Lighter vs Drift

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

+ Up to 101x leverage available on SOL, BTC, and ETH perpetual markets via High Leverage Mode
+ Maker rebates up to -0.0033% at VIP tier, meaning makers earn a rebate on each trade
+ Cross-collateral system lets any supported asset (USDT, SOL, JLP, etc.) serve as margin for any position

− MAJOR EXPLOIT: $270M stolen on April 1-2, 2026 via Solana durable nonces — protocol under recovery, relaunch pending
− Only available on Solana — users on other chains must bridge assets
− High Leverage Mode (up to 101x) charges 2x the bottom taker fee tier

Is Lighter or Drift better?

Lighter has a higher rating (4.2 vs 2). Lighter offers lower fees (0% vs 0.035%). Choose Lighter for lower fees, and Drift for higher leverage.

What are the fees on Lighter vs Drift?

Lighter charges 0% taker / 0% maker. Drift charges 0.035% taker / -0.0025% maker for perpetuals.