# hyperliquid vs lighter: fees, the code and getting money in

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. Lighter if you only place limit and market orders by hand and want them free: a Standard account pays 0% maker and 0% taker, where Hyperliquid's base tier is 0.015% maker and 0.045% taker.

| | Hyperliquid | Lighter |
|---|---|---|
| limit and market orders | 0.015% maker, 0.045% taker | 0% on Standard |
| what moves the rate | a code, your volume tier | RFQ, Chase, Iceberg, TWAP at 0.01%; Plus and Premium accounts |
| a code gets you | 4% off fees, first $25M of volume | first week of Premium free, first $10M |
| the code goes on | after your first deposit, or through a link | at sign-up only |
| money in from a wallet | USDC via Arbitrum | USDC, ETH, XAUT and more, from 12 chains |

## the fee on a fill

Hyperliquid charges every fill, on notional. A code and your volume tier bring the rate down; the [hyperliquid fees page](/hyperliquid/fees/) stacks the discounts.

Lighter's default account, Standard, charges nothing on limit and market orders. You pay for extras: 0.01% on RFQ, Chase, Iceberg and TWAP orders, 0.005% a side on Plus for higher API limits, and from 0.0040% maker and 0.0280% taker on Premium for 140 ms taker latency against Standard's 300 ms. [lighter standard vs plus vs premium](/lighter/account-types/)

## a $10,000 round trip

Open a $10,000 position and close it: $20,000 of volume.

| Setup | Cost |
|---|---|
| Lighter Standard, limit or market | **$0.00** |
| Lighter Standard, TWAP both legs | $2.00 |
| Hyperliquid, maker both legs | $3.00 |
| Lighter Premium, taker both legs | $5.60 |
| Hyperliquid, taker both legs, with a code | $8.64 |
| Hyperliquid, taker both legs | $9.00 |

## what the code does

**Hyperliquid.** 4% off your fees, $0.36 on that round trip. It goes on at the referrals page or through a referral link, and it doesn't have to be there at sign-up. With nothing deposited the Enter Code window shows only "Need to Deposit", so deposit first. [the hyperliquid referral](/hyperliquid/referral/)

**Lighter.** Your first week of Premium free: that week's fees come back every Monday, on your first $10M of volume. It only counts at sign-up, which on Lighter is your first deposit, and attribution is permanent. On Standard there's little to rebate; the week is for trying Premium's speed, then switching back from Portfolio. Our Lighter code is apebrief. [the lighter referral](/lighter/referral/)

## getting money in

**Hyperliquid.** A connected wallet deposits USDC via Arbitrum, with a 0.2 USDC fee line; under 5 USDC is lost. An email login gets an address that takes USDC on Arbitrum, Ethereum, Base or Polygon. [where deposit is on hyperliquid](/hyperliquid/deposit/)

**Lighter.** Pick a destination token first: USDC (Perps), USDC (Spot), ETH and XAUT carry the Collateral tag. Send from the connected wallet, or use Transfer Crypto for a deposit address on another chain: $3 minimum on Arbitrum, Base, Polygon, Optimism and Robinhood, $10 on Ethereum, Solana, BSC, Tron, Bitcoin, HyperEVM and Monad. After the first deposit, "No thanks, continue with the Standard account" is the free choice. [how to deposit on lighter](/lighter/deposit/)

## which one

- **Hyperliquid**, for most perp traders: the more established venue, 4% off with a code, a code you can still add after sign-up, and an email login that takes USDC from four chains.
- **Lighter**, if you only place limit and market orders by hand and want them free: $0.00 on the round trip that costs $9.00 at Hyperliquid's base tier.
- **Lighter Premium**, if 140 ms matters to your strategy. The free week tells you.

Our pick: Hyperliquid. It's the more established venue, and the code takes 4% off every fill for your first $25M. If you trade small and only by hand, Lighter's free Standard account is worth a look.

If you're setting up a new account, the link below is our Hyperliquid referral link. Already on Hyperliquid without a code? It can still go on at the referrals page after your first deposit ([how](/hyperliquid/referral/)).

> **code APEBRIEF.** Open Hyperliquid through https://go.apebrief.com/hyperliquid/hyperliquid-lighter-inline?src=md&asset=vs%2Fhyperliquid-lighter&cta=after-resolution and paste the code where the signup shows a code field. Using this code takes 4% off your Hyperliquid fees for your first $25M of volume, which trading without a code does not. We get a commission from Hyperliquid, which helps support our work, at no extra cost to you.

## how we know: every number on this page

- 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 2026-09-28
- Hyperliquid referral: a code is entered on the referrals page or comes with a referral link, and gives 4% off fees for the first $25M of volume **4%** (https://hyperliquid.gitbook.io/hyperliquid-docs/referrals), checked 2026-09-28
- on an account with nothing deposited, the referrals page's Enter Code window has no code field, only a Need to Deposit button **Need** (our screenshot Sep 2026: Referrals page, an 'Enter Code' button, which opens a window titled 'Enter Code': 'Enter a referral code and receive a discount on your fees.' and one button, 'Need to Deposit'; no code field. Wallet connected, nothing deposited, nothing typed.), checked 2026-09-26
- Hyperliquid's deposit FAQ: an email login takes USDC on Arbitrum, Base, Ethereum and Polygon, a wallet connection takes USDC via Arbitrum only, and the minimums differ **Arbitrum** (https://hyperliquid.gitbook.io/hyperliquid-docs/support/faq/deposit-or-transfer-issues-missing-lost/deposited-usdc), checked 2026-09-26
- with a wallet connected, Deposit opens a window for USDC from Arbitrum with a 0.2 USDC fee line **0.2** (our screenshot Sep 2026: title 'Deposit USDC from Arbitrum'; 'A 0.2 USDC fee will be deducted from the USDC deposited.'; the Deposit Chain list: 'Arbitrum', 'Arbitrum (Legacy Bridge)', 'Arbitrum (Swap USDT for USDC)', 'HyperEVM'. EVM wallet connected, nothing deposited.), checked 2026-09-26
- Lighter account types: Standard 0 maker / 0 taker on perps and spot, 300 ms taker latency; Plus 0.005% maker and taker for higher rate limits; Premium, no LIT staked, 0.0040% maker, 0.0280% taker, 140 ms taker latency **0%** (https://docs.lighter.xyz/trading/trading-fees), checked 2026-09-28
- advanced order types (RFQ, Chase, Iceberg, TWAP) cost 0.01% on Standard and 0.005% on Plus, need a one-time signature, and regular limit and market orders stay free **0.01%** (our screenshot, 28 Sep 2026, after a first deposit, '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.' 'To use these features, sign a one-time message authorizing the fee.' 'On Plus Accounts these orders cost 0.005% instead.' Button 'Agree & Sign'.), checked 2026-09-28
- Lighter referral: a referred user's first week of Premium is free, trial-week fees rebated every Monday on the first $10M of volume; attribution is permanent and a code can't be added later **$10M** (https://docs.lighter.xyz/referral-program), checked 2026-09-28
- with a wallet connected and nothing deposited there is no account yet; the first deposit opens it **NO** (our screenshot, 28 Sep 2026, Trade page, wallet connected, nothing deposited: positions panel 'NO ACCOUNT YET' / 'Your first deposit opens an account, and your open positions appear here.'), checked 2026-09-28
- the Deposit window's destination tokens, in order, and which carry the Collateral tag **Collateral** (our screenshot, 28 Sep 2026, 'Select destination token': USDC (Perps) Collateral, USDC (Spot) Collateral, ETH Collateral, XAUT Collateral, then AAVE, LDO, LINK, SKY, UNI, AZTEC, LIT (no Collateral tag).), checked 2026-09-28
- Transfer Crypto's 12 chains and each one's minimum **$3** (our screenshot, 28 Sep 2026, Transfer Crypto, Chains: Arbitrum $3, Ethereum $10, Solana $10, BSC $10, Base $3, Tron $10, Bitcoin $10, Polygon $3, HyperEVM $10, Robinhood $3, Optimism $3, Monad $10.), checked 2026-09-28
- the Choose your account window after a first deposit, and switching later from Portfolio **Choose** (our screenshot, 28 Sep 2026: 'Choose your account': card 'PREMIUM' with '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
- derived: a $10,000 position opened and closed on Hyperliquid at the base rate: taker both legs, with and without the code, and maker both legs **10,000** (derived from s1 and s2: 10,000 in + 10,000 out = 20,000 notional; 20,000 x 0.00045 = 9.00; x 0.96 = 8.64; difference 0.36; maker 20,000 x 0.00015 = 3.00), checked 2026-09-28
- derived: the same round trip on Lighter by account and order type **0.00** (derived from s6 and s7: Standard limit or market 0; Standard TWAP 20,000 x 0.0001 = 2.00; Premium taker 20,000 x 0.00028 = 5.60), checked 2026-09-28
- Hyperliquid gives a user of a referral code a 4% discount on fees for their first $25M of volume **4%** (https://hyperliquid.gitbook.io/hyperliquid-docs/referrals), checked 2026-09-17

## 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.
- [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.
- [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.

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