Uniswap
PaidLeading decentralized exchange with v4 hooks enabling AI-powered pool customization
What is Uniswap?
Uniswap is the leading decentralized exchange (DEX) by volume, enabling permissionless token swaps on Ethereum, Base, Arbitrum, Optimism, Polygon, and other EVM-compatible chains. Unlike centralized exchanges, Uniswap is a protocol, a set of smart contracts on-chain, with no custodian, KYC, or direct customer service. Users swap tokens directly from their wallets, with liquidity provided by other users who earn fees on trading activity. Uniswap v4 launched on 31 January 2025, not 2024 as an earlier version of this review stated, going live across ten networks including Ethereum, Polygon, Arbitrum, OP Mainnet, Base, BNB Chain, Blast, World Chain, Avalanche, and Zora. It introduced Hooks, custom smart contracts that attach to individual pools to extend their behavior. Hooks enable use cases that weren't possible in v3: dynamic fees that adjust based on volatility, time-weighted automated market makers (TWAMM) for large orders, whitelisted pools for compliance, MEV rebate distribution, privacy-preserving swaps, and AI-powered pool logic. As of late 2025, developers had created 2,500+ hook-enabled pools; Uniswap publishes no live counter, so that remains the last figure we can source. One notable AI-related hook is Apeful, which automatically generates AI-based NFTs when users take specific actions with ApeCoin. The economics changed materially in the meantime. Uniswap still charges no subscription fee, and traders still pay the pool's swap fee (0.01%, 0.05%, 0.30%, or 1% in v3; whatever the creator sets in v4) plus any hook fees. But the UNIfication governance vote passed in December 2025 turned on protocol fees for the first time and burned 100 million UNI, and Proposal 100 extended those fees to selected v4 pools on 27 July 2026. The protocol fee comes out of the pool fee rather than being added to the trader's price, so the practical effect lands on liquidity providers, who now keep a smaller share. Calling Uniswap a pure public good is no longer quite right: it is still free to use, open-source, and permissionless, but the protocol now takes a cut and routes it into UNI burns. The other trade-off is unchanged, self-custody: no customer support, no chargebacks, no password resets.
Uniswap demo video
Watch Uniswap Labs's official demo to see Uniswap in action before reading our full review.
Official video by Uniswap Labs via YouTube, embedded for reference. ToolChase does not host or claim this video.
⚡ Quick Verdict
DeFi users swapping tokens, providing liquidity, or building custom AMM pools with v4 hooks
Users needing centralized exchange features like fiat on/off ramps or customer support
No subscription. Traders pay the pool swap fee (v3 tiers 0.01%, 0.05%, 0.30%, 1%; v4 pools set their own), plus hook fees and gas
Yes, Uniswap is a permissionless protocol, no subscription required
Largest DeFi liquidity pool and the most flexible AMM architecture via v4 hooks
No direct customer support, users bear responsibility for wallet security and transaction errors. Liquidity providers also now share fee revenue with the protocol
Bottom line: Uniswap scores 4.3/5, the market-leading decentralized exchange powering most DeFi swap activity. Since our last check the protocol fee switch went live, so liquidity providers should re-run their yield assumptions.
Pricing
Uniswap is a permissionless open-source protocol with no subscription fees.
Swap fees, v3: fixed tiers of 0.01%, 0.05%, 0.30%, and 1% per swap, lower for stablecoin pairs, higher for volatile or long-tail tokens.
Swap fees, v4: v4 removed preset tiers. The pool creator can set any fee from 0% to 100% in 0.0001% increments, so a v4 pool is not bounded by the old 0.01% to 1% range. Check the specific pool before trading.
Protocol fees, new since our last review: the UNIfication proposal passed in December 2025 and switched on protocol fees, which are carved out of the pool fee rather than added to the trader's price. On v2 the protocol takes 0.05% and the LP share dropped from 0.30% to 0.25%. On v3 the protocol takes one quarter of LP fees in 0.01% and 0.05% pools and one sixth in 0.30% and 1% pools. Governance Proposals 99 and 100 executed on 27 July 2026, adding Robinhood Chain and turning on v4 protocol fees for static-fee pools, CCA pools, and aggregator hook pools across Ethereum, Arbitrum, Base, BNB Chain, Polygon, Optimism, and Robinhood Chain. Proceeds fund UNI burns.
Hook fees in v4 are separate and set by individual hook developers, varying by pool.
Liquidity providers still earn a share of swap fees, but that share is now smaller wherever protocol fees are switched on. There are no fees to use the Uniswap interface (app.uniswap.org) itself beyond the on-chain fees.
Key Features
- Permissionless DEX on Ethereum, Base, Arbitrum, Optimism, Polygon, BNB Chain and other EVM chains
- v4 Hooks, custom smart contracts that extend pool behavior
- Dynamic fees and advanced liquidity management
- 2,500+ hook-enabled pools as of late 2025, the most recent figure Uniswap has published
- Permissioned Pools hook standard for compliance-gated regulated assets, introduced July 2026
- Integrated with all major wallets (MetaMask, Rabby, Coinbase Wallet)
- Open-source protocol with auditable smart contracts
- No KYC, no custody, no chargebacks
- Largest aggregated liquidity across DeFi
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Largest DeFi liquidity pool, best prices for most trades
- v4 Hooks enable novel use cases not possible in other AMMs
- No subscription fees or KYC friction
- Fully auditable and transparent smart contracts
Cons
- No customer support, self-custody responsibility falls on user
- Complex for non-crypto-native users
- Subject to Ethereum gas fees (though L2s like Base and Arbitrum are cheap)
- Protocol fees now take a share of LP revenue, so liquidity provider yields are lower than before December 2025
FAQ
What does Uniswap cost?
Uniswap charges no subscription fee. You pay the pool's swap fee on each trade, plus any hook fees set by hook developers in v4, plus gas. In v3 the fee tiers are 0.01%, 0.05%, 0.30%, and 1%. In v4 the pool creator sets the fee, anywhere from 0% to 100% in 0.0001% increments, so the familiar 0.01% to 1% range describes v3 tiers rather than a ceiling on what a v4 pool can charge. Since the UNIfication vote passed in December 2025 a protocol fee is also live, taken as a share of the pool fee rather than added on top: on v2 the protocol takes 0.05% while the LP share fell from 0.30% to 0.25%, and on v3 the protocol takes one quarter of LP fees in 0.01% and 0.05% pools and one sixth in 0.30% and 1% pools. Governance Proposal 100, executed 27 July 2026, extended protocol fees to selected v4 pools on Ethereum, Arbitrum, Base, BNB Chain, Polygon, Optimism, and Robinhood Chain. On Ethereum mainnet you also pay gas fees; on L2s like Base, Arbitrum, and Optimism, gas is minimal.
What are Uniswap v4 hooks?
Hooks are custom smart contracts that attach to individual pools and extend their behavior. A hook can implement dynamic fees, MEV rebates, whitelisted access, time-weighted trading, privacy features, or novel AMM logic. By October 2025, developers had created 2,500+ hook-enabled pools covering everything from AI-powered NFT minting to impermanent loss hedging; that count is a late 2025 snapshot and Uniswap does not publish a live figure, so treat it as a floor rather than a current total. Hook development is still active: in July 2026 Uniswap Labs introduced Permissioned Pools, a hook standard for compliance-gated trading of regulated assets, with Superstate, Securitize, and Dowgo as launch partners.
Is there an AI-powered Uniswap hook?
Yes, several exist. Apeful is a notable example, it automatically generates AI-based NFTs when users perform specific actions with ApeCoin on Uniswap v4 pools. Other AI hooks use ML for dynamic fee optimization, MEV protection, and liquidity management. The hook ecosystem is young but actively growing.
Uniswap vs Curve vs Balancer?
Uniswap is the general-purpose DEX with the largest liquidity and most volume. Curve specializes in stablecoin swaps with minimal slippage. Balancer allows weighted pools with more than two tokens. Most DeFi users default to Uniswap; stablecoin traders prefer Curve for large swaps.
Do I need to KYC to use Uniswap?
No. Uniswap is a permissionless protocol, you connect your wallet and swap tokens without any identity verification. This is the fundamental difference from centralized exchanges like Coinbase or Binance. The trade-off is that you're fully responsible for your wallet's security, and there's no customer support for lost funds.
Is Uniswap safe?
The Uniswap core protocol has been battle-tested since 2018 with billions of dollars in volume and no major exploits on the core contracts. Risks come primarily from external factors: malicious tokens you trade for, phishing sites impersonating Uniswap, and custom v4 hooks with bugs or malicious code. Always verify contracts before trading unknown tokens and use the official Uniswap interface.
📋 Good to know
Visit app.uniswap.org, connect a wallet (MetaMask, Rabby, Coinbase Wallet), and start swapping. No signup required.
Fully on-chain, Uniswap does not custody user funds or collect personal data. Self-custody means you bear full responsibility for wallet security.
Not applicable, Uniswap is a permissionless protocol with no tiers. For advanced use, explore v4 hooks or liquidity provision, and factor in the protocol fee that has applied to LP revenue since December 2025.
Moderate for basic swaps. High for liquidity provision, v4 hooks, and understanding impermanent loss.
