GMX vs dYdX
A detailed head-to-head comparison of GMX and dYdX — pricing, features, and which one wins for different use cases.
GMX
The leading on-chain perpetuals exchange on Arbitrum and Avalanche with real yield for liquidity providers
GMX is the most battle-tested decentralized perpetuals exchange, having processed over $200 billion in cumulative trading volume since its launch on Arbitrum in 2021. It pioneered the GLP liquidity mo…
Full review →dYdX
The highest-volume decentralized perpetuals exchange, now on its own Cosmos app-chain with order book matching
dYdX is the largest decentralized perpetuals exchange by trading volume, having processed hundreds of billions of dollars in cumulative volume. V4, launched in late 2023, migrated from Ethereum StarkE…
Full review →Feature Comparison
| Feature | GMX | dYdX |
|---|---|---|
| Max Leverage | 100x | 20x |
| Settlement Model | On-chain AMM | Off-chain order book, on-chain settlement |
| Oracle Type | Chainlink + fast price feeds | Slinky oracle (Cosmos) |
| Funding Rates | ✓ | ✓ |
| Cross Margin | ✗ | ✓ |
| Isolated Margin | ✓ | ✗ |
| Liquidity Provider Yield | ✓ | ✗ |
| Governance Token | ✓ | ✓ |
| Multi Chain | ✓ | ✗ |
| Self Custody | ✓ | ✓ |
GMX Pricing
GMX
Free (fee per trade)
Free
- ✓Up to 100x leverage
- ✓BTC, ETH, and majors
- ✓Real yield for LPs
- ✓Self-custody
- ✓Arbitrum + Avalanche
dYdX Pricing
dYdX
Free (fee per trade)
Free
- ✓120+ perp markets
- ✓Up to 20x leverage
- ✓Cross-margin USDC
- ✓Order book matching
- ✓API for algorithmic trading
Verdict: Which Should You Choose?
GMX is the better pick if you need real yield for lps in eth/avax — not inflationary token emissions. dYdX wins when highest dex perpetuals volume — deepest liquidity across major and mid-cap assets. Both are production-ready — the right choice depends on your team's workflow and budget.