How Perpd scores perp DEXs
Short answer: Perpd scores perp DEXs on the risks that actually cost traders money: getting your funds out, liquidations, access rules, real fills and the team behind the token. Fees count, but only 5%. Every DEX is re-scored monthly, every score shows its sources and date, and no one can pay for a score.
Why another ranking?
Most perp DEX rankings sort by volume, TVL and fees. Those tell you how big a DEX is, not how risky it is to trade on. Big volume can be wash trading. Low fees don't help if withdrawals get paused. We score the stuff that hurts when it goes wrong.
The Real Risk Score (0-100)
| Factor | Weight | What we check |
|---|---|---|
| Exit risk | 20% | Can you get funds out if the operator fails? Custody, bridge and who controls it, escape hatch, past withdrawal pauses. |
| Security record | 15% | Audits (who, when), exploits and whether users were made whole, bug bounty, time live. |
| Liquidation & ADL | 15% | Oracle design, backstop/insurance fund, auto-deleveraging and socialized-loss events in the last 12 months. |
| Execution check | 15% | All-in cost of a $100K market order: slippage from the live public order book plus the taker fee, averaged over 7 daily snapshots. Not in scores yet (see below). |
| Volume quality | 10% | Volume vs open interest, public wash-trading or points-farming flags. |
| Access & legal | 10% | Clear terms and restricted-country list, named legal entity, regulator warnings and enforcement. We list who's blocked (US, UK, India, Canada, EU) for information; it doesn't lower the score. |
| Token, unlocks & team | 10% | Doxxed team, insider share, next big unlock, published token schedule and terms. |
| Cost | 5% | Base taker/maker fees and funding mechanics. |
Each factor is scored 0-10 (10 = lowest risk) using our published Real Risk Score rubric: how each factor is scored, then weighted. Until the execution check has 7 daily snapshots for every DEX, scores use the other 7 factors, re-weighted to 100. Preview data: Perp DEX fees compared: what a $100K trade really costs.
Score bands: 80+ lower risk on our factors · 60-79 some known risks · below 60 read the flags before you deposit.
These bands describe our factors only. They are not a safety guarantee and not financial advice.
Where the data comes from
- Protocol docs and terms of service for custody, bridges, fees and restricted countries.
- Audit reports linked directly; we name the firm and the date.
- ETHBEAT (formerly L2BEAT) for bridge and exit-risk data where a DEX is listed.
- DefiLlama for volume, open interest and TVL. We don't re-invent their data; we cite it.
- Incident post-mortems and on-chain data for exploits, ADL events and liquidations.
- Public order books for the execution check. No funded wallet; method and timestamp shown on every score.
Every number on a scorecard links to its source and shows the date we checked it.
Updates
- Full re-score: monthly, first week of the month.
- Out-of-cycle update: within 72 hours of a major incident (exploit, withdrawal pause, ADL event).
- Every change goes into the public changelog with the old and new score.
What money can and can't buy here
- Scores are never for sale. Not to listed DEXs, not to advertisers, not to anyone.
- Featured placements exist and are always labeled "Featured". They sit next to the scorecard, never inside it, and never change the order of the score table.
- Affiliate links are labeled. If a DEX pays us per signup, the link says so. It doesn't change the score.
- No positions, no tokens: we don't buy, hold or trade the tokens of any DEX we score, and we don't trade on these DEXs. Our execution data comes from public order books, not our own trades. If that ever changes, it goes on this page first.
Spot an error?
DEX teams and traders can send corrections with a source. We check, update within 7 days if it holds up, and log it in the changelog. Teams can comment on their score; they can't edit it.
Not financial advice
Perpd is research, not advice. Perps are leveraged and you can lose more than you put in. Check whether perps are legal where you live.
FAQ
What is the safest perp DEX?
No perp DEX is risk-free. Perpd ranks them by known risks (exit, security, liquidations, access, team) so you can compare. See the current Perp DEX risk scorecard: 10 DEXs ranked by risk.
How is Perpd different from volume rankings?
Volume rankings show size. We show risk. We cite DefiLlama for volume and add the judgement layer on top.
Can a DEX pay to rank higher?
No. Paid placements are labeled and separate from the score.
Scores are never for sale. This page has no affiliate links and no paid placements. Not financial advice: perps are leveraged and you can lose more than you deposit.