Hyperliquid vs Lighter

Hyperliquid and Lighter are both decentralised perpetuals exchanges with order books, but they make different trade-offs. Hyperliquid runs its own Layer 1 and charges fees from the first trade; Lighter is a zero-knowledge rollup on Ethereum where standard accounts trade free in exchange for a short delay on taker orders. Hyperliquid tends to suit traders who want the larger venue with one fee schedule for every account, Lighter traders who want free trading and a native range of stock, FX and commodity markets.

The Short Version

• Fees: Hyperliquid's base rate is 0.015% maker and 0.045% taker. Lighter Standard accounts pay 0% on both; Premium accounts pay 0.004% maker and 0.028% taker.
• Speed: Lighter Standard adds 300ms to taker orders. Premium cuts that to 140ms.
• Liquidity: Hyperliquid's open interest is about ten times Lighter's at the time of writing (11 October 2026).
• Markets: Lighter lists stocks, indices, FX and commodities itself. Hyperliquid's stock markets come from third-party builders.
• Rewards: Lighter runs a points program on Robinhood Chain. Hyperliquid's points ended in 2024.

Fees

Fees come from our venue data, checked against each venue's docs on 11 October 2026. Hyperliquid charges 0.015% maker and 0.045% taker at its base tier, falling with rolling 14-day volume and with HYPE staking (Hyperliquid fees). Markets deployed under HIP-3 can carry an extra builder fee of up to 300% of the protocol fee.

Lighter has three account types (Lighter fees). Standard is the default: 0% maker and taker, with 300ms added to taker orders, cancels and edits, and a 1 basis point charge on TWAP orders (account types). Premium pays 0.004% maker and 0.028% taker with 140ms taker latency, and staking LIT cuts that by up to 30%. Plus pays 0.005% for higher API limits.

On a $10,000 market order at base rates, you pay $4.50 on Hyperliquid, $2.80 on Lighter Premium and nothing on Lighter Standard. In a fast market, that 300ms delay can move your fill.

What You Can Trade

Hyperliquid runs crypto perps and spot. Under HIP-3, builders staking 500,000 HYPE deploy their own perp markets, and The Block reported in July 2026 that these, led by stock and index perps, made up around half of Hyperliquid's perp volume.

Lighter lists crypto perps and spot, plus real-world asset perps it runs itself. Its market specifications list 43 single stocks, 12 indices and ETFs, 9 commodities, 7 FX pairs and a US 10-year Treasury market, all tradable around the clock (RWAs). It also runs pre-IPO markets, which are isolated margin only.

Liquidity and Volume

At the time of writing (11 October 2026), Hyperliquid shows $7.86 billion in perp open interest, $3.18 billion in 24-hour perp volume and $85.6 million in 30-day fees, plus $72.7 million in 24-hour spot volume. Lighter shows $782 million in open interest, $938 million in 24-hour volume and $5.60 million in 30-day fees, plus $3.1 million in spot. Open interest and fees come from DefiLlama, perp volume from CoinGecko.

Lighter's daily volume is larger than its open interest; Hyperliquid's is about 40% of its open interest. Free trading encourages quick turnover, so volume flatters Lighter more than open interest does. Our guide on reading volume and open interest explains how to weigh the two.

Campaigns and Rewards

Lighter has one live listing: Lighter on Robinhood Chain Points, running since 10 August 2026 with no end date, which gives Robinhood Wallet users double points and drops more every Friday. Wash trading and sybil accounts earn nothing (Lighter). Lighter's main points program ran Season 1 to 30 September 2025, then Season 2, which ended on 26 December 2025. Its referral program, for sign-ups from 28 July 2026, pays 10% or 20% of the fees your referrals pay on paid accounts, and new users get their first week of Premium fees back, up to $10 million of volume.

Hyperliquid has no campaigns in our calendar. Its points program ran from November 2023 to November 2024. Referrals open after $10,000 of your own volume and pay 10% of referred users' fees; they get 4% off their first $25 million. See how points programs work.

Who Can Use It

Hyperliquid's terms bar US persons, residents of Ontario and sanctioned territories. You start trading with a wallet or an email login.

Lighter's terms (updated 29 December 2025) bar the US, Canada, the UK, China, North Korea, Russia, Ukraine, Cuba, Iran, Venezuela, Sudan, Belarus, Myanmar and Syria. Lighter says it collects no personal data beyond your wallet address. The Robinhood Chain points program excludes further countries, including Singapore, the UAE and Switzerland.

Track Record and Safety

Hyperliquid launched in 2023. Every order, trade and liquidation is recorded on its own chain (Hyperliquid), and its legacy bridge was audited by Zellic (audits). In March 2025, a trader manipulated the JELLYJELLY market; validators voted to delist it and the Hyper Foundation said it would make users whole, except flagged addresses (The Block).

Lighter launched in 2025. Its matching and liquidations are proven with zero-knowledge proofs verified on Ethereum, and users can exit directly through Ethereum (Lighter). Its audits page lists reports on its contracts and circuits. During the market crash of 10 October 2025, Lighter went down and later compensated affected users with points (The Defiant). After its LIT token launched in December 2025, users reported delayed withdrawals (The Defiant).

Which to Choose

• Choose Hyperliquid if you want the venue with more open interest, trade size where depth matters, or want stock perps from several builders.
• Choose Lighter if you trade small or infrequently and want zero fees, want stocks, FX and commodities from the venue itself, or value exits through Ethereum.
• Consider Lighter Premium if you like Lighter's markets but the 300ms Standard delay hurts your strategy.

Questions People Ask

Is Lighter really free?

Standard accounts pay no maker or taker fee. The cost is a 300ms delay on taker orders, cancels and edits, and TWAP orders carry a 1 basis point charge.

How much delay does Lighter add?

Standard accounts add 300ms to taker orders, cancels and edits. Premium accounts add 140ms to taker orders only. Maker orders have no added delay on either.

Can I trade stocks on both?

Yes. Lighter lists them itself. On Hyperliquid, they come from HIP-3 builders who set their own fees and oracles.

Is Lighter's volume comparable with Hyperliquid's?

Not directly. Free trading drives turnover, so compare open interest and fees too.

This comparison is information, not financial advice. Trading carries risk, and fees and terms change: check each venue's own pages before you trade.