Venues / Pacifica

Pacifica perp DEX alternatives: cheaper and similar options (Oct 2026)

Why look beyond Pacifica

• Referrals pay in points; the docs document no fee discount for referred traders.
• A referrer needs $10,000 of volume before getting a link.
• US persons are prohibited and the stated restricted list is non-exhaustive.
• The wider system is young; it launched in June 2025 and the docs say it is self-funded, with no outside investors named.

Pacifica alternatives for US traders →

Cheaper than Pacifica

Lighter 0%, Paradex 0%, Ostium 0.06% — against Pacifica at 0.08% per round trip. Platform fee only; spreads and network fees are extra.

The alternatives

1. Lighter

   Perp DEXSelf-custody

   Ethereum · 0% round trip · US: not available

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

   + The default Standard account charges 0% maker and 0% taker on perps and spot.

   Open Lighter — 10% off fees

2. Paradex

   Perp DEXSelf-custody

   Paradex · 0% round trip · US: not available

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

   + Retail orders pay 0% maker and 0% taker on perps, spot and options.

   Open Paradex

3. Ostium

   Perp DEXSelf-custody

   Arbitrum · 0.06% round trip · US: not available

   Traders who want onchain leveraged exposure to stocks, forex, commodities and indices from a self-custodied wallet, outside the US.

   + Covers 75 pairs across stocks, ETFs, commodities, indices, forex and crypto, which most crypto perp venues do not list.

   Open Ostium

4. Aster

   Perp DEXSelf-custody

   Aster Chain · BNB Chain · Arbitrum · 0.08% round trip · US: not available

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

   + Maker fees are 0% at every VIP tier on order-book perps since February 2026.

   Open Aster

5. Hyperliquid

   Perp DEXSelf-custody

   Hyperliquid · 0.09% round trip · US: not available

   Perps traders outside the US who want onchain order-book trading from their own wallet, with fees that drop by volume and HYPE staking.

   + Base perps fees are 0.045% taker / 0.015% maker, falling to 0.024% / 0% at the top volume tier.

   Open Hyperliquid — 4% off fees

6. Avantis

   Perp DEXSelf-custody

   Base · 0.09% round trip · US: unverified

   Traders who want crypto, forex, commodities and US or Korean equity exposure from one USDC balance on Base.

   + Zero maker and taker commission on real-world asset markets while in growth mode.

   Open Avantis

7. edgeX

   Perp DEXSelf-custody

   Ethereum · 0.09% round trip · US: not available

   Non-US, non-Canadian perps traders who want an Ethereum-settled order book with stock and forex perps and an email login option.

   + Settles to Ethereum, with V1 built on the StarkEx ZK-rollup engine and V2 anchoring state roots to Ethereum L1.

   Open edgeX

8. ApeX Omni

   Perp DEXEmbedded wallet

   Zklink · 0.1% round trip · US: not available

   Traders who want a large perp listing with TradFi and stock perps and a staking-based fee discount, and who are outside the United States.

   + Fee ladder is published with seven levels, and staking APEX can unlock Levels 1 to 4 without volume.

   Open ApeX Omni

Cost compared