Solana Trading Bot Fees Compared: What You'll Actually Pay (2026)

#Why Fees Matter More Than You Think

When choosing a Solana trading bot, most people focus on features and ignore fees. That's a mistake. Fees compound — especially if you're an active trader executing dozens of trades per week.

Consider this: a 1% fee per transaction means 2% round-trip cost (buy + sell). If you make 50 round-trip trades per month, you're paying the equivalent of 100% of a position in fees annually. That's a massive drag on returns that can turn a profitable strategy into a losing one.

This guide breaks down exactly what you'll pay with each major Solana trading bot, including hidden costs most comparisons miss.

#The Complete Fee Comparison

#Per-Transaction Fees

This is the headline fee each bot charges on swaps:

Bot	Transaction Fee	Fee Type	Minimum Fee
Stratium	0.1%	Per trade	None
BonkBot	1.0%	Per swap	None
Trojan Bot	1.0%	Per swap	None
Photon	0.5–1.0%	Per swap	None
Sol Trading Bot	0.5%	Per swap	None
Maestro Bot	1.0%	Per swap	None

Key takeaway: Stratium's 0.1% per-trade commission is 10x lower than the 1% charged by BonkBot, Trojan Bot, and Maestro Bot. No subscription fees — you only pay when trades execute.

#Why the 10x Fee Difference Matters

The gap between 0.1% and 1% seems small on a single trade, but it compounds dramatically over time:

• On a single round-trip trade (buy + sell), a 1% bot charges 2% total. Stratium charges 0.2%.
• Over 100 round-trip trades, a 1% bot has charged 200% of a position in cumulative fees. Stratium charges 20%.
• That 1.8% difference per round trip goes directly to your returns instead of fees.

Example: A trade that buys at $1.00 and sells at $0.95 costs you the 5% loss PLUS 2% in fees on a 1% bot (total loss: ~7%). On Stratium, the same trade costs the 5% loss plus 0.2% in fees (total loss: ~5.2%). On the winning side, a 10% gain becomes 8% after 1% bot fees but 9.8% after Stratium's fees.

#Hidden Costs Beyond the Headline Fee

#1. Solana Network Fees

Every Solana transaction has a base network fee of approximately 0.000005 SOL (~$0.001). This is negligible for individual trades but adds up for high-frequency trading:

Trades Per Month	Network Fees (approx.)
50	0.00025 SOL
200	0.001 SOL
1,000	0.005 SOL

Verdict: Negligible for all traders. Solana's low fees are one of its biggest advantages.

#2. Priority Fees (Jito Bundles)

To ensure fast execution, most bots use Jito bundles with priority fees. These are tips paid to validators for transaction ordering:

Bot	Priority Fee Handling	Typical Cost
Stratium	Automatic (optimized)	0.0001–0.001 SOL per trade
BonkBot	Manual setting	0.0001–0.01 SOL per trade
Trojan Bot	Manual setting	0.0001–0.01 SOL per trade
Photon	Automatic	Variable

Priority fees are usually small (under $0.05 per trade) but can spike during high-demand periods like major token launches.

#3. Slippage

Slippage isn't a "fee" per se, but it's a real cost. It's the difference between the expected price and the actual execution price:

• High-liquidity tokens (SOL, BONK, WIF): 0.1–0.5% slippage typical
• Mid-liquidity tokens: 0.5–2% slippage
• Low-liquidity meme coins: 2–10%+ slippage possible

Bots that route through Jupiter (Stratium, BonkBot, Trojan Bot) get better prices because Jupiter aggregates liquidity across all Solana DEXes. Bots that route through a single DEX may experience higher slippage.

#4. Spread Costs

On low-liquidity tokens, the bid-ask spread can be substantial. This is a hidden cost that affects all traders regardless of bot choice. The best mitigation is using a DEX aggregator (Jupiter) and trading tokens with sufficient liquidity.

#Real-World Cost Scenarios

Let's calculate total costs for three trading profiles with 10 SOL capital:

#Scenario 1: Casual Trader (10 round-trip trades/month)

Cost Component	1% Fee Bot	Stratium (0.1%)
Transaction fees (10 round trips)	0.20 SOL	0.02 SOL
Priority fees	~0.005 SOL	~0.005 SOL
Network fees	~0.0001 SOL	~0.0001 SOL
Monthly cost estimate	~0.205 SOL	~0.025 SOL
Annual cost	~2.46 SOL	~0.30 SOL

#Scenario 2: Active Trader (50 round-trip trades/month)

Cost Component	1% Fee Bot	Stratium (0.1%)
Transaction fees (50 round trips)	1.0 SOL	0.10 SOL
Priority fees	~0.025 SOL	~0.025 SOL
Network fees	~0.0005 SOL	~0.0005 SOL
Monthly cost estimate	~1.025 SOL	~0.126 SOL
Annual cost	~12.3 SOL	~1.5 SOL

#Scenario 3: High-Frequency Copy Trading (200+ round-trip trades/month)

This is common for copy trading users assigned to multiple active strategies:

Cost Component	1% Fee Bot	Stratium (0.1%)
Transaction fees (200 round trips)	4.0 SOL	0.40 SOL
Priority fees	~0.1 SOL	~0.1 SOL
Network fees	~0.002 SOL	~0.002 SOL
Monthly cost estimate	~4.1 SOL	~0.50 SOL
Annual cost	~49.2 SOL	~6.0 SOL

The active trader scenario is striking: With a 1% fee bot, an active trader with 10 SOL capital pays over 1 SOL per month in fees alone — 10% of capital monthly. With Stratium's 0.1% fee, the same trading activity costs 0.126 SOL — leaving 0.9 SOL more in your pocket every month. Over a year, that's 10.8 SOL saved — more than your starting capital.

#Fee Impact on Copy Trading Specifically

Copy trading involves more frequent transactions than manual trading because you're replicating every trade a target wallet makes. Across Stratium's {{strategyCount}} active strategies with {{totalTrades}} total tracked trades, the average strategy executes multiple trades per day.

This frequency amplifies the importance of fee percentage:

• High-fee bots (1%) hit copy traders hardest — hundreds of trades per month means fees consume a huge portion of capital
• Low-fee bots (0.1%) keep more capital working — the 10x difference compounds dramatically over time
• The math is simple: on 200 monthly round-trip trades, a 1% bot takes 4 SOL from a 10 SOL account. A 0.1% bot takes 0.4 SOL. That's 3.6 SOL more compounding in your favor every month

#How to Minimize Trading Costs

Regardless of which bot you use, these practices reduce total costs:

#1. Use Jupiter-Routed Bots

Jupiter finds the best price across all Solana DEXes. Bots that route through Jupiter (Stratium, BonkBot, Trojan Bot) consistently get better execution prices than bots that use a single DEX.

#2. Avoid Low-Liquidity Tokens for Large Positions

If you're putting significant capital into a trade, check the token's liquidity first. Low liquidity = high slippage = higher real cost. Tools like Birdeye show liquidity depth for every Solana token.

#3. Set Reasonable Slippage Limits

Most bots let you configure slippage tolerance. Setting it too high means you accept worse prices. Setting it too low means trades fail during volatile periods. A reasonable default is 1-3% for most tokens, higher for very new meme coins.

#4. Compare Total Cost, Not Just Headline Fee

A bot with 0.5% fees but poor execution (bad routing, high slippage) can cost more than a bot with 1% fees and optimized Jupiter routing. Look at the total cost: fee + slippage + priority fee.

#5. Compare Fee Percentages

For active trading and copy trading, even small differences in fee percentage compound dramatically. The difference between 0.1% and 1% per trade is 10x — and over hundreds of monthly trades, that translates to real capital saved or lost. For infrequent manual trading (a few swaps per month), the fee percentage matters less.

#The Bottom Line

Fees are one of the most important factors in long-term trading profitability, yet they're consistently overlooked. The right fee structure depends on your trading style:

• Occasional manual trading (5-10 trades/month): Fee percentage matters less at low volume; focus on execution quality
• Active manual trading (20-50 trades/month): Fees start to bite; look for the lowest per-trade percentage available
• Copy trading (50-200+ trades/month): Fee percentage is critical. At 200 monthly trades, the difference between 0.1% and 1% is 3.6 SOL per month on a 10 SOL account

The cheapest bot isn't always the best bot — execution quality, features, and fee percentage all matter. But ignoring fees entirely is a mistake that compounds into serious losses over time.

#Compare for Yourself

Browse Stratium's strategies and performance data at stratiumsol.com — all data is verifiable on-chain. For a full feature comparison beyond just fees, read our best Solana trading bots guide.

#Frequently Asked Questions

#What is the cheapest Solana trading bot?

In terms of per-trade fee percentage, Stratium charges just 0.1% per trade — significantly lower than BonkBot (1%), Trojan Bot (1%), and even Sol Trading Bot (0.5%). For active traders and copy traders making hundreds of trades per month, this 10x fee difference translates to significant savings.

#Do I pay fees on both buying and selling?

Yes — with per-transaction fee bots, you pay the percentage on every swap. A 1% fee means 2% round-trip cost (1% to buy + 1% to sell). This is important to factor in when calculating expected returns.

#Are there any free Solana trading bots?

No legitimate trading bot is completely free. All bots have some revenue model — per-transaction fees, performance fees, or subscription charges. Be cautious of bots claiming to be free, as they may monetize through hidden means (e.g., front-running your trades, selling your data).

#How do Jito priority fees work?

Jito is Solana's MEV (Maximal Extractable Value) solution. You pay a small tip to validators to include your transaction in a bundle that gets processed with priority. This ensures fast execution and protects against sandwich attacks. Most bots handle this automatically, with typical costs of 0.0001–0.001 SOL per trade.

#Do fees affect copy trading profitability?

Significantly. Because copy trading involves frequent, automated trades, fees compound quickly. A copy trading strategy that generates 30% monthly returns before fees might only deliver 15-20% after 1% per-transaction fees on high-volume strategies. Stratium's 0.1% fee preserves far more of those returns — the same strategy would deliver ~29.6% after Stratium's fees.