Photon: trading tools rating breakdown
Web terminal · Solana
One of the fastest web terminals for Solana, with the keyboard-driven interface and one-click execution that active traders genuinely value, and a real user base to match.
One of the fastest web terminals for Solana, with the keyboard-driven interface and one-click execution that active traders genuinely value, and a real user base to match.
How the score is built
Each criterion is scored 0–10 and weighted. The median column is the middle score across every entry in this ranking, so a row reads as a position rather than a number.
| Criterion | What we measured | Weight | Score | Category median | Rank | Weighted gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The take rate, computed | 1.5203 take rate · computed · 2026-08-27 · source$1,520 cost on $100,000 of monthly volume · computed · 2026-08-27 | 35% | 3 | 4.5 | 7 of 8 | -0.53 |
| Who holds the key | — | 25% | 4 | 3 | 2 of 8 | +0.25 |
| Is the fee disclosed before the trade? | — | 20% | 6 | 6 | 2 of 8 | 0.00 |
| What the routing actually does | — | 12% | 8 | 7.5 | 3 of 8 | +0.06 |
| Chains and assets | — | 8% | 3 | 5 | 7 of 8 | -0.16 |
Measured 27 August 2026 · weights and method · decided by the take rate, computed, worth -0.53 points against the median
The take rate, computed: 3/10
Thirty days of fees collected divided by thirty days of volume routed, from public data. This is what the tool charges on top of whatever the underlying venue charges, and the spread is enormous: 0.0060% to 1.9287% across the tools measured here, against 0.0506% to 0.6639% at the decentralised exchanges they route into.
Scored 3 of 10 against a category median of 4.5, which places it 7th of 8 among trading tools on this criterion. At a 35% weight that is 0.53 points below the median contribution of the weighted total. The best score in the category is 10, the worst 1.
Who holds the key: 4/10
Whether the tool generates and holds a private key on its own servers — the model almost every messaging-app bot uses — or signs from a wallet you control. A bot that holds the key is a custodian you cannot audit, with no attestation, no licence and no recovery process, and that fact belongs above execution speed in any honest ranking.
Scored 4 of 10 against a category median of 3, which places it 2nd of 8 among trading tools on this criterion. At a 25% weight that is 0.25 points above the median contribution of the weighted total. The best score in the category is 10, the worst 2.
Is the fee disclosed before the trade?: 6/10
Whether the tool states its fee plainly in its own documentation and shows it at the point of trade, or buries it in a percentage of an amount the user never sees itemised. We compare what is disclosed against the take rate we computed.
Scored 6 of 10 against a category median of 6, which places it 2nd of 8 among trading tools on this criterion. At a 20% weight that is exactly level with the median of the weighted total. The best score in the category is 9, the worst 4.
What the routing actually does: 8/10
Documented routing behaviour: which venues it can reach, whether it uses private transaction relays, and what protection it offers against sandwiching. Speed claims that cannot be verified from public data are not scored.
Scored 8 of 10 against a category median of 7.5, which places it 3rd of 8 among trading tools on this criterion. At a 12% weight that is 0.06 points above the median contribution of the weighted total. The best score in the category is 9, the worst 6.
Chains and assets: 3/10
Chains supported with real routed volume, from public data at a stated timestamp.
Scored 3 of 10 against a category median of 5, which places it 7th of 8 among trading tools on this criterion. At a 8% weight that is 0.16 points below the median contribution of the weighted total. The best score in the category is 9, the worst 3.
Its nearest neighbours in this ranking
Questions about this score
What does Photon actually cost me?
+
1.5203% of everything you trade, on our measurement — about $1,520 a month on $100,000 of volume, before the venue's own fee, gas and price impact. Whether that is worth it depends on whether your edge per trade is comfortably larger than 1.5%, which for most traders it is not.
Where are my keys when I use Photon?
+
In an embedded wallet tied to your browser session rather than a wallet you separately control. That is a middle position: better than a bot holding your key on its server, worse than signing from your own hardware or software wallet. Treat the balance there as trading capital, not as storage.