Orkid vs MetaMask: Fee Comparison
Orkid charges 9 bps. MetaMask charges 87.5 bps. See exactly how much you save on every swap size.
The fee breakdown
Different swap platforms charge very different fees — and the "sticker price" doesn't tell the whole story. Here's how the major platforms compare on Base:
| Platform | Protocol Fee | Gas | MEV Risk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orkid | 9 bps | Gasless (solver pays) | Protected |
| MetaMask | 87.5 bps | You pay gas | Exposed |
| Uniswap | 0 bps | You pay gas | Exposed |
| 1inch | 0 bps | Higher gas (complex routes) | Partially protected |
MetaMask's 87.5 bps is nearly 10x Orkid's fee. Uniswap and 1inch charge 0 bps in protocol fees — but you pay gas for every transaction, and on Uniswap your trades are exposed to MEV extraction. "Free" isn't always free.
Real cost comparison
Let's see what these fees actually cost at different swap sizes. The table below shows the fee you pay on each platform:
| Swap Size | Orkid (9 bps) | MetaMask (87.5 bps) | You Save |
|---|---|---|---|
| $100 | $0.09 | $0.88 | $0.79 |
| $500 | $0.45 | $4.38 | $3.93 |
| $1,000 | $0.90 | $8.75 | $7.85 |
| $5,000 | $4.50 | $43.75 | $39.25 |
| $10,000 | $9.00 | $87.50 | $78.50 |
On a $1,000 swap, Orkid costs $0.90 vs MetaMask's $8.75 — you save $7.85. On a $10,000 swap, the savings grow to $78.50. And that's before accounting for gas (which Orkid doesn't charge you) and MEV protection (which MetaMask doesn't provide).
What you're actually paying for
The 9 bps fee isn't just a charge — it's the cost of infrastructure that saves you money in ways you don't see:
- Route optimization: Orkid scans 5 liquidity venues (Tycho, Uniswap, Bebop, Wintermute, Liquorice) and finds the best path across all of them. Better routing means more output tokens — often saving more than the fee itself.
- MEV protection: Your swap is sent privately to the solver, not broadcast to the public mempool. MEV bots can't front-run or sandwich your trade. On unprotected platforms, MEV extraction averages 5–15 bps per swap — far more than Orkid's 9 bps fee.
- Gasless execution: The solver pays all gas costs. On Base, that's typically $0.01–0.05 per swap. On Ethereum, it can be $5–20. You never see a gas charge on Orkid.
- Solver infrastructure: The solver runs 24/7, monitoring pool prices, building routes, and submitting transactions. The fee keeps that infrastructure running without extracting users.
Why 9 bps?
The fee is calibrated to cover real costs without extracting users. Here's the math:
Solver gas costs on Base run roughly 1–3 bps per swap depending on route complexity (more hops = more gas). Infrastructure costs — Tycho indexing, server hosting, monitoring — add another 2–4 bps. That's 3–7 bps of real cost per swap.
At 9 bps, Orkid covers its costs with a small margin. It's not designed to be a profit center — it's designed to be sustainable. The alternative is the MetaMask model: charge 87.5 bps because you can, not because you need to.
The hidden costs of "free" swaps
Platforms that charge 0 bps aren't free — they just charge you in ways that don't show up on the quote screen:
- MEV extraction: On Uniswap and other unprotected AMMs, MEV bots front-run and sandwich your trades. Studies show average extraction of 5–15 bps per swap. That's invisible — it just shows up as a worse price.
- Bad routing: Uniswap only routes through Uniswap pools. If a better price exists on another venue, you don't get it. Orkid scans 11 venues and picks the best route across all of them.
- Gas fees: On "free" platforms, you pay gas for every transaction — approve, swap, and sometimes multiple hops. On Base that's a few cents; on Ethereum it can be $10–30 per swap.
- Front-running: When your transaction sits in the public mempool, anyone can see it and trade ahead of you. The price moves against you before your swap confirms. You never see a "fee" — you just get fewer tokens.
The real cost of a "free" swap is often 10–30 bps once you account for MEV, gas, and suboptimal routing. Orkid's 9 bps fee is cheaper than "free."
FAQ
Is 9 bps the only fee?
Yes. Orkid charges a single flat 9 bps (0.09%) fee on every swap, applied to the output token. There are no tiered fees, no subscription, no minimums. Whether you swap $10 or $100,000, the fee is 9 bps.
Are there hidden fees?
No. The 9 bps fee is the only charge. Gas is paid by the solver, not you. There are no network fees, no routing fees, no subscription fees, and no withdrawal fees. The amount you see in the quote is the amount you receive, minus 9 bps.
Why not 0 bps like Uniswap?
Uniswap charges 0 bps in protocol fees, but you pay in other ways: higher gas costs (you pay for every transaction), MEV exposure (your trades can be front-run or sandwiched), and no route optimization beyond Uniswap pools. Orkid's 9 bps covers solver gas, MEV protection, gasless execution, and multi-venue route optimization — services that "free" platforms don't provide.
Does the fee change with swap size?
No. The fee is a flat 9 bps regardless of swap size. There are no volume tiers, no discounts for large trades, and no surcharges for small trades. A $100 swap costs 9 bps ($0.09). A $10,000 swap costs 9 bps ($9.00). The percentage stays constant.