# How Much Money Do You Need to Start on Hyperliquid? > The technical minimum is 5 USDC. The practical minimum is higher. Here is what it actually costs to start trading on Hyperliquid, including fees most beginners forget to count. *Source: https://hyperliquidguide.com/guides/getting-started/how-much-money-to-start-on-hyperliquid* The honest answer is that you can start with 5 USDC and you probably should not. This page separates the technical minimum from the amount that actually makes sense, and counts the costs that catch people out. > **Key takeaway:** Hard floor: 5 USDC to deposit, 10 dollars per order. Practical floor: 50 to 100 dollars, which is where fees stop being a meaningful share of your balance. Anything you deposit should be money you can afford to lose entirely. --- ## The Actual Numbers | Cost | Amount | |---|---| | Minimum deposit (Arbitrum bridge) | 5 USDC | | Deposit fee charged by Hyperliquid | None | | Network gas to send the deposit | A few cents on Arbitrum | | Minimum order size, most markets | 10 dollars notional | | Trading fee, perps | 0.045% taker, 0.015% maker | | Trading fee, spot | 0.070% taker, 0.040% maker | | Withdrawal fee | 1 USDC | Those are small numbers in isolation. The problem with a tiny account is that they stop being small relative to the balance. On a 20 dollar deposit, the round trip in and out costs you 1 USDC before a single trade goes right or wrong, which is 5%. A trade needs to make 5% just to break even against the act of having tried. --- ## What Different Starting Amounts Feel Like **5 to 20 dollars.** Enough to prove the mechanics work. You can connect a wallet, [deposit USDC](/guides/getting-started/deposit-usdc-to-hyperliquid), place one small order and watch it fill. Do it. Reading about an interface and using it are different things. Treat it as tuition, not as an investment. **50 to 100 dollars.** The first amount that behaves like a real account. You can hold a position and still have collateral spare, take a second position, or close half of one. Fees fade into the background. Most people who stick with it started somewhere around here. **A few hundred and up.** Position sizing becomes a decision instead of a constraint. This is also the point where the security conversation stops being theoretical and you should be using a [hardware wallet](/guides/getting-started/best-hardware-wallet-for-hyperliquid) rather than a browser extension holding everything. > **Warning:** **Do not solve a small balance with leverage.** If you have 20 dollars and the minimum order is 10 dollars notional, leverage will let you open positions your balance cannot really support. That is how small accounts go to zero in an afternoon. Read [can you lose more than you deposit](/guides/getting-started/can-you-lose-more-than-you-deposit) before you touch the leverage slider. --- ## Costs People Forget The deposit minimum is the number everyone looks up. These are the ones that actually shape a small account: - **Getting dollars into crypto in the first place.** USDC has to come from somewhere. If you are [buying it with a card or bank transfer](/guides/getting-started/buy-crypto-with-fiat-on-hyperliquid), that step usually carries its own fee, often larger than anything Hyperliquid charges. - **Bridging.** Moving funds onto Arbitrum from another network costs gas and sometimes a bridge fee. The [bridging guide](/guides/getting-started/bridge-to-hyperliquid) covers the routes. - **The spread.** The gap between the buy and sell price is a real cost even when no fee line item appears. On thin markets it can exceed the trading fee. - **Getting it back out.** 1 USDC to withdraw, plus whatever it costs to convert back to spendable money. None of these are unusual or hidden. They are just easy to leave out of the arithmetic when you are estimating from the deposit minimum alone. **Pay 4% Less On Every Trade** — Fees matter most on a small account. Our referral link cuts them by 4% for as long as you trade. [Join Hyperliquid](https://app.hyperliquid.xyz/join/Concept211) --- ## How Much Should You Risk? Separate from "what can I start with" is "what should I put in," and the second question is the one that matters. The standard answer in trading is that you should be able to lose the entire balance without it changing anything about your life. That sounds like boilerplate until you meet someone it applies to. Crypto markets move violently, leverage magnifies it, and there is no insurance scheme and no support desk to appeal to. [Hyperliquid does not hold your money](/guides/getting-started/is-hyperliquid-safe), which is a feature right up until you make an irreversible mistake. A reasonable approach for a first account: deposit an amount you would be mildly annoyed to lose, not one you would be upset to lose. Trade spot, not perpetuals. Give it a month. Decide then whether to add more. --- ## What to Do Next 1. Work out where your USDC is coming from and what that leg costs 2. Set up a wallet and [read the security basics](/guides/getting-started/crypto-trading-security-guide) 3. Deposit an amount you are comfortable with, above the 5 USDC floor 4. Follow the [beginner checklist](/guides/getting-started/hyperliquid-beginner-checklist) to your first trade 5. Keep it in [spot markets](/guides/trading/spot-trading-guide) until you understand what a perpetual actually is **Start With the Discount Applied** — Sign up through our link before your first trade and lock in 4% lower fees permanently. [Get Started](https://app.hyperliquid.xyz/join/Concept211) --- ## Related Reading - [Deposit USDC to Hyperliquid](/guides/getting-started/deposit-usdc-to-hyperliquid), the step-by-step - [What is USDC?](/guides/getting-started/what-is-usdc-and-why-do-i-need-it) if that part is unclear - [Hyperliquid fees explained](/guides/fees/fees-explained) for the full fee schedule - [Hyperliquid for Dummies](/guides/getting-started/hyperliquid-for-dummies) if you are starting from zero - [Can you lose more than you deposit?](/guides/getting-started/can-you-lose-more-than-you-deposit)