Share of the gain the fee cost you37.8%against a 30% headline
- Fees paid
- $102.72
- You keep
- $1,186.61
- Net return
- +18.7%
- Settlements charged
- 26
Free performance fee tool
Copy trading fee calculator: what the performance fee really costs on CopyFX and Bybit
Enter a stake, a horizon, the return you expect and how much the curve swings on the way, and see what the trader's cut comes to under each platform's own rule: RoboForex CopyFX charges above a high-water mark and settles by period, Bybit's Classic copy trading charges each profitable week with no mark at all. The headline rate is the input; the number that matters is the share of your gain that never reaches you.
No sign-up Instant, live results Rules read 12 September 2026
Share of the gain the fee cost you55.3%against a 10% headline
- Fees paid
- $152.87
- You keep
- $1,133.98
- Net return
- +13.4%
- Weeks charged
- 26 of 52
The curve made $300.00 on your stake. The CopyFX rule at 30% leaves $52.63 more in the account than the Bybit rule at 10% on this path. A fee applied once to the whole gain would have been $90.00 at 30% and $30.00 at 10%.
A stylised path, not a forecast: the same 52 weekly steps for both rules, the follower in from the first week to the last, equity tracking the curve proportionally, fees leaving at settlement, no spread, swap or platform charge.
Choosing whom to copy?
Every listed CopyFX strategy scored daily on its whole curve, and the full Bybit board read rather than its top.
CopyFX rating Bybit ratingWhy this matters
Two fee rules, two different bills for the same curve
A performance fee is a share of profit, and "profit" is defined by the platform, not by your statement at the end of the year. On CopyFX it is cumulative profit above the previous high; on Bybit it is each week's profit on its own. On a smooth, rising curve the two rules charge almost the same. On a curve that swings, the rule without a watermark charges every up week, and the follower can pay more in fees than the curve made.
Settled money stops compounding
Each fee leaves the account at settlement, so the next week's gain is made on less. Even on a straight line the follower keeps less than the headline suggests.
Without a watermark, a swing is a bill
Up 5%, down 5%, up 5%: a weekly rule charges three times on a curve that went nowhere. A watermark charges the first peak once and waits for a new high.
The exit settles too
CopyFX settles when you unsubscribe, so leaving above the previous high is charged like any period end. Leaving below it costs nothing extra.
Reference
The two rules side by side
What each platform's own pages said on 12 September 2026, and what the full lists showed on 11 October 2026. Bybit runs three copy-trading products with three fee engines; the one modelled here is Classic, the one our rating reads.
| Rule | RoboForex CopyFX | Bybit copy trading (Classic) |
|---|---|---|
| Charged on | Cumulative profit above the previous highest result (high-water mark), net of swaps and commissions | The net profit of each Saturday-to-Friday cycle |
| Settles | At the end of each investment period: one, two or four weeks, the trader's choice (87.8% weekly) | Weekly |
| After a losing period | Nothing until the cumulative profit is back above the mark | Nothing for that cycle; the loss does not offset the next cycle's fee |
| When you leave | Settled once more on whatever stands above the mark | The open cycle settles as usual |
| Who sets the rate | The trader, 5% to 50% in steps of 5; a separate "no commission" scheme (6.8% of listed strategies) | The master, rank-gated: Cadet and Bronze 10%, Silver up to 12%, Gold up to 15% |
| Measured on 11 October 2026 | Median 25%, typical seat 27.52%; 22.8% of strategies at 30% | Median 10%, typical seat 10.16%; 87.1% of leaders at exactly 10% |
On real curves
What the CopyFX rule took from the 100 most-followed strategies
We ran the platform's own rule over the published daily curves of the 100 most-followed CopyFX strategies on 10 October 2026, follower in from the first day to the last. Of the 80 curves that ended above zero before the fee, a median 30% headline took a median 45.7% of the gain. A smooth line to the same end point under the same rule gave 38% - the compounding cost alone - and a weekly rule without a watermark, the Bybit shape, would have taken 66.9%. 18 of the 100 curves charged a fee and still ended below the stake. The full article has every figure and the strategies behind them; how to choose a copy trader covers the checks that did change the next ninety days, which the fee is not one of.
Common questions
Copy trading fee calculator FAQ
How is the performance fee calculated on RoboForex CopyFX?
The trader sets a rate between 5% and 50% in steps of 5, and the platform charges it only on profit above the previous highest result - the high-water mark - which runs on your cumulative profit since you subscribed. It settles at the end of each investment period (one, two or four weeks, the trader's choice; 87.8% of listed strategies settle weekly) and once more when you unsubscribe. Paying the fee does not lower the mark, so a dollar of profit is charged exactly once.
How does Bybit's copy trading profit share work?
On Bybit's Classic copy trading the master's share is taken on the net profit of each Saturday-to-Friday cycle. There is no high-water mark: a losing cycle charges nothing and offsets nothing later, so a gain that is given back the following week was still charged. The ratio is rank-gated - a Cadet or Bronze master charges 10%, Silver up to 12%, Gold up to 15% - and on 11 October 2026 87.1% of the 1,802 leaders with a follower charged exactly 10%.
Why is the effective fee higher than the headline rate?
Two reasons, and this calculator shows both. Money settled out at each period stops compounding, so even on a smooth curve the follower keeps less than the headline suggests. And a curve that swings pays at every new high while giving back in between. On the 100 most-followed CopyFX curves read on 10 October 2026, a median 30% headline took a median 45.7% of the gain under the platform's own rule, 38% on a smooth line to the same end point, and 66.9% under a weekly rule without a watermark.
Which is cheaper: a 10% fee on Bybit or a 25% fee on CopyFX?
It depends on the curve, which is why the two rules sit side by side above. On a smooth, rising curve the lower headline wins and the watermark changes nothing. On a curve that swings and ends where it started, the weekly rule without a watermark charges every up week while the watermark rule charges the first peak once. The typical seat on each platform on 11 October 2026 was signed up at 27.52% on CopyFX and 10.16% on Bybit; enter your own path and compare.
Can I pay a performance fee and still lose money?
Yes, on both platforms. A watermark charges you at each new high of the curve and does not refund the fee when the curve then falls; a weekly rule without one charges every profitable week regardless of the month. Of the 100 most-followed CopyFX curves read on 10 October 2026, 18 charged a fee and still ended the window below the stake. The calculator flags this case whenever your inputs produce it.
Should the fee decide which trader I copy?
No. On neither platform did the size of the fee sort good copies from bad in our own data: the fee is a price, not a criterion. Use it to know what you are paying, choose on the curve, and read our guide on how to choose a copy trader for the checks that did change the next ninety days.