# axiom perpetuals vs trading on hyperliquid directly

Hyperliquid directly if the fee decides it: Axiom's Perpetuals screen trades on Hyperliquid, and Axiom adds 0.01% per transaction on top of Hyperliquid's own fee. Axiom if your money already sits there as SOL and you want perps beside the memecoin screens without opening a second account.

Same order book either way. The question is what the wrapper costs and what it saves you.

| | Axiom Perpetuals | Hyperliquid directly |
|---|---|---|
| fee on top of Hyperliquid's | 0.01% per transaction | none |
| money in | SOL converted to USDC on Hyperliquid inside Axiom | USDC on Arbitrum, Ethereum, Base or Polygon, or SOL and other listed assets sold for USDC once they land ([the routes](/hyperliquid/deposit/)) |
| money out | USDC converted back to USDC on Solana | Withdraw, with gas on some routes |
| referral discount | not documented for perps | 4% for your first $25M of volume |
| HYPE staking discount | not documented for an Axiom account | 5% to 40% |

## what "powered by hyperliquid" means

Axiom says "Now powered by HyperLiquid". You fund by converting SOL "to USDC on Hyperliquid" and leave by converting it back. The BTC panel carries a perp exchange's furniture: oracle price, open interest, a funding countdown, an order book, margin in USDC. The order fills on Hyperliquid. Axiom is the screen in front of it.

![Axiom's Perpetuals screen on BTC: market header, order book, Long and Short with Leverage 20x, and the order panel's footer reading powered by Hyperliquid. Margin and account value are masked.](https://apebrief.com/assets/media/axiom-perps.png)

## the extra 0.01%

Axiom states the rate: "Axiom takes a 0.01% fee per transaction while trading on our platform." It does not say how it is collected. Hyperliquid has one way for an app to charge on the fills it sends for you: a builder fee, an additional fee on the order's notional, capped at 0.1% on perps, allowed only after your main wallet approves a maximum. Axiom's rate is a tenth of that cap.

## a $100 round trip

A $100 position opened and closed with market orders is $200 of volume.

- Hyperliquid directly, base taker rate 0.045% both legs: $0.09.
- Through Axiom: the same $0.09 to Hyperliquid, plus 0.01% of $200 to Axiom, $0.02. Total $0.11.
- Filled as maker both legs at 0.015%: $0.03 direct, $0.05 through Axiom, because Axiom's fee is per transaction.

At the 20x the BTC panel defaults to, that position ties up $5 of margin. Both fees are a percentage of the $200 traded, not of the $5. Two cents at this size, and it scales: Axiom's fee adds about 22% to a taker round trip at the base rate and about 67% to a maker one. Axiom doesn't say whether its panel opens positions cross or isolated; on Hyperliquid, cross is the default.

Direct accounts can stack discounts, which the [hyperliquid fees page](/hyperliquid/fees/) works through. At $100 they round to nothing: 4% off $0.09 is under half a cent.

## referral and cashback on perps

Axiom doesn't say. Its referral programme pays the referrer for trades "on Solana, BSC, and Ethereum", its cashback covers trading "on Solana, BSC, and Ethereum", and the 10% signup discount applies to "trading fees" with no chain named. Nothing Axiom says about perps mentions any of them. A 10% cut of a 0.01% fee would be a rounding error either way.

## same on both

The order book, Hyperliquid's fee schedule, and USDC as collateral.

If you came only for perps, go direct: the math says so. If you want Axiom, the link below is our referral link.

> **code apebrief.** Open Axiom through https://go.apebrief.com/axiom/axiom-hyperliquid-inline?src=md&asset=vs%2Faxiom-hyperliquid&cta=after-resolution and paste the code where the signup shows a code field. Signing up through this link takes 10% off your Axiom trading fees, which signing up without one does not. We get a commission from Axiom, which helps support our work, at no extra cost to you.

## related questions

- **Where is deposit on Hyperliquid?** Balances panel, Deposit, usually USDC via Arbitrum. Read the chain the UI asks for. Mainnet ETH to a Hyperliquid address is how people lose a day.
- **Where is deposit on Axiom?** Click the labelled Deposit button in the top bar, not an arrow. It opens a panel titled Exchange, and its Deposit tab shows the address of the wallet Axiom generated for your account. Send SOL there, on Solana. Your old wallet's balance is not your Axiom balance.
- **What does Axiom actually charge?** Platform fee starts at 1% of the fill, plus priority you set, plus impact. A referral is a fee cut on the account if the field shows the code. Gas is separate.
- **Hyperliquid referral code** Entered on the referrals page or by link. 4% off taker fees for your first $25M, per the docs. Not for vaults or sub-accounts. Not an Axiom code.

## how we know: every number on this page

- Axiom's perps docs: powered by Hyperliquid, funded by converting SOL to USDC on Hyperliquid through a SOL - USDC button, Swap, then Convert **Hyperliquid** (https://docs.axiom.trade/perpetuals/deposit), checked 2026-09-24
- Axiom's fee on perps **0.01%** (https://docs.axiom.trade/perpetuals/deposit), checked 2026-09-24
- Axiom's perps withdraw converts USDC on Hyperliquid back to USDC on Solana, about 5 minutes per the docs **5** (https://docs.axiom.trade/perpetuals/withdraw), checked 2026-09-24
- on Axiom you type the buy amount in USDC and choose leverage **USDC** (https://docs.axiom.trade/perpetuals/trading-on-hyperliquid), checked 2026-09-24
- Axiom's Perpetuals panel on BTC: Hyperliquid market data and order book, leverage 20x by default, amounts and margin in USDC, and a 'powered by Hyperliquid' footer **20x** (our screenshot Sep 2026: BTC market header with price, Oracle Price, 24h Volume, Open Interest and 'Funding / Countdown'; Order Book and Trades; Long and Short; Market and Limit; 'Leverage: 20x' by default for BTC; 'Buy Amount' in USDC; TP/SL; 'Est. Liq. Price'; 'Add More Funds', 'Available Margin' and 'Account Value' in USDC; the panel's footer reads 'powered by Hyperliquid'; Positions, Open Orders and Trades tabs), checked 2026-09-24
- Hyperliquid's builder codes: an app takes a fee on fills it sends for a user, after the user's main wallet approves a maximum; at most 0.1% on perps, on both sides of a perp trade **0.1%** (https://hyperliquid.gitbook.io/hyperliquid-docs/trading/builder-codes), checked 2026-09-24
- a builder fee is an additional fee, charged to the user on the order's notional **1bp** (https://hyperliquid.gitbook.io/hyperliquid-docs/for-developers/api/exchange-endpoint), checked 2026-09-24
- Hyperliquid base perp rates, tier 0: taker 0.045%, maker 0.015%, set by rolling 14 day volume, one tier per user across all assets **0.045%** (https://hyperliquid.gitbook.io/hyperliquid-docs/trading/fees), checked 2026-09-24
- HYPE staking discount on Hyperliquid fees, from Wood to Diamond **5%** (https://hyperliquid.gitbook.io/hyperliquid-docs/trading/fees), checked 2026-09-24
- Hyperliquid referral discount for the referred trader **4%** (https://hyperliquid.gitbook.io/hyperliquid-docs/referrals), checked 2026-09-24
- Hyperliquid direct: an EVM wallet or email login; USDC on Arbitrum, Ethereum, Base or Polygon arrives as USDC; SOL and other listed assets arrive as themselves and must be sold for USDC **Arbitrum/Ethereum/Base/Polygon** (https://hyperliquid.gitbook.io/hyperliquid-docs/onboarding/how-to-start-trading), checked 2026-09-24
- Hyperliquid's withdraw is a button on the trade page, with small gas fees on some routes **Withdraw** (https://hyperliquid.gitbook.io/hyperliquid-docs/onboarding/how-to-start-trading), checked 2026-09-24
- Hyperliquid: cross margin is the default; margin to open is size times mark price over leverage **cross** (https://hyperliquid.gitbook.io/hyperliquid-docs/trading/margining), checked 2026-09-24
- Hyperliquid perps are margined in USDC **USDC** (https://hyperliquid.gitbook.io/hyperliquid-docs/trading/contract-specifications), checked 2026-09-24
- Axiom's referral page names trades on Solana, BSC and Ethereum, and gives the referee 10% off trading fees; perps are not named **10%** (https://docs.axiom.trade/getting-started/referral-program), checked 2026-09-24
- Axiom's cashback is described for trading on Solana, BSC and Ethereum; perps are not named **cashback** (https://docs.axiom.trade/getting-started/reward-system), checked 2026-09-24
- derived: a $100 position opened and closed is $200 of volume **100** (derived: 100 in + 100 out = 200), checked 2026-09-24
- derived: Hyperliquid's base taker fee on the round trip **0.09** (derived: 200 x 0.00045 = 0.09), checked 2026-09-24
- derived: Axiom's 0.01% on the round trip, and the total through Axiom at base taker rates **0.02** (derived: 200 x 0.0001 = 0.02; 0.09 + 0.02 = 0.11), checked 2026-09-24
- derived: the round trip filled as maker both legs, direct and through Axiom **0.03** (derived: 200 x 0.00015 = 0.03; 0.03 + 0.02 = 0.05), checked 2026-09-24
- derived: margin behind a $100 position at 20x **5** (derived from the margining formula: 100 / 20 = 5), checked 2026-09-24
- derived: Axiom's 0.01% as a share of Hyperliquid's base taker and maker rates **22%** (derived: 0.01 / 0.045 = 0.222, about 22%; 0.01 / 0.015 = 0.667, about 67%), checked 2026-09-24
- derived: a 4% referral discount on the $0.09 round trip **0.0036** (derived: 0.09 x 0.04 = 0.0036, under half a cent), checked 2026-09-24

## next

- [Hyperliquid taker fee?](https://apebrief.com/hyperliquid/fees/): A $10,000 position opened and closed with market orders costs $9.00 in fees at the base rate
- [Where is deposit on Hyperliquid?](https://apebrief.com/hyperliquid/deposit/): Deposit is a button on the Trade page, not a menu.
- [What does Axiom actually charge?](https://apebrief.com/axiom/fees/): Axiom's platform fee starts at 1% of the trade.
- [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/vs/axiom-hyperliquid/ · figures checked 2026-09-24