by cookedhyperliquid 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 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
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
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
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
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
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).
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. We might add tools for people who used our code.
Tapping the button puts APEBRIEF on your clipboard and opens Hyperliquid. Where the signup shows a code field, paste it there.
How we know: every number on this page
15 sources
- 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% · source2026-09-28
- 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% · source2026-09-28
- 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.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 · source2026-09-26
- 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.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% · source2026-09-28
- 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'.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 · source2026-09-28
- 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.'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).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 $10.2026-09-28
- 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.'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 = 3.002026-09-28
- 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 = 5.602026-09-28
- Hyperliquid gives a user of a referral code a 4% discount on fees for their first $25M of volume 4% · source2026-09-17
next
- Hyperliquid taker fee?A $10,000 position opened and closed with market orders costs $9.00 in fees at the base rate
- Where is deposit on Hyperliquid?Deposit is a button on the Trade page, not a menu.
- lighter fees: free on standard, and what costs moneyLighter charges Standard accounts 0% maker and 0% taker on perps and spot.
- Are Axiom perps just 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.