Hyperliquid vs Lighter Comparison
| 0.015% maker / 0.045% taker | Fees | Free for standard accounts; premium 0.004% / 0.028% |
Cost comparison
The basis is a Bitcoin purchase worth €1,000, calculated from the disclosed trading fee. A price markup in the spread is not included, because most providers do not publish it.
| 0.015% maker / 0.045% taker | Fees | Free for standard accounts; premium 0.004% / 0.028% |
Hyperliquid sets the trading fee by your weighted volume over the last 14 days, with spot volume counting double. Perpetuals and spot have separate tiers, and fees are assessed daily at the end of the day (UTC).
| Transaction | Cost at Hyperliquid |
|---|---|
| Perpetuals, entry tier 0 | 0.015% maker, 0.045% taker |
| Perpetuals, tier 1 above USD 5 million | 0.012% maker, 0.040% taker |
| Perpetuals, tier 4 above USD 500 million | 0% maker, 0.028% taker |
| Perpetuals, tier 6 above USD 7 billion | 0% maker, 0.024% taker |
| Spot, entry tier 0 | 0.040% maker, 0.070% taker |
| Maker rebate above 0.5% share of maker volume | credit of 0.001% to 0.003% |
| HYPE staking | 5% discount above 10 HYPE up to 40% above 500,000 HYPE |
| Referral code | 4% discount on the first USD 25 million of volume |
| Orders and trading on the native layer 1 | no gas fee |
| USDC deposit | network fee of the source chain, e.g. Arbitrum |
| First transfer to a new Hyperliquid account | one-off activation fee of 1 USDC |
How to save: Limit orders as a maker cost a third of the taker fee in the entry tier: on a USD 10,000 position that is USD 1.50 instead of USD 4.50. Staking just over 100 HYPE cuts both rates by 10%, and a referral code takes off another 4%. We compare other decentralised derivatives exchanges and their fees in our perp DEX comparison.
As of 22 October 2026 according to the Hyperliquid documentation on fees.
Not enough reviews available.
Pros & Cons
- Order book held fully on-chain on a purpose-built layer 1
- CEX-level fees from 0.015% maker / 0.045% taker
- No network fees on trades
- 170+ perpetual markets with order types including TWAP
- Self-custody, no mandatory KYC
- No EU authorisation and no regulated counterparty
- Support runs through community channels only
- Leverage is capped tightly on smaller markets: headline figures apply to major markets only
- Tax reporting rests entirely with the user
- 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
- Pseudonymous team, no publicly stated place of business
- No EU authorisation
- Young platform — mainnet only since October 2025
- Support runs through community channels
Score Comparison
Features
- Largest perpetual DEX by trading volume
- Purpose-built layer 1 rather than a rollup dependency
- Fee discount through HYPE staking
- TWAP orders available to retail users
- Fee-free trading for standard accounts
- Application-specific zk-rollup rather than a general-purpose chain
- Cryptographically verifiable matching
- Discount through LIT staking
The five areas head to head
AI AnalysisFees & Costs
The entry tier is 0.015% maker and 0.045% taker. Across six further tiers based on 14-day volume, the taker fee falls to 0.024% and the maker fee drops to 0% above USD 500 million; market makers with more than 0.5% of maker volume also receive a rebate. Further discounts come from HYPE staking (5 to 40%) and a referral code (4%). Orders on the native layer 1 cost no gas, so the trading fee reflects the actual cost. As of 22 October 2026.
Standard accounts trade without fees as both maker and taker. Premium accounts pay 0.004% maker and 0.028% taker, with up to 30% off through LIT staking. Heavily automated strategies may face different terms. No separate per-trade network fee applies inside the rollup. As of August 2026.
Usability & User Experience
The interface follows classic futures terminals and assumes working knowledge of margin, funding and liquidation prices. Access is by wallet connection or email login, with no account opening. As of October 2026.
The interface is built around order-book trading and aimed at users with futures experience. Access is by wallet connection with no registration step. As of August 2026.
Features & Offering
More than 170 perpetual markets trade against USDC collateral. Besides market and limit orders there are stop, take-profit, scale and trailing-stop orders as well as TWAP execution, which splits larger positions into suborders at least 30 seconds apart. That feature is usually reserved for institutional interfaces. Margin can be run cross (the default) or isolated. As of October 2026.
More than 120 perpetual markets trade through a central limit order book. Alongside market, limit, stop-loss and take-profit orders there is TWAP execution and conditional orders. Technically decisive is the escape hatch to Ethereum: users can withdraw funds even if the sequencer stops behaving correctly. As of August 2026.
Details
| Hyperliquid Labs | Company | Elliot Technologies, Inc. |
| Singapore | Headquarters | United States (Florida law per T&C) |
Verdict
Both providers are practically level in our overall rating (4.8 to 4.9).
Hyperliquid is the reference point among perpetual DEXs. Trading runs through an order book held entirely on-chain on a purpose-built layer 1 rather than through an AMM pool, which in practice delivers execution close to a centralised exchange while custody stays with the user.
Entry-tier fees are 0.015% maker and 0.045% taker and fall further across volume tiers; staking HYPE reduces them again. No network fees apply on the native layer 1. Leverage is tiered by market: up to 40x on Bitcoin and considerably lower on smaller markets.
The regulatory picture is straightforward: Hyperliquid holds no EU authorisation, and perpetuals sit outside MiCA in any case. There is no withholding at source, so tax reporting rests entirely with the user. The platform suits experienced traders who weight self-custody and execution quality above regulatory protection.
Lighter takes a technically distinct route: the exchange runs as an application-specific zk-rollup whose only job is to operate a central limit order book for perpetuals, anchored to Ethereum. Every match, risk check and liquidation is proven with zero-knowledge proofs, so users can verify correctness rather than trust the operator.
On price, Lighter is currently hard to beat: standard accounts trade without trading fees, premium accounts pay 0.004% maker and 0.028% taker, with a further discount through LIT staking. Since mainnet launch in October 2025 the platform has climbed sharply on volume.
The trade-offs are real: the team is pseudonymous and the venue holds no EU authorisation. The platform holds no EU authorisation; perpetuals sit outside MiCA in any case, and tax reporting rests entirely with the user. For traders who want fee-free, verifiable execution and knowingly accept the regulatory uncertainty, this is currently the sharpest value proposition in the segment.