Best of

Lowest-fee perp DEXes (2026)

For paying the least to trade perps, our top pick is Lighter — non-US, non-UK retail perps traders who want zero trading fees and can accept slower taker execution than paid accounts. Also strong: Paradex, Aster, Pacifica.

Checked 2026-10-17 · 10 venues · method
#1 · Top pick

Lighter

0%
Perps taker fee

Non-US, non-UK retail perps traders who want zero trading fees and can accept slower taker execution than paid accounts.

US: Not availableEthereum

Open Lighter — 10% off fees
#2

Paradex

0%
Perps taker fee

Non-US traders who place orders manually through a web UI and want zero-fee perps plus options from one margin account.

US: Not availableParadex

Open Paradex
#3

Aster

0.04%
Perps taker fee

Non-US, non-UK traders who want zero maker fees on order-book perps, very high leverage modes, or privacy-shielded orders.

US: Not availableAster ChainBNB Chain

Open Aster

Full ranking

#VenueBest forTaker feeUS
1LighterNon-US, non-UK retail perps traders who want zero trading fees and can accept slower taker execution than paid accounts. 0% taker Not available Open
2ParadexNon-US traders who place orders manually through a web UI and want zero-fee perps plus options from one margin account. 0% taker Not available Open
3AsterNon-US, non-UK traders who want zero maker fees on order-book perps, very high leverage modes, or privacy-shielded orders. 0.04% taker Not available Open
4PacificaSolana perp traders who want a published volume ladder, 50x leverage on majors and exposure to RWA and pre-IPO markets, and who are outside the United States. 0.04% taker Not available Open
5HyperliquidPerps traders outside the US who want onchain order-book trading from their own wallet, with fees that drop by volume and HYPE staking. 0.045% taker Not available Open
6AvantisTraders who want crypto, forex, commodities and US or Korean equity exposure from one USDC balance on Base. 0.045% taker Unverified Open
7edgeXNon-US, non-Canadian perps traders who want an Ethereum-settled order book with stock and forex perps and an email login option. 0.045% taker Not available Open
8ApeX OmniTraders who want a large perp listing with TradFi and stock perps and a staking-based fee discount, and who are outside the United States. 0.05% taker Not available Open
9Backpack ExchangeKYC-verified traders outside the US who want a licensed custodial venue for crypto spot and perps, including EU users via Backpack EU. 0.05% taker Partly available Open
10dYdXNon-US, non-UK, non-Canadian traders who want an open-source, order-book perps venue with volume-tiered fees. 0.05% taker Not available Open

The picks

  1. Lighter

    Ethereum · web, ios, android · 0% round trip

    Lighter is an order-book perpetuals and spot exchange running as a ZK rollup on Ethereum, operated by Elliot Technologies, Inc. Its default Standard account trades with zero maker and taker fees; lower-latency Premium and Plus accounts pay fees.

    • The default Standard account charges 0% maker and 0% taker on perps and spot.
    • Paid Premium accounts start at 0.028% taker / 0.004% maker and drop up to 30% with LIT staking.

    Watch out: Free Standard accounts carry 300 ms taker latency versus 140 ms on paid Premium accounts.

    Open Lighter — 10% off fees · Full Lighter sheet

  2. Paradex

    Paradex · web · 0% round trip

    Paradex is a perpetuals, dated-options and spot exchange running on its own Starknet-based appchain, with a unified margin account across 90+ markets. Orders placed through the web interface are classed as Retail and pay zero trading fees; API (Pro) orders pay a taker fee.

    • Retail orders pay 0% maker and 0% taker on perps, spot and options.
    • Positions, entries, PnL and liquidation levels are hidden from the public.

    Watch out: US persons, Canadian persons and US territories are restricted.

    Open Paradex · Full Paradex sheet

  3. Aster

    Aster Chain · BNB Chain · Arbitrum · web · 0.08% round trip

    Aster is a decentralized perpetuals exchange offering order-book perps on crypto, stocks and commodities, plus a Shield Mode with order privacy, a one-click 1001x mode and spot trading. It runs on Aster Chain, its own privacy-focused layer 1, which announced mainnet in March 2026.

    • Maker fees are 0% at every VIP tier on order-book perps since February 2026.
    • General crypto perps start at 0.04% taker and drop to 0.016% at VIP 6.

    Watch out: The Terms bar residents of the US, Canada and the UK, among others.

    Open Aster · Full Aster sheet

  4. Pacifica

    Solana · web · 0.08% round trip

    Pacifica is a Solana perpetuals and spot exchange that launched in June 2025 and now also lists real-world assets and pre-IPO markets. Base fees are 0.015% maker and 0.040% taker, and referrals pay in points rather than fee discounts.

    • Fee schedule is published with eight tiers and a 0% maker fee at the VIP tiers.
    • BlockSec audited the perpetuals contracts, with the report linked in the docs.

    Watch out: Referrals pay in points; the docs document no fee discount for referred traders.

    Open Pacifica · Full Pacifica sheet

  5. Hyperliquid

    Hyperliquid · web · 0.09% round trip

    Hyperliquid is a layer-1 blockchain whose HyperCore layer runs fully onchain perpetual futures and spot order books, with a HyperEVM smart-contract layer alongside. It targets active perps traders who want order-book trading from a self-custodied wallet.

    • Base perps fees are 0.045% taker / 0.015% maker, falling to 0.024% / 0% at the top volume tier.
    • Staking HYPE gives a 5% to 40% fee discount, and high-share makers can earn rebates.

    Watch out: The Terms bar US and Ontario residents and prohibit VPN use to get around that.

    Open Hyperliquid — 4% off fees · Full Hyperliquid sheet

  6. Avantis

    Base · web · 0.09% round trip

    Avantis, now documented as Veranta, is a USDC-margined perpetuals exchange on Base for crypto, forex, commodities, indices and equities. Crypto majors pay a 0.045% taker commission, and real-world asset markets are commission-free while in growth mode.

    • Zero maker and taker commission on real-world asset markets while in growth mode.
    • Gasless trading: the platform submits orders and sponsors gas.

    Watch out: Docs disagree on the maker rate (0.001% on one page, a swapped 1 bp figure in the table).

    Open Avantis · Full Avantis sheet

  7. edgeX

    Ethereum · web · 0.09% round trip

    edgeX is an order-book perpetuals exchange, operated by edgeX Trading Inc., that settles to Ethereum. V1 ran on the StarkEx ZK-rollup engine; V2 is a dedicated modular rollup anchoring state roots to Ethereum. It lists crypto, stock and forex perps plus spot.

    • Settles to Ethereum, with V1 built on the StarkEx ZK-rollup engine and V2 anchoring state roots to Ethereum L1.
    • Email login creates an MPC wallet, so new users do not need an existing crypto wallet.

    Watch out: The regular-user maker fee of 0.040% is close to the 0.045% taker fee, so resting orders save little.

    Open edgeX · Full edgeX sheet

  8. ApeX Omni

    Zklink · web · 0.1% round trip

    ApeX Omni is a perpetuals exchange built on zkLink X with over 100 perpetual contracts, TradFi and stock perps, prediction markets and a grid bot. Base fees are 0.020% maker and 0.050% taker, with an APEX staking route to lower tiers.

    • Fee ladder is published with seven levels, and staking APEX can unlock Levels 1 to 4 without volume.
    • Gas on its Layer 2 is subsidised and cancelled orders cost nothing.

    Watch out: US persons are barred by the Terms of Use.

    Open ApeX Omni · Full ApeX Omni sheet

  9. Backpack Exchange

    Solana · Ethereum · Bitcoin · web, ios, android · 0.1% round trip

    Backpack Exchange is a centralized, custodial crypto exchange offering spot, margin, lending and perpetual futures, licensed by Dubai's VARA, with an EU arm (Backpack EU) built on the MiFID II licence acquired from FTX EU. It is not a decentralized exchange.

    • Base perps fees are 0.02% maker / 0.05% taker, with maker fees reaching 0% from VIP2 ($25M 30-day volume).
    • Holds a Dubai VARA VASP licence, and the EU arm operates under a MiFID II licence acquired with FTX EU.

    Watch out: Custodial exchange: KYC is required and users do not hold their own keys on the exchange.

    Open Backpack Exchange · Full Backpack Exchange sheet

  10. dYdX

    Dydx Chain · web · 0.1% round trip

    dYdX is an order-book perpetuals exchange running on its own appchain, the dYdX Chain (v4), whose protocol, indexer and front end are open source. Fees are tiered by 30-day volume and set by governance.

    • Protocol, indexer and front end are open source, and dYdX Trading Inc. does not run any of them.
    • Tier 1 perps fees are 0.05% taker and 0.01% maker, falling to 0.025% taker with a maker rebate at the top tier.

    Watch out: dydx.trade terms block US, UK and Canadian persons.

    Open dYdX · Full dYdX sheet

What a trade costs on each

Cost of a round trip (buy + sell). Platform fee only; network and pool fees are extra.

VenueRate (round trip)You pay

How we ranked

Filtered to live venues that fit the job, then ranked by base-tier perps taker fee. Fee data comes from each venue's own fee page, checked 2026-10-17. Venues that are suspended or merged are excluded.

FAQ

What is the lowest-fee perp dexes?

For paying the least to trade perps, our top pick is Lighter — non-US, non-UK retail perps traders who want zero trading fees and can accept slower taker execution than paid accounts. Also strong: Paradex, Aster, Pacifica.

Which is cheapest?

Lighter: 0% per round trip, platform fee only.

Which of these work in the US?

None of these list the US as fully available in their terms.

How did DexSheet rank these?

Filtered to live venues that fit the job, then ranked by base-tier perps taker fee.