Funding Fee Calculator — Perpetual Futures Funding Cost

Position size / notional ($)

Funding rate per 8h (%)

Holding time (hours)

Total funding over the period

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Funding settles every 8h (00:00/08:00/16:00 UTC on most exchanges). Positive rate: longs pay shorts. Negative: shorts pay longs.

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How perpetual funding works

Perpetual futures have no expiry, so exchanges use a funding payment every 8 hours to keep the perp price near spot. When the rate is positive, longs pay shorts; when negative, shorts pay longs. The cost is notional × rate × (number of 8h periods). Small per settlement, but on big size or long holds it adds up — and it is the basis for delta-neutral funding strategies. Check your liquidation price and PnL too.

What funding actually costs on a hold

Bybit and most perp exchanges charge funding every 8 hours. Rate × notional = payment. At 0.01% on $5,000 notional: $0.50 per 8 hours, $1.50/day, $45/month. That's 45% annualized on $100 collateral at 50x. The leverage amplifies funding cost exactly as much as it amplifies PnL.

Funding flips direction. When rate is negative (shorts pay longs), holding a long position earns you funding instead of paying it. This happens during strong downtrends or when short interest dominates. Rare but real — check current rate before holding overnight.

The highest funding environments (0.03–0.1% per 8h) happen at local tops. Crowded longs all paying shorts at peak FOMO is a classic signal that a correction is close. Not a trading rule, but worth knowing when your funding cost suddenly jumps 3×.

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The theory behind it

Funding is the periodic payment (typically every 8 hours) that keeps a perpetual future's price tethered to spot. When longs are crowded, longs pay shorts; when shorts are crowded, the reverse. It's a cost you barely notice on a scalp but that compounds on multi-day holds — a 0.01%/8h rate is about 0.9% a month, quietly eroding margin and pulling your liquidation closer. Reading funding also tells you which side is over-leveraged, a useful contrarian sentiment gauge.

Frequently asked questions

How often is funding charged?

Most exchanges charge funding every 8 hours (three times a day), though some use 4-hour or 1-hour intervals during high volatility. You only pay or receive if you hold a position at the exact funding timestamp.

Do I pay funding on every trade?

No — only if your position is open at a funding timestamp. A scalp opened and closed between funding times pays nothing. Positions held across one or more funding intervals pay (or receive) each time.

Is a high funding rate bad?

A high positive rate means longs are crowded and paying a lot to shorts — expensive to hold a long, and often a contrarian warning of over-leveraged positioning. A high negative rate is the mirror image for shorts.

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