We compared perp DEX fees at 13 venues on 24 September 2026: entry-tier maker and taker rates on
the BTC perpetual and the taker cost of a $10,000 round trip. Lighter charges 0% on default retail
orders; ApeX Omni and dYdX share the highest taker rate here at 0.050%. Fees are one of six weighted
criteria in our scores.
What the numbers say
010% on default orders: Lighter, with a 300 ms delay on each free order.
02Lowest flat rate: Extended — 0% maker / 0.025% taker, or $5.00 per $10,000 round trip.
03Most common rate: 0.015% maker / 0.045% taker at EVEDEX, Hyperliquid and edgeX takers — $9.00 per $10,000.
04Pool-priced venues charge 0.035% to 0.06% per side plus price impact and borrow fees.
WeightsTrading cost25Liquidity25Custody and settlement20Security record15Market coverage10Access5how we rate
Perp DEX fees by venue, cheapest first
Ordered by the cost of a $10,000 taker round trip at the entry tier, before any volume discount, rather
than by the overall score.
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. Listed but not scored: Orderly (WOOFi Pro), gTrade, GMX, Jupiter Perps, Ostium — Orderly's rate depends on the front-end; the other four charge position fees plus price impact rather than maker and taker fees.
Criterion scores before the weights, each out of ten
Trading costLiquidityCustody and settlementSecurity recordMarket coverageAccess
The default Standard account waits 300 ms on a taker order; the paid Premium account charges
0.004% / 0.028% for 140 ms (Lighter fees, checked 18 September 2026).
Criterion scores before the weights, each out of ten
Trading costLiquidityCustody and settlementSecurity recordMarket coverageAccess
One schedule for every account, with no tiers to climb; RWA markets charge takers 0.010% (Extended fee schedule, checked 18 September 2026). A $10,000 taker round trip costs $5.00.
Reads well
No tiers to climb
Reads badly
No discount for volume
Most markets are request-for-quote
Not for: traders reading the 100x headline as a cap on BTC.
Criterion scores before the weights, each out of ten
Trading costLiquidityCustody and settlementSecurity recordMarket coverageAccess
Maker fees have been 0 at every VIP tier since 2 February 2026 (Aster
fees, checked 18 September 2026), though its own docs still show 0.01% / 0.035% on another page.
Criterion scores before the weights, each out of ten
Trading costLiquidityCustody and settlementSecurity recordMarket coverageAccess
That rate is what a regular user pays on V2 USDC-margined perps (edgeX fee tiers, checked 18 September 2026); its help centre still shows older V1 rates.
Criterion scores before the weights, each out of ten
Trading costLiquidityCustody and settlementSecurity recordMarket coverageAccess
The rates are fixed, and cashback returns part of the fees already paid, up to 35% of the trader's
own fees; at the maximum, effective fees are 0.00975% maker and 0.02925% taker (EVEDEX
documentation as of 18 September 2026). Prime adds a fixed 5 percentage points.
Reads well
Cashback of up to 35% of own fees
Reads badly
No volume tiers
$9.00 taker round trip before cashback
Not for: traders who want a 0% default rate.
07shared place
7. ApeX Omni — discounts by volume or APEX staking
Five venues carry facts and no score, for the reason printed under the table. Each has a card below.
What the headline perp DEX fees leave out
Entry-tier rates are only the start of the bill. Spread and price impact are charged on every taker
trade: in the snapshots of 19 September 2026 a $100,000 BTC order moved the
price 0.06 bps on Hyperliquid and 6.95 bps on dYdX.
Funding comes on top of both.
How the readings were taken
Fee schedules come from each venue's published fee pages and trading terms, checked on
18 September 2026. The round trip is a $10,000 entry and exit at the entry-tier taker rate. Spread and
impact come from our BTC order-book snapshots of 19 September 2026, polled every
10 minutes. Scores follow How we rate.
Entry-tier rates ignore volume tiers, staking, referrals and rebates. Funding is not included.
FAQ
How much are dex fees?
Entry-tier taker fees run from 0% on Lighter's default retail orders up to 0.050%,
charged by both ApeX Omni and dYdX. The most common rate here is 0.015% maker / 0.045% taker, making a $10,000 market round trip cost
$9.00 before spread and impact are counted on top of it.
Which crypto broker has the lowest fees?
Lighter charges 0% on its default retail orders, with a 300 ms delay on every free order. For a flat
rate covering every account and order type, Extended charges 0% maker / 0.025% taker, a
$5.00 taker round trip on $10,000.
How do you deal with maker/taker fees on Crypto exchanges
Post limit orders where the maker fee is lower, and read the tier rules. Makers pay 0% on Lighter,
Extended and Aster at the entry tier, against 0.040% on edgeX. A bot should weigh
zero-fee accounts against their 300 ms taker delay.
Which crypto exchange has the lowest fees?
On 24 September 2026 Lighter charges nothing on its default retail orders. Among venues charging every
account the same, Extended's 0.025% taker rate is the lowest here. Spread and impact
can outweigh both of those differences once the order is large enough.
Which DEX is best for perps?
Fees are one quarter of our score. Weighing custody, security, liquidity, markets and access as well, Lighter leads
with 8.5/10, helped by its 0% default fees. On fees alone, nothing else on this sheet
charges zero on both sides of a default retail order.
cex futures vs perp dexes, what are the real tradeoffs?
On fees the gap is small: several perp DEXs match or undercut typical exchange rates. Lighter charges 0% on its default account, and EVEDEX charges 0.015% maker / 0.045% taker. The larger differences are depth, custody and identity checks, which our other rankings cover.
Spaces Research — Updated: — write to editorial@spacesdao.org