Is Lighter really zero fee?

On all 226 of its active order books, its own API reported a maker and taker fee of exactly zero when we read it in September 2026. That is the live venue configuration rather than a marketing claim. Network costs and funding still apply, and a venue can change its schedule at any time.

Which has more markets, Hyperliquid or Lighter?

Lighter had slightly more active books (226 against Hyperliquid's 178 live perps) when we read both APIs in September 2026, but they are not like for like: Lighter's count includes 10 spot books and at least 55 non-crypto markets (34 equity, 9 commodity, 5 ETF, 5 FX and 2 index), while Hyperliquid has no confirmed non-crypto market and more catalog-crypto markets (169 against Lighter's 150).

Can I get 40x leverage on Hyperliquid?

On BTC. ETH tops out at 25x, SOL and XRP at 20x, and the majority of live markets cap at 3x or 5x. Quoting 40x as the venue-wide maximum is the most common error in these comparisons.

Do I need separate accounts for each venue?

On the venues directly, effectively yes, since each is its own protocol with its own margin. Through Hypertradeworx you fund one self-custodial wallet and pick the venue per order, so there is no second account to open or bridge into.

Are these numbers current?

They were read from each venue's public API in September 2026 and are refreshed rather than estimated. Listings, fees and leverage tiers all change, so treat them as a dated snapshot and check the venue if a specific figure decides your trade.

Hypertradeworx · Product guide

Hyperliquid vs Lighter, read from both APIs

Most comparisons of these two repeat the same headline numbers without checking them. These came from each venue's own public API in September 2026, and the interesting differences are not the ones usually quoted.

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Live product data
Self-custodial
Human confirmed

The short version

They are not the same product with different branding. Hyperliquid is the longer-established crypto perp book and charges a volume-tiered fee schedule. Lighter charges nothing on any of its books and lists at least 55 non-crypto markets (34 equity, 9 commodity, 5 ETF, 5 FX and 2 index) where Hyperliquid has no confirmed non-crypto market. Neither venue publishes per-market depth in a form the other can be compared against, so this page ranks listings, fees and mechanics and leaves depth to the book on the market you actually trade.

Market coverage

Hyperliquid's perp universe returns 234 entries, of which 178 are live and 56 are flagged delisted. That distinction matters when a roundup quotes the raw count: the number of things you can actually open is meaningfully lower than the number the API returns. Lighter reports 244 order books with 226 active, split 216 perp and 10 spot.

Hyperliquid: 178 live perp markets (234 listings including delisted)
Lighter: 226 active books, 216 perp and 10 spot
Lighter carries at least 34 equity, 9 commodity, 5 ETF, 5 FX and 2 index non-crypto books, including metals (XAU, XAG, XPT, XPD and XCU) and the US500 (S&P 500) and US100 (Nasdaq 100) index books
Hyperliquid lists no non-crypto market that our catalog and a price check can confirm: 169 of its 178 live markets are crypto by our catalog's column, one is on tokenized gold (PAXG), and the other 8 (NXPC, SPX, kBONK and five more) are tickers our catalog does not carry or prices as a different instrument.

Fees: zero versus a schedule

This is the cleanest difference and it is machine checkable. Lighter's own order-book endpoint reports a maker fee and a taker fee of exactly zero on all 226 active books, with its fee flags enabled, so the zero is the live configuration rather than a promotion in a blog post. Hyperliquid charges a volume-tiered maker and taker fee. So the honest framing is zero against a schedule, not one schedule against another. What that is worth to you depends entirely on turnover: it is close to irrelevant on a position held for weeks and decisive if you are round-tripping intraday.

Leverage: the headline applies to one market

Every roundup leads with Hyperliquid's top leverage. Across its live book the tiers are 40x on one market, 25x on one market, 20x on 2 markets, 10x on 30 markets, 5x on 56 markets, 3x on 88 markets. In other words 40x exists on BTC, 25x on ETH, 20x on SOL and XRP, and the long tail sits at 3x to 5x. If your interest is an altcoin rather than a major, the number in the headline is not the number you get.

What the comparison usually misses

Both are on-chain order books rather than pool-and-oracle designs, so neither behaves like GMX. Both settle to a wallet you control rather than an exchange balance. And because their liquidity profiles differ per asset rather than in general, "which venue is better" is the wrong question for anyone trading more than one thing: the same trader can reasonably want Hyperliquid for BTC and Lighter for a zero-fee scalp on an equity perp in the same week.

Trading both without two accounts

Hypertradeworx routes to both from one order ticket and one self-custodial wallet, alongside AsterDex, GMX and Ostium, and shows the resulting positions together in a single portfolio. The position still lives on the venue you picked; what is unified is the interface, the funding and the view, not the margin.

Straight answers

Frequently asked questions

Is Lighter really zero fee?: On all 226 of its active order books, its own API reported a maker and taker fee of exactly zero when we read it in September 2026. That is the live venue configuration rather than a marketing claim. Network costs and funding still apply, and a venue can change its schedule at any time.
Which has more markets, Hyperliquid or Lighter?: Lighter had slightly more active books (226 against Hyperliquid's 178 live perps) when we read both APIs in September 2026, but they are not like for like: Lighter's count includes 10 spot books and at least 55 non-crypto markets (34 equity, 9 commodity, 5 ETF, 5 FX and 2 index), while Hyperliquid has no confirmed non-crypto market and more catalog-crypto markets (169 against Lighter's 150).
Can I get 40x leverage on Hyperliquid?: On BTC. ETH tops out at 25x, SOL and XRP at 20x, and the majority of live markets cap at 3x or 5x. Quoting 40x as the venue-wide maximum is the most common error in these comparisons.
Do I need separate accounts for each venue?: On the venues directly, effectively yes, since each is its own protocol with its own margin. Through Hypertradeworx you fund one self-custodial wallet and pick the venue per order, so there is no second account to open or bridge into.
Are these numbers current?: They were read from each venue's public API in September 2026 and are refreshed rather than estimated. Listings, fees and leverage tiers all change, so treat them as a dated snapshot and check the venue if a specific figure decides your trade.

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Hypertradeworx is an independent trading terminal. It is not built, operated or endorsed by Hyperliquid, Lighter, AsterDex, GMX or Ostium. Nothing here is investment advice, and perpetual futures can lose more than your initial margin.