Hyperliquid Sub-Accounts Guide (2026): How They Work, Limits, Fees and How to Track PnL Across All of Them

The short version: Hyperliquid sub-accounts are separate trading accounts controlled by your main (master) wallet. Each has its own address, margin and positions, so a liquidation in one does not touch the others. They have no private key of their own: the master signs everything. Because each sub-account has a different address, most trackers only show you one slice of your trading. Hyperfolio lets you add the master and every sub-account as watched wallets and see the combined PnL, read-only.

What is a Hyperliquid sub-account?

A sub-account is an extra account created from your master wallet inside Hyperliquid. It gets its own on-chain address and its own balances, open perps, spot holdings and order history. You switch between accounts from the account selector in the Hyperliquid app, and you move USDC between master and sub-accounts with an internal transfer (no bridge, no gas).

Key properties:

• Isolated risk: margin is separate per account. A cross-margin blow-up in sub-account A cannot drain the collateral in sub-account B or in the master.
• No separate key: the master wallet (or an API/agent wallet it approves) signs for sub-accounts. You cannot import a sub-account into MetaMask.
• Shared fee tier: trading volume is aggregated with the master for fee tier purposes.
• Unlock requirement: Hyperliquid has required a minimum traded volume on the master before sub-accounts can be created; check the current requirement in the app before planning around them.

Why traders use sub-accounts

1. Separate strategies. One account for a long-term BTC/ETH swing book, another for scalping, another for a funding-arbitrage hedge. Each has a clean PnL history.
2. Contain liquidation risk. Run an aggressive high-leverage experiment with only $500 in a sub-account instead of risking your whole cross-margin balance.
3. Bots and API trading. Point a trading bot at a dedicated sub-account so its orders never collide with your manual positions. See our trading bots guide and Python API guide.
4. Accounting. Keep a hedge or a client mandate on its own address so exports and tax reports are easier (taxes guide).

How to create and fund a sub-account

1. Connect your master wallet on app.hyperliquid.xyz.
2. Open the account menu and choose the sub-accounts option, then create one and give it a name (for example “scalping” or “bot-eth”).
3. Use the transfer function to move USDC from the master to the new sub-account. It is an internal L1 transfer and settles almost instantly.
4. Switch to the sub-account and trade as usual. Positions there are only visible when that account is selected.

To withdraw, move funds back to the master first, then withdraw from the master as described in our deposit and withdraw guide.

Sub-accounts vs vaults vs separate wallets

	Sub-account	Vault	Separate wallet
Who controls it	Your master wallet	Vault leader, others deposit	Its own private key
Margin isolation	Yes	Yes	Yes
Fee tier	Shared with master	Own	Own (volume not combined)
Transfers	Instant internal	Deposit/withdraw rules, lockups	Normal transfers
Best for	Strategy separation, bots	Managing other people's capital	Full key separation / security

More on vaults in our Hyperliquid vaults guide.

Common mistakes

• Thinking the referral discount carries over. Referral fee discounts apply to the account that used the code; they do not apply to sub-accounts or vaults. See the referral code guide.
• Forgetting open positions. The app only shows the selected account, so it is easy to leave a forgotten short running in a sub-account.
• Misreading PnL. The master's PnL chart does not include sub-accounts, and internal transfers can look like deposits or withdrawals. Your real performance is the sum of all accounts, net of transfers.
• Sending funds to a sub-account address from an exchange. Deposit through the master; treat sub-account addresses as internal.

How to track PnL across master and all sub-accounts

Every sub-account is a normal public address on Hyperliquid, so you can list them from the public info API:

curl -s https://api.hyperliquid.xyz/info \
  -H 'Content-Type: application/json' \
  -d '{"type":"subAccounts","user":"0xYOUR_MASTER_ADDRESS"}'

The response lists each sub-account's name, address and current clearinghouse state. Then:

1. Open Hyperfolio (free, no sign-up, no keys).
2. Add the master address and each sub-account address as watched wallets, labelled by strategy.
3. Review combined equity, open perps, unrealized and closed PnL, funding and fees per wallet and in total. Hyperfolio is read-only, so nothing can be moved or signed.

This is the same workflow as in tracking multiple Hyperliquid wallets, and it lets you answer the real question: which strategy is actually making money after fees and funding (real PnL guide).

Example setup

Master: $20,000 idle USDC and HYPE staking. Sub-account “swing”: $10,000, 2-3x BTC/ETH. Sub-account “degen”: $1,000, up to 20x on new listings. Sub-account “bot”: $5,000 for a grid bot via an API wallet. If “degen” is liquidated, you lose $1,000, not your swing book. In Hyperfolio you see each line's PnL side by side and spot that, say, the bot earns on trades but gives it back in funding.

FAQ

How many sub-accounts can I have on Hyperliquid?

Hyperliquid caps the number of sub-accounts per master; check the current limit in the app, as it has changed over time.

Do sub-accounts have their own private key?

No. The master wallet (or an approved API wallet) signs for them.

Are transfers between sub-accounts free?

Internal transfers between master and sub-accounts happen on Hyperliquid L1 without bridge fees and settle almost instantly.

Can someone see my sub-accounts?

Yes. Like all Hyperliquid accounts they are public on-chain, and anyone can query the subAccounts endpoint for a master address.

Can I track sub-accounts in Hyperfolio?

Yes. Add each address as a watched wallet; Hyperfolio reads public data only and never asks for keys or signatures.

See your whole Hyperliquid book in one place: add your master and sub-accounts to Hyperfolio for free.