Spaces Researchperp DEX and hybrid exchanges

Last check

24 September 2026

Poll interval

10 minutes, BTC perpetual books

Best Perp DEX for Beginners in 2026

Updated: Spaces Research

Readout

Extended is the best perp DEX for beginners in our 24 September 2026 test of 7 venues that offer a practice mode or email sign-in, scoring 7.8/10: a public testnet, one flat 0.025% taker fee and a bug bounty. Hyperliquid, edgeX, ApeX Omni, dYdX and Aster take an email sign-in instead of a browser wallet.

What the numbers say

  1. 01Practise first: Extended and Hyperliquid run public testnets, ApeX documents a testnet, and EVEDEX Academy offers courses and demo trading.
  2. 02Email sign-in without a browser wallet: Hyperliquid, edgeX, ApeX Omni, dYdX and Aster.
  3. 03Small first deposits: edgeX from 10 USDT and EVEDEX from 6 USDT.
  4. 04Not on this page: Lighter, which needs a browser wallet and documents no practice mode.

WeightsTrading cost25Liquidity25Custody and settlement20Security record15Market coverage10Access5how we rate

Best perp DEX for beginners, venues with practice modes or email sign-in

Only venues with a testnet, a demo mode or email sign-in qualify here, ordered by the overall score. Read the fee column first, then each card for its minimum deposit and the terms it trades under.

#VenueScore /10Maker / takerPerp marketsModelUse it for
1 Extended 7.80% / 0.025% 325 Hybrid a public testnet and one flat fee
2 Aster 7.70% / 0.040% 578 Own layer 1, operator-run email login and a 0% maker fee
3 edgeX 7.60.040% / 0.045% 172 Hybrid email sign-in and a 10 USDT minimum
4= ApeX Omni 6.90.020% / 0.050% 125 Hybrid email sign-up and card deposits
4= Hyperliquid 6.90.015% / 0.045% 324 On-chain order book email login and a testnet
6 EVEDEX 6.50.015% / 0.045% 52 Hybrid learning with EVEDEX Academy demo trading
7 dYdX 5.80.010% / 0.050% 78 App-chain, validator-held book Google, Apple or email sign-in

Entry-tier fees on the BTC perpetual; market counts as each venue's own interface reports them. Equal totals hold the same rank. Availability is decided by each venue's terms, not by this desk. Facts as of 18 September 2026; Scores use one formula for the whole site, fixed on 18 September 2026.

Order-book readings

Every BTC perpetual book on this page was polled on a ten-minute tick, 18 September 2026 12:02 UTC to 19 September 2026 09:10 UTC. The figures are medians of all successful snapshots, and the last column is how many snapshots stand behind each row.

Venue$10,000 round trip, takerMedian spreadMedian depth, 10 bpsDepth scaleImpact, $100,000 orderSnapshots
Extended $5.00 0.12 bps $7.4 million 0.06 bps 114
Aster $8.00 0.01 bps $16.1 million 0.38 bps 113
edgeX $9.00 0.04 bps $29.5 million 0.02 bps 109
ApeX Omni $10.00 0.71 bps $1.8 million 0.38 bps 114
Hyperliquid $9.00 0.12 bps $9.6 million 0.06 bps 114
EVEDEX $9.00 4.12 bps $18.3 million 2.06 bps 111
dYdX $10.00 1.23 bps $845,322 6.95 bps 114

Spread and depth are read straight from each venue's public order-book endpoint; price impact is what a market order of that size would pay against the book as it stood. No accounts were opened and no orders were placed.

01

1. Extended — a public testnet and one flat fee

7.8of 10breakdown

Criterion scores before the weights, each out of ten

Trading cost Liquidity Custody and settlement Security record Market coverage Access

Extended runs a public testnet on Starknet Sepolia and charges every account 0% maker / 0.025% taker (Extended fee schedule, checked 18 September 2026). Sign-in needs an EVM or Starknet wallet. Every transaction settles on Starknet, and its bug bounty pays up to $500,000.

Reads well

  • Public testnet
  • One flat fee for every account

Reads badly

  • Wallet needed to sign in
  • Most markets are request-for-quote

Not for: a beginner reading a market count as a count of books.

Official site: extended.exchange

02

2. Aster — email login and a 0% maker fee

7.7of 10breakdown

Criterion scores before the weights, each out of ten

Trading cost Liquidity Custody and settlement Security record Market coverage Access

Aster accepts email login with a 6-digit code, which creates a wallet that accepts only USDT on Arbitrum (Aster docs, checked 18 September 2026). Makers pay 0% at every VIP tier, takers 0.040% at VIP 1.

Reads well

  • Email login
  • 0% maker fee

Reads badly

  • Wrong-asset deposits to email wallets are not refunded
  • Closed-source chain

Not for: a beginner who wants an audit covering the chain that matches the order.

Official site: asterdex.com

03

3. edgeX — email sign-in and a 10 USDT minimum

7.6of 10breakdown

Criterion scores before the weights, each out of ten

Trading cost Liquidity Custody and settlement Security record Market coverage Access

edgeX lets you register with an email through an MPC wallet, and the minimum deposit is 10 USDT (edgeX docs, checked 18 September 2026). Fees are 0.040% maker / 0.045% taker, and a documented exit works if the operator stops.

Reads well

  • Email sign-in
  • 10 USDT minimum deposit

Reads badly

  • 0.040% maker fee
  • No bug bounty programme

Not for: makers at the entry tier.

Official site: pro.edgex.exchange

04shared place

4. ApeX Omni — email sign-up and card deposits

6.9of 10breakdown

Criterion scores before the weights, each out of ten

Trading cost Liquidity Custody and settlement Security record Market coverage Access

ApeX Omni accepts wallet or email sign-up, with card deposits through Alchemy Pay for email accounts (ApeX docs, checked 18 September 2026). Its docs describe a testnet on the trade page. Fees are 0.020% maker / 0.050% taker.

Reads well

  • Email sign-up
  • Card deposits for email accounts

Reads badly

  • 0.050% taker fee
  • Card deposits may need identity checks with Alchemy Pay

Not for: frequent takers.

Official site: omni.apex.exchange

04shared place

4. Hyperliquid — email login and a testnet

6.9of 10breakdown

Criterion scores before the weights, each out of ten

Trading cost Liquidity Custody and settlement Security record Market coverage Access

Hyperliquid accepts a wallet or an email login with a 6-digit code (Hyperliquid docs, checked 18 September 2026), and runs a testnet with a faucet for addresses that have deposited on mainnet. Fees are 0.015% maker / 0.045% taker, and BTC goes to 40x.

Reads well

  • Email login
  • Testnet with a faucet

Reads badly

  • Testnet faucet needs a prior mainnet deposit
  • HLP vault losses in 2025

Not for: a beginner who would not want a winning position closed to cover someone else's.

Official site: hyperliquid.xyz

06

6. EVEDEX — learning with EVEDEX Academy demo trading

6.5of 10breakdown

Criterion scores before the weights, each out of ten

Trading cost Liquidity Custody and settlement Security record Market coverage Access

EVEDEX offers EVEDEX Academy with courses and demo trading, and a deposit minimum of 6 USDT (EVEDEX documentation as of 18 September 2026). Trading needs only a wallet, with no traditional KYC; deposits pass automated AML screening. Fees are 0.015% maker / 0.045% taker.

Reads well

  • Courses and demo trading in EVEDEX Academy
  • 6 USDT minimum deposit

Reads badly

  • Wallet needed to sign in
  • Cross margin only

Not for: UK retail clients.

07

7. dYdX — Google, Apple or email sign-in

5.8of 10breakdown

Criterion scores before the weights, each out of ten

Trading cost Liquidity Custody and settlement Security record Market coverage Access

dYdX lets you sign in with Google, Apple or email through Turnkey and get a self-custodial wallet (dYdX blog, checked 18 September 2026). Deposits arrive in 10 to 30 seconds from several chains. Fees are 0.010% maker / 0.050% taker.

Reads well

  • Google, Apple or email sign-in
  • Fast USDC deposits from several chains

Reads badly

  • Median BTC depth of $845,322
  • Chain halt in October 2025

Not for: large orders.

Official site: dydx.xyz

What a beginner should check first

  1. Practice before money. A testnet or demo account shows how orders, margin and liquidation behave with play funds. Extended's testnet runs at starknet.sepolia.extended.exchange; Hyperliquid's faucet requires a prior mainnet deposit from the same address.
  2. Sign-in you can recover. Email and social logins create a self-custodial wallet for you, so there is no seed phrase to lose on day one; a browser wallet gives you more control but more to manage.
  3. Leverage settings. Start well below the cap. Leverage shortens the distance between the entry price and the liquidation price, and the whole margin sits inside that distance. At 20x a 5% move against you erases the initial margin; at 50x it takes 2%.
  4. Access in your country. Every venue here restricts some countries in its terms. Read them before you deposit.

How the readings were taken

Two kinds of number reach this screen. Depth, spread and price impact are ours — every BTC perpetual book polled on a ten-minute tick, 18 September 2026 12:02 UTC to 19 September 2026 09:10 UTC, no account opened and no order sent, each median printed with the count of readings behind it. The rest is read off each venue's own documentation and trading terms on 18 September 2026: rate cards, market lists, leverage ladders, sign-in and access rules, audit history. Six weighted criteria, fixed on 18 September 2026 and unmoved since, turn those readings into the 7 totals on this page (How we rate). Venues qualified with a documented practice mode or email sign-in; minimum deposits come from each venue's documentation.

Custody, settlement and the security record are marked off documents, and a document is a statement of intent — none of it has been put under stress here. The fee column is the entry-tier rate a new account is quoted, with volume tiers, rebates and cashback left out of it. Depth was read on the BTC book alone, the deepest contract every one of these venues runs, so a venue that reads well on this screen can still be thin in a smaller market. Venues priced from an oracle or a pool never had a resting book to read, and carry their facts without a total on the perp DEX list.

FAQ

What are the best futures to trade for a beginner?

Large, liquid contracts such as BTC and ETH perpetuals, because their books are deepest and spreads tightest. In the snapshots the BTC book held a median $7.4 million within 10 bps on Extended and $9.6 million on Hyperliquid. Practise on a testnet first, and keep leverage low.

Is this best perp DEX to trade BTC and other coins for beginners?

For a first account, pick a venue where you can practise and recover access. Extended runs a public testnet, Hyperliquid and ApeX Omni offer email sign-in plus testnets, and EVEDEX Academy has demo trading. Extended scores highest here at 7.8/10.

How do you approach perp DEX trading & which platforms are actually good?

Start on a testnet, then trade small sizes at low leverage on a liquid market. Among venues with practice modes or email sign-in, Extended leads our scores at 7.8/10, then Aster at 7.7 and edgeX at 7.6. Read each venue's terms for your country first.

How risky is 100x leverage?

Very risky, especially for a beginner. At 100x the initial margin is 1% of the position, so a 1% move against you wipes it out, and maintenance margin liquidates you before that. Most venues here let you choose far lower leverage, and the cap is a limit, not a target.

Which DEX is best for perps?

Across all order-book venues, Lighter leads our scores at 8.5/10, but it needs a wallet and documents no practice mode, so it is not on this beginners list. Among venues with practice modes or email sign-in, Extended scores highest at 7.8/10.

where to trade crypto futures using a dex?

For a first trade, a venue with email sign-in removes the browser-wallet step, and five of the venues scored here offer it: Hyperliquid, edgeX, ApeX Omni, dYdX and Aster. Check the venue's own terms for your country, fund a small amount, start at low leverage and keep the first position small enough to lose.

Spaces Research — Updated: — write to editorial@spacesdao.org