Lighter alternatives in 2026
The Cost Per Trade pricing deskUpdated: Books timed
Cheapest here
$5.12
Extended
$5.00 in fees and $0.12 to the book, opening and closing $10,000 at market.
Dearest here
$191.52
Paradex
$0.00 in fees and $191.52 to the book, on the same position.
The verdict
Lighter charges nothing on its default account, so the Lighter alternatives worth comparing are judged on what they cost once the order book is counted. On 24 September 2026 Extended leads the 6 here at 38.4 of 50, with a $5.00 round trip and no tier to climb.
- 01Only one venue here also charges nothing: Paradex, whose book took $191.52 out of the same $10,000 trade.
- 02The cheapest paid schedule is Extended at 0% maker / 0.025% taker, $5.00 a round trip.
- 03Two of the 6 match each other exactly at 0.015% maker / 0.045% taker.
- 04edgeX costs $9.00 in fees and had the deepest book on this sheet, at $29.2 million.
- 05Fees are the small half of the arithmetic: the margin behind a leveraged position can be spent in full, and a cheaper venue does not change that.
WeightsPublished rate40Execution cost30Where the money sits12Security record8What the rate buys6Who may pay it4how we rate
Lighter alternatives, scored on what a trade costs
Ordered by the overall score. Lighter itself is not in the table; it is the venue being compared against.
| Line | Venue | Maker | Taker | Fees on $10,000 | Book adds | All-in | Score of 50 | Perp markets | Priced for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Extended | 0% | 0.025% | $5.00 | $0.12 | $5.12 | 38.4 | 325 | a flat rate and no latency penalty |
| 2 | Aster | 0% | 0.040% | $8.00 | $0.16 | $8.16 | 36.3 | 578 | the widest market list at a zero maker rate |
| 3 | edgeX | 0.040% | 0.045% | $9.00 | $0.04 | $9.04 | 36.2 | 172 | more depth than the venue being replaced |
| 4 | Hyperliquid | 0.015% | 0.045% | $9.00 | $0.12 | $9.12 | 33.1 | 324 | markets and settlement rather than a cheap rate |
| 5 | EVEDEX | 0.015% | 0.045% | $9.00 | $4.12 | $13.12 | 32.5 | 52 | a cashback model and markets beyond crypto |
| 6 | Paradex | 0% | 0% | $0.00 | $191.52 | $191.52 | 31.9 | 63 | the only other venue here that charges nothing |
Entry-tier rates, read on 18 September 2026. Fees are twice the taker rate on $10,000; the book column is what a market order of that size paid past the mid price, in and out. Every venue here turns away some jurisdictions, and each one's terms carry its own list.
The surcharge behind the rate
Each BTC perpetual book on this page was read 00:00 to 23:54 UTC on 21 September 2026, at ten-minute stops. The figures are medians of every successful reading.
| Venue | Median spread | Resting within 10 bps | Against the deepest book here | Walk on $10,000 | Walk on $100,000 | Readings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Extended | 0.12 bps | $7.8 million | 0.06 bps | 0.06 bps | 53 | |
| Aster | 0.01 bps | $14.9 million | 0.08 bps | 0.34 bps | 135 | |
| edgeX | 0.04 bps | $29.2 million | 0.02 bps | 0.02 bps | 134 | |
| Hyperliquid | 0.12 bps | $7.3 million | 0.06 bps | 0.06 bps | 135 | |
| Paradex | 7.45 bps | $870.00 | 95.76 bps | 157.79 bps | 133 | |
| EVEDEX | 4.12 bps | $18.3 million | 2.06 bps | 2.06 bps | 133 |
Read from each venue's public order-book endpoint. The walk is the distance between the mid price and what a market order of that size would have averaged. No account was opened.
Line 01
$5.12
all-in on $10,000
- Published fee
- $5.00
- Paid to the book
- $0.12
- Score
- 38.4 of 50
Extended — a flat rate and no latency penalty
0% maker / 0.025% taker for every account, with no tier and no delay on the order (Extended fee documentation, checked 18 September 2026). A $10,000 round trip is $5.00, and the book added 0.06 bps, well under the 0.43 bps Lighter's free account charged in price impact.
Points by criterion, each out of ten before the weights
Price buys
- The lowest paid rate here, applied to every account and order type
- No latency penalty and no volume ladder to climb
Price omits
- 278 of its 325 markets are request-for-quote, with no public book
- $7.8 million within 10 basis points, under half of Lighter's
Not for: traders who will not pay anything at all.
Rate page: extended.exchange
Line 02
$8.16
all-in on $10,000
- Published fee
- $8.00
- Paid to the book
- $0.16
- Score
- 36.3 of 50
Aster — the widest market list at a zero maker rate
Makers pay nothing at every tier since 2 February 2026, takers 0.040% (Aster fee documentation, checked 18 September 2026). Its 578 perpetual markets and 0.01 bps median spread are the widest and the tightest on this page.
Price buys
- 578 perpetual markets against 214 on Lighter
- Makers pay nothing, as they do on Lighter
Price omits
- Takers pay 0.040%, where Lighter's default account pays nothing
- Two of its own pages quote different schedules
Not for: takers moving from a zero-fee book.
Rate page: asterdex.com
Line 03
$9.04
all-in on $10,000
- Published fee
- $9.00
- Paid to the book
- $0.04
- Score
- 36.2 of 50
edgeX — more depth than the venue being replaced
$29.2 million resting within 10 basis points, more than Lighter held, at 0.040% maker / 0.045% taker (edgeX tier table, checked 18 September 2026). A $100,000 order walked 0.02 bps, the smallest figure recorded at that size.
Price buys
- The deepest book on this sheet, at $29.2 million within 10 basis points
- Documented withdrawals that work without the operator
Price omits
- 0.040% to makers, where Lighter charges nothing
- 172 perpetual markets against 214 on Lighter
Not for: makers.
Rate page: pro.edgex.exchange
Line 04
$9.12
all-in on $10,000
- Published fee
- $9.00
- Paid to the book
- $0.12
- Score
- 33.1 of 50
Hyperliquid — markets and settlement rather than a cheap rate
324 perpetual markets, every order and liquidation recorded on its own chain, at a base rate of 0.015% maker / 0.045% taker falling with volume (Hyperliquid fee documentation, checked 18 September 2026). Its book held $7.3 million within 10 basis points.
Price buys
- Per-trade settlement on its own chain, which Lighter proves in batches
- Bug bounty of up to 1 million USDC
Price omits
- 0.045% base taker rate with no zero-fee account
- Vault losses in March and November 2025
Not for: anyone leaving Lighter to save on fees.
Rate page: hyperliquid.xyz
Line 05
$13.12
all-in on $10,000
- Published fee
- $9.00
- Paid to the book
- $4.12
- Score
- 32.5 of 50
EVEDEX — a cashback model and markets beyond crypto
0.015% maker / 0.045% taker fixed, with cashback returning up to 35% of a trader's own fees (EVEDEX documentation, noted 18 September 2026). Where Lighter sells latency, this sells a rebate after the fact, and adds shares, currencies, commodities and pre-IPO contracts on one balance.
Price buys
- Cashback of up to 35% on fees already paid
- $18.3 million within 10 basis points, more than Lighter held
Price omits
- 0.045% to takers, where the venue it replaces charges nothing
- 52 perpetual markets against 214
- No bug bounty listed on its CertiK Skynet page, checked 18 September 2026
Not for: traders whose only criterion is the published rate.
Line 06
$191.52
all-in on $10,000
- Published fee
- $0.00
- Paid to the book
- $191.52
- Score
- 31.9 of 50
Paradex — the only other venue here that charges nothing
Retail web orders pay nothing on either side since 15 June 2026 (Paradex fee documentation, checked 18 September 2026), the same headline as Lighter. The book is not the same: $870.00 within 10 basis points against Lighter's $16.2 million.
Price buys
- No maker or taker fee on web orders
- A Sherlock bounty of up to 500,000 USDC
Price omits
- 95.76 bps of walk on a $10,000 order, so the free trade cost $191.52
- Retail orders capped at three a second
Not for: any order that has to move size.
Rate page: paradex.trade
01
What you give up when you leave a zero-fee book
Lighter's Standard account pays nothing and accepts 300 milliseconds of added latency on taker orders (Lighter fee documentation, checked 18 September 2026), and its BTC book held $16.2 million within 10 basis points in the readings. Any venue replacing it has to beat one of those two things, because it will not beat both.
Paradex matches the rate and not the book: $870.00 within 10 basis points, so a $10,000 market order walked 95.76 bps. Extended charges 0.025% and fills at 0.06 bps. edgeX charges 0.045% and held $29.2 million, more than Lighter. The trade-off is a real one and it moves with order size.
02
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 6 venues was priced (how we rate). 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.
Questions readers ask about these fees
What are the alternatives to Lighter?
Extended, Aster, edgeX, Hyperliquid, Paradex and EVEDEX all run an order book for perpetual futures, and all 6 are priced on this page. On our 24 September 2026 scores Extended leads at 38.4 of 50, with Aster second at 36.3 and edgeX third at 36.2.
Is there another exchange with zero fees?
Paradex, on retail orders placed through its web interface, a rate in force since 15 June 2026. The published number matches but the execution does not: its book held $870.00 within 10 basis points against $16.2 million on the venue it would be replacing.
Why is Lighter free?
Because the free account is the slow one. Its own documentation puts taker orders on Standard accounts at 300 milliseconds and maker orders at 200, while the paid Premium account fills takers in 140 milliseconds and charges 0.004% and 0.028% for the privilege.
Which perp DEX has the deepest liquidity?
Of the venues read on 21 September 2026, edgeX held the most within 10 basis points of the BTC mid price at $29.2 million, and EVEDEX came second at $18.3 million. Lighter itself held $16.2 million, which was third on the same reading.
Is Lighter safe to use?
We score security from documents, not opinion: nine external audits between 2025 and 2026, a documented forced exit on Ethereum, and no public bug bounty by its own disclosure policy. That is seven points of ten on our security criterion, the same as EVEDEX and Hyperliquid.
Do I need KYC on these exchanges?
None of the 6 asks for identity documents to trade, in the documentation we read on 18 September 2026. Several reserve the right to verify or to screen: Extended's terms mention a transaction risk assessment, and Aster's terms allow limited verification procedures.
Updated: . Price errors and corrections: desk@thundermessage.com. The Cost Per Trade pricing desk.