# Best crypto exchange with low fees in 2026

Updated: 24 September 2026. Rate pages read 18 September 2026. Books timed 21 September 2026. The Cost Per Trade pricing desk

## The tariff behind the best crypto exchange with low fees

Ordered by the overall score, not by the headline rate.

| Line | Venue | Maker | Taker | Fees on $10,000 | Book adds | All-in on $10,000 | Score of 50 | Perp markets |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lighter | 0% | 0% | $0.00 | $0.86 | $0.86 | 42.8 | 214 |
| 2 | Extended | 0% | 0.025% | $5.00 | $0.12 | $5.12 | 38.4 | 325 |
| 3 | Aster | 0% | 0.040% | $8.00 | $0.16 | $8.16 | 36.3 | 578 |
| 4 | edgeX | 0.040% | 0.045% | $9.00 | $0.04 | $9.04 | 36.2 | 172 |
| 5 | Hyperliquid | 0.015% | 0.045% | $9.00 | $0.12 | $9.12 | 33.1 | 324 |
| 6 | EVEDEX | 0.015% | 0.045% | $9.00 | $4.12 | $13.12 | 32.5 | 52 |
| 7 | Paradex | 0% | 0% | $0.00 | $191.52 | $191.52 | 31.9 | 63 |

Weights: Published rate 40 · Execution cost 30 · Where the money sits 12 · Security record 8 · What the rate buys 6 · Who may pay it 4, on a scale of zero to 50, fixed 22 September 2026 before any venue was priced. Method in full: https://thundermessage.com/how-we-price

Rates are the entry tier, read 18 September 2026. The fee column is twice the taker rate on a $10,000 position; the book column is what the order-book readings show that order paying past the mid price, in and out; all-in is the two added. Every venue here restricts access by jurisdiction; the list is in each one's own terms.

## The verdict

On 24 September 2026 the best crypto exchange with low fees among the seven order-book venues priced here is
Lighter, at 42.8 of 50: its default account charges nothing and its
BTC book still absorbed a $10,000 market order for $0.86.

## Notes on this sheet

1. Nothing published, $0.86 charged: Lighter pays no fee and loses 0.43 bps to the book.
2. A zero rate is not a zero bill: Paradex also charges nothing and its thin book took $191.52.
3. Cheapest unconditional rate: Extended at 0% maker / 0.025% taker, a $5.00 round trip.
4. Three venues charge the same taker rate, 0.045%; their maker rates and their books split them.

## Line 1. [Lighter](https://lighter.xyz) — $0.86 all-in on $10,000, for a default account that charges nothing

The Standard account is what a new trader gets and it pays 0% both ways
([Lighter fee documentation](https://docs.lighter.xyz/trading/trading-fees), checked 18 September 2026). The price is latency: 300 milliseconds
on taker orders against 140 on paid Premium. The book backed the rate up, at $16.2 million
within 10 basis points.

- Buys: Nothing to pay on the account a new trader is given; Exits can be forced through a queue on Ethereum if the sequencer stops answering.
- Not covered: Free orders are deliberately slower, 300 milliseconds against 140; No public bug bounty, by its own disclosure policy.
- Not for: latency-sensitive bots on the free account.

## Line 2. [Extended](https://extended.exchange/) — $5.12 all-in on $10,000, for one flat rate that never moves

Extended charges 0% maker / 0.025% taker to everyone, and there is no ladder above it
([Extended fee documentation](https://docs.extended.exchange/extended-resources/trading/trading-fees-and-rebates), checked 18 September 2026). A $10,000 round trip costs
$5.00 on the first trade and the same on the thousandth. Its book is thinner at
$7.8 million, but the walk on $10,000 was only 0.06 bps.

- Buys: The same rate for a first trade and a hundredth; Audited Starknet contracts and a bounty paying up to $500,000.
- Not covered: 278 of its 325 active markets are request-for-quote, with no public book; No discount however much is traded.
- Not for: traders who expect volume to earn a lower rate.

## Line 3. [Aster](https://www.asterdex.com) — $8.16 all-in on $10,000, for makers who never want to pay

Maker fees at every tier have been zero since 2 February 2026 and VIP 1 takers pay 0.040%
([Aster fee documentation](https://docs.asterdex.com/trading/perpetuals/fees-and-specs/fees), checked 18 September 2026). Its own perpetuals overview still shows
0.01% and 0.035%, which is why a rate page is worth reading twice. Its 0.01 bps median
spread was the tightest on this sheet, level with Lighter's.

- Buys: Makers pay nothing at every tier, not only at the top; 578 perpetual markets, the widest list here.
- Not covered: Two pages of its own documentation quote different fees; Takers still pay 0.040%, more than Extended charges.
- Not for: takers hunting the lowest rate.

## Line 4. [edgeX](https://pro.edgex.exchange) — $9.04 all-in on $10,000, for large market orders on the deepest book here

Regular users pay 0.040% maker / 0.045% taker on the V2 perpetuals
([edgeX tier table](https://pro.edgex.exchange/en-US/vip), checked 18 September 2026). What the dear maker rate buys is depth:
$29.2 million within 10 basis points and a $100,000 order walking 0.02 bps.

- Buys: The deepest BTC book on this sheet, at $29.2 million within 10 basis points; Withdrawals that bypass the operator are documented, behind nine audits.
- Not covered: 0.040% to makers, the dearest maker rate on this sheet; Its help centre still publishes superseded V1 rates.
- Not for: market makers.

## Line 5. [Hyperliquid](https://hyperliquid.xyz) — $9.12 all-in on $10,000, for traders whose volume will earn the discount

The base tier is 0.015% maker / 0.045% taker and one tier covers every market, falling with 14-day
weighted volume and staked HYPE ([Hyperliquid fee documentation](https://hyperliquid.gitbook.io/hyperliquid-docs/trading/fees), checked 18 September 2026).
A $10,000 round trip costs $9.00 before the book takes
0.06 bps.

- Buys: Discounts for volume and for staking, across every market; Every order, cancel and liquidation recorded on its own chain.
- Not covered: Nothing below 0.045% for an account with no volume; Its community vault lost money twice in 2025, in March and in November.
- Not for: small accounts that will never reach a volume tier.

## Line 6. EVEDEX — $13.12 all-in on $10,000, for a fixed rate with cashback and markets beyond crypto

EVEDEX charges 0.015% maker / 0.045% taker and those numbers do not move with volume
(EVEDEX documentation, noted 18 September 2026). What moves is cashback, returning part of the fees a trader has
already paid, up to 35% of them, which brings the effective taker rate to 0.02925%. Orders are matched
off-chain and position data reaches Arbitrum in batches.

- Buys: Cashback returns up to 35% of a trader's own fees; $18.3 million resting within 10 basis points, second only to edgeX here; Shares, currencies, commodities and pre-IPO contracts from one balance.
- Not covered: 52 perpetual markets against several hundred at the top of this sheet; No bug bounty listed on its CertiK Skynet page, checked 18 September 2026; Cross margin only; the separated mode is announced and not live.
- Not for: traders who want hundreds of altcoin markets.

## Line 7. [Paradex](https://www.paradex.trade) — $191.52 all-in on $10,000, for small web orders that do not move the book

Retail orders through the web interface have paid nothing since 15 June 2026, in exchange for a
300-millisecond speed bump and three orders a second
([Paradex fee documentation](https://api.prod.paradex.trade/v1/system/volume-tiers), checked 18 September 2026). Pro 0 orders pay 0.003% and 0.045%.
The catch is the book, at $870.00 within 10 basis points.

- Buys: Nothing to pay on web orders, in force since 15 June 2026; Audited bridge contracts and a Sherlock bounty of up to 500,000 USDC.
- Not covered: A $10,000 order walked 95.76 bps past the mid price in the readings; Its chain was rolled back after wrongful liquidations on 19 January 2026.
- Not for: orders large enough to clear the top of the book.

## Why the cheapest rate is not the cheapest trade

Two venues here publish a rate of zero and finish first and last. Lighter's default account pays
nothing and its BTC book held $16.2 million within 10 basis points, so a $10,000 market order
walked 0.43 bps and cost $0.86 all in. Paradex publishes the same zero and held
$870.00; the same order walked 95.76 bps and cost $191.52. Neither fee
page mentions it.

It runs the other way too. edgeX quotes 0.040% maker / 0.045% taker, the dearest maker rate here, and held
$29.2 million within 10 basis points — the deepest book on this sheet — so its all-in price of $9.04
sits a whisker above the $9.00 it advertises. Every reading is on
[the sheet for large orders](/lowest-fee-crypto-exchange-for-large-orders).

One figure on this page is not a fee at all. The margin behind a leveraged position is what the market
can take, and the further the leverage is pushed the smaller the move that takes all of it. Choosing
the cheaper venue changes the bill, not that arithmetic.

## Quoted from the rate pages

> "Lighter currently charges no maker or taker fees for Standard Accounts" — Lighter documentation, Trading fees, 18 September 2026. https://docs.lighter.xyz/trading/trading-fees
> "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
> "Effective February 2, 2026, Maker fees for all VIP tiers were set to 0 bps." — Aster documentation, VIP programme, 18 September 2026. https://docs.asterdex.com/program-and-rewards/vip-program
## FAQ

### Which crypto exchange has the lowest fees?

Among the seven venues here, Lighter and Paradex both publish 0% on default retail orders. Counting
what the book takes as well, Lighter is cheapest at $0.86 on a $10,000 round trip while Paradex costs
$191.52, because its book was the thinnest on this sheet on 21 September 2026.

### How much are perpetual futures trading fees?

On this sheet they run from nothing to 0.045% a side at the entry tier. The commonest
taker rate is 0.045%, charged by three of the seven venues, which makes a $10,000 market
round trip cost $9.00 in fees before spread or price impact.

### Are zero-fee crypto exchanges really free?

Not quite. Lighter and Paradex charge nothing on default orders and both slow those orders by 300
milliseconds. The book charges separately: in the readings a $10,000 market order paid $0.86 on Lighter
and $191.52 on Paradex, and neither figure appears on a fee page.

### What is the difference between a maker and a taker fee?

A maker posts an order that waits in the book; a taker removes one already there. Takers pay more
because they consume the depth makers provide. Aster, Extended, Lighter and Paradex charge makers
nothing; edgeX charges 0.040%, the dearest maker rate here.

### Do I pay a fee twice when I open and close a position?

Yes. A perpetual position is opened with one order and closed with another, and each is charged. That
is why every figure here is a round trip: 0.045% each way on Hyperliquid comes to
$9.00 on a $10,000 position, before funding and the book.

### How do I lower my crypto trading fees?

Three routes exist here. Post limit orders where makers pay nothing, as on Aster and Extended. Reach a
volume tier, as on Hyperliquid. Or collect cashback on fees already paid, which is how
EVEDEX lowers a bill, up to 35% of a trader's own fees.

### Which perp DEX is cheapest for a small account?

A small account rarely reaches a volume tier, so the entry rate is what it pays. Lighter's default
account charges nothing and Extended charges 0.025% to everyone, which is
$5.00 on $10,000 against $0.86 all-in on Lighter. Paradex publishes the same zero,
yet its thinner book turned that order into $191.52.

### why are perp dex fees so different between platforms?

Because the venues earn differently. Some sell latency, charging nothing for slow orders and a rate
for fast ones. Some sell volume tiers. Some return part of the fee later as cashback. The published
number alone never says which trade is cheaper.

### Does the spread count as a fee?

It is not charged as a fee but it is paid like one. Crossing a 7.45 bps spread costs more
than crossing a 0.01 bps one, and on a thin book the order keeps walking:
157.79 bps on a $100,000 order in the readings.

### How much does slippage cost on a $10k order?

On the books as read it ran from 0.02 bps on edgeX to
95.76 bps on Paradex for a $10,000 BTC market order — $0.02 against $95.76 a
side, which on several venues is larger than the fee. Both figures are medians of readings taken every
10 minutes, and neither appears on a rate page.

## How this sheet was priced

Quoted off each venue's own pages, 18 September 2026: rates, market counts, sign-in rules, audits.
Read off the public book here: every BTC perpetual, 00:00 to 23:54 UTC on 21 September 2026, at ten-minute stops. The weights came
first, 22 September 2026, before any of the 7 venues was priced
([how we rate](/how-we-price)). No order was sent.

The price here leaves out volume tiers, staking, rebates and cashback. Funding is billed on its own
clock. One contract was timed: BTC. What a chain is told, and what the past 24 months hold, come from
the venue's telling, not from anything tested here.

One published formula, fixed before anything was priced. Every figure carries the day it was taken. Corrections: desk@thundermessage.com.

The Cost Per Trade pricing desk, 24 September 2026

This price desk is paid to publish, and a venue on the sheet may be the party that paid; the order of every column is the published formula.