The short answer: pick Lighter for lower fees (0% on Standard accounts), Aster for more leverage (1001x on BTC) or hidden orders, and edgeX for stock perps and VIP fee tiers. Variational Omni, the second-largest perp DEX by 24-hour volume on October 20, 2026, charges no trading fees and makes its money on the quoted spread. For private positions use Paradex, on Solana use Jupiter Perps or Pacifica, and in the US use a regulated futures venue, because Hyperliquid, Lighter, Aster, Variational and Paradex all exclude US residents in their Terms. Stay on Hyperliquid if depth matters: it cleared $7.62B of 24-hour perp volume on October 20, 2026, about 3× the next perp DEX.
Which alternative, for which reason
| You want… | Pick |
|---|---|
| lower trading fees | Lighter: 0% taker and maker on Standard accounts (details) |
| zero fees on hundreds of markets, no order book | Variational Omni: 0% fees, you pay its quoted spread (details) |
| more leverage or hidden orders | Aster: 1001x on BTC in 1001x mode (details) |
| a regulated venue in the US | Coinbase Derivatives or Kraken Derivatives US (details) |
| stock perps and VIP fee tiers | edgeX: 96 stock/ETF perps, 6 VIP levels (details) |
| positions nobody else can see | Paradex: encrypted positions, 0% web-app fee (details) |
| a CEX-style account with fiat and support | Binance or Bybit (KYC) (details) |
| to trade from a Solana wallet | Jupiter Perps or Pacifica (details) |
| a better mobile app | Based, Liquid or fomo, which still trade on Hyperliquid (details) |
| the deepest books with no speed bump | Stay on Hyperliquid, 0.0432% taker with code HOLYGRAIL (details) |
HOLYGRAIL) → Lighter (code 718610TD) → Aster (5% off, code DTLpLc) → We earn a commission when you sign up through our links; it never raises your fees.
Hyperliquid alternatives at a glance
Nine perp DEXs, with Hyperliquid as the baseline. Fees are the taker / maker rate a new account pays, after our referral code where we hold one. None of them asks for KYC; the centralized options are in their own section.
| Venue | Fees (taker / maker) | Max leverage | Perp markets | 24h volume | KYC | Chain | Our code |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hyperliquid (baseline) | 0.0432% / 0.0144% with code (0.045% / 0.015% without) | 40x BTC | 178 + HIP-3 | $7.62B | None | Own L1 (HyperCore) | HOLYGRAIL |
| Lighter | 0% / 0% (Standard); 0.028% / 0.004% (Premium) | 50x BTC | 213 | $1.96B | None | Ethereum ZK rollup | 718610TD |
| Aster | 0.038% / 0% with code (0.04% without) | 1001x (1001x mode); 200x order book | 604 (130 stock/ETF, USDT and USD1 pairs counted separately) | $1.43B | None | Aster Chain (own L1); deposits from BNB Chain, Ethereum, Arbitrum, Robinhood, Arc and Solana | DTLpLc |
| Variational Omni | 0% / 0% (cost is the quoted spread) | 50x | 572 (October 15, 2026) | $3.00B | None | Arbitrum | none |
| edgeX | 0.045% / 0.04% (code: no discount) | 100x BTC | 178 (96 stocks/ETFs) | $636M | None | Own rollup anchored to Ethereum | HOLYGRAIL |
| Paradex | 0% / 0% (web app) | 50x BTC | 66 + options | $5M | None | Starknet-stack appchain | none |
| dYdX | 0.05% / 0.01% | 50x BTC | 73 | $36M | None | Own Cosmos chain | none |
| Jupiter Perps | 0.06% open and close, plus borrow fees | 250x (SOL, ETH, BTC) | 3 pool + 6 Beta | $271.3M (pool markets, October 15, 2026) | None | Solana | none |
| Pacifica | 0.04% / 0.015% | 50x BTC | 77 | $826M | None | Solana | none |
| GMX | 0.04%–0.06% position fee, plus borrow/funding | 100x | 100+ | $56M | None | Arbitrum, Avalanche and MegaETH | none |
24h volume: CoinGecko derivatives data converted at Hyperliquid's BTC price, fetched October 20, 2026 and rebuilt every 6 hours; GMX is its Arbitrum and Avalanche deployments (CoinGecko's separate "GMX (Solana)" entry is GMTrade, a different Solana venue, and is not counted); Jupiter Perps is not in CoinGecko's list, so its figure is the 24-hour volume of its SOL, ETH and BTC pool markets from Jupiter's own API (October 15, 2026, 04:30 UTC). Market counts: Hyperliquid core perps (live, October 20, 2026) plus HIP-3 builder markets; Lighter, Aster, edgeX and Paradex from their public APIs (October 14, re-read unchanged October 15, 2026); dYdX active markets, Pacifica perps and Variational Omni markets from their APIs (October 15, 2026); GMX from its docs. Fees and leverage: each venue's fee docs or fee API, read between September 26 and October 15, 2026. Lighter Standard taker orders wait 300 ms; Paradex web-app orders 300 ms. Leverage is the top bracket for BTC and falls as position size grows.
1. If you want lower fees: Lighter
Lighter is the cheapest real alternative. Standard accounts, the default, pay 0% taker and 0% maker on every perp and spot market. Hyperliquid's tier-0 rate is 0.045% taker and 0.015% maker, or 0.0432% / 0.0144% with a referral code, so on $100,000 of monthly taker volume Lighter saves you about $43 even after our Hyperliquid discount. Lighter is an Ethereum ZK rollup: matching runs off-chain, and every trade is proven on Ethereum, so you keep custody.
The zero fee has a price: Standard taker orders and cancels wait about 300 ms, which matters for scalping and market orders in fast markets. Premium accounts remove most of that delay (140 ms taker latency) for 0.028% taker and 0.004% maker, still below Hyperliquid's base rate. Lighter lists 213 active perps and allows 50x on BTC, against Hyperliquid's 40x. The other zero-fee options trade off something too: Paradex web-app orders cost 0% with a 300 ms speed bump, and Variational Omni charges 0% because its trades are request-for-quote fills against its own liquidity provider, which earns the spread instead (more below).
Where Hyperliquid still wins is depth and the breadth of its altcoin books; once an order is large, slippage costs more than the fee. Our measured comparison of both books, both fee schedules and both points programs is in Hyperliquid vs Lighter. Join Lighter with code 718610TD for the referral trial (first week of Premium fees rebated, up to $10M of volume).
2. If you want more leverage or hidden orders: Aster
Aster has the highest leverage of any large perp DEX. Its 1001x mode, a pool product separate from the order book, allows 1001x on BTC. Its fee depends on the leverage you pick: below 500x it charges 0.08% to open and 0.08% to close; at 500x and above, 1001x included, there is no open fee, and the close fee is 15% of your profit, or 0.03% of notional if that is more. The order book ("Pro") goes to 200x on BTC, but only on the first $400 of notional, then 150x up to $300,000. For comparison, Hyperliquid caps BTC at 40x and ETH at 25x. Leverage that high means a move of a fraction of a percent liquidates you, so treat it as a feature to understand, not a target.
Aster's other draw is privacy on a public chain: hidden orders and an Account Privacy mode keep your size, direction and PnL out of public feeds, while every Hyperliquid order and position is visible to whale trackers. On the order book, Aster charges 0.04% taker and 0% maker (VIP 1, crypto pairs), 0.038% taker with our code DTLpLc (5% off), and lists 604 perps, including 130 stock and ETF contracts (the USDT- and USD1-quoted versions of a stock count separately). Funding on BTC settles every 8 hours, against Hyperliquid's hourly funding.
The trade-offs: thinner books outside the majors, three different products with three fee models, and volume that critics say was inflated by points campaigns. The side-by-side with order costs and safety notes: Aster vs Hyperliquid.
3. If you are in the US: regulated futures, not a DEX
Switching perp DEX is not a US workaround. Hyperliquid's Terms exclude the US, Ontario (Canada) and sanctioned jurisdictions (plus citizens of sanctioned jurisdictions). Lighter's and Aster's Terms exclude the US too, Paradex excludes the United States and US persons, Canada and Canadian persons, US territories, and sanctioned regions (Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria, and the Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk and Sevastopol regions of Ukraine), and Variational excludes US and Canadian persons, residents of the US and its territories, Canada and Taiwan, and sanctioned regions. Check the Terms of any other DEX before you deposit; a VPN breaks these Terms and does not change which laws apply to you.
US traders who want perpetual-style crypto exposure have regulated options. Coinbase Derivatives is a CFTC-registered Designated Contract Market listing “US Perps” (perpetual-style futures for US customers); Kraken Derivatives US is a CFTC-registered futures commission merchant (NFA ID 0309379) offering CME-cleared micro contracts. Both require identity verification, and leverage and market lists are far narrower than on a DEX. We have no referral relationship with either. The exact wording of Hyperliquid's restriction, who it covers and how other countries are treated: Hyperliquid restricted countries.
4. If you want stock and FX perps or VIP tiers: edgeX
edgeX has one of the broadest stock lists on a perp DEX: 96 stock, ETF and pre-IPO perps among 178 tradable contracts (October 14, 2026, re-read unchanged October 15, 2026), next to gold and USD/JPY at up to 50x and crude oil and silver at 30x. Crypto majors go to 100x on BTC and ETH. Hyperliquid also lists stocks, through HIP-3 builder markets such as trade.xyz (see Hyperliquid stocks on trade.xyz), so stocks alone are not a reason to leave; edgeX's appeal is the range of names, pre-IPO perps included, in one USDC account.
Stock perps trade around the clock, but the rules change when the underlying exchange is shut: on edgeX, market orders are rejected on weekends and holidays and limit orders must sit inside a price band, so a Monday gap can still jump your stop. The second reason to consider edgeX is its fee ladder: 6 VIP levels take the Regular 0.045% taker / 0.04% maker down to 0.02% / 0.015%. At the Regular tier the maker fee is well above Hyperliquid's 0.015%, and funding settles every 4 hours.
Our edgeX referral code is HOLYGRAIL (edgeX's own program; it gives the new account no fee discount). Full review, including the closed-market rules: edgeX review.
5. If you want private positions: Paradex
Paradex is the privacy pick. It runs its own appchain on the Starknet stack and posts encrypted state to Ethereum, so other users and chain observers cannot see your positions, balances or PnL. Web-app ("Retail") orders pay 0% in fees but wait 300 ms; standard API orders pay 0.045% taker. It lists 66 perps (October 14, 2026), with 50x on BTC, plus dated options, which Hyperliquid does not offer.
The catch is depth: Paradex trades a small fraction of Hyperliquid's volume, and in our order-book test the zero fee lost to Hyperliquid's fee once a BTC market order reached somewhere between $100,000 and $500,000. Aster's hidden orders are the other way to keep size out of public view. We measured both books order size by order size in Hyperliquid vs Paradex. We hold no Paradex code.
6. If you want a CEX experience: Binance and Bybit
Some traders leave Hyperliquid for what a centralized exchange offers: card and bank deposits, customer support, an insurance fund and a single account for spot, earn and futures. Binance charges 0.05% taker / 0.02% maker on USDⓈ-M futures at the regular tier and lists 570 USDⓈ-M perps; Bybit charges 0.055% / 0.02% and lists 845 linear perps (counts from September 27). BTC leverage goes to 150x on Binance and 150x on Bybit.
The cost is custody and identity: both require KYC, your funds sit with the exchange, and neither Binance.com nor Bybit serves US residents. Base taker fees are higher than Hyperliquid's 0.0432% with our code. Detailed comparisons: Hyperliquid vs Binance and Hyperliquid vs Bybit.
7. If you want to trade from a Solana wallet: Jupiter Perps and Pacifica
Jupiter Perps is the Solana pool option. Its SOL, ETH and BTC markets trade against the JLP liquidity pool at oracle prices: a flat 0.06% to open and to close, plus price impact and an hourly borrow fee, with up to 250x. Those 3 pool markets cleared $271.3M in the 24 hours to October 15, 2026 04:30 UTC; 6 newer Beta markets (JUP, HYPE, ZEC and three stocks) run on an order book with their own fees and up to 20x. Borrow fees make long holds expensive, and the market list is short.
Pacifica is the Solana order-book alternative: 0.04% taker / 0.015% maker, 77 perps on October 15, 2026 and 50x on BTC and ETH, plus a weekly points program. It is young, and its matching engine runs off-chain. Drift, once Solana's largest perp DEX, was exploited on April 1, 2026, with $295M of user funds lost according to its recovery plan; do not treat it as a like-for-like alternative until the relaunch has a track record.
How Jupiter's pool model compares with Hyperliquid's order book on cost and execution: Hyperliquid vs Jupiter. Pacifica in depth: Pacifica review; every Solana venue: best DEX for Solana perpetuals.
8. If you want a better mobile app: Based, Liquid and fomo (same Hyperliquid book)
These are not true alternatives. Based, Liquid and fomo are apps that send your orders to Hyperliquid's own order book through builder codes, so liquidity, prices and funding are identical. They add a builder fee on top, which puts the all-in taker cost at about 0.07% on Based, 0.095% on Liquid and 0.095% on fomo, against 0.045% on Hyperliquid's own app. In return you get a native mobile app, social features, cards or extra markets.
One practical point: Based and Liquid connect to your existing Hyperliquid account, so a Hyperliquid referral code you set first (ours is HOLYGRAIL) keeps applying; apps such as Phantom often set their own Hyperliquid referral code on accounts that have none. fomo creates its own account. Reviews: Based app review, Liquid trade review and fomo app review.
9. If you want zero fees without an order book: Variational Omni
Variational Omni is one of Hyperliquid's largest competitors: #2 by 24-hour perp volume on CoinGecko's count ($3.00B, October 20, 2026). It has no order book. Every trade is a request-for-quote fill against one market maker, the Omni Liquidity Provider (OLP), which aggregates prices from other venues and is your counterparty. Omni charges 0% maker and taker fees; the OLP earns the spread instead. On BTC on October 15, 2026 (05:03 UTC) half the quoted spread, the cost of a market order against the mid price, was about 0.005% up to $100,000 and 0.0189% at $1M, against 0.0432% in fees alone on Hyperliquid with our code. Quotes move with the market, so check the live quote before you size up.
It runs on Arbitrum (USDC deposits, gasless sign-in), lists 572 markets on October 15, 2026 across crypto, stocks, commodities and pre-IPO names, and allows up to 50x, against 40x on Hyperliquid BTC. Funding follows the matching Bybit or Binance market (every 8 hours on BTC). The trade-offs: one counterparty prices and fills every order, so you rely on its quotes rather than on competing makers, there is no limit-order queue to earn a rebate in, and Terms exclude US and Canadian persons, residents of the US and its territories, Canada and Taiwan, and sanctioned regions. We hold no Variational code. Where it sits in the volume and open-interest tables: perp DEX ranking.
10. dYdX and GMX: the older generation
dYdX was the order-book perp DEX before Hyperliquid. It now runs its own Cosmos-based chain with 73 active markets (October 15, 2026), 0.05% taker / 0.01% maker at the base tier, 50x on BTC and hourly funding. Its decentralised validator set and long track record are the reasons to pick it; its volume is a small fraction of Hyperliquid's. Full comparison: Hyperliquid vs dYdX.
GMX is the pool model on Arbitrum, Avalanche and MegaETH: you trade against liquidity providers at oracle prices, paying a 0.04%–0.06% position fee (lower when your trade balances long and short interest) plus borrow and funding, with up to 100x and 100+ markets including gold, oil and US index perps. No order book means no slippage on small trades but price impact on large ones. CoinGecko also lists a "GMX (Solana)" entry: that is GMTrade (gmtrade.xyz), a separate Solana perp DEX that GMX's own docs do not list, so its volume is not in our GMX row. See Hyperliquid vs GMX.
When to stay on Hyperliquid
For most traders, the alternatives above are second venues, not replacements. Stay on Hyperliquid when:
- You trade size. It ranked #1 by 24-hour perp volume on October 20, 2026, about 3× the next DEX, and depth is what keeps slippage below the fee difference.
- You trade altcoins. 178 core perps (October 20, 2026) plus HIP-3 markets for stocks and commodities.
- You want a low fee without a speed bump. 0.0432% taker / 0.0144% maker with code
HOLYGRAIL, falling further with HYPE staking (5–40% off) and volume tiers. No added latency on any order. - You want everything on one account: spot, vaults, HyperEVM and the apps above.
If you are already on Hyperliquid without a code, check whether you can still add one: codes must be entered before $10,000 of volume. Details: Hyperliquid referral code HOLYGRAIL; fee math: Hyperliquid fees explained.
Staying on the deepest book? Pay 4% less
Open Hyperliquid with code HOLYGRAIL: 0.0432% taker / 0.0144% maker on your first $25M of volume. Enter it before $10,000 of volume and before you connect any app.
HOLYGRAIL → Hyperliquid alternatives FAQ
What are some good alternatives to Hyperliquid?
It depends on why you want to leave. For lower fees, Lighter (0% taker and maker on Standard accounts). For more leverage or hidden orders, Aster (1001x on BTC in its 1001x mode). For zero fees and 572 markets (October 15, 2026) without an order book, Variational Omni (you pay its quoted spread instead). For stock perps and VIP fee tiers, edgeX (96 stock and ETF perps on October 14, 2026). For private positions, Paradex. On Solana, Jupiter Perps or Pacifica. If you need a regulated US venue, Coinbase Derivatives or Kraken Derivatives US. Based, Liquid and fomo are apps on top of Hyperliquid's own order book, not alternatives.
Who are Hyperliquid's biggest competitors?
By 24-hour perp volume on CoinGecko's count (October 20, 2026), the largest perp DEXs after Hyperliquid were Variational Omni, Lighter, Aster, Pacifica and edgeX. Hyperliquid ranked #1 with $7.62B, about 3× the next venue. Among centralized exchanges, Binance and Bybit are the main competitors for the same traders.
Is there a cheaper alternative to Hyperliquid?
Yes, for small and medium orders. Lighter Standard accounts pay 0% but taker orders wait about 300 ms; Paradex charges 0% on web-app orders with a 300 ms delay. Hyperliquid costs 0.045% taker at tier 0, or 0.0432% with code HOLYGRAIL (4% off the first $25M). On large orders the fee matters less than depth, and Hyperliquid's books were deeper than Lighter's, Aster's and Paradex's in our own head-to-head comparisons.
Which Hyperliquid alternative has the highest leverage?
Aster: 1001x on BTC in its 1001x mode, a separate pool product (below 500x it charges 0.08% to open and 0.08% to close; at 500x and above, 1001x included, there is no open fee, and the close fee is 15% of your profit, or 0.03% of notional if that is more), and 200x on its order book, but only on the first $400 of notional, then 150x up to $300,000. Jupiter allows 250x on SOL, ETH and BTC, edgeX 100x on BTC and ETH, GMX up to 100x, Variational Omni 50x. Hyperliquid caps BTC at 40x.
What is a Hyperliquid alternative for US traders?
Not the large perp DEXs: Hyperliquid's Terms exclude the US, Ontario (Canada) and sanctioned jurisdictions (plus citizens of sanctioned jurisdictions), Lighter and Aster exclude the US, Paradex excludes the United States and US persons, Canada and Canadian persons, US territories, and sanctioned regions (Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria, and the Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk and Sevastopol regions of Ukraine), and Variational excludes US and Canadian persons, residents of the US and its territories, Canada and Taiwan, and sanctioned regions. US traders who want perpetual-style crypto futures need a CFTC-regulated venue such as Coinbase Derivatives (a CFTC-registered Designated Contract Market listing “US Perps” (perpetual-style futures for US customers)) or Kraken Derivatives US (a CFTC-registered futures commission merchant (NFA ID 0309379) offering CME-cleared micro contracts). Do not use a VPN to get around a DEX's restrictions.
What is the best Hyperliquid alternative on Solana?
Jupiter Perps if you want a pool you trade against (0.06% to open and close, up to 250x, 3 pool markets plus 6 Beta markets); Pacifica if you want an order book (0.04% taker / 0.015% maker, 77 perps, 50x on BTC). Drift, once Solana's largest perp DEX, was exploited on April 1, 2026 ($295M of user funds, per its recovery plan).
Are Based, Liquid and fomo alternatives to Hyperliquid?
No. They are front-ends that route your orders to Hyperliquid's own order book, so prices, liquidity and funding are the same; they add a builder fee on top (all-in taker about 0.07% on Based, 0.095% on Liquid, 0.095% on fomo). Use them for a mobile app or extra features, not to escape Hyperliquid.
Can I use a referral code on these exchanges?
Ours: Hyperliquid HOLYGRAIL (4% off fees on the first $25M), Lighter 718610TD (first week of Premium fees rebated, on up to $10M of volume), Aster DTLpLc (5% off Aster Perps fees) and edgeX HOLYGRAIL (edgeX's own program; it pays the referrer but gives the new account no fee discount). We hold no code for Variational, Paradex, dYdX, Jupiter, Pacifica or GMX.
Disclosure: HOLYGRAIL (Hyperliquid, edgeX, Based), 718610TD (Lighter), DTLpLc (Aster), JV2EN2CX (Liquid) and DailyWiseKite (fomo) are our referral codes; we earn a share of referred accounts' fees, and it never raises yours. We have no referral relationship with Variational, Paradex, dYdX, Jupiter, Pacifica, GMX, Binance, Bybit, Coinbase or Kraken. Volume is a build-time reading from CoinGecko (Jupiter: its own API, dated) and changes continuously. Fees, leverage, market counts and Terms come from each venue's official docs and APIs on the dates shown. Nothing here is investment advice; leveraged perps can lose more than you expect quickly.