it from this page rather than hardcoding a rate you can't update.
* **No cent floor.** Charges carry to 5 decimal places (\$0.00001), so sub-cent fees are charged as sub-cent amounts.
Liquidity providers (LPs) with USD 200,000 or more deposited can request a dedicated Slack channel with the Novig team.
Questions on fees or the Maker Credit Program: [caleb.henry@novig.co](mailto:caleb.henry@novig.co).