Perpetual contracts let you trade crypto with leverage without owning the underlying asset. The real differentiator between exchanges is fee structure — maker/taker rates, funding costs, and gas. Here are the best perps exchanges across CEX and DEX, ranked by total cost per trade.
Perpetual contracts — or "perps" — are the most popular crypto derivatives, letting traders go long or short with leverage without owning the underlying asset. Unlike dated futures, perps never expire, making them the default instrument for leveraged crypto trading. But the real differentiator between exchanges isn't the chart interface or the number of pairs — it's the fee structure. Maker rates, taker rates, funding rates, and gas costs all compound significantly for active traders, and even a single basis point difference can add up to meaningful savings over thousands of trades.12
This guide compares five of the best perps exchanges across both centralized (CEX) and decentralized (DEX) categories, focusing on total cost per trade, custody model, and feature set.
Every perps trade incurs at least two costs: an execution fee (maker or taker) and a funding rate (periodic payments between longs and shorts to keep the contract price tethered to the spot price). On DEXs, you also pay network gas for settlement. The execution fee is where exchanges compete hardest:
For high-frequency traders, maker fees matter most — if you're providing limit orders, the spread between maker and taker rates is where you save (or lose) the most money.3
The fundamental choice in perps trading is custody. Centralized exchanges (Bybit, OKX) hold your funds and require KYC, but offer deeper liquidity, faster execution, and more advanced tooling. Decentralized exchanges (Hyperliquid, dYdX, GMX) let you trade from your own wallet with no KYC, eliminating counterparty risk — but may have higher slippage on large orders and require network gas for interaction.15
Neither category is universally better. The right choice depends on your trading size, frequency, and risk tolerance.
Hyperliquid is a high-performance decentralized exchange built around a fully on-chain order book — a rarity among DEXs, most of which use AMM or off-chain matching. The on-chain order book means transparent price discovery with no KYC requirement and no central custody of funds.1
For fee-conscious traders, Hyperliquid's low fee structure is the main draw. Combined with high leverage and non-custodial trading, it's the strongest all-around option for traders who want DEX-level self-custody without paying CEX-level fees. The tradeoff is that as a newer platform, liquidity depth on some pairs may not match established CEXs.
Why it's #1: On-chain order book, no KYC, low fees, and high leverage in a single non-custodial package — the best combination of cost and control for perps traders.
Bybit's perpetuals desk runs maker/taker fees starting at 0.02% / 0.055% with tiered discounts based on trading volume and VIP status, making it competitive even against DEX options for high-volume traders.2
The platform supports both USDT-margined and inverse perpetuals with up to 100x leverage, a unified trading account, and notably low slippage thanks to deep order books. For traders who prioritize execution quality and liquidity over self-custody, Bybit is the strongest CEX option.2
Why it's #2: Deep liquidity, competitive base fees with volume discounts, and a mature unified trading account — the best centralized option for serious perps traders.
dYdX v4 migrated to its own Cosmos appchain, giving it full control over execution and settlement. The result is a DEX with CEX-grade performance: off-chain order matching with on-chain settlement, 200+ perpetual pairs, and over $1 trillion in total volume since 2019.3
Fees are the lowest explicit maker rate in this comparison at 0.01% maker / 0.05% taker, making dYdX especially attractive for limit-order traders who consistently provide liquidity. Max leverage is capped at 25x — lower than CEX competitors — which may limit appeal for high-leverage traders but suits most risk-managed strategies.3
Why it's #3: The lowest maker fees in the set, 200+ pairs, and battle-tested infrastructure with $1T+ historical volume — ideal for non-custodial traders who prioritize fee efficiency.
OKX's derivatives hub goes beyond basic perps with built-in trading bots, portfolio margin, USDC-margined contracts, and up to 125x leverage — the highest in this comparison.4
For traders who want sophisticated tooling alongside low fees, OKX delivers. Portfolio margin allows more efficient capital use across positions, and the trading bot suite enables automated strategies without third-party tools. The tradeoff is the same as any CEX: your funds are custodied by the exchange, and KYC is required.4
Why it's #4: The most feature-rich CEX option — 125x leverage, portfolio margin, and built-in trading bots make it the pick for advanced traders who need more than a basic order ticket.
GMX is a decentralized perpetual exchange built primarily on Arbitrum, designed for trading L2 assets with leverage without a central intermediary.5
The fee model is distinctive: GMX charges network gas fees only, with no separate maker/taker execution fee. This makes it potentially the cheapest option for traders who are already active on Arbitrum and want to add leveraged exposure without paying exchange-level fees. Low slippage is maintained through the protocol's liquidity model.5
Why it's #5: Gas-only fees on Arbitrum make GMX the lowest-cost option for L2-native DeFi traders — ideal if you're already in the Arbitrum ecosystem and want leverage without exchange fees.
| Exchange | Maker / Taker | Max Leverage | Custody |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hyperliquid | Low / Low | High | Non-custodial DEX |
| Bybit | 0.02% / 0.055% | 100x | Custodial CEX |
| dYdX v4 | 0.01% / 0.05% | 25x | Non-custodial DEX |
| OKX | Low / Low | 125x | Custodial CEX |
| GMX | Gas only | Not listed | Non-custodial DEX |
A few platforms didn't make the top five but are worth mentioning:
If you want the lowest fees and self-custody: Hyperliquid or dYdX v4. dYdX has the lowest explicit maker fee (0.01%), while Hyperliquid offers a fully on-chain order book with no KYC.13
If you want deep liquidity and CEX tooling: Bybit or OKX. Bybit has better base fees for most traders; OKX offers more advanced features like portfolio margin and trading bots.24
If you're already on Arbitrum: GMX, where you pay only network gas and no exchange execution fee.5
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