Best Decentralised Exchanges
Decentralised exchanges let you trade crypto directly from your own wallet, with no account and no custodian holding your coins. Our independent ratings score each DEX on the things that actually affect your trades.
- 1UNUniswap
The default benchmark DEX for anyone trading major on-chain assets, with unmatched liquidity and a mature, heavily audited codebase. Its permissionless nature means users must verify token contracts themselves. Not financial advice.
+ Deepest and most battle-tested AMM liquidity across major pairs9.1Review → - 2PAPancakeSwap
A strong choice for cost-sensitive traders active on BNB Chain and other EVM networks who want low fees and deep native liquidity. The surrounding token ecosystem carries elevated speculative risk. Not financial advice.
+ Deep liquidity and low costs on BNB Chain, plus multi-chain v3 deployments8.2Review → - 3CUCurve Finance
The go-to venue for stablecoin and like-asset swaps where minimizing slippage matters most. The 2023 Vyper incident is a reminder that even mature protocols carry smart-contract risk. Not financial advice.
+ Best-in-class low-slippage pricing for stablecoin and pegged-asset swaps8.1Review → - 4SUSushiSwap
A viable multi-chain option for traders who value wide network coverage, but it has weathered exploits and organizational instability. Approvals should be managed carefully given its incident history. Not financial advice.
+ Very broad multi-chain deployment across many EVM networks7.3Review → - 5AEAerodrome Finance
The leading DEX for anyone trading primarily within the Base ecosystem, offering deep liquidity and good pricing there. Its single-chain focus and relative youth are the main caveats. Not financial advice.
+ Dominant liquidity hub on Base with deep native-asset pools7.0Review → - 6RARaydium
A strong pick for active Solana traders who want deep native liquidity and near-instant, low-cost swaps. Its single-chain scope and past key-compromise incident warrant caution. Not financial advice.
+ Core liquidity venue on Solana with fast, cheap transactions7.0Review → - 7BABalancer
Balancer suits users who want configurable, weighted liquidity pools and yield-bearing structures rather than plain swaps. But its flexibility has repeatedly translated into a larger attack surface: the large November 2025 v2 exploit, on top of earlier incidents, makes its security track record a genuine concern, so approach with appropriate caution (note that v3 was reported unaffected by the 2025 flaw). Not financial advice.
+ Flexible weighted and custom pools beyond simple 50/50 AMMs6.7Review →
What a decentralised exchange actually is
A decentralised exchange (DEX) is an on-chain protocol that matches and settles spot trades through smart contracts rather than a company's order book. Instead of depositing funds into an exchange account, you connect a self-custody wallet and swap tokens straight from it, so you keep control of your private keys the entire time. Most DEXs run on an automated market maker (AMM) model, where liquidity providers pool two assets and a pricing formula sets the rate, though some use on-chain order books or aggregate quotes across many venues. Because trades execute as blockchain transactions, every swap is public, permissionless, and non-custodial by design.
How we score and how to choose one
Choosing a DEX comes down to a handful of factors, and those are exactly the weighted criteria behind our scores. Security and audits carry the most weight, because you are trusting smart contract code rather than a firm's balance sheet: we look at audit history, time in production, and how the protocol has handled past incidents. Liquidity matters next, since deep pools mean less slippage on the pairs you actually trade. Fees cover both the swap fee the protocol charges and how competitive the effective price is after slippage. Chain and asset coverage reflects which networks and tokens a protocol supports, and UX captures how clear the swap interface, wallet connection, and transaction previews are for everyday users.
The risks and pitfalls to watch
The trade-off for self-custody is that no support desk can reverse a mistake. Smart contract bugs and exploits are a real risk, which is why audits and a long, clean track record matter so much. On AMMs, thin liquidity leads to slippage and leaves you exposed to sandwich attacks and other forms of miner or maximal extractable value (MEV). Fake or copycat token listings are common because anyone can create a pool, so always verify a token's contract address before swapping. Setting slippage tolerance too high can hand value to predatory bots, and bridging assets between chains adds another layer of contracts that can fail.
What trading on a DEX really costs
A DEX swap has two cost layers people often confuse. The first is the network gas fee, paid to the blockchain to process your transaction; this varies with network congestion and is usually far higher on Ethereum mainnet than on layer-2s or alternative chains. The second is the protocol's trading fee, frequently a fixed percentage of the trade that goes to liquidity providers, plus any price impact from your order size relative to pool depth. Aggregators can lower the all-in cost by routing an order across several pools, but the headline swap fee is rarely the full story, so we weigh the effective, after-slippage price rather than the sticker rate.
Who decentralised exchanges are for
A DEX suits traders who value self-custody, want access to tokens before they hit centralised platforms, and are comfortable managing a wallet, gas, and transaction confirmations. If you would rather have a company hold your funds, offer fiat on-ramps, and provide customer support, a centralised exchange may fit better. The strongest results come from pairing a reputable, well-audited protocol with good wallet security habits. Use our ranked list and the criteria above to shortlist a venue that matches the chains and assets you trade, then start small while you learn how it behaves.
What is the highest-rated decentralised exchange?
+
As of our latest review, Uniswap scores highest in this category at 9.1/10. It tops the ranked list above — but the right pick depends on your priorities, since each score is the weighted average of our criteria and is refreshed as services change.
How do we rate decentralised exchanges?
+
We score every DEX against five weighted criteria: security and audits, liquidity, fees, chain and asset coverage, and UX. Security carries the most weight because you rely on smart contract code rather than a custodian. The blended score produces our ranked list, and the methodology is applied the same way to each protocol.
What should you look for in a decentralised exchange?
+
Prioritise a strong audit history and time in production, deep liquidity for the pairs you trade so slippage stays low, competitive effective fees after price impact, support for the chains and tokens you use, and a clear swap interface that previews what you will receive. Those are the same factors our ratings measure.
Are decentralised exchanges safe?
+
DEXs remove custodial risk because you keep your own keys, but they add smart contract risk, so safety depends on the specific protocol. Well-audited platforms with a long, incident-free track record score higher in our reviews. You still need to verify token contract addresses and manage your own wallet security, since transactions cannot be reversed.
What fees do decentralised exchanges charge?
+
Expect two cost layers: a network gas fee paid to the blockchain, which rises with congestion and is typically lower on layer-2s, and the protocol's trading fee, usually a percentage of the swap that rewards liquidity providers. Larger orders also incur price impact, so we assess the all-in, after-slippage cost rather than the headline rate.
How is a DEX different from a centralised exchange?
+
A DEX settles trades on-chain through smart contracts and never takes custody of your funds, so you trade directly from your wallet with no account. A centralised exchange holds your assets, runs an internal order book, and offers fiat on-ramps and support. Each involves different trade-offs around control, convenience, and risk.
How many decentralised exchanges did we review?
+
We review the leading non-custodial spot-trading protocols and publish them as a ranked list, updated as the market and our scoring evolve. Rather than crowning one permanent winner, we show how each platform performs across our five criteria so you can match a venue to the chains, assets, and priorities that matter to you.