Uniswap
score
Fees: 0.01%–1% tiered pool fees (v3), typically ~0.3% on volatile pairs
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.
What Uniswap is
Uniswap is a permissionless automated market maker (AMM) that lets anyone swap ERC-20 tokens directly from a self-custody wallet, without an order book or intermediary. Launched in 2018, it pioneered the constant-product pool model and has since iterated through v2, v3, and v4, becoming the reference implementation most other DEXs are measured against.
Where it excels
Two criteria carry our 9.1 score: liquidity and security both land at 9.5. Uniswap consistently offers the deepest, most battle-tested pools for major pairs, which translates into tight pricing and low slippage. Its core contracts have a long, clean record backed by extensive audits, and concentrated liquidity in v3 (9/10 chain and asset coverage, 9/10 UX) delivers serious capital efficiency across Ethereum, Base, Arbitrum, Optimism, Polygon and more.
Costs and fees
Fees are tiered by pool, ranging from 0.01% to 1%, with roughly 0.3% typical on volatile pairs, which earns a solid 8/10. The bigger cost variable is usually not the swap fee but network gas: on Ethereum mainnet, congestion can make small swaps disproportionately expensive, which is why many users route trades through cheaper layer-2 deployments.
The main caveat
Permissionlessness cuts both ways. Anyone can create a pool for any token, so scam and low-quality assets sit alongside legitimate ones, and verifying a token's contract address is entirely the user's responsibility. The front end has also faced regulatory scrutiny and made token-blocklisting decisions, though the underlying protocol remains open.
Who it's for
Uniswap is the default choice for anyone trading established on-chain assets who values liquidity and a proven codebase over hand-holding. Newcomers should slow down, double-check contract addresses, and consider layer-2 networks to keep costs manageable. Not financial advice.
Overall 9.1 / 10 — the weighted average of the criteria above. How we score →
- + Deepest and most battle-tested AMM liquidity across major pairs
- + Long clean core-contract record with extensive audits and v2/v3/v4 maturity
- + Deployed across Ethereum, Base, Arbitrum, Optimism, Polygon and more
- + Concentrated liquidity (v3) gives strong capital efficiency and tight pricing
- − Permissionless listings mean many scam/low-quality tokens exist alongside real ones
- − Ethereum-mainnet gas costs can make small swaps expensive
- − Frontend faced regulatory scrutiny and token-blocklisting decisions
Is Uniswap safe?
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Uniswap's core contracts have a strong security record and score 9.5/10 in our review, reflecting years of audits and maturity across v2, v3, and v4. The main risk is not the protocol but the tokens on it: because listings are permissionless, you must verify each token's contract yourself to avoid scams.
What are Uniswap's fees?
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Swap fees are set per pool and range from 0.01% to 1%, with about 0.3% common on volatile pairs. On top of that you pay network gas, which can be high on Ethereum mainnet and much lower on layer-2 networks like Base, Arbitrum, or Optimism.
Which blockchains does Uniswap support?
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Uniswap is deployed across Ethereum and many EVM networks including Base, Arbitrum, Optimism, and Polygon. Trading on layer-2 chains generally keeps gas costs far lower than on mainnet.
Is Uniswap a good DEX?
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In our assessment it is the benchmark DEX, scoring 9.1 overall thanks to top marks for liquidity and security. It suits traders who want deep pools and proven contracts, provided they are comfortable self-verifying tokens.