# lighter standard vs plus vs premium

Standard is free: 0% maker, 0% taker, 300 ms taker latency. Plus charges 0.005% on both sides for higher API limits. Premium starts at 0.0040% maker and 0.0280% taker for 140 ms taker latency. Most people should stay on Standard.

## the three, side by side

| | Standard | Plus | Premium (no LIT staked) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maker fee | 0% | 0.005% | 0.0040% |
| Taker fee | 0% | 0.005% | 0.0280% |
| Taker latency | 300 ms | 300 ms | 140 ms |
| RFQ, Chase, Iceberg, TWAP | 0.01% | 0.005% | not documented |
| Sub-accounts | 4 | 16 | 64 |
| $10,000 opened and closed, market orders | $0.00 | $1.00 | $5.60 |

Premium fees come down as you stake LIT, from 2.5% off at 1,000 LIT to 30% off at 500,000 LIT, where Premium is 0.0028% maker and 0.0196% taker ($3.92 on that same round trip). The stake counts across your main account and its sub-accounts.

## where you choose

Lighter asks right after your first deposit. The Choose your account window leads with a Premium card ("The fastest order flow on Lighter", "1,500 open orders and the highest API rate limits", "Priority support"). Below it are Continue with Plus instead and "No thanks, continue with the Standard account".

![Lighter's Choose your account window after a first deposit: a Premium card with Continue with Premium, then Compare account types, Continue with Plus instead and No thanks, continue with the Standard account.](https://apebrief.com/assets/media/lighter-account-type.png)

Nothing is locked in. You can switch account types anytime from Portfolio. An upgrade has no cooldown; any other switch needs 24 hours since the last one.

## which to pick

- **Standard.** Limit and market orders on perps and spot cost nothing. If you click buttons in the app, this is you.
- **Plus.** For bots that need more requests per minute and don't care about 300 ms. You pay 0.005% for the headroom.
- **Premium.** For speed: 140 ms taker latency, and cancels and Post Only orders with no added delay. Worth it if your strategy lives on latency. Otherwise you're paying for time you don't use.

Honestly? Start on Standard.

## the free premium week

Sign up with a referral code and your first week of Premium is free: the fees you pay that week come back in USDC every Monday, on your first $10M of volume. It's a cheap way to find out whether 140 ms matters to you, then drop back to Standard from Portfolio. [the lighter referral](/lighter/referral/) has the details, and [lighter fees](/lighter/fees/) has the full fee picture.

If you're setting up a new account, the link below is our referral link.

> **code apebrief.** Open Lighter through https://go.apebrief.com/lighter/account-types-001-end?src=md&asset=lighter%2Faccount-types&cta=after-resolution and paste the code where the signup shows a code field. Signing up through this link gets you your first week of Lighter Premium free: the fees you pay that week are rebated to you in USDC, which signing up without one does not. We get a commission from Lighter, which helps support our work, at no extra cost to you.

## how we know: every number on this page

- Standard account: 0 maker / 0 taker on perps and spot, 300ms taker latency, up to 4 sub-accounts **0%** (https://docs.lighter.xyz/trading/trading-fees), checked 2026-09-28
- Plus account: 0.5 bps (0.005%) maker and taker, 300 ms taker latency, for latency-insensitive users who want higher rate limits; 16 sub-accounts **0.005%** (https://docs.lighter.xyz/trading/trading-fees), checked 2026-09-28
- Premium account, no LIT staked: 0.0040% maker, 0.0280% taker, 140 ms taker latency; 64 sub-accounts; suited to HFT **0.0040%** (https://docs.lighter.xyz/trading/trading-fees), checked 2026-09-28
- Premium top staking tier: 500,000 LIT staked, 30% discount, 0.0028% maker, 0.0196% taker; the first tier is 1,000 LIT for 2.5%; stake counts across the main account and its sub-accounts **500,000** (https://docs.lighter.xyz/trading/trading-fees), checked 2026-09-28
- switching account type: allowed once 24 hours have passed since the last switch; upgrading has no cooldown **24** (https://apidocs.lighter.xyz/docs/account-types), checked 2026-09-28
- the Choose your account window after a first deposit: Premium card and its lines, Continue with Plus instead, No thanks continue with the Standard account, switch anytime from Portfolio **1,500** (our screenshot, 28 Sep 2026: 'Choose your account': card 'PREMIUM': 'The fastest order flow on Lighter', '1,500 open orders and the highest API rate limits', 'Priority support', button 'Continue with Premium'; below, 'Compare account types', 'Continue with Plus instead', 'No thanks, continue with the Standard account'; footer 'Your account is ready, you can switch account types anytime from Portfolio.'), checked 2026-09-28
- advanced orders (RFQ, Chase, Iceberg, TWAP) cost 0.01% on Standard and 0.005% on Plus; limit and market orders stay free **0.01%** (our screenshot, 28 Sep 2026, 'New fees for advanced order types': 'RFQ, Chase, Iceberg, and TWAP orders include a 0.01% fee on Standard account. Regular limit and market orders remain free.' 'On Plus Accounts these orders cost 0.005% instead.'), checked 2026-09-28
- a referred user's first week of Premium is free: trial-week fees rebated every Monday, on the first $10M of volume **$10M** (https://docs.lighter.xyz/referral-program), checked 2026-09-28
- derived: fees on a $10,000 position opened and closed with market orders, by account **10,000** (derived from s1 to s4: 20,000 notional; Standard 0; Plus 20,000 x 0.00005 = 1.00; Premium base 20,000 x 0.00028 = 5.60; Premium top tier 20,000 x 0.000196 = 3.92), checked 2026-09-28
- a user who joins through a Lighter referral link can activate one week of Premium free; the trial week's trading fees are rebated every Monday, on the first $10M of volume **one** (https://docs.lighter.xyz/referral-program), checked 2026-09-28

## next

- [lighter referral code: apebrief, and the free premium week](https://apebrief.com/lighter/referral/): Our Lighter referral code is apebrief.
- [how to deposit on lighter](https://apebrief.com/lighter/deposit/): Deposit on Lighter from the Deposit button. With a wallet connected and nothing deposited, the positions panel says your first deposit opens the account.
- [what crypto can i deposit on lighter](https://apebrief.com/lighter/deposit-crypto/): Lighter's Deposit window takes USDC (Perps), USDC (Spot), ETH and XAUT as collateral, plus AAVE, LDO, LINK, SKY, UNI, AZTEC and LIT without the Collateral tag.
- [lighter fees: free on standard, and what costs money](https://apebrief.com/lighter/fees/): Lighter charges Standard accounts 0% maker and 0% taker on perps and spot.
- [hyperliquid vs lighter: fees, the code and getting money in](https://apebrief.com/vs/hyperliquid-lighter/): Hyperliquid for most perp traders: it's the more established venue, a code takes 4% off your fees for your first $25M of volume, and the code can go on after sign-up.

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HTML version: https://apebrief.com/lighter/account-types/ · figures checked 2026-09-28