Vertex Protocol vs Drift Protocol Same published score.
Drift Protocol and Vertex Protocol tie on score at 41; the published tie-break orders them. Neither operates any longer, so both criteria blocks are zeroed. Vertex Protocol ranks #12 and Drift Protocol #11 of 12 published perp DEXs. The ledger below shows where each side is ahead — pick by the criterion that matters to you.
VEVertex Protocol41
vs
DRDrift Protocol41
Scores are out of 100; published scores fall within 41–99 · ranks #12 and #11 of 12
Published verdictRanking snapshot 12 November 2026
Same published score — 41 each
Drift Protocol and Vertex Protocol tie on score at 41; the published tie-break orders them. Neither operates any longer, so both criteria blocks are zeroed.
VEVertex Protocol #12 of 1241
DRDrift Protocol #11 of 1241
Scores are out of 100; published scores fall within 41–99; a bar is empty at 41 and full at 99.
Why, term by termDrift Protocol leads on 0 of 2 published criteria; Vertex Protocol on 0. The terms sum to the gap.
TermDrift ProtocolVertex ProtocolWeightPoints
No published term separates the two — every criterion cell and every score dimension is equal.
Net of the terms0.0
Reproduced gap0.0
Weight is in points of the 86-point weighted total. Points are score points of the gap between the two.
EligibilityVertex Protocol no longer operates (since 2025-07-16): its criteria block is zeroed
EligibilityDrift Protocol no longer operates (since 2026-04-01): its criteria block is zeroed
Vertex Protocol no longer operates (since 2025-07-16) and is kept for reference: the engine zeroes its criteria block, whatever its cells say.
Drift Protocol no longer operates (since 2026-04-01) and is kept for reference: the engine zeroes its criteria block, whatever its cells say.
A floor bound on one row means the criterion arithmetic does not reproduce the displayed gap exactly.
Vertex ProtocolScore 41Closed: hybrid AMM + sequencer orderbook on Arbitrum (trading ended July 2025)Strength: Nothing — Vertex is closed; all DEX trading ceased on 16 July 2025Watch-out: Closed: all DEX trading ceased on 16 July 2025 when the team joined the Ink Foundation, and vertexprotocol.com now returns 404 — there is no Vertex venue to trade onDrift ProtocolScore 41Closed Solana perps venue — program paused since April 2026 after a $295M lossStrength: Nothing — Drift is closed; its program has been paused since 1 April 2026Watch-out: Closed: the Drift program has been paused since 1 April 2026 and no market can be traded; Velocity, where the Drift app now redirects, is a separate new program with no Drift state carried over
Quick facts
At a glance
3 of 5 rows read the same for both.
FactVertex ProtocolDrift Protocol
PricingSnapshotFee schedule at the source · source Fee schedule at the source · source
Security postureSnapshotAudited; admin-controlled contracts.Audited; admin-controlled contracts; an exploit that lost user or LP funds (2026, rated severe).
From the published criteria
Which should you pick?
VE
Vertex Protocol
Published score 41 #12 of 12
Pick it when
Vertex Protocol leads Drift Protocol on no published criterion and no score dimension — pick it only if a fact outside the score (country, funding rail, custody) decides for you.
Strength
Nothing — Vertex is closed; all DEX trading ceased on 16 July 2025
Tradeoff
Closed: all DEX trading ceased on 16 July 2025 when the team joined the Ink Foundation, and vertexprotocol.com now returns 404 — there is no Vertex venue to trade on
DR
Drift Protocol
Published score 41 #11 of 12
Pick it when
Drift Protocol leads Vertex Protocol on no published criterion and no score dimension — pick it only if a fact outside the score (country, funding rail, custody) decides for you.
Strength
Nothing — Drift is closed; its program has been paused since 1 April 2026
Tradeoff
Closed: the Drift program has been paused since 1 April 2026 and no market can be traded; Velocity, where the Drift app now redirects, is a separate new program with no Drift state carried over
Self-identify in 10 seconds
Which one is actually for you?
VEVertex Protocol
Vertex Protocol leads Drift Protocol on no published criterion
Choose it only if something outside the published criteria decides for you — your country, a funding rail, or custody.
Vertex ProtocolScore 41Closed: hybrid AMM + sequencer orderbook on Arbitrum (trading ended July 2025)Strength: Nothing — Vertex is closed; all DEX trading ceased on 16 July 2025Watch-out: Closed: all DEX trading ceased on 16 July 2025 when the team joined the Ink Foundation, and vertexprotocol.com now returns 404 — there is no Vertex venue to trade on
DRDrift Protocol
Drift Protocol leads Vertex Protocol on no published criterion
Choose it only if something outside the published criteria decides for you — your country, a funding rail, or custody.
Drift ProtocolScore 41Closed Solana perps venue — program paused since April 2026 after a $295M lossStrength: Nothing — Drift is closed; its program has been paused since 1 April 2026Watch-out: Closed: the Drift program has been paused since 1 April 2026 and no market can be traded; Velocity, where the Drift app now redirects, is a separate new program with no Drift state carried over
Criterion by criterion
Scorecard
Published criteria · weight in points of 860 of 4 cells scored. Strength is read from the evidence file; the weight is the published one. Methodology
Security
weight 14.4 of 86Not scored
Vertex ProtocolNot scored
No evidence cell for this criterion, so no strength is drawn.
Drift ProtocolNot scored
No evidence cell for this criterion, so no strength is drawn.
Decentralization
weight 9.6 of 86Not scored
Vertex ProtocolNot scored
No evidence cell for this criterion, so no strength is drawn.
Drift ProtocolNot scored
No evidence cell for this criterion, so no strength is drawn.
Score dimensions
weights sum to 86
The published score is five dimensions, each weighted for the category. "Published criteria" is the criteria block above; the other four are the engine's own terms — availability, friction, trust record, measured data. Each bar is one side's points out of that dimension's maximum; the weight beside the name is its points of the 86-point weighted total. The published criteria above can fill 24 of the block’s 30. A weight marked “constant here” belongs to a dimension every ranked product in the category holds at the same value: it still counts in the total, and it orders nothing here.
Availabilityweight 20 of 86 · constant here
Vertex Protocol14/20Drift Protocol14/20
Tie
Published criteriaweight 30 of 86
Vertex Protocol0/30Drift Protocol0/30
Tie
Frictionweight 10 of 86 · constant here
Vertex Protocol2.7/10Drift Protocol2.7/10
Tie
Trust recordweight 8 of 86 · constant here
Vertex Protocol3.2/8Drift Protocol3.2/8
Tie
Measured dataweight 18 of 86 · constant here
Vertex Protocol5.5/18Drift Protocol5.5/18
Tie
Decision rulePublished order
Same published score — pick by the criterion that matters to you.
Vertex Protocol leads Drift Protocol on no published criterion and no score dimension — pick it only if a fact outside the score (country, funding rail, custody) decides for you.
Drift Protocol leads Vertex Protocol on no published criterion and no score dimension — pick it only if a fact outside the score (country, funding rail, custody) decides for you.
The published order weighs every criterion the same way for everyone. To weigh them your way, run .
From the published order
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If this isn't your case
Other matchups worth comparing
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.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Drift Protocol and Vertex Protocol tie on score at 41; the published tie-break orders them. Neither operates any longer, so both criteria blocks are zeroed. Published scores, out of 100: Vertex Protocol 41 (rank 12 of 12 perp dexs), Drift Protocol 41 (rank 11 of 12).
Reviewed means both products compared here 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.
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