Hyperliquid Builder Codes Explained: What a Frontend Fee Really Costs You

Quick answer. Hyperliquid builder codes let a third-party app (a "builder") charge its own fee on the orders it sends for you. You approve a maximum fee per app once. Each order can then carry a fee up to that ceiling, paid on top of Hyperliquid's own fee. Builder fees are capped at 0.1% on perps and 1% on spot.

If you trade Hyperliquid through a wallet, a mobile app or a terminal, you are probably paying a builder fee. Here is how it works, what it costs in dollars and how to check it.

What are Hyperliquid builder codes?

A builder code lets an app earn a fee on the fills it sends for you. "Builder" here means an app or interface, not a block builder.

The fee is set on each order and processed onchain. Hyperliquid introduced builder codes in October 2024.

The rules, from Hyperliquid's documentation:

• Caps: at most 0.1% on perps and 1% on spot.
• Approval: you approve a maximum fee per builder with an ApproveBuilderFee action. Your main wallet must sign it, not an agent or API wallet.
• Revocable: you can revoke an approval at any time.
• Limit: up to ten active builder approvals per user.
• Who pays: the fee is charged in the quote or collateral asset. It applies to both sides of perp trades, but not to the buying side of spot trades.
• Builder requirement: the app needs at least 100 USDC of perps account value to collect fees.

The order still matches on Hyperliquid's book like any other order. The builder code changes who gets paid, not where or how you trade.

How much does a builder fee cost on a real trade?

On a $10,000 perp position opened and closed with market orders, Hyperliquid's base fee is $9. A builder fee at the cap adds $20 on top.

!A $10,000 Hyperliquid round trip costs $9 with no builder fee and $29 at the 0.1% builder fee cap

Three things stand out:

• At the cap, the app earns more than the venue. A 0.1% builder fee is more than twice Hyperliquid's base taker fee.
• Maker orders shrink the venue part, not the builder part. With limit orders, the venue fee on the same trade drops to $3. The builder fee stays at whatever rate the order carries.
• Leverage multiplies the effect on your margin. At 10x, that $29 round trip is 2.9% of the margin you posted.

Funding payments are separate, and builder codes do not change them.

On HIP-3 markets, such as stock and commodity perps, deployers set their own venue fee scale. A "growth mode" can cut those fees by at least 90% (Hyperliquid fee docs). The builder fee is a separate line either way.

What happens when you approve a builder code?

You sign once to set the most an app may charge you. That is a ceiling: the fee on each order can be lower, and often is.

1. The app asks once. The first time you trade through it, your main wallet signs an ApproveBuilderFee message. It names the app's builder address and a maximum rate.
2. The ceiling is stored onchain. From then on, any order that app sends can carry a fee up to that rate, never more.
3. Each fill pays the app. When an order fills, the builder fee is deducted alongside Hyperliquid's fee and credited to the builder.
4. You stay in control. You can revoke the approval at any time. Orders the app sends after that can no longer carry its fee.

Because the approval needs your main wallet's signature, an app's limited trading key (an agent wallet) cannot raise its own ceiling.

Blackboard's docs put it plainly: a builder approval ceiling is not the order fee. Still, the ceiling is what the app is allowed to charge. Approve only apps you use, at rates you are comfortable with.

Is a builder code the same as a referral code?

No. A referral code discounts Hyperliquid's fee, while a builder code adds an app's fee on top. You can have both.

On orders that carry a builder code, the builder code can take precedence over a referral code. So the order estimate is the number to trust.

When is a builder fee worth paying, and who earns it?

A builder fee buys you an app. It is worth paying when the app gives you something Hyperliquid's own site does not:

• Easier onboarding, such as social login, no seed phrase and sponsored gas.
• More markets in one place, such as crypto perps, stock perps and prediction markets in one account.
• Better execution tools, such as advanced orders, alerts and position management.
• Mobile or social features, such as copying a trade idea from someone you follow.

It is not worth it if you trade one market, in size, with simple orders: the native app is cheaper. Many traders keep both.

The builder collects 100% of the custom fee it sets, and Hyperliquid's own fee is unchanged. Apps often share part of that revenue with referrers and affiliates.

That shapes incentives. A program that pays partners from trading fees rewards them for bringing active traders. A program that pays from user losses rewards them for bringing losing ones.

On Blackboard, approved affiliates earn up to 40% of the Blackboard fee paid by the traders they refer, paid weekly in USDC. Commission comes from the fees those traders pay, not from their losses. See the affiliate program.

How do you check builder fees on Blackboard?

Start with the order estimate. On Blackboard it shows the total fee, including Blackboard's builder fee, before you confirm on TradFi and crypto perp orders alike.

1. Read the order estimate. A well-built app shows the all-in fee, including its own, before you confirm.
2. Check your fills. Hyperliquid's fill history records the fee on each trade. Compare what you paid with what you expected.
3. Check your approvals. Hyperliquid's public info API returns the maximum fee you approved for any builder address (request type maxBuilderFee). Wallet and portfolio tools often show the same list.
4. Revoke what you don't use. With a ten-approval limit, old approvals also block new ones.

Blackboard routes TradFi orders (stocks, indices, FX and commodities) to Hyperliquid's HIP-3 markets, and crypto perps to Aster. You can see the same fills at the venue.

If Blackboard is ever unavailable, you can export your wallet key and manage the same positions on Hyperliquid directly.

New to how the pieces fit? Start with what an onchain trading terminal is, or see how to trade stocks 24/7.

Trade on Blackboard →

FAQ

What is the maximum builder fee on Hyperliquid? 0.1% of notional on perps and 1% on spot, per fill.

Do I pay the builder fee on both opening and closing a perp trade? Yes. On perps the fee applies to both sides of every fill the app routes, so opening and closing are each charged.

Can I trade on Hyperliquid without paying a builder fee? Yes. Orders placed through Hyperliquid's own app carry no builder fee.

How many apps can I approve? Up to ten builder approvals can be active at once. Revoke unused ones to free a slot.

Does a builder code change my fill price? No. The order matches on Hyperliquid's book like any other order. The builder code adds a fee line, not a price markup.

How we measured this

The cost example follows Hyperliquid's fee and builder code docs, checked on November 12, 2026.

• Trade: a $10,000 perp position, opened and closed with market (taker) orders: $20,000 of traded notional.
• Venue fee: Hyperliquid's base tier, 0.045% taker, or $9.00 for the round trip. With limit orders at the 0.015% base maker fee, it is $3.00.
• Builder fee: the rate times $20,000, charged on top.
• Margin: at 10x, a $10,000 position uses $1,000 of margin, so a $29 round trip is 2.9% of it.
• Not included: funding, and the different venue fees that HIP-3 markets such as stock and commodity perps can use.

Builder fee on a $10,000 round trip

Sources

• Hyperliquid docs: builder codes
• Hyperliquid docs: fees
• OAK Research: builder codes, CoreWriter and HIP-3
• Hyperliquid docs: referrals
• Privy docs: builder codes
• Blackboard docs: fees
• Solana Compass: Phantom tops Hyperliquid's builder program

Trading leveraged derivatives carries a high risk of loss. This article is for education and is not investment advice.