What Affiliate Fees Take From a Cross-Chain Swap

An affiliate fee reduces your cross-chain swap output by the amount the interface takes for routing it. The quote can also include network, liquidity and outbound fees, so the affiliate line alone does not tell you what you will receive.

On THORChain, an integrator can specify an affiliate address and a fee rate in the swap instruction. For a closer look at how one integration presents this flow, see thor swap. The fee is taken from the inbound amount; 100 basis points (bps) equals 1%, so a hypothetical 30 bps fee on $1,000 would be $3 before accounting for the other costs and the swap rate.

How is an affiliate fee charged?

The affiliate fee is a share of the amount you send, paid to the interface or integrator that arranged the swap. It is separate from the protocol’s liquidity fee, which reflects the effect of the swap on the pool, and from network gas needed to send and deliver the assets. A fee rate is not the same as your total cost: the amount received also depends on the route, pool depth and transaction fees.

What else reduces your swap output?

Your final amount can be lower because several charges and price effects apply along the way. Depending on the route, you may pay gas on the source chain, a liquidity fee during the swap, and an outbound fee to send the destination asset. The swap itself can also move the pool price, creating price impact. These costs are not all affiliate charges, even when a single interface shows them together.

• Affiliate fee: the integrator’s stated cut, usually expressed in bps.
• Network fees: gas for the inbound and outbound transactions.
• Liquidity fee and price impact: costs tied to the swap’s size and available pool liquidity.

How can you compare the real cost?

Compare the quoted destination amount for the same source asset, amount and destination, rather than comparing affiliate rates alone. Before you approve the transaction:

1. Check the affiliate fee and its rate in the quote.
2. Review the estimated destination amount and any listed network or liquidity fees.
3. Compare another quote with the same inputs, then decide whether the difference is worth the interface you prefer.

For most swaps, the useful measure is what arrives after all charges, not whether one fee line looks small. Quotes are estimates, and network conditions or pool prices can change before the swap completes.