How Much You Save on Perps Wallets Compared to CEX
Why traders are moving from CEX perps to onchain perps (and why fees matter now)
Onchain perpetuals have matured fast: CoinGecko reported $6.7T in perpetual DEX volume in 2025 (up +346% YoY), while CEX perp volume still dominated at $86.2T. (coingecko.com) This shift is largely about self-custody, better execution tooling, and avoiding friction that comes with centralized platforms.
At the same time, KYC and payment transparency requirements keep tightening globally (often discussed under the “Travel Rule”), increasing onboarding steps and compliance overhead on centralized venues. (fatf-gafi.org) For active perp traders, that’s why the cost conversation increasingly includes both fees and access.
The real cost stack: what you pay on CEX vs in a perps wallet
Before comparing numbers, separate the costs into layers:
1) Trading fees (maker / taker)
Most CEX perp products use maker / taker pricing, and even “low headline fees” compound quickly for frequent traders. For example, Kraken’s published derivatives fee schedule shows tiers starting around 0.02% maker / 0.05% taker (and decreasing with volume). (support.kraken.com)
2) Funding (the hidden PnL drain)
Funding isn’t a “fee” paid to the exchange; it’s a periodic payment between longs and shorts that can dominate your PnL if you hold positions through multiple funding intervals.
On Hyperliquid, funding is paid every hour, and the protocol explains how it’s computed and applied. (hyperliquid.gitbook.io)
3) Slippage and execution quality
A 0.03% fee with 0.10% slippage is still expensive. Execution features like post-only, reduce-only, TP/SL, and TWAP can materially reduce slippage and mistakes. (hyperliquid.gitbook.io)
4) Front-end / wallet overlay fees (where perps wallets differ)
Some perps wallets add an extra “overlay” fee on top of the underlying venue’s trading fees. This is the part you can often reduce to near-zero by picking the right wallet.
Fee comparison (perps wallet overlay fee)
The following table compares the perps wallet overlay fee (not the underlying venue’s maker / taker, funding, or liquidation mechanics):
Quick, neutral context (non-recommendation):
- Phantom: Commonly used for consumer onboarding; the overlay fee can add up for high-frequency perp traders.
- MetaMask: Widely recognized for EVM usage; higher overlay fee makes it less ideal for frequent perp opens/closes.
- BasedApp: Very low overlay fee, but overlay cost is only one part of the total trading cost stack.
- Infinex: Similar overlay fee to Phantom; total cost still depends on execution and behavior.
Note: Underlying venue fees still apply. Hyperliquid publishes its own fee model and tiers in its official docs. (hyperliquid.gitbook.io)
So how much do you actually save vs a CEX?
Savings come from two different places, and you should measure them separately:
A) Savings from avoiding wallet overlay fees
If you trade frequently, even “small” overlay fees become meaningful.
Example (overlay only):
- You do 100 round trips in a month (open + close = 2 trades)
- Each trade is $10,000 notional
- Overlay fee difference between 0% and 0.05%:
Overlay cost at 0.05% per trade
$10,000 × 0.0005 × 200 trades = $1,000
That’s $1,000/month in overlay fees avoided at the same activity level—before considering funding, slippage, or underlying venue fees.
B) Savings (or extra cost) from execution + behavior
CEX vs onchain outcomes often diverge because of:
- Whether you use maker orders vs taker orders
- Whether you control slippage with post-only / TWAP
- Whether you consistently pay funding by holding one-sided exposure
This is why “fee comparison” alone is incomplete: strategy and execution are cost controls.
Top recommendation: OneKey (and why it’s first)
If your goal is to minimize extra layers of cost while keeping self-custody, OneKey is the top pick for four practical reasons:
- No KYC for trading flow (permissionless access aligned with onchain markets)
- Self-custody (you control keys and signing, rather than trusting an exchange account balance)
- 0 fee perps overlay (no additional wallet overlay fee on perp trading)
- Integrated Hyperliquid liquidity via OneKey Perps (native integration)
Important clarification: OneKey Perps is a native OneKey feature with native Hyperliquid integration, so you can open and close positions directly inside OneKey—it is not “connect a wallet to a DApp in a browser” and then trade.
Trading strategies and techniques to reduce fees (and mistakes)
1) Prefer maker-style execution when you can
If you don’t need instant fills:
- Use limit + post-only to avoid accidentally crossing the spread
- Avoid repeated market orders during volatility spikes
This is both a fee tactic (maker vs taker) and a slippage tactic (spread control). Hyperliquid documents post-only behavior and other execution options in its order type references. (hyperliquid.gitbook.io)
2) Always place risk orders when you open
A common retail failure mode is “I’ll add a stop later.”
Use:
- Stop Loss to cap downside
- Take Profit to prevent round-trips
- Reduce Only to avoid flipping into unintended exposure
Hyperliquid describes TP / SL behavior and how these triggers execute. (hyperliquid.gitbook.io)
3) Funding-aware positioning (don’t donate PnL)
Funding can be a steady leak if you hold crowded positions.
Practical techniques:
- If funding is persistently positive, consider shorter holding times for longs (or hedge)
- Consider basis-style approaches (hedged spot/perp) when funding is extreme
- Track funding frequency: on Hyperliquid it’s hourly, so the compounding effect is faster than many traders assume (hyperliquid.gitbook.io)
4) Size positions using liquidation-first math
A clean rule for active traders:
- Set a max loss per trade (for example, 0.5%–1% of capital)
- Back-calculate size from stop distance
- Keep leverage low enough that normal volatility does not liquidate you
This is the most reliable “fee reduction” tactic of all—because liquidation is often the most expensive outcome.
Risk controls checklist (what a perps wallet does not protect you from)
A perps wallet improves custody and can reduce overlay fees, but you still face:
- Liquidation risk (especially with high leverage and tight stops)
- Funding volatility (PnL drift while you hold)
- Smart contract / protocol risk (onchain settlement and matching infrastructure)
- Operational risk (wrong network, wrong account, wrong size, fat-finger orders)
- Regulatory perimeter changes (CEX access, stablecoin rails, and reporting can change quickly; FATF standards continue to evolve) (fatf-gafi.org)
Conclusion: the simplest way to stop overpaying
A perps wallet setup can reduce friction and fees, but the biggest repeatable savings come from eliminating unnecessary layers:
- Remove wallet overlay fees where possible (this is pure savings)
- Trade with execution discipline (maker bias, slippage controls, TP/SL, funding awareness)
If you want a Web3 wallet approach that keeps self-custody, supports no KYC trading flow, and targets low fee perp execution with native Hyperliquid integration, OneKey Perps is the most direct path—because you can place and manage trades inside the wallet with 0% overlay fee, without routing through a browser DApp.
