Lighter vs Avantis

Detailed side-by-side comparison of features, fees, and trading experience

Lighter

+ Zero trading fees for standard accounts — all retail makers and takers trade free; premium accounts pay only 0.004% maker / 0.028% taker with up to 30% discount via LIT staking (maker fees as low as 0.0028%, taker as low as 0.0196% at max tier)
+ ZK-proof verified trading: every order match, liquidation, and settlement is cryptographically proven via custom ZK circuits — no other perp DEX offers this level of on-chain verifiability
+ Massive trading volume: $232B in 30-day volume before TGE and ~$3.75-4.58B daily volume as of January 2026, making it one of the deepest liquidity pools for perp trading

− Restricted in US, Canada, UK, China, Russia, Ukraine, North Korea, Cuba, Iran, Venezuela, and Syria — a broader exclusion list than most perp DEXs including the UK
− TVL of ~$1-2B is significantly lower than Hyperliquid's $4B+ as of early 2026 — lower liquidity depth may mean worse fills for large orders
− Only USDC and ETH accepted as collateral — no multi-collateral support like GMX; limited flexibility for users with other assets

+ Zero-Fee Perpetuals: pay no opening, closing, or borrowing fees on losing trades — only profit-share (as low as 2.5%) on wins
+ Maker fee of just 1 bps (0.01%) — among the cheapest in perp DEX space
+ Trade 80+ markets including crypto, forex, commodities, and indices from a single platform

− Single-chain deployment on Base only — traders on other networks must bridge assets
− Oracle-based execution means dependency on Chainlink feed reliability during extreme volatility
− Only USDC accepted as collateral — must convert other stables first

Is Lighter or Avantis better?

Lighter has a higher rating (4.2 vs 3.5). Lighter offers lower fees (0% vs 0.0004%). Choose Lighter for lower fees, and Avantis for higher leverage.

What are the fees on Lighter vs Avantis?

Lighter charges 0% taker / 0% maker. Avantis charges 0.0004% taker / 0.0001% maker for perpetuals.