# Cheapest Perp DEX in 2026

The Perp Reference maintainers · Updated: 24 September 2026 · Readings taken 20 September 2026 · Venue documents read 18 September 2026

## Abstract

Lighter and Paradex tie as the cheapest perp dex: on the schedules we read on 24 September 2026 each
charges 0% maker / 0% taker, so a $10,000 taker round trip costs $0.00, against
$5.00 at Extended, $8.00 at Aster and $9.00 at the
three below, entry tier on both legs.

Weights: Order-book liquidity 30 · Market coverage 20 · Trading cost 18 · Security record 14 · Custody and settlement 12 · Access 6. One formula scores every entry, fixed on 22 September 2026 and never adjusted: https://thekiddushclubnft.com/scoring-method

## The cheapest perp dex at entry rates, taker fee first

Ordered by the taker fee, then the maker fee, at each venue's entry tier and before any discount.

| No. | Venue | Score of 7 | Maker / taker | Perpetual markets | Model |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1= | Lighter | 5.8 | 0% / 0% | 214 | Hybrid, ZK-proven |
| 1= | Paradex | 4.4 | 0% / 0% | 63 | Hybrid, Starknet appchain |
| 3 | Extended | 5.5 | 0% / 0.025% | 325 | Hybrid |
| 4 | Aster | 5.5 | 0% / 0.040% | 578 | Own layer 1, operator-run |
| 5= | edgeX | 5.3 | 0.040% / 0.045% | 172 | Hybrid |
| 5= | Hyperliquid | 5.0 | 0.015% / 0.045% | 324 | On-chain order book |
| 5= | EVEDEX | 4.7 | 0.015% / 0.045% | 52 | Hybrid |

Facts as of 18 September 2026; fees are the entry tier on the BTC perpetual and market counts are each venue's own. Access differs by country: the terms binding on you are the ones to read before a deposit.

## What the table shows

1. Nothing to cross at two venues: Lighter's default account and Paradex's web orders, both 0% maker / 0% taker, both 300 milliseconds slower for it.
2. One schedule for everyone: Extended at 0% maker / 0.025% taker, or $5.00 a round trip whatever the history.
3. The rate three venues share: 0.045% to cross at EVEDEX, Hyperliquid and edgeX, or $9.00 a round trip.
4. Cheap to cross is not cheap to fill: Paradex, level on fees with Lighter, held $32,811 within 10 basis points against $16.9 million at Lighter.

## The half of the price that no schedule prints

A fee is quoted in advance; what a fill gives up is not. Each book was read every ten minutes; the figures are medians.

| Venue | Median spread | Resting within 10 bps | Impact, $100,000 | Snapshots |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lighter | 0.01 bps | $16.9 million | 0.60 bps | 115 |
| Paradex | 2.67 bps | $32,811 | 132.47 bps | 118 |
| Extended | 0.12 bps | $7.4 million | 0.06 bps | 115 |
| Aster | 0.01 bps | $16.1 million | 0.38 bps | 117 |
| edgeX | 0.04 bps | $29.5 million | 0.02 bps | 113 |
| Hyperliquid | 0.12 bps | $9.6 million | 0.06 bps | 118 |
| EVEDEX | 4.12 bps | $18.3 million | 2.06 bps | 115 |

Read from each public order book, not from reported volume. No account was opened and no order was placed.

## 1=. Lighter — nothing to pay, latency instead

5.8 of 7 · BTC 50x, 2% margin · Wallet signature

The default Standard account charges 0% maker / 0% taker, so the round trip priced here is
$0.00 ([Lighter fee schedule](https://docs.lighter.xyz/trading/trading-fees), checked 18 September 2026). Time pays for
it: a taker order waits 300 milliseconds against 140 on the paid Premium tier, at 0.004% maker and
0.028% taker.

- In favour: Nothing to pay at the entry tier, on every market; Nine published audit reports from three firms.
- Noted against: A free-account taker order waits 300 milliseconds; One operator-run sequencer orders every trade.
- Not for: a desk that pays for speed anyway.

## 1=. Paradex — nothing on web orders, the thinnest book here

4.4 of 7 · BTC 50x, 300 BTC limit · Wallet signature; account derived from the address

Orders from the web interface have paid 0% maker / 0% taker since 15 June 2026
([Paradex fee schedule](https://docs.paradex.trade/trading/trading-fees.md), checked 18 September 2026); sent programmatically they fall
on the Pro tier, 0.003% maker and 0.045% taker, with no discount below 0.0175% for a Pro taker.

- In favour: Nothing to pay on orders sent from the web; Up to 500,000 USDC for a critical report through Sherlock.
- Noted against: The thinnest BTC book of the seven read; Web orders are held to three a second and 1,000 a day.
- Not for: an order that needs a book behind it.

## 3. Extended — one schedule, with no tier to climb

5.5 of 7 · BTC 50x to $4 million · Wallet signature, EVM or Starknet

Every account is priced alike at 0% maker / 0.025% taker, no volume ladder, so the round trip is
$5.00 whatever a trader's history
([Extended fee schedule](https://docs.extended.exchange/extended-resources/trading/trading-fees-and-rebates), checked 18 September 2026). On 278 of its
325 markets the quote comes from a market maker on request.

- In favour: One rate for every account, at any size; Takers pay 0.010% on real-world-asset markets.
- Noted against: No volume ladder, so size earns nothing back; The screen book on 278 of its markets is indicative only.
- Not for: a desk whose volume buys a tier elsewhere.

## 4. Aster — nothing to rest an order, 0.040% to cross

5.5 of 7 · BTC 200x to 400 USDT · Wallet signature or email

A resting order has cost nothing at every tier since 2 February 2026, and a crossing order pays
0.040%, or $8.00 the round trip
([Aster fee schedule](https://docs.asterdex.com/trading/perpetuals/fees-and-specs/fees), checked 18 September 2026). That is Pro mode; Shield Mode charges a
flat 0.03%. A second page of the documentation still prints 0.01% maker and 0.035% taker.

- In favour: Nothing charged to a resting order, at every tier; 578 perpetual markets on one schedule.
- Noted against: Two pages of its documentation quote different fees; Audits cover the vault and stablecoin contracts, not the chain.
- Not for: a taker who wants the lowest rate here.

## 5=. edgeX — the same crossing, a dearer resting order

5.3 of 7 · BTC 100x to $1 million · Wallet or MPC login

A Regular User pays 0.040% maker / 0.045% taker on the second-generation perpetuals: the crossing matches
the two entries above at $9.00, a resting order almost three times as much
([edgeX fee tiers](https://pro.edgex.exchange/en-US/vip), checked 18 September 2026). Its top tier pays 0.015% maker
and 0.020% taker, opening at seven billion dollars of fourteen-day volume.

- In favour: A $100,000 order would have moved its price 0.02 bps; Six published audits, the latest delivered in 2026.
- Noted against: 0.040% to rest an order, dearest here; Share perps refuse market orders while the stock market is shut.
- Not for: a trader whose orders mostly rest.

## 5=. Hyperliquid — the same rate, with a ladder underneath it

5.0 of 7 · BTC 40x to $150 million · Wallet signature or email code

The base tier prices a crossing at 0.045% and a resting order at
0.015%, the same $9.00 round trip as the entry above
([Hyperliquid fee schedule](https://hyperliquid.gitbook.io/hyperliquid-docs/trading/fees), checked 18 September 2026). What the two zero tiers do not
offer, this one does: the rate falls with fourteen-day weighted volume and with staked HYPE.

- In favour: Rates fall with volume and with staked HYPE; One tier covers every market it lists.
- Noted against: 0.045% to cross at the entry tier; No account type pays nothing.
- Not for: an account that never reaches tier two.

## 5=. EVEDEX — a fixed schedule with cashback on fees already paid

4.7 of 7 · BTC 200x to $50,000 · Wallet signature

EVEDEX charges 0.015% maker / 0.045% taker at the entry tier, or $9.00 for the round
trip priced here (per the EVEDEX documentation, 18 September 2026). Volume moves neither rate.
Cashback does: a share of fees already paid, to a ceiling of 35% of a trader's own fees, five
percentage points of it fixed to Prime, and 0.00975% maker and 0.02925% taker in effect at that
ceiling.

- In favour: Cashback returns up to 35% of the fees paid; The second-deepest book here, a median $18.3 million.
- Noted against: The printed rate is the same at every volume; CertiK Skynet listed no bug bounty on 18 September 2026.
- Not for: anyone who wants the rate itself to fall.

## What the zero on two of these rows is paid for

Neither zero is a gift: Lighter's free account waits 300 milliseconds on a taker order against 140
on the paid tier, and Paradex rations the orders it charges nothing to three a second
([Paradex fee schedule](https://docs.paradex.trade/trading/trading-fees.md), checked 18 September 2026).

The larger price is the book. Paradex held a median $32,811 within 10 basis points
of its BTC mid, thinnest of the seven, where a $100,000 order would have moved the price
132.47 bps against 0.60 bps at Lighter. The widest fee gap here is $9.00; the fill is ranked in
[the large-orders entry](/perp-dex-for-large-orders).

## Quotations

> "Currently, Extended features a flat fee structure for both perpetuals and spot markets: Taker: 0.025% Maker: 0.000%" — Extended documentation, Trading fees and rebates, 18 September 2026. https://docs.extended.exchange/extended-resources/trading/trading-fees-and-rebates
> "They are subject to speed bumps and lower rate limits." — Paradex documentation, Trader profiles, 18 September 2026. https://docs.paradex.trade/trading/trader-profiles
> "For each user, there is one fee tier across all assets, including perps, HIP-3 perps, and spot." — Hyperliquid documentation, Fees, 18 September 2026. https://hyperliquid.gitbook.io/hyperliquid-docs/trading/fees
## FAQ

### Which perp dex has the lowest fees?

Two of them charge nothing at the entry tier. Lighter's default Standard account and Paradex's web
orders both pay 0% maker / 0% taker, so a $10,000 taker round trip costs $0.00.
Among schedules that charge every account alike, Extended is lowest at 0.025%.

### What is the catch with zero-fee perp dexes?

Latency and the book. Lighter documents 300 milliseconds on taker orders from its free account
against 140 on the paid one, and Paradex adds a speed bump and three orders a second to retail
orders. Paradex also held the thinnest book we read.

### How much does it cost to open and close a $10,000 position?

At the entry tier, between nothing and $9.00 in fees across the seven venues here,
if both sides cross the book. Spread and price impact come on top, and funding is charged
separately. Four of the seven charge makers nothing.

### Do maker and taker fees matter more than the spread?

Not on a large order. The widest fee gap here is $9.00 on a $10,000 round trip,
while a $100,000 order moved the price 132.47 bps on the thinnest book and
0.02 bps on the deepest. Fees decide a small order, the book a big one.

### Why do two venues with the same taker fee cost different amounts?

Because the fee is only half the price. EVEDEX, Hyperliquid and edgeX all charge
0.045% to cross, but their books are not equally deep: we read a median
$29.5 million within 10 basis points at edgeX against $18.3 million at EVEDEX.

### Which venue is cheapest for a resting order?

Four of the seven charge makers nothing: Lighter, Paradex, Extended and Aster, the last of them at
every tier since 2 February 2026. The dearest is edgeX at 0.040%, almost three times
what Hyperliquid and EVEDEX charge a resting order.

### What is a taker fee?

The fee charged when an order is filled against one already resting on the book. Across the seven
venues here it runs from nothing, on Lighter's default account and Paradex's web orders, to
0.045% at EVEDEX, Hyperliquid and edgeX, with Extended and Aster between them.

### Can I lower perp dex fees without trading more?

Sometimes. Hyperliquid discounts its rates for staked HYPE as well as for volume, EVEDEX returns
up to 35% of a trader's own fees as cashback, and Extended pays rebates to large makers. Paradex
charges nothing on orders sent from the web interface, and Lighter nothing on its default
account.

### Do perp dex fees include funding?

No. Funding is a payment between the long and short sides of a market, not a charge the venue
keeps — EVEDEX computes a rate every eight hours and settles an eighth of it hourly. These are
trading fees only, and price impact is charged by the book rather than by any schedule.

### Are the fees the same on stock and commodity perpetuals?

Not always. Extended charges takers 0.010% on its real-world-asset markets against
0.025% elsewhere, and Aster prices Shield Mode at a flat 0.03%. Most venues here
price every market alike: EVEDEX charges 0.015% maker / 0.045% taker on coins, metals, oil, currencies
and share perpetuals without distinction.

### What is a basis point in trading fees?

One hundredth of one percent. A 0.045% taker fee is 4.5 basis points, so a $10,000
round trip costs $9.00 at that rate. The depth figures here use the same unit:
resting size is counted within 10 basis points of the BTC mid price.

## The making of this entry

One formula of six criteria, fixed on 22 September 2026 and applied to all 7 venues
([how we rate](/scoring-method)). Fees are each venue's own schedule, read 18 September 2026; the
books behind them are ours, every public BTC book read on a ten-minute clock across the two days to 20 September 2026. Nothing
deposited, no order sent. Margin is the whole of what a perpetual can cost, and the multiple decides how little it takes.

Read, not tested: custody, screening and the security record are a venue's account of itself. Fees
are the entry tier, before volume tiers or rebates. Depth was measured on one instrument, the BTC
perpetual, in one series of readings; one book answered fewer times than the rest. Not investment
advice.

Every rate here is the entry tier as published; volume ladders, staking discounts, rebates and
cashback are excluded — each a fact about a trader, not about the schedule.

Each venue is linked from its entry heading above. Open interest and the previous day's volume come from CoinMarketCap, captured 22 September 2026. Corrections: corrections@thekiddushclubnft.com.

The Perp Reference maintainers, 24 September 2026

The maintainers are paid to publish this reference, and a venue with an entry here may be the party that paid for it.