How to Use the Perpetual Futures Funding Cost Calculator
Perpetual futures never expire, so exchanges use periodic funding payments between long and short holders to keep the futures price anchored to spot. Enter your position size, the per-settlement funding rate, your position direction, and your planned holding period, and this tool calculates the cumulative funding cost over that period.
Most exchanges settle funding three times a day, roughly every 8 hours. A positive funding rate means longs pay shorts; a negative rate means shorts pay longs instead. Enter the rate with its actual sign (negative is fine), and this calculator automatically factors in whether your chosen direction pays or receives.
Each individual settlement may look small, but three payments a day compounding over a long holding period can add up to a meaningful cost. Funding rates also shift frequently during volatile stretches, so treat this result as an estimate assuming the current rate holds steady for your entire holding period.
Frequently Asked Questions
Perpetual futures have no expiration date, so they need a mechanism to keep their price anchored to the spot price. When the futures price trades above spot, longs pay shorts; when it trades below spot, shorts pay longs — this periodic payment pulls the price back toward spot.
A negative funding rate means shorts are paying longs. Just enter the rate with its actual sign — for a long position, a negative rate means you receive funding payments instead of paying them.
Most exchanges settle funding 3 times a day (roughly every 8 hours). This calculator treats your entered rate as the per-settlement rate and multiplies it by the number of settlements over your holding period.