Provider at a glance
- Category
- Perp DEXs
- Entity
- Not verified
- Official website
- lighter.xyz
Independent rankingchecked How it works
Details
Scored 54 out of 100 under methodology 2026.10.18, from the evidence read on file.
Lighter
Onchain order book with ZK proofs
Perp DEXs
#7 Overall
Ranked #7 of 12 perp DEXs in the published ranking
54
ChainChoice Score
The ChainChoice Score, shown against 100: published scores run from 41 to 99.- Low evidence confidence
- $0.00 your cost/yr
Is Lighter right for you?
Look elsewhere if these come first
- Published criteria15.6/30 here; the category best is 26.6
Not yet tested for your country. Markets it lists: Europe, Global. Restricted: United States, Canada, United Kingdom.
to test where you can use it.
The rank above is the published one, the same for every reader. Find my best perpetual DEX shows where it lands for you.
What will Lighter cost you?
$0.00 your cost/yr
The fee alone, plus slippage.
- How do you buy?
- Trading
- Your monthly volume
- $1k
- Trading fee
- 0%
How safe is Lighter?
- Evidence: unknown0 of 2 criteria scored; no receipt file yet. The score is provisional until a quoted source is on file.
- LicenceMiCA (EU): no register record on file here.
Alternatives to Lighter
Compare all 4- 5Jupiter Perps6 points above60$7.20
- 6GMX6 points above60$7.20
- 8Paradex5 points below49$0.00
For your setup
Find out if Lighter fits you
The rank above is the published one — the same for every visitor. Answer the category's questions and this section shows where Lighter lands for you, which criteria your answers weight up, and which stated needs the record does or does not meet. The published rank stays beside it.
- A few questions
- No account required
- Ranking-blind: no commercial input
- Personalised in under 60 seconds
Find my best perpetual DEXNothing is inferred from clicks, popularity or commercial value.
Why this rank
Why Lighter ranks #7
2 published criteria · Σ weight 100
This category publishes 2 criteria — security & track record; decentralization & trust-minimization — but no per-criterion strength has been established for Lighter yet. Its position comes from the engine's five dimensions below, measured against the 12 ranked rows. Per-criterion receipts appear once the evidence read lands.
DimensionAgainst the poolValueBestRank
Availability / 20 · constant here14.014.0#1/12
Published criteria / 3015.626.6#7/12
Friction / 10 · constant here2.72.7#1/12
Trust record / 8 · constant here3.23.2#1/12
Measured data / 18 · constant here5.55.5#1/12
Margin−6behind GMX, #6
RobustnessNot scored on criteriaits position comes from the engine’s dimensions, not from criterion scores a re-read could move
Evidence0 of 2 scoredno receipt file for this category
Strengths
0 from the score dataWhere it leads
It is within a tenth of the scale of the best in this ranking on no dimension that separates the products, so no strength can be stated from the data.
Tradeoffs
1 from the score dataWhere it trails
Not for readers who put first
- Published criteria — 15.6/30 against a category best of 26.6/30
Record watch-outs
- Newer venue (2025) — shorter track record, and the live verifier was replaced on 3 and 10 September 2026 with no sources published, so the published audits cannot be shown to cover the running code
- Admin-controlled: a protocol-controlled multisig (the governor) holds the administrative functions that manage markets and settings
Competitive position
Where Lighter leads and where it trails
Rank on every objective dimension among the rows scored on it. A criterion in the top third of its pool is listed as a lead, the bottom third as a trail; the middle is neither. Popularity, size and commercial terms are not dimensions.
Availability#1 / 1214.0 of 20 · constant here
Published criteria#7 / 1215.6 of 30 · best 26.6
Friction#1 / 122.7 of 10 · constant here
Trust record#1 / 123.2 of 8 · constant here
Measured data#1 / 125.5 of 18 · constant here
Where Lighter leadsNo criterion in the top third of its pool.
Where it trailsNo criterion in the bottom third of its pool.
Closest alternatives
The 3 nearest rows by score
Nearest by published score in either direction. Each card states the criteria on which the two rows differ and the cost difference under the same scenario inputs; the compare arithmetic below shows why the higher one ranks higher.
Paradex#8 of 12 · score 49 · 5.0 points behind
Lighter leads onNo scored criterion
Paradex leads onNo scored criterion
Largest single reason Lighter is ahead: published criteria (+5.7 display points).Scenario cost: not compared, since Paradex's figure is the fee alone, plus slippage.
GMX#6 of 12 · score 60 · 6.0 points ahead
Lighter leads onNo scored criterion
GMX leads onNo scored criterion
Largest single reason GMX is ahead: published criteria (+5.7 display points).Scenario cost: not compared, since Lighter's figure is the fee alone, plus slippage.
Jupiter Perps#5 of 12 · score 60 · 6.0 points ahead
Lighter leads onNo scored criterion
Jupiter Perps leads onNo scored criterion
Largest single reason Jupiter Perps is ahead: published criteria (+5.7 display points).Scenario cost: not compared, since Lighter's figure is the fee alone, plus slippage.
Against the leader
83 vs 54 · gap 29.0Why Gains Network (gTrade) ranks above Lighter
The compare workspace's arithmetic applied to these two rows. Each dimension's share of the gap is its weight × the difference, on the displayed scale — it reproduces the displayed gap of 29.0 to within rounding.
DimensionThisGains Network (gTrade)Gap share
Availability · 23% weight · constant here14.014.0same
Published criteria · 35% weight15.626.6−28.6, worse
Friction · 12% weight · constant here2.72.7same
Trust record · 9% weight · constant here3.23.2same
Measured data · 21% weight · constant here5.55.5same
Net5483−29.0
Your scenario
What Lighter costs on your scenario
Trading fee on what you buy: on one purchase, or for a year of purchases or of trading. Fixed purchase fees and deposit fees are not published as fields yet, so they are excluded, as are network gas and any withdrawal fee. Change an input and every figure recomputes from the published rate; the published rank does not move.
your cost/yr · default scenario — set your own
How do you buy?
$1k a month × 12 months × 0% trading fee = $0.00 / year
How do you buy? · your inputTrading
Your monthly volume · your input$1k
Trading fee · published rate0%
Rate read from the provider’s published pricing ↗ on 3 November 2026.
your cost/yrCost is stated as your cost/yr in USD; it is never a yield, never annualised, and it does not enter the score.
$0.00
The fee alone, plus slippage: not a total, and never compared as one.Under the default inputs · USDCategory median$6.008 of 12 rows priced
Cheapest priced$4.20 · Gains Network (gTrade)Difference not stated · availability not applied — set your country to filterCompare with Gains Network (gTrade)
2 of 12 rows in this ranking have no verified rate for this scenario and are absent from the median, not counted as free.
2 of 12 quote a zero fee that leaves costs out, so they are absent from the median and the cheapest row, not counted as free.
Evidence
No evidence reading date recorded
One row per published criterion: the page each strength was read from, its source type by domain, the reading date and whether the file and the published table agree. Open a row for the quote and the receipt.
0 of 2 cells scored
Score evidenceUnknownno observation on file
No structured observation on file for this category; the strengths are the catalog’s published values.Public receiptsReading…category publishes no receipt file
The receipt file has not been read yet.Evidence confidenceNot yet ratedcoverage and corroboration, never freshness
No structured observation on file for this category; the receipt count is not counted.RobustnessNot scored on criteriano re-run describes this row
Whether the position holds when one criterion score is changed by one point and the ranking is run again. It is always a re-run of the ranking, never an estimate.No structured observation is on file for this provider in this category; the strengths are the catalog’s published values.
12 listed rows in this category still await an evidence read and sit outside the scored pool.
Reading the evidence ledger…
CriterionSourceTypeReadFreshnessStatusReceipt
Security & track recordstrength — · weight 60Report an error———
Not scored
No strength is established; the criterion contributes nothing and is not treated as zero.Decentralization & trust-minimizationstrength — · weight 40Report an error———
Not scored
No strength is established; the criterion contributes nothing and is not treated as zero.How you can lose money here, and what the ranking scores
- Contract failure: the code holding the funds is exploited.Scored by Security & track record · 60%
- Control failure: a key or vote changes the rules, freezes or mints.Scored by Decentralization & trust-minimization · 40%
Not assessed by this ranking: Oracle failure, Insolvency failure, Regulatory failure, Execution failure, Exit failure. A high place says nothing about these; the Methodology tab says what each means.
Facts
facts, not scoresWhat the record publishes
- Pricing
- Model: zk-verified orderbook (offchain sequencer, proofs committed to Ethereum). Since 2025. Self-custodial with L1 force-withdrawal. Admin-controlled (a protocol multisig, the governor, holds the administrative functions). Audited (nine published audits; the September-2026 verifier changes have no published sources). Up to 50x. Fees (Lighter docs "Trading Fees", read 3 November 2026): Standard Accounts "Fees: 0 maker / 0 taker on regular perpetual and spot orders; 1 bp on TWAP/advanced orders and RFQ"; Plus and Premium/Advanced accounts pay maker and taker fees. Live TVL shown for context, not scored.Lighter — official page at docs.lighter.xyz ↗ · 3 November 2026
- Prices published in
- USDLighter — official page at docs.lighter.xyz ↗ · 3 November 2026
- Licences held
- Not published
- Compliance level
- unregulated
- Regulatory note
- Not published
- Supported chains
- Ethereum L2 (zk)
- Markets served
- europe, global
- Primary markets
- Not published
- Restricted markets
- United States, Canada, United Kingdom
- Operating limits
- Not published
- Availability note
- Lighter terms of service (last updated 29 December 2025, read 3 November 2026, https://
www .lighter .xyz /terms): "OUR SERVICES WERE NOT DEVELOPED FOR, AND ARE NOT AVAILABLE TO PERSONS OR ENTITIES WHO RESIDE IN, ARE LOCATED IN, ARE INCORPORATED IN, OR HAVE A REGISTERED OFFICE OR PRINCIPAL PLACE OF BUSINESS IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, CANADA, THE UNITED KINGDOM, CHINA, NORTH KOREA, RUSSIA, UKRAINE, CUBA, IRAN, VENEZUELA, SUDAN, BELARUS, MYANMAR OR SYRIA."
No confirmed legal entity is on file for this record. Nothing is inferred from the brand name.
If something goes wrong with Lighter: where to complain, and where to report a scam
Loading the routes for your country.
How this page is reviewed
Reviewed means this product in this category was read against its sources on or after that date; every ranked category is re-read at least every 45 days. Models research, extract and parse. A deterministic engine ranks. Every quote passes an adversarial refute pass.
Accountable for this review: Mathias Siemonsmeier, Founder.
How we review · Review calendar · Corrections log · How we make money
History
What the record carries
Changes to published ranks are recorded in a ledger; every step and its cause is listed on the rank-history page. The entries below begin with the current verified snapshot, then the methodology versions whose changes applied to this category, newest first.
11 methodology entries
- currentCurrent verified snapshot · methodology 2026.10.18Score 54, #7 of 12. 0 of 2 criteria scored. History starts here; earlier values are not interpolated.
- 10 October 2026
2026.10.8When nothing serves your country, the list shown for reference is the published ranking · platform-wide- fixed The reference list shown when nothing serves your country is the published order with the published scores, and a build check now fails any such list out of that order or with a score the ranking does not publish.
- fixed The explorer prints an overall rank only for a row the published ranking holds; a country entrant such as Coinbase Commerce for US merchants shows no overall rank.
- changed Published orders do not move. Country results change only where nothing serves the country: in India bill pay keeps Bitcoin Well first and now shows Strike second, as published; 35 such runs across all categories and countries now match the published list exactly.
- 10 October 2026
2026.10.6A criterion you require re-scores the rows that meet it · platform-wide- changed The explorer sends each criterion you require, at any band, as fit_required with your other answers; region, licence, chain and fact filters stay filters. On /best, a required criterion joins For you as a marked preference does, which needs your country; Overall stays the published ranking, filtered.
- added Every published criterion has a golden case as the explorer sends it (require:<criterion>), so the order a requirement gives is replayed and gated as the published order is, and a change to it needs an entry here.
- 16 September 2026
2026.09.15Dimension scores carry tenths, and eleven more categories are re-read from primary sources · platform-wide- changed Dimension scores resolve to tenths of a point (O-04b), and weightedTotal is rounded to six decimal places before the order is read. 518 published scores move across 107 categories that were not re-read; none of them moves by more than 4 points, and most move by 1.
- fixed 66 published scores change in the eleven re-read categories, against a verbatim source each. The largest moves are Reflexer RAI (−16), Beefy and Unrekt (−11), Aztec (−10) and Golem (+9) — all of them rows whose sources had moved since their last read.
- changed Published order moves in 38 of 119 categories and three #1s change: smart_contract_audits (Zellic → Certora) and travel_rule_compliance (Sumsub Travel Rule → CodeVASP) on the finer resolution, kyc_compliance (Veriff → Sumsub) on the re-read.
- added availabilitySource (O-04g): for a reader who states a country, a row whose availability in that country rests on a region tag its record gives no source for sorts below every sourced row. It is inert in every order published here, which states no country.
Methodology 2026.10.18, the same published run every visitor sees · receipt perp_dex:lighter:2026.10.18:1a6225a6fa2e
Are you Lighter? Reply to this verdict, or send evidence, ask for a correction or claim the listing. Every message gets a public ticket number; none of it changes a rank unless a public page or a signed statement supports it.