Overview
Uniswap invented the automated market maker model and remains the largest decentralized exchange by volume. V3 introduced concentrated liquidity for capital-efficient LP positions. Available on Ethereum mainnet and all major L2s: Arbitrum, Optimism, Base, and Polygon.
Pricing
✅ When to use
- Swapping ERC-20 tokens on Ethereum or L2s with deep liquidity
- Providing liquidity to earn fees from a token pair you hold long-term
- Accessing tokens not yet listed on centralized exchanges
- Trading on L2s (Arbitrum, Base) where gas costs are fractions of a cent
❌ When NOT to use
- Large swaps (>$10k) — compare with 1inch or Paraswap aggregators which often find better multi-pool routes
- Providing liquidity without understanding impermanent loss and V3 concentrated liquidity mechanics
- Very low-liquidity tokens — check price impact carefully before confirming
💡 Personal Tips
Uniswap on L2s is a completely different experience from Ethereum mainnet — gas drops from $20+ to fractions of a cent on Arbitrum or Base. For swaps above $1k, always compare Uniswap against 1inch (aggregator) which splits across pools and often beats Uniswap's rate by 0.1–0.5%. If you're LPing on V3: narrow ranges earn more fees but require active rebalancing; use wider ranges for volatile pairs. Analytics: check pool stats on Uniswap Info or DefiLlama before committing liquidity.