GMX vs Kwenta Comparison
| 0.04% maker / 0.06% taker (V2) | Fees | 0.25% - 0.3% |
Cost comparison
The basis is a Bitcoin purchase worth €1,000, including all fees and spreads.
| 0.04% maker / 0.06% taker (V2) | Fees | 0.25% - 0.3% |
Pros & Cons
- Trading against a liquidity pool — no order-book slippage
- Oracle-based pricing
- 100+ perpetual contracts at up to 100x leverage
- Live on several chains, centred on Arbitrum
- Long operating history in DeFi
- More expensive than fee-free order-book competitors
- Ongoing funding costs weigh on longer holding periods
- Dependence on oracle pricing as a structural risk factor
- No EU authorisation
- Access to synthetic perpetuals from the Synthetix ecosystem
- More than 40 tracked assets
- Existing trading functionality retained during the transition
- Low network fees on Optimism
- No longer a standalone project — acquired by Synthetix
- The native token is set to cease to exist
- Fees of 0.25% to 0.3% per trade, far above the segment norm
- Not a sensible candidate for a fresh start
- No EU authorisation
Score Comparison
Features
- Pool-based model instead of an order book
- No conventional slippage
- Leverage up to 100x
- Established protocol on Arbitrum
- Acquisition by Synthetix
- Token wind-down announced
- Synthetic perpetuals on Optimism
- Trading still possible during the transition
The five areas head to head
AI AnalysisFees & Costs
In version 2, trading fees run around 0.04% for makers and 0.06% for takers. Ongoing funding costs apply to open positions, plus swap fees when collateral is exchanged. Network fees on Arbitrum sit in the range of a few cents. Anyone holding positions for days should price in funding costs above all. As of August 2026.
Trading fees most recently ran at 0.25% to 0.3% per trade — a multiple of the 0.02% to 0.05% charged by order-book DEXs in the same comparison. Network fees on Optimism are low by contrast. Given the transfer into the Synthetix offering, terms should be checked directly before trading. As of August 2026.
Usability & User Experience
The interface is deliberately simple and one of the more approachable entries in the segment — position size, leverage and collateral are set in a few steps. Anyone unfamiliar with the pool model should read up on funding costs and oracle pricing first. As of August 2026.
The interface was functional and tailored to synthetic trading. Anyone starting today should account for the transition to Synthetix and begin there rather than rely on a brand that is being retired. As of August 2026.
Features & Offering
More than 100 perpetual contracts trade against a liquidity pool, with WETH, USDC or GMX serving as collateral. Pricing comes from oracle feeds rather than an order book. Beyond trading, users can supply liquidity; the protocol's fees flow predominantly to those providers. As of August 2026.
Kwenta tracked more than 40 synthetic assets built on the Synthetix protocol, most recently on Optimism. Following the acquisition the interface is being folded into the Synthetix offering and the native token is set to cease to exist. No new features are to be expected for Kwenta as a standalone product. As of August 2026.
Details
| GMX Protocol | Company | Synthetix (acquired Kwenta) |
| Decentralised, no registered office | Headquarters | Decentralised, no registered office |
Verdict
In our overall rating GMX leads with 4.2 against 2.5 for Kwenta.
For most investors GMX is therefore the better choice.
GMX takes a different route from order-book DEXs: trades run against a liquidity pool and prices come from oracle feeds. That has a practical benefit — even larger positions execute without the slippage a thin order book would produce. The counterweight is that liquidity providers carry the risk and are compensated through fees.
In version 2, trading fees run around 0.04% for makers and 0.06% for takers, plus ongoing funding costs on open positions. That makes GMX more expensive than the fee-free order-book competitors, particularly for positions held over longer periods.
The centre of gravity remains Arbitrum, with the protocol also live on Avalanche and further chains. More than 100 perpetual contracts trade at up to 100x leverage. GMX suits traders building larger positions who want to avoid order-book slippage and who price in funding costs. The platform holds no EU authorisation; perpetuals sit outside MiCA in any case, and tax reporting rests entirely with the user.
Kwenta is no longer a standalone platform. Synthetix acquired the trading front end in order to run the interface and user experience itself, and the KWENTA token is set to cease to exist as part of that. Trading remains functional for existing users during the transition, but the brand is being folded into the Synthetix offering.
Substantively, Kwenta always concerned synthetic perpetuals built on Synthetix, most recently on Optimism, covering more than 40 tracked assets. Fees of 0.25% to 0.3% per trade sat far above the order-book DEXs — a disadvantage that sharpened as cheaper competitors advanced.
There is therefore little case for starting here. Anyone wanting to trade synthetic perpetuals from this ecosystem is better served going directly through Synthetix. The venue holds no EU authorisation and tax reporting rests entirely with the user.