The guide to decentralized perp trading
Perpetual futures moved on-chain. Start with what every venue charges — then read the full schedule on the venue's own page.
What each perp DEX charges
Base-tier perp rates across every perp DEX we cover or compare. Each venue name links to its full schedule and the date we verified it against official documentation.
| Venue | Fee model | Maker (base) | Taker (base) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hyperliquid verified 2026-09-16 | Order-book maker/taker; volume tiers; no gas per trade. | 0.015% | 0.045% | Open account at Hyperliquid (opens in a new tab) |
| Aster verified 2026-09-29 | Order-book maker/taker; 0% maker on every perp category, taker by category: Crypto General (USDT- or USD1-quoted) 0.04%, Group B 0.1%, RWA 0.0125%; Shield Mode and 1001x use their own fee rules. | 0% | 0.04% (crypto) / 0.1% (Group B) / 0.0125% (RWA) | Open account at Aster (opens in a new tab) |
| dYdX verified 2026-09-21 | Order-book maker/taker; 30-day-volume tiers set by governance. | 0.01% | 0.05% | Open account at dYdX (opens in a new tab) |
| GMX verified 2026-09-18 | Pool-based: position fee on open/close (imbalance-dependent) + borrowing fee while open + net price impact settled on close, capped per market. | n/a (no maker/taker split) | 0.04%–0.06% position fee, by pool imbalance | Open account at GMX (opens in a new tab) |
| Lighter verified 2026-09-16 | Order-book; zero-fee Standard accounts, paid Premium tier for lower latency, Plus tier for higher rate limits. | 0% (Standard) / 0.0040% (Premium) | 0% (Standard) / 0.0280% (Premium) | Open account at Lighter (opens in a new tab) |
| ApeX Omni verified 2026-09-24 | Order-book maker/taker; seven VIP levels set daily by 14-day volume or APEX/esAPEX staked. | 0.020% → 0% (by tier) | 0.050% → 0.025% (by tier) | Open account at ApeX Omni (opens in a new tab) |
| edgeX verified 2026-09-28 | Order-book with daily 30-day volume tiers. | Not published | Not published | Open account at edgeX (opens in a new tab) |
| Extended verified 2026-09-10 | Order-book maker/taker with documented maker rebates. | 0% | 0.025% | Open account at Extended (opens in a new tab) |
| GRVT verified 2026-09-21 | Order-book maker/taker, nine tiers by 30-day volume; makers rebated from Level 1. | −0.0001% | 0.045% | Open account at GRVT (opens in a new tab) |
| Variational Omni verified 2026-09-22 | Request-for-quote against one in-house dealer (OLP); no maker/taker fee, the cost is the quoted spread. | 0% | 0% | Open account at Variational Omni (opens in a new tab) |
| Nado verified 2026-09-30 | Order-book maker/taker (off-chain sequencer, on-chain clearinghouse on Ink); seven VIP tiers on 30-day spot + perp volume. | 0.01% → −0.008% (by tier) | 0.035% → 0.015% (by tier) | Open account at Nado (opens in a new tab) |
| SoDEX verified 2026-09-24 | Order-book maker/taker on SoSoValue's ValueChain; seven tiers on 14-day weighted volume (perps + 2× spot). | 0.012% → 0% (by tier) | 0.040% → 0.022% (by tier) | Open account at SoDEX (opens in a new tab) |
| Veranta verified 2026-09-29 | Vault-backed (avUSDC counterparty) at oracle price plus spread; maker/taker set by open-interest skew, charged on open and close. | 0.001% (crypto) · 0% RWAs | 0.045% (crypto) · 0% RWAs | Open account at Veranta (opens in a new tab) |
| Vest Markets verified 2026-09-30 | Session-based fee per market plus zkRisk risk premia and funding; off-chain matching, state on Base. | 0% stocks in US hours · 0.01% crypto | 0% stocks in US hours · 0.01% crypto | Open account at Vest Markets (opens in a new tab) |
| Derive verified 2026-10-05 | Order-book maker/taker on perps with a per-order taker base fee; options-first venue, ZK-proven settlement on Ethereum L1. | 0.01% | 0.03% + $0.01 per order | Open account at Derive (opens in a new tab) |
| Ondo Perps verified 2026-10-05 | Order-book maker/taker matched in an Intel SGX enclave; custodial omnibus hot wallet with off-chain balances. | 0.01% (promo; base 0.02%) | 0.025% (promo; base 0.05%) | Open account at Ondo Perps (opens in a new tab) |
| Jupiter Perps verified 2026-09-21 | Pool-based: flat open and close fees plus a borrow fee while the position is open. | n/a (no maker/taker split) | 0.06% open + 0.06% close, plus borrow | Open account at Jupiter Perps (opens in a new tab) |
| Ostium verified 2026-09-28 | Per-event: opening fee, oracle fee, rollover while open; closing is 0 bps except an early-close fee on profitable closes within 15 seconds. | n/a (no maker/taker split) | Open + oracle + rollover (+ early-close) | Open account at Ostium (opens in a new tab) |
| Pacifica verified 2026-09-11 | Order-book maker/taker; volume tiers. | 0.015% → 0% (by tier) | 0.040% → 0.028% (by tier) | Open account at Pacifica (opens in a new tab) |
| Paradex verified 2026-09-10 | Zero-fee Retail orders (web app or interactive-token API); Pro orders (standard API) pay a flat maker fee and a 14-day-volume taker ladder. | 0% (retail) / 0.003% (Pro) | 0% (retail) / 0.045% → 0.035% (Pro, by 14-day volume) | Open account at Paradex (opens in a new tab) |
Hyperliquid
Maker 0.015% Taker 0.045%
Order-book maker/taker; volume tiers; no gas per trade.
verified 2026-09-16
Open account at Hyperliquid (opens in a new tab) Aster
Maker 0% Taker 0.04% (crypto) / 0.1% (Group B) / 0.0125% (RWA)
Order-book maker/taker; 0% maker on every perp category, taker by category: Crypto General (USDT- or USD1-quoted) 0.04%, Group B 0.1%, RWA 0.0125%; Shield Mode and 1001x use their own fee rules.
verified 2026-09-29
Open account at Aster (opens in a new tab) dYdX
Maker 0.01% Taker 0.05%
Order-book maker/taker; 30-day-volume tiers set by governance.
verified 2026-09-21
Open account at dYdX (opens in a new tab) GMX
Maker n/a (no maker/taker split) Taker 0.04%–0.06% position fee, by pool imbalance
Pool-based: position fee on open/close (imbalance-dependent) + borrowing fee while open + net price impact settled on close, capped per market.
verified 2026-09-18
Open account at GMX (opens in a new tab) Lighter
Maker 0% (Standard) / 0.0040% (Premium) Taker 0% (Standard) / 0.0280% (Premium)
Order-book; zero-fee Standard accounts, paid Premium tier for lower latency, Plus tier for higher rate limits.
verified 2026-09-16
Open account at Lighter (opens in a new tab) ApeX Omni
Maker 0.020% → 0% (by tier) Taker 0.050% → 0.025% (by tier)
Order-book maker/taker; seven VIP levels set daily by 14-day volume or APEX/esAPEX staked.
verified 2026-09-24
Open account at ApeX Omni (opens in a new tab) edgeX
Maker Not published Taker Not published
Order-book with daily 30-day volume tiers.
verified 2026-09-28
Open account at edgeX (opens in a new tab) Extended
Maker 0% Taker 0.025%
Order-book maker/taker with documented maker rebates.
verified 2026-09-10
Open account at Extended (opens in a new tab) GRVT
Maker −0.0001% Taker 0.045%
Order-book maker/taker, nine tiers by 30-day volume; makers rebated from Level 1.
verified 2026-09-21
Open account at GRVT (opens in a new tab) Variational Omni
Maker 0% Taker 0%
Request-for-quote against one in-house dealer (OLP); no maker/taker fee, the cost is the quoted spread.
verified 2026-09-22
Open account at Variational Omni (opens in a new tab) Nado
Maker 0.01% → −0.008% (by tier) Taker 0.035% → 0.015% (by tier)
Order-book maker/taker (off-chain sequencer, on-chain clearinghouse on Ink); seven VIP tiers on 30-day spot + perp volume.
verified 2026-09-30
Open account at Nado (opens in a new tab) SoDEX
Maker 0.012% → 0% (by tier) Taker 0.040% → 0.022% (by tier)
Order-book maker/taker on SoSoValue's ValueChain; seven tiers on 14-day weighted volume (perps + 2× spot).
verified 2026-09-24
Open account at SoDEX (opens in a new tab) Veranta
Maker 0.001% (crypto) · 0% RWAs Taker 0.045% (crypto) · 0% RWAs
Vault-backed (avUSDC counterparty) at oracle price plus spread; maker/taker set by open-interest skew, charged on open and close.
verified 2026-09-29
Open account at Veranta (opens in a new tab) Vest Markets
Maker 0% stocks in US hours · 0.01% crypto Taker 0% stocks in US hours · 0.01% crypto
Session-based fee per market plus zkRisk risk premia and funding; off-chain matching, state on Base.
verified 2026-09-30
Open account at Vest Markets (opens in a new tab) Derive
Maker 0.01% Taker 0.03% + $0.01 per order
Order-book maker/taker on perps with a per-order taker base fee; options-first venue, ZK-proven settlement on Ethereum L1.
verified 2026-10-05
Open account at Derive (opens in a new tab) Ondo Perps
Maker 0.01% (promo; base 0.02%) Taker 0.025% (promo; base 0.05%)
Order-book maker/taker matched in an Intel SGX enclave; custodial omnibus hot wallet with off-chain balances.
verified 2026-10-05
Open account at Ondo Perps (opens in a new tab) Jupiter Perps
Maker n/a (no maker/taker split) Taker 0.06% open + 0.06% close, plus borrow
Pool-based: flat open and close fees plus a borrow fee while the position is open.
verified 2026-09-21
Open account at Jupiter Perps (opens in a new tab) Ostium
Maker n/a (no maker/taker split) Taker Open + oracle + rollover (+ early-close)
Per-event: opening fee, oracle fee, rollover while open; closing is 0 bps except an early-close fee on profitable closes within 15 seconds.
verified 2026-09-28
Open account at Ostium (opens in a new tab) Pacifica
Maker 0.015% → 0% (by tier) Taker 0.040% → 0.028% (by tier)
Order-book maker/taker; volume tiers.
verified 2026-09-11
Open account at Pacifica (opens in a new tab) Paradex
Maker 0% (retail) / 0.003% (Pro) Taker 0% (retail) / 0.045% → 0.035% (Pro, by 14-day volume)
Zero-fee Retail orders (web app or interactive-token API); Pro orders (standard API) pay a flat maker fee and a 14-day-volume taker ladder.
verified 2026-09-10
Open account at Paradex (opens in a new tab)Referral links: Hyperliquid, Aster, dYdX, GMX, Lighter. Following one may earn us a commission at no extra cost to you. The other 15 venues are plain links we earn nothing from — they are listed on the same terms as the rest. Neither affects the figures above or the order of this table. How we work.
Base rates answer one narrow question — what a small taker order costs on day one. For discount paths, what each flat rate hides, and how to read this honestly, see the full fee comparison. Every figure is checked against the platform's official documentation; see how we work on the methodology page.
Hyperliquid — the flagship on-chain perps exchange
Aster — the low-fee challenger
dYdX — perps since 2020, now on its own chain
Lighter — zero fees, zk-verified
Lighter review The zk-rollup where standard accounts trade free — and how that model sustains itself. Fees explained Zero-fee standard accounts, the Premium latency tier, and the LIT staking grid. Referral code Code PERPDEXGUIDE — what it does, and why we don't quote a discount Lighter doesn't publish.
GMX — the pool-model alternative
edgeX — the order book that prices itself in-app
edgeX review Self-custodial order book settling to Ethereum, USDC collateral, stock and forex perps — and a fee table the docs leave to the app. Fees explained The 30-day tier system, sub-account tier sharing, gas covered, hourly funding — and exactly what is not published. How to start Wallet or email login, the 10 USDC minimum, first order, and withdrawal chains and delays.
Paradex — private perps, options and zero retail fees
Paradex review Starknet appchain with hidden positions, free retail orders, a published Pro ladder, and the socialised-loss rules its docs disclose. Fees explained Retail zero, the Pro maker fee and taker ladder, DIME discounts, options caps, funding caps and the withdrawal charge. How to start Wallet, Starknet or email login, USDC via 30+ chains, retail vs Pro classification, and withdrawal timings.
Extended — TradFi perps on Starknet with a flat fee
Extended review Starknet-settled venue from an ex-Revolut team: 100+ markets across crypto, equities, FX and commodities, multi-asset collateral, no token, US and UK barred. Fees explained Flat 0.025% taker and 0% maker, the maker rebate ladder, referral discount, hourly funding caps by market group, and the 1% liquidation fee. How to start EVM or Starknet wallet, two signatures, deposits from six chains, sub-accounts as isolated margin, leverage brackets, and withdrawal timings.
Pacifica — Solana perps with unified spot-and-perp margin
Pacifica review Off-chain matching with on-chain custody, unified margin with implicit USDC borrowing, crypto plus equity, FX and commodity perps, no token, and a Terms list that bars the US, UK and Canada. Fees explained Eight tiers from 0.040% / 0.015% to 0.028% / 0% by 30-day volume, VIP tier transfer, hourly funding capped at ±4%, money-market interest and the liquidation deduction. How to start Solana wallet, USDC on Solana only, closed-beta caps, cross vs isolated per pair, leverage by market, and the $1 withdrawal fee.
Jupiter Perps — Solana perps priced by oracle against the JLP pool
Jupiter Perps review No order book: SOL, ETH and wBTC borrowed from the JLP pool at oracle prices, 1.1x to 250x, a 0.06% fee in and out plus price impact and an hourly borrow fee, JLP as counterparty, and a Terms list naming the US, "the Republic of China" and Singapore. Fees explained The 0.06% base fee, the linear-plus-additive price impact fee capped per asset, the hourly borrow formula and worked example, swap and rent costs, and the liquidation penalty that takes all remaining collateral. How to start Terms check, Solana wallet with 0.03 SOL, collateral by side, the $10 minimum, two transactions per trade, and the liquidation price that drifts as borrow fees accrue.
GRVT — Hybrid exchange: off-chain order book, ZKsync validium settlement, identity checks
GRVT review Off-chain matching with self-custodial SecureKey settlement on a ZKsync-stack validium, 194 USDT perps reaching single stocks, ETFs, commodities and pre-IPO names, makers rebated from Level 1, a live GRVT token, mandatory identity verification, a full-liquidation model, and a Panama operator that disclaims any local licence. Fees explained Nine perp tiers from −0.0001% maker and 0.045% taker, the spot ladder, membership locks that buy a tier, Multi-Asset Margin repayment fees of 0.1% to 0.25%, funding every 1, 4 or 8 hours, and 1–2 USDT withdrawal fees by network. How to start Banned-list and identity checks, email plus SecureKey sign-up, USDT deposits over two bridges with 1–5 USDT minimums, funding versus trading accounts, leverage per instrument, a first order, and 5-minute or 8-hour withdrawals.
Variational Omni — Request-for-quote perps against one in-house dealer, zero fees, private beta
Variational Omni review No order book: one in-house dealer quotes every trade and takes the other side in a bilateral settlement pool on Arbitrum, no maker or taker fee because the venue keeps the spread, 552 USDC perps reaching stocks, ETFs, commodities, FX and pre-IPO names, no insurance fund, a token that is not live, and an access-code private beta run by a Panama company. Fees explained Why the fee is zero and where the spread goes, the 0.1 USDC transfer fee, the funding formula with its 2% per hour cap and Bybit- or Binance-matched windows, 0% interest on TradFi perps, fixed 0.005% per 8 hours on pre-IPO names, SOFR-based daily funding on swaps, and the 0.5% liquidation penalty. How to start Restricted-persons check, the access code, an EVM wallet with USDC on Arbitrum, gasless deposits at 0.1 USDC, indicative versus firm quotes, leverage and margin modes, and withdrawals to the connected wallet.
ApeX Omni — Order-book perps on zkLink Nova: 100x majors, TradFi perps, fee tiers by volume or staking
ApeX Omni review Off-chain matching with zkLink Nova settlement, 88 USDT crypto perps at up to 100x plus 39 TradFi perps on stocks, indexes and commodities at 50x, seven fee levels set daily by 14-day volume or APEX staking, hourly funding capped at 0.05%, cross margin only, a live APEX token, and a settlement layer L2BEAT rates CRITICAL because its contracts can be upgraded by a single key with no delay. Fees explained The seven VIP levels from 0.020% maker / 0.050% taker to 0% / 0.025%, how volume or staking sets them daily, the funding formula and its ±0.05% cap, TradFi, prediction-market and Event costs, the 0.1% cross-collateral auto-repay fee, withdrawal fees by route, and delisting settlement at half the maker-plus-taker rate. How to start Restricted-persons check, a wallet or email account, deposits on five networks plus card and TRON routes, the Funding-to-Perpetual transfer, leverage and order types, the margin ratio and ADL indicator, and normal versus fast withdrawals.
Nado — Order book on Ink with unified margin across spot, perps and money markets; stock and FX perps
Nado review An off-chain sequencer matching in 5–15 ms with an on-chain clearinghouse on Ink, one unified margin account across spot, perps and borrowing, 82 perps including US stocks, FX, silver and oil, fees from 3.5 bps taker and 1 bp maker, an insurance fund backed by loss socialization, and a points Season 2 with no named token. Fees explained Seven VIP tiers from 3.5 / 1 bps to 1.5 bps and a −0.8 bp rebate, the lower FX schedule, the minimum taker fee, flat sequencer fees and fast withdrawals, hourly funding capped at ±2% a day, and the 20% protocol cut of money-market interest. How to start Restricted-territory check, email, social or wallet login, card funding through Fun.xyz or crypto from eleven chains into USDT0 on Ink, unified versus isolated margin, trigger orders, and standard or fast withdrawals.
SoDEX — SoSoValue order book on ValueChain: stocks and metals, maker rebates, custodied deposits
SoDEX review An on-chain order book on a perps appchain of SoSoValue’s ValueChain, 91 USDC perps reaching stocks, index trackers, gold and silver at up to 40x, fees from 0.040% taker and 0.012% maker with a SOSO staking discount and maker rebates, hourly funding capped at 4%, SoPoints toward a future SOSO airdrop, and deposits held by institutional custodians and mirrored on-chain. Fees explained Seven tiers on 14-day weighted volume from 0.040% / 0.012% to 0.022% / 0%, the SOSO staking discount of 5% to 40%, maker rebates to −0.003%, the hourly funding formula and its 4% cap, liquidation stages, and flat withdrawal fees per asset. How to start Excluded-jurisdiction check, email or wallet login, native-chain deposits through the Mirror Protocol with per-asset minimums and KYT screening, the Spot-to-Futures transfer, leverage and margin mode, orders, and withdrawals with KYA screening.
Veranta — Vault-backed perps on Base (ex-Avantis): zero-commission forex, metals and indices in growth mode
Veranta review Trades fill at the oracle price plus a spread against the avUSDC vault on Base, USDC-only isolated positions, 0.045% taker and 0.001% maker by open-interest skew on crypto, zero commission on real-world assets in growth mode, leverage to 500x on FX majors, Upside Perps that charge only on winning trades, a 2,500% profit cap and a profit-clawback clause in the Terms. Fees explained Maker and taker defined by open-interest skew, zero-commission RWAs, the net rate of funding plus borrow, Upside Perps profit sharing from 75% to 95% kept, AVNT staking tiers to 30% off, and where each fee goes. How to start US-person and sanctions check, social or wallet login, USDC on Base as the only collateral, gasless one-click trading, isolated sizing in USDC or in the asset, market, limit and TWAP orders, and what a market close does to a position.
Vest Markets — US stock, index and FX perps with no fee in market hours; zkRisk pricing on Base
Vest Markets review Off-chain matching with zkRisk risk pricing and state on Base, 88 tradable perps (mostly US stocks and ETFs, plus FX and crypto), no fee on stocks in US hours, cross margin only, a last-trade mark price, one validator, and three pricing incidents in 2026 including a full platform rollback. Fees explained Session-based fees by asset class, 0.01% per side on crypto, continuous funding with a 5% APY interest term, zero liquidation penalties, and Vest Capital evaluation fees. How to start Prohibited-jurisdiction check, email, Google or wallet sign-up, USDC deposits by Coinbase onramp or transfer, cross margin, the 24/5 schedule for non-crypto markets, and withdrawals.
Derive — Options-first exchange with 15 perps; ZK-proven settlement on Ethereum L1
Derive review European options to 400 days plus 15 perps and spot, off-chain matching with every batch proven and verified on Ethereum, four separately margined risk universes with standard or portfolio margin, auction liquidations backed by a per-universe Security Module, and leverage up to about 15x on perps. Fees explained Perp, option and spot fees, RFQ multi-leg discounts, the box-spread yield fee, a liquidation fee the docs give two ways, per-market funding caps and interest on borrowed USDC. How to start Restricted-person check, wallet connection, deposits on Ethereum, choosing a risk universe and margin mode, trading perps or options, and withdrawals paid on batch verification.
Ondo Perps — Stock perps around the clock with tokenized-stock collateral; custodial hot wallet, SGX enclave
Ondo Perps review Matching inside Intel SGX enclaves with deposits in an omnibus hot wallet and balances tracked off-chain, 65 enabled perps that are mostly US stocks, promotional fees of 0.025% taker and 0.01% maker, Ondo tokenized stocks as collateral with Auto-Exchange, cross margin only, and Public Beta limits. Fees explained Promotional and base perp rates, spot fees, the 1.5% liquidation fee, builder fees, hourly peer-to-peer funding with a 0.03% daily interest term, and the 2.5% closed-market fee on weekend Auto-Exchange. How to start Restricted-person check, wallet or email sign-in, funding USDC or tokenized stocks to a funding address, haircuts and USDC Debt, cross margin and leverage, orders and TWAP, and withdrawals.
Learn the mechanics first
Platform-agnostic guides to the instruments themselves — read these before comparing venues.
Beyond the dashboards: pick a strategy in the strategy explorer, or put an amount and risk appetite through the earning scenarios tool.
Compare the venues
Fee-verified, honest head-to-heads — the rival wins where it wins.
Best perp DEX in 2026 Hyperliquid, Aster, dYdX, GMX, and Lighter compared on verified numbers. Hyperliquid vs Aster The two hottest order-book perp DEXs, head to head on fees and custody. Hyperliquid vs dYdX The on-chain order book against dYdX, trading perps since 2020. Hyperliquid vs GMX The order-book model versus GMX's pool-based perps, on fees and mechanics. Hyperliquid vs Lighter The on-chain order book against Lighter's zero-fee zk-rollup — fees, latency, the LIT token.
More Hyperliquid head-to-heads: vs ApeX , vs Binance Futures , vs Bybit , vs edgeX , vs Extended , vs Jupiter , vs Ostium , vs Pacifica , vs Paradex