GMX vs Lighter Comparison

GMX
GMX
4.2of 5
Go to GMX
vs
Lighter
Lighter
Winner
4.9of 5
Go to Lighter
0.04% maker / 0.06% taker (V2)FeesFree for standard accounts; premium 0.004% / 0.028%

Pros & Cons

GMX
GMX
Pros
  • 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
Cons
  • 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
GMX Reviews
Lighter
Lighter
Pros
  • Fee-free trading for standard accounts
  • Execution and liquidations verifiable via zero-knowledge proofs
  • Anchored to Ethereum with an escape hatch if the sequencer misbehaves
  • Order types including TWAP and conditional orders
  • No KYC
Cons
  • Pseudonymous team, no publicly stated place of business
  • No EU authorisation
  • Young platform — mainnet only since October 2025
  • Support runs through community channels
Lighter Reviews

Score Comparison

4.3Usability4.6
4.0Features4.6
3.8Fees5.0
4.4Stability4.4
3.5Support3.5

Features

GMX
GMXHighlights
  • Pool-based model instead of an order book
  • No conventional slippage
  • Leverage up to 100x
  • Established protocol on Arbitrum
Lighter
LighterHighlights
  • Fee-free trading for standard accounts
  • Application-specific zk-rollup rather than a general-purpose chain
  • Cryptographically verifiable matching
  • Discount through LIT staking

Details

GMXLighter
GMX ProtocolCompanyLighter Labs
Decentralised, no registered officeHeadquartersUnknown (Team Pseudonymous)