14 perp exchanges for degens, ranked by real volume
Perpetual futures without a broker: long or short with leverage from your own wallet. Every venue on the same lines, ranked by 30-day perp volume on DefiLlama; the two centralised exchanges, Backpack and Bybit, close the list and require KYC. Leverage cuts both ways: most traders who use it lose money.
Perpetual futures are leveraged: a small move against you can liquidate your position. Only trade what you can afford to lose.
Trading fees0.045% taker · 0.015% maker
- Max leverage
- up to 40× · No KYC
- 30-day volume
- $204,136.0M
Trading fees0.04% taker · 0% maker
- Max leverage
- up to 1001× · Not documented
- 30-day volume
- $64,919.0M
Trading fees0% maker · 0% taker
- Max leverage
- up to 50× · No KYC
- 30-day volume
- $52,570.0M
Trading fees0% trading fees
- Max leverage
- Not documented · No KYC
- 30-day volume
- $50,872.0M
Trading fees0.045% taker · 0.040% maker
- Max leverage
- up to 100× · Not documented
- 30-day volume
- $37,261.0M
Trading fees0.05% taker · 0.02% maker
- Max leverage
- up to 100× · Not documented
- 30-day volume
- $26,136.0M
Trading fees0.04% to 0.06% per open or close
- Max leverage
- up to 100× · No KYC
- 30-day volume
- $22,518.0M
Trading fees0.040% taker · 0.015% maker
- Max leverage
- up to 50× · No KYC
- 30-day volume
- $10,418.0M
Trading fees0.025% taker · 0% maker
- Max leverage
- up to 100× · No KYC
- 30-day volume
- $7,288.0M
Trading fees0.06% per open or close
- Max leverage
- up to 250× · No KYC
- 30-day volume
- $6,207.0M
Trading fees0.045% taker · 0.001% maker
- Max leverage
- up to 500× · No KYC
- 30-day volume
- $3,194.0M
Trading fees0.050% taker · 0.010% maker
- Max leverage
- up to 50× · No KYC
- 30-day volume
- $1,037.0M
Trading fees0.05% taker · 0.02% maker
- Max leverage
- up to 75× · KYC required
- 30-day volume
- Not tracked
Trading fees0.055% taker · 0.02% maker
- Max leverage
- up to 150× · KYC required
- 30-day volume
- Not tracked
The perp exchange checklist
Base-tier fees, leverage, markets, KYC and custody, side by side. Tap a name for the full review.
| # | Exchange | Taker · maker | Max leverage | Markets | KYC | Settles on | Self-custody | Referral perk | Review |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| #01 | HyperliquidPerp DEX on its own L1 | 0.045% · 0.015% | 40× | 234 | No KYC | HyperCore (L1 Hyperliquid) | Yes | 4% off fees on your first $25M of volume | Open |
| #02 | AsterPerp DEX on Aster Chain | 0.04% · 0% | 1001× | 610 | Not documented | Aster Chain (own L1) | Yes | You choose how the 10% default commission is split, so part of it can be returned to the referee as a fee discount | Open |
| #03 | LighterZero-fee perp DEX on a ZK rollup | 0% · 0% | 50× | 210 | No KYC | Lighter Core (ZK rollup anchored on Ethereum) | Yes | A 10% discount on the fees you pay, rebated every Monday | Open |
| #04 | VariationalPerps by RFQ, crypto and TradFi | 0% · 0% | Not documented | 500 | No KYC | Arbitrum (Variational settlement pools) | Yes | 1 point for every 10 points earned | Open |
| #05 | edgeXPerp DEX on edgeX Chain | 0.045% · 0.04% | 100× | 292 | Not documented | edgeX Chain (StarkEx engine) | Yes | 10% off trading fees, according to the promotional codes documented by affiliates | Open |
| #06 | ApeX OmniMulti-chain perp DEX | 0.05% · 0.02% | 100× | 100 | Not documented | ApeX Omni (multi-chain settlement) | Yes | A fee discount on the referee's side, with the level set when the link is created; affiliate codes advertised publicly show 20% | Open |
| #07 | GMXPool-based perp DEX (no order book) | 0.04% · — | 100× | 132 | No KYC | Arbitrum (GMX V2 contracts) | Yes | 5% or 10% off opening and closing fees depending on the tier of the code you use | Open |
| #08 | PacificaSolana perp DEX | 0.04% · 0.015% | 50× | 78 | No KYC | Solana | Yes | 5% bonus on the points you earn | Open |
| #09 | ExtendedPerp DEX on Arc, crypto and RWA | 0.025% · 0% | 100× | 100 | No KYC | Arc (Circle's L1) | Yes | From TGE, 10% off trading fees for the first $25M of volume or 30 days from signup, whichever comes first | Open |
| #10 | Jupiter PerpsPerps against the JLP pool on Solana | 0.06% · — | 250× | 9 | No KYC | Solana | Yes | None documented | Open |
| #11 | VerantaAMM perp DEX, formerly Avantis | 0.045% · 0.001% | 500× | 100 | No KYC | Base (Avantis/Veranta contracts) | Yes | None documented | Open |
| #12 | dYdXPerp DEX on its own Cosmos chain | 0.05% · 0.01% | 50× | 78 | No KYC | dYdX Chain (Cosmos app-chain) | Yes | Referred users start at fee tier 3 instead of tier 1, worth up to $550 of fee savings | Open |
| #13 | Backpack ExchangeCentralised exchange with KYC | 0.05% · 0.02% | 75× | 103 | KYC required | Backpack Exchange (centralised matching) | No | Fee rebates on referred accounts | Open |
| #14 | BybitCentralised exchange with KYC | 0.055% · 0.02% | 150× | 846 | KYC required | Bybit (centralised matching) | No | Up to 25 USDT: 10 USDT for a 100 USDT deposit within 7 days, then 15 USDT for 500 USDT traded within 30 days | Open |
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