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The 12 Best Decentralized Exchanges for 2025

Luis Schilli
Luis Schilli March 13, 2025 13 min read
The 12 Best Decentralized Exchanges for 2025

Decentralized exchanges are gaining momentum across chains after the DeFi Summer of 2020 led DEXs to initial popularity.

Since then, many players have entered the market, offering more and better ways for investors to take advantage of all the benefits of financial decentralization.

Today, we cover how you can benefit from decentralized platforms, unveil the top 12 decentralized exchanges in the market, and much more!

What is important for Decentralized Exchanges (DEXes)?

Key Takeaways

  • Decentralized exchanges (DEXs) have gained immense adoption from crypto users due to their flexibility, control, and profit opportunities.
  • Despite issues on the security and usability sides, DEXs offers a way for investors to discover new coins with more upside while remaining private and anonymous in a transparency process.
  • Most DEXs are Automated Market Makers (AMMs), but there are more hybrid solutions emerging (Order book DEXs) and DEX aggregators.
  • The top decentralized exchanges in the market are Jupiter, dYdX, RangoExchange, SushiSwap, Uniswap, Jumper, Orbiter, MAGPIE, CoW Swap, Orca, Hera Finance, and PancakeSwap.
  • Trading crypto on decentralized platforms are taxable events in the US, subject to capital gains taxes and investors have to report it on their taxes.
  • You can track trades from the most popular decentralized exchange on chains like Ethereum, Solana and Binance Smart Chain on CoinTracking.

Overview of the best decentralized exchanges

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What is the best Decentralized Exchange?

  • Jupiter
  • dYdX
  • RangoExchange
  • SushiSwap
  • Uniswap
  • Jumper
  • Orbiter
  • MAGPIE
  • CoW Swap
  • Orca
  • Hera Finance
  • PancakeSwap

JUPITER

Jupiter Exchange
Jupiter Exchange

Fees: No exchange fees; only Solana gas fees | Coins: Wide range, especially the Solana ecosystem | Bonus: None | Who is it suitable for: Solana-focused investors

Features

Here are the main features of Jupiter:

  • Solana-ready: Jupiter is one of the best Dex aggregators for the Solana ecosystem, offering low transaction fees
  • Smart Routing: Enjoy Jupiter's connection to DEX markets and AMM pools for best liquidity
  • Trade Splitting: get the best price with trade splits across the best available options in the market
  • Coins and market: They automatically list new coins and markets
  • Easy swaps: Swap cryptocurrencies in one single trade

Fees

Jupiter does not charge any fees for investors, the only fees are from the Solana network (gas fees) to conduct the trades.

Pros and Cons

Pros Cons
Best price available due to their features Limits to the Solana ecosystem
Simplicity of use with the ability to conduct swaps in one trade Some countries restricted
Wide access to the Solana ecosystem Some bugs to the novelty of the platform
No fees

How to register

Here's how to start using Jupiter:

  1. Log-in to one of the supported Web3 wallets (e.g., Solflare);
  2. Connect your wallet to Jupiter;
  3. Start trading (make sure you have enough SOL in your wallet to pay gas fees).

dYdX

dYdX Exchange
dYdX Exchange

Fees: up to 0.02% for makers; up to 0.05% to takers | Coins: 62 cryptocurrencies | Bonus: No live bonus | Who is it suitable for: Perpetual traders

Features

Here are the main features of dYdX:

  • Margin trading: dYdX is the premier perpetual trading DEX platform
  • Mobile-friendly. Trade over 60 crypto on margin (up to 20x leverage) on mobile
  • Markets: Enjoy top liquidity across a wide range of markets
  • Costs: Low fees while earning trading rewards

Fees

Maker fees: Level 1 (0.020%), Level 2 (0.015%), Level 3 (0.010%), Level 4 (0.005%)

Taker fees: Level 1 (0.050%), Level 2 (0.040%), Level 3 (0.035%), Level 4 (0.030%), Level 5 (0.025%), Level 6 (0.020%)

Pros and Cons

Pros Cons
Perpetual trading on a decentralized environment Only focus on leveraged trading
Best liquidity across markets
60+ cryptocurrencies on up to 20x margin
Low fees
Trading rewards

How to register

Here's how to start using dYdX:

  1. Log-in to one of the supported Web3 wallets (e.g., MetaMask, Trust, Coinbase Wallet);
  2. Connect your wallet to dYdX;
  3. Start trading (make sure you have enough crypto in your wallet to pay gas fees).

RangoExchange

Rango Exchange
Rango Exchange

Fees: No fees | Coins: Wide range of coins and chains | Bonus: No live bonus | Who is it suitable for: Investors looking for a wide range of markets

Features

Here are the main features of RangoExchange:

  • Cross-chain ability: Trade across various chains and coins
  • High liquidity: Liquidity on 100+ DEXs & Bridges
  • High efficiency: No KYC, non-custodial wallet, single UX across networks

Fees

Only gas fees.

Pros and Cons

Pros Cons
Simplicity of use across networks Some issues related to the novelty of the DEX
Wide range of markets and coins supported, from Bitcoin to EVM/Cosmos/Solana
High liquidity across chains
Simplicity of use with decentralized features (e.g., no KYC)

How to register

Here's how to start using RangoExchange:

  1. Log-in to one of the supported Web3 wallets (e.g., MetaMask);
  2. Connect your wallet to RangoExchange;
  3. Start swapping.

SushiSwap

SushiSwap decentralized exchange
SushiSwap

Fees: 0.3% | Coins: Over 400 cryptocurrencies | Bonus: No bonus | Who is it suitable for: Beginner investors and Ethereum lovers

Features

Here are the main features of SushiSwap:

  • Swap easily over 400 tokens
  • Many transaction types, from earning interest to bonds and pay features
  • High liquidity
  • Wide range of coins

Fees

0.3% trading fee.

Pros and Cons

Pros Cons
Pioneer: One of the first Ethereum-based decentralized exchanges Only focus Ethereum and EVM chains
Range of options: User can swap tokens, earn interest and more
Security and reliability from an established player
Wide range of coins supported
User-friendly platform

How to register

Here's how to start using SushiSwap:

  1. Log-in to one of the supported EVM wallets (e.g., MetaMask);
  2. Connect your wallet to SushiSwap;
  3. Start swapping (make sure you have enough ETH in your wallet).

Uniswap

Uniswap decentralized exchange
Uniswap

Fees: 0.3% | Coins: Thousands of coins | Bonus: No bonus | Who is it suitable for: All types of investors, Ethereum gem hunters

Features

Here are the main features of Uniswap:

  • Easily swap thousands of tokens in a simple interface
  • Many investment options, from earning rewards on liquidity pools to NFTs
  • High liquidity across markets due to being an established player
  • Several transaction types like a CEX (e.g., limit orders)
  • Community-led governance through the UNI token

Fees

0.3% trading fee.

Pros and Cons

Pros Cons
Leadership: The most active Ethereum-based DEX in the world High costs, slippage chances
Coins: Users can swap thousands of cryptocurrencies and find new gems Not the first option for beginner investors due to costs
Secure: High security record since inception Only Ethereum-focused
Options: Users can earn rewards, explore NFTs and more beyond swapping
Token: Leading native token (UNI) offering more perks to holders
User-friendly platform

How to register

Here's how to start using Uniswap:

  1. Log-in to one of the supported wallets (e.g., MetaMask);
  2. Connect your wallet to Uniswap;
  3. Start trading (make sure you have enough ETH in your wallet).
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Jumper

Jumper Exchange cross-chain DEX
Jumper

Fees: Gas and bridge fees | Coins: Wide range across networks | Bonus: No live bonus | Who is it suitable for: Investors looking for a lot of options

Features

Here are the main features of Jumper:

  • Easiness of use: Easily swap across chains
  • Wide range of markets: Jumper supports over 30 DEXs and aggregators
  • High liquidity: Enjoy liquidity

Fees

Only gas and bridge fees.

Pros and Cons

Pros Cons
Bridging: New age of bridging capabilities on a DEX scenario New DEXs on the market
Cross-chain support: Jumper cover 18 chains for investors choose from
Range: Universal token support with dozens of DEXs supported
Efficiency: cost and simplicity of use in one platform

How to register

Here's how to start using Jumper:

  1. Log-in to one of the available wallets (e.g., MetaMask, Coinbase, Trust, Coinbase Wallet);
  2. Connect your wallet to Jumper;
  3. Start trading (make sure you have enough crypto in your wallet).

MAGPIE

MAGPIE Exchange cross-chain DEX
MAGPIE Exchange

Fees: No fees beyond transactions | Coins: Coins from 7 chains (e.g., Ethereum, Polygon, Optimism) | Bonus: Airdrop | Who is it suitable for: Investors looking for cross chain easiness

Features

Here are the main features of MAGPIE:

  • Cross-chain native: MAGPIE offers a new way, beyond bridging, to enable cross-chain trading
  • Low costs: No fees beyond swap fees under an efficient new method
  • Usability: Simple interface for complex trades like going cross-chain

Fees

No fees.

Pros and Cons

Pros Cons
Bridging: Bridge tokens across 7 chains easily New exchange still on the first stage of its roadmap
Usability: Simple platform for all types of investors Few chains supported still (despite non-EVM support in the future)
Roadmap: Future support for non-EVM chains

How to register

Here's how to start using MAGPIE:

  1. Log-in to one of these available options: MetaMask, WalletConnect, Coinbase Wallet, or Rabby.
  2. Connect your wallet to MAGPIE;
  3. Start swapping.

CoW Swap

CoW Swap EVM decentralized exchange
CoW Swap

Fees: Quote improvement fee (50% of the surplus generated on trades) | Coins: EVM-support | Bonus: No bonus | Who is it suitable for: EVM-focused investors

Features

Here are the main features of CoW Swap:

  • Ethereum and EVM support: Swap token under Ethereum and EVM chains offers a new way, beyond bridging, to enable cross-chain trading
  • Low costs: Cost-effective to trade in an Ethereum environment
  • Robust: Established exchange developed by the GnosisDAO

Fees

CoW Swap earns revenue by taking 50% of the profit (the price CoW Swap provides users minus the price that the protocol actually executes the trade).

Pros and Cons

Pros Cons
EVM-focus: EVM investors can trust CoW Swap for their trades Not a lot of chains supported
Best price: As a DEX aggregator, CoW swap finds the best price for investors
Save: No cost for failed transactions while having the best available prices
Reliability: DEX build by the GnosisDAO

How to register

Here's how to start using CoW Swap:

  1. Log-in to one of these available options under the selected chain (e.g., Ethereum, Gnosis Chain, and Sepolia);
  2. Connect your wallet to CoW Swap;
  3. Start trading.

Orca

Orca Solana decentralized exchange
Orca Exchange

Fees: Up to 2% (taker fee) | Coins: Solana-based coins | Bonus: No bonus | Who is it suitable for: Solana investors

Features

Here are the main features of Orca:

  • Trade and earn rewards with farming on Orca
  • Simple usability for investors
  • Low-cost fees
  • High liquidity on Solana

Fees

Maker fees: 2% Pool (2%), 1% Pool (1%), 0.3% Pool (0.3%), 0.05% Pool (0.05%), 0.01% Pool (0.01%)

Taker fees: 2% Pool (1.74%), 1% Pool (0.87%), 0.3% Pool (0.261%), 0.05% Pool (0.05%), 0.01% Pool (0.01%)

More fees.

Pros and Cons

Pros Cons
More than trading: Trading and farming is available Only Solana-focused
User-friendly: Simple interface for investors to trade and earn rewards
Trustworthy: One of the first DApps on Solana
Low costs: Low trading fees

How to register

Here's how to start using Orca:

  1. Log-in to one of the available wallets (e.g., Phantom, Solflare);
  2. Connect your wallet to Orca;
  3. Start buying and selling.

Hera Finance

Hera Finance DEX aggregator
Hera Finance

Fees: 0.3% | Coins: Wide range | Bonus: No bonus | Who is it suitable for: Arbitrum and Metis-focused traders

Features

Here are the main features of Hera Finance:

  • Several transaction types, from swapping to staking and bridging
  • AI features for multi routing
  • Arbitrum and Metis support
  • No slippage

Fees

0.3% fee.

Pros and Cons

Pros Cons
Best prices: Cutting-edge DEX aggregator Only Arbitrum and Metis chains supported now
Cross-chain: Planned multi-chain support New decentralized protocol
Split trades: Smaller trade sizes for transaction success
Low cost: No slippage on Hera
AI-ready: AI technology to boost protocol

How to register

Here's how to start using Hera Finance:

  1. Log-in to one of the three available wallets: MetaMask, WalletConnect, and Coinbase Wallet;
  2. Connect your wallet to Hera;
  3. Start swapping, bridging, and staking.

PancakeSwap

PancakeSwap Binance DEX
PancakeSwap

Fees: 0.25% trading fee | Coins: Wide range | Bonus: No bonus | Who is it suitable for: Binance ecosystem gem hunters

Features

Here are the main features of PancakeSwap:

  • Several transaction types (e.g., leverage trading, staking) and assets supported (e.g., NFTs)
  • Supported coins: Thousands of cryptocurrencies available
  • Low costs and high reliability
  • Leading token and community

Fees

0.25% trading fee.

Pros and Cons

Pros Cons
A lot of trading options Only BEP-20 coins supported
Several transactions types and assets supported
Low costs
High reliability, one of the most established DEXs in the market
Community-led governance
High liquidity across markets

How to register

Here's how to start using PancakeSwap:

  1. Log-in to one of the available wallets (e.g., MetaMask, Injected, Binance Web3 Wallet);
  2. Connect your wallet to PancakeSwap;
  3. Start trading.
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What Are The Risks of Using a DEX?

The main issues of using DEXs come from security, not necessarily from using the platforms, but from the schemes to steal people's addresses or private keys to access funds.

From a usability perspective, most DEXs seem very complex to use for beginner investors, while crypto intricacies like bridging assets to the correct chain before conducting trades could seem complex at first.

Finally, due to the popularity of many DEXs and the congestion of some chains, transaction fees can be steep and a barrier to entry for many of the crypto investors base.

What Are The Advantages of Using a DEX?

The main advantages of Decentralized exchanges are flexibility, opportunities, and control for investors.

Decentralized exchanges offer full privacy and control for investors to trade cryptocurrencies with thousands of new coins at their disposal while fulfilling the original purposes of digital assets, financial sovereignty while ensuring a private, anonymous, and transparent process.

How to Trade Cryptocurrency on a DEX

Here's how to trade cryptocurrencies on a DEX:

  1. Step 1: Log-in to your crypto wallet (accepted by the DEX you plan to use)
  2. Step 2: Connect your crypto wallet to the DEX
  3. Step 3: Start swap, providing liquidity, etc.

What types of decentralized exchanges are there?

Decentralized exchanges emerged to solve liquidity issues, but there are different types of platforms to achieve this goal.

The most popular type of decentralized exchange is the Automated Market Maker (AMM), where users can trade cryptocurrencies without an order book and based on liquidity pools for those pairs of coins. Uniswap and most of the popular DEXs across chains are AMMs.

However, there are platforms that do have an order book (Order book DEXs), functioning more similarly to a centralized exchange. There are also DEX aggregators that try to fetch from several protocols to find the best possible prices for trades, decrease the transaction costs, reduce the chance of failed trades, and tackle some of the most popular issues from DEXs.

FAQ about the best Decentralized Exchanges (DEX) for 2024

Conclusion: What is the Best Decentralized Exchange?

Decentralized exchanges offer a lot of advantages for investors, from finding high potential gems to more control over their financial sovereignty.

The best Decentralized exchanges for investors will depend on their favorite/focus chain in the market, transaction fees, scale of trades, and other factors.

However, some of the best DEXs across the line are Uniswap, PancakeSwap, SushiSwap, CoW Swap, Jupiter, dYdX, and others.

CoinTracking is a fan of the emergence of decentralized exchanges in the crypto arena, currently supporting all major ETH-Based, BSC-based exchanges, and others to simplify your crypto tax journey. Don't forget that all crypto trades on DEXs are taxable events in the US and in many other countries!

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Disclaimer: All the information provided above is for informational purposes only and should not be considered as professional investment, legal, or tax advice. You should conduct your own research or consult with a professional financial advisor when investing.

Luis Schilli
Author

Luis Schilli

Crypto Tax Manager

Luis is a crypto tax expert, webinar host, and content creator at CoinTracking. He helps traders and investors navigate cryptocurrency taxation with practical, real-world guidance.

FAQs about The 12 Best Decentralized Exchanges for 2025

The cheapest decentralized exchange will depend on the chain chosen to trade cryptocurrencies due to gas fees, with Solana and Avalanche being cheap options.

You should trade cryptocurrencies on DEXs if you want to find lower cap coins with more upside/downside potential across newer chains.

Established decentralized exchanges are safe, but there are a lot of mal-intentioned parties in the industry and hackers can and have caused attacks on decentralized exchanges.

The best decentralized exchange depends on each investor's criteria, but one of the most active and popular decentralized exchanges is Uniswap.

A decentralized exchange offers a streamlined way to investors to trade without the need of a centralized intermediary, offering more freedom for all parties.

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