Solana perp DEX in 2026: 3 venues compared
A Solana perp DEX settles perpetual futures on Solana itself, and this page holds the three venues of our series that do: Pacifica, Jupiter Perps and Backpack. Two are non-custodial, with a sign-up that stops at a wallet; the third is a centralised exchange that asks for KYC and holds your balances. Fees, leverage and collateral differ enough that the right pick depends on what you came for.
The ranking
Ordered by real usage: trailing 30-day perp volume on DefiLlama.
Pacifica
Solana perp DEX · Solana
You trade on Solana and want published taker and maker fees without a points-first story.
- Trading fees
- 0.040% taker · 0.015% maker
- Max leverage
- up to 50×
- Identity check
- No KYC
DefiLlama protocol page, 28/09/2026. Normalized 24h volume ($249M) matches reported volume, so no wash-trading discount is applied. Weekly points distributions do reward activity, which the team acknowledges by stating that self-trading and sybil farming earn nothing.
Open PacificaReviewapp.pacifica.fiJupiter Perps
Perps against the JLP pool on Solana · Solana
You already live in the Jupiter ecosystem and want perps without leaving the app or the mobile client.
- Trading fees
- 0.06% per open or close
- Max leverage
- up to 250×
- Identity check
- No KYC
DefiLlama protocol page (Jupiter, perp volume), 28/09/2026, reported volume. No normalized figure is published on that page, so the $6.2B is taken as published.
Open Jupiter PerpsReviewjup.agBackpack Exchange
Centralised exchange with KYC · Solana · EVM · Bitcoin · Sui
You want a CEX-style experience with unified portfolio margin, stocks next to perps, and a referral that pays in cash.
- Trading fees
- Tier table published as an image
- Max leverage
- up to 75×
- Identity check
- KYC required
DefiLlama classifies Backpack as a CEX and publishes no perp volume for it: no 30-day figure exists to compare with the DEXes. Its own API lists 103 PERP markets and 87 spot markets.
Open Backpack ExchangeReviewbackpack.exchange
Solana perp DEX: an order book, a pool and an exchange
Pacifica runs an order book on Solana, with a base tier of 0.040% taker and 0.015% maker and a ladder that lowers both as volume grows: 0.038%/0.012% above $5M, 0.036%/0.009% above $10M, then 0% maker with a 0.028% taker floor from $100M. It lists 78 instruments spanning crypto majors, altcoins, RWAs, FX and pre-IPO, with leverage up to 50x, USDC collateral and one balance shared between spot and margin.
Jupiter Perps works the other way round: no book, no maker and taker split. Three markets, SOL, ETH and wBTC, trade against the JLP pool at 0.06% on open and again on close, plus price impact, an hourly borrow fee and a 10 bps swap fee when the collateral has to be converted. Six Beta markets add JUP, HYPE, ZEC and tokenised stocks. Backpack is the third and the only centralised one: 103 perpetual markets next to US stocks and ETFs, matched centrally, KYC verified.
Perps on Solana: collateral and what you actually pay
Collateral decides how you land. Pacifica takes USDC only, Backpack accepts USDC or USDT, and Jupiter Perps accepts USDC, SOL, wETH or wBTC, with a 10 bps swap fee, 2 bps on stablecoins, whenever the input token has to be converted. Settlement stays on Solana for the two DEXs; Backpack matches your order on its own exchange and holds the balance until you withdraw it.
The cost of a round trip follows from the model. Pacifica charges 0.040% to open and 0.040% to close as a taker, before its ladder kicks in. Jupiter Perps charges 0.06% on each side plus borrow that accrues while the position stays open, which is the highest base charge of our perp series. Backpack publishes its fee tiers as an image rather than a schedule we can compare, and pays a 10% rebate on trading fees for referred accounts.
Best perps on Solana: leverage, liquidity and the trade-offs
Leverage tells you how close the liquidation price sits. Pacifica caps at 50x and notes that most order books offer 100x. Jupiter Perps ranges from 1.1x to 250x and shows an in-app warning above 150x. Backpack's 75x comes from its own market metadata, where the BTC/USDC perpetual carries a 0.0133 initial margin base. At 10x, a move of about 10% against you closes the position, before fees: a cap is a maximum, not a setting.
Liquidity separates these venues more than fees do. Pacifica traded $10.4B over 30 days and Jupiter Perps $6.2B, both tracked on DefiLlama, while Backpack's perp volume is not tracked on its card. Points and rebates sit behind part of that activity: Pacifica pays referees a 5% bonus on the points they earn, and Backpack pays its referral in cash on trading fees rather than in points.
Frequently asked questions
Which Solana perp DEX should I start with?
It depends on the job. Pacifica has the most readable fee ladder of the series, 0.040% taker and 0.015% maker with 50x on a book of 78 markets. Jupiter Perps accepts more collateral tokens and reaches 250x. Backpack adds mobile apps and US stocks, but verifies identity and holds your balances.
Drift vs Jupiter Perps: where is Drift on this page?
Drift is not part of our perp series, so no figure here applies to it: only venues with a verified card appear on these pages. The comparison covers the three Solana-settled venues we did document, Pacifica, Jupiter Perps, and Backpack, which deposits from Solana but matches centrally.
Can I trade perps on Solana without KYC?
On the two DEXs, as far as the documentation goes: Pacifica and Jupiter Perps both open with a wallet connection, keep custody non-custodial and document no identity verification. Backpack requires KYC and is the only venue here where the exchange holds your balance instead of you.
What leverage can I use on Solana perps?
Pacifica caps at 50x, below the 100x most order books offer. Jupiter Perps spans 1.1x to 250x with an in-app warning above 150x. Backpack's maximum of about 75x is computed from its own market metadata. Liquidation comes closer as leverage rises: at 10x, an adverse move of about 10% closes the position, before fees.
Do I need SOL to trade perps on Solana?
No. Pacifica's collateral is USDC, and Backpack accepts USDC or USDT. Jupiter Perps takes USDC, SOL, wETH or wBTC, so holding SOL is optional there — and a swap fee of 10 bps, 2 bps on stablecoins, applies when the token you deposit has to be converted.
What do perps on Solana cost?
Pacifica: 0.040% taker and 0.015% maker, falling from $5M of volume. Jupiter Perps: 0.06% on open and again on close, plus price impact, an hourly borrow fee and the conversion swap fee. Backpack publishes no comparable numeric schedule, only a tier table in image form and a 10% rebate on trading fees.