Lighter vs ApeX Omni
Same lines, side by side: fees, leverage, markets, KYC, custody and referral perks, from official pages and DefiLlama.
| Line | Lighter | ApeX Omni |
|---|---|---|
| 30-day volume | #P03 · $52,570.0MEdge | #P06 · $26,136.0M |
| Trading fees | 0% maker · 0% takerStandard accounts, the default, pay no maker or taker fee on perps or spot, at the cost of slower matching (300ms taker latency). Premium accounts are opt-in and get faster matching: 0.0040% maker and 0.0280% taker with no LIT staked, reduced by staking LIT.Edge | 0.05% taker · 0.02% makerStandard maker-taker rates published by ApeX: 5 bps taker, 2 bps maker. The VIP program then cuts fees by 14-day volume or staked APEX, down to 0% for traders and negative fees for market makers, and the most favourable rate between VIP and affiliate discounts is applied. |
| New-user perk | One week of Premium for free: the fees paid during that week are rebated | A fee discount on the referee's side, with the level set when the link is created; affiliate codes advertised publicly show 20% |
| Max leverage | up to 50× | up to 100×Edge |
| Perp markets | 210Edge | 100 |
| Identity check | No KYC | Not documented |
| Custody | Non-custodial: Ethereum contracts hold the state root, escape hatch available | Non-custodial, wallet login |
| Settles on | Lighter Core (ZK rollup anchored on Ethereum) | ApeX Omni (multi-chain settlement) |
| Collateral | USDC | USDC, USDT |
| Where it runs | Web | Web |
| Chains | EVMEthereum | EVMArbitrum, Ethereum, Base, Mantle, BNB ChainEdge |
| Documented features | 7 of 10 | 7 of 10 |
| Order book | Yes | Yes |
| Cross margin | Yes | Yes |
| Spot trading | Yes | Yes |
| Vaults / copy vaults | Yes | Yes |
| Copy trading | Not documented | Not documented |
| Stocks, gold or forex | Yes | Yes |
| Points program | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile app | Not documented | Not documented |
| Telegram bot | No | Not documented |
Which one should you pick?
Pick Lighter if
Fees are your main cost and you accept slightly slower fills to keep them at zero.
Trading is free by default on Lighter, and the venue anchors its state root on Ethereum with a documented escape hatch. The catch is that free matching is slower, and the paid Premium tier exists above it.
app.lighter.xyz
Pick ApeX Omni if
You already know you will stake APEX or trade enough volume to reach the VIP tiers.
A large multi-chain book: 100x leverage, more than a hundred perpetual contracts, and a VIP ladder that can take fees to zero. The catch is that the base rate (5 bps) is the second highest of the series, and the affiliate share is only visible once connected.
omni.apex.exchange
