# is photon better than axiom, on fees and the wallet path

Axiom if the fee decides it: signing up through a referral link takes 10% off trading fees, and cashback in SOL takes the net fee to 0.75% at the top tier. Photon if you want Phantom as the funding wallet and a documented Withdraw back to it: its 1% each way has no documented discount or cashback.

Both generate their own trading wallet, so running both means funding both. Pick one path and stay on it.

> versus table: see the HTML version; every cell is in the ledger below

## the fee row

Both start at 1% a leg, so a round trip is 2% of what you put in before gas, priority fee or price impact. Photon's docs work the buy side: 5 SOL in, 0.05 SOL to Photon, 4.95 SOL into the purchase. That is Photon's whole fee story: no discount documented, no cashback documented. The [photon fees page](/photon/fees/) has what else leaves the wallet on a fill.

Axiom's 1% is a starting rate with two documented ways down. Sign up through a referral link and you pay 10% less on trading fees. Trade enough volume and Axiom pays cashback in SOL against its own fee: 0.05% at the lowest tier for a net 0.95%, up to 0.25% at the top for a net 0.75%. The docs do not say how the two compose, so we do not add them up. The [axiom fees page](/axiom/fees/) has the round trip and the [tier table](/axiom/fee-tiers/) has the ladder.

## the wallet path

Photon starts from Phantom. You connect it, Photon generates a trading wallet and shows you its private key once, and the wallet you walked in with stays the funding wallet. Deposit moves SOL in from it, Withdraw takes a SOL amount and an address, and you can run up to 5 active trading wallets at a time. The docs cover [depositing](/photon/deposit/) and [withdrawing](/photon/withdraw/) in one screen each.

Axiom is the account and the wallet. Signup is email, Google or Phantom, it shows you a seed phrase, and the wallet it generates is where your funds sit. The way out Axiom gives you is that phrase: import it into a standard wallet and send from there. [how to withdraw from axiom: the recovery phrase route](/axiom/withdraw/) walks through it. If a plain withdraw step matters to you, Photon documents one and Axiom's docs route you through the phrase.

## priority and bribe

Axiom lists a default of 0.001 for both PRIO and Bribe, and notes that it works out a recommended value for each from current transactions. Photon's docs have you pick a preset for priority, bribe and slippage on every order. With both, that line is up to you to size.

## same on both

1% a leg at the start, on every trade, and a generated trading wallet that is not the one you signed in with.

## our pick: axiom

Both are 1% a leg at the start. Photon's 1% has no discount or cashback; its strength is Phantom as the funding wallet and a Withdraw button back to it. Axiom takes 10% off trading fees when you sign up through a referral link, and cashback in SOL takes the net fee down to 0.75% at the top tier, so Axiom is our pick for most traders. The link below is our referral link for Axiom; the code is **apebrief**.

> **code apebrief.** Open Axiom through https://go.apebrief.com/axiom/axiom-photon-inline?src=md&asset=vs%2Faxiom-photon&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

- **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.
- **Why did Photon eat the fill?** Photon charges 1% of the SOL or token you put in, on every buy and sell, on top of the priority fee and Jito tip you set yourself in settings.
- **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.
- **Where is deposit on Photon?** Same shape as every non-custodial Solana terminal. Connect the wallet with SOL. There is no Photon deposit address. We do not send you to Axiom from here.

## how we know: every number on this page

- Axiom's platform fee starts at 1% **1%** (https://docs.axiom.trade/getting-started/referral-program), checked 2026-09-18
- Axiom referee discount for signing up through a referral link **10%** (https://docs.axiom.trade/getting-started/referral-program), checked 2026-09-18
- Axiom cashback is paid in SOL out of trading fees, up to 0.25% at the top tier, for a net fee of 0.75% **0.25%** (https://docs.axiom.trade/getting-started/fees/axiom-fees), checked 2026-09-18
- Axiom's lowest tier: 0.05% cashback for a net fee of 0.95% **0.05%** (https://docs.axiom.trade/getting-started/fees/axiom-fees), checked 2026-09-18
- Photon's platform fee is 1% of the initial token on every buy and every sell, collected in SOL **1%** (https://pies-organization.gitbook.io/photon-trading/photon-on-sol/photon-fees-sol), checked 2026-09-18
- Photon's own worked buy example: 5 SOL in, 0.05 SOL fee, 4.95 SOL into the purchase **5** (https://pies-organization.gitbook.io/photon-trading/photon-on-sol/photon-fees-sol), checked 2026-09-18
- derived: both legs of a round trip at the 1% start, on either venue **2%** (derived: 1% on the buy + 1% on the sell = 2% of what you committed, before network fees, priority fee and price impact), checked 2026-09-18
- Photon's referral programme pays points, not cash **points** (https://pies-organization.gitbook.io/photon-trading/photon-on-eth/photon-points-leaderboard), checked 2026-09-23
- Photon connects to Phantom, generates its own trading wallet, and shows the private key once **once** (https://pies-organization.gitbook.io/photon-trading/photon-on-sol), checked 2026-09-18
- Photon's Deposit moves SOL in from the funding wallet; Withdraw takes a SOL amount and an address **Withdraw** (https://pies-organization.gitbook.io/photon-trading/photon-on-sol), checked 2026-09-18
- Photon allows up to 5 active trading wallets at once **5** (https://pies-organization.gitbook.io/photon-trading/photon-on-sol/multi-wallet), checked 2026-09-18
- Photon's order flow has you choose a preset for priority, bribe and slippage **preset** (https://pies-organization.gitbook.io/photon-trading/photon-on-sol/multi-wallet), checked 2026-09-18
- Axiom signup is email, Google or Phantom, it shows a seed phrase, and its docs recommend importing that phrase into a standard wallet **seed** (https://docs.axiom.trade/getting-started/signup), checked 2026-09-18
- Axiom documents a default of 0.001 for both the priority fee and the bribe, and says it calculates a recommended value for each **0.001** (https://docs.axiom.trade/getting-started/fees/solana-fees), checked 2026-09-18
- derived: both legs of a $1,000 round trip at the 1% start **20** (derived: 10.00 on the buy + 10.00 on the sell = 20.00, before gas and price impact), checked 2026-08-24
- cashback is paid in SOL and comes out of trading fees, and the top of the scale is stated explicitly **0.25%** (https://docs.axiom.trade/getting-started/fees/axiom-fees), checked 2026-08-28

## next

- [Do my Photon filters carry over to Axiom?](https://apebrief.com/axiom/switch-from-photon/): Only the money and the wallet keys move by a documented route: withdraw SOL from Photon to a wallet you hold and deposit it on Axiom, or move the wallet's key into Phantom.
- [Are Axiom perps just Hyperliquid?](https://apebrief.com/vs/axiom-hyperliquid/): 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 Pulse or Photon Memescope?](https://apebrief.com/vs/pulse-memescope/): Axiom Pulse if you trade launches on more than one chain: eight chains feed the same three columns, and every column carries its own filters and three presets.
- [How do I get crypto from an exchange onto Solana, Hyperliquid or Robinhood Chain?](https://apebrief.com/exchanges/to-onchain/): Buy on the exchange, withdraw to a wallet on the network your next stop uses, then trade there: SOL on Solana for Axiom, Photon or Jupiter; USDC for Hyperliquid, on Arbitrum unless your exchange sends to Hyperliquid directly; ETH on Ethereum, bridged over, for Robinhood Chain.

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HTML version: https://apebrief.com/vs/axiom-photon/ · figures checked 2026-09-17