How to close a position on Hyperliquid
Verified against Hyperliquid docs: Order types and Hyperliquid docs: Margining · by Hyperliquid Academy
Three ways out
| Method | How | Fee side | Use when |
|---|---|---|---|
| Market close | The close button on the position | Taker | Getting out matters more than the price |
| Limit close | A limit order at your price, reduce-only | Maker if it rests | You have time and want the cheaper fee |
| Partial close | A smaller size, reduce-only | Either | Taking some risk off without exiting |
The default button is the market close, and it is the right answer more often than fee optimisation suggests, because an exit that does not happen is a worse outcome than an exit that costs three times as much.
The flag that prevents the expensive accident
Attach reduce-only to every exit
Without it, an order larger than your position does not stop at zero. It closes the position and keeps going, opening an equal position in the opposite direction. You intended to be flat and you are now short the same size you were long, usually without noticing until it moves.
Reduce-only makes that impossible. It costs nothing and there is no situation where an exit order should not have it.
Closing cheaply, when you have the time
At the entry tier the maker fee is roughly a third of the taker fee, and it reaches zero at higher volume tiers.
Cost of a $10,000 taker order as each discount is added
- Base rate, no discounts $4.50 0.045% Tier 0, nothing staked
- With referral code $4.32 0.0432% 4% off, applies from trade one
- Referral + Silver staking $3.67 0.03672% Over 1K HYPE staked and linked
- Referral + Diamond staking $2.59 0.02592% Over 500K HYPE staked and linked
- Everything, at the top volume tier $1.38 0.01382% Over $7B of 14-day volume as well
A resting limit order with reduce-only captures that difference on the way out, exactly as it does on the way in. The judgement is the same as always: is being filled right now worth paying triple?
On a planned exit at a target you chose in advance, usually not. On an exit because your thesis broke and the market is moving, absolutely yes — pay the taker fee and stop thinking about it. The fee levers, ranked covers where the real savings are, and they are not here.
What closing actually releases
A position reserves margin while it is open. Closing it returns that margin to your available balance, which is why you cannot withdraw a fully deployed account until you have reduced positions.
Two things surprise people about this.
Resting orders reserve margin too. An open order that has not filled can hold collateral. If you have closed everything and still cannot withdraw, cancel your resting orders and check again. Our withdrawal guide covers the sequence.
Partial closes free margin proportionally. Closing half a position frees roughly half the margin it was holding, not all of it and not none.
Cross margin changes what closing means
In isolated margin, closing one position affects nothing else. The collateral you allocated comes back and the rest of the account is untouched.
In cross margin, every position draws on the same account value, so closing one changes the liquidation price of the others — further away if you closed a loser, closer if you closed a winner and removed the cushion it was providing.
That second case catches people. Taking profit on a winner can move a different position closer to liquidation. The margin modes guide explains the mechanism.
Closing versus letting a stop do it
A stop is a closing order you set in advance. The difference is entirely about when you decide.
Deciding in advance, while flat and calm, produces better levels than deciding while the position is moving against you. That is the argument for attaching a stop at entry rather than watching and closing manually. The mechanics are identical; the decision quality is not.
Common mistakes
Closing without reduce-only. Covered above, and it is the only one on this list that can leave you worse off than before you tried.
Market-closing a large position in a thin book. The fee is the small part; the slippage is the large part. On size, a TWAP or a scale ladder costs less overall even though both pay taker fees.
Forgetting the funding. A position closed after several days has been paying or receiving funding the whole time. The realised result includes that, and on a multi-day hold it is often larger than the trading fees on both sides.
Cancelling the stop but not the position. If you close manually, check that any attached TP/SL orders are gone. An orphaned trigger can open a position later if it was not reduce-only.
Frequently asked questions
What is the cheapest way to close?
A limit order with reduce-only, resting on the book, which pays the maker fee instead of the taker fee. That is roughly a third of the cost at the entry tier. The catch is that it may not fill, which matters more on an exit than an entry.
What does reduce-only do on an exit?
It guarantees the order can only shrink the position. Without it, an order larger than your position closes it and opens an equal position in the opposite direction, which is a real and expensive accident.
Can I close part of a position?
Yes. Enter a size smaller than the position with reduce-only attached. The rest stays open with the same entry price, and the margin freed is proportional.
Does closing free my margin immediately?
Yes, once the closing order fills. Until then the margin is still reserved, which is why a resting exit order can stop you withdrawing even though you consider the trade finished.
Why did closing leave me with a position the other way?
The exit order was larger than the position and reduce-only was not attached, so the excess opened a new position in the opposite direction. This is the one mistake reduce-only exists to prevent.
Sources
- Hyperliquid docs: Order typeshyperliquid.gitbook.io
- Hyperliquid docs: Margininghyperliquid.gitbook.io
We link the primary source for every number on this page. If a figure here disagrees with the Hyperliquid documentation, the documentation is right and we want to know.