Order books, AMMs and aggregators
Why Solana can run fully onchain order books, how prop AMMs work, and how aggregators decide where your trade goes.
There are two ways to match buyers and sellers, and Solana is one of the few chains that runs both at scale.
AMMs: price by formula
An automated market maker holds a pool of two tokens and quotes prices with a formula (see Providing liquidity). Anyone can trade at any time, and anyone can provide liquidity. The cost is price impact on big trades and impermanent loss for LPs.
Order books: price by people
A central limit order book (CLOB) lists bids and asks at specific prices. You can place a limit order that waits for your price, or a market order that fills against the best offers. Professional market makers keep quotes tight.
On most blockchains, order books don't work onchain: every quote update is a transaction, and market makers update thousands of times a day. Solana's cheap, fast blocks make it practical. Phoenix runs a fully onchain, "crankless" order book where trades settle in the same transaction, and Manifest offers a lightweight, fee-free one that other apps build on.
Prop AMMs
A newer design blends both: pools controlled by a single professional market maker that updates prices every block based on outside markets. Several of Solana's highest-volume venues work this way. They can quote tight prices for major pairs, which aggregators then route to.
Aggregators decide for you
JupiterSwap aggregator and Solana's DeFi super app
TitanMeta-aggregator that compares routers on every trade
PhoenixFully onchain perps from Ellipsis Labs
ManifestFee-free onchain order book
When you swap on Jupiter or Titan, the router checks AMMs, order books and prop AMMs, simulates the best combination and may split your trade across several. Titan goes one level up: it asks several routers, including Jupiter, OKX and DFlow, and executes whichever simulated quote is best.
Which should you use?
- Normal swaps: an aggregator. It's already comparing every venue.
- A specific price: a limit order on Jupiter or an order-book venue.
- Perps: order books (Phoenix, Pacifica) or pools (Jupiter), covered in Perpetual futures.
Key takeaways
- AMMs price with a formula; order books match bids and asks at chosen prices.
- Solana's speed and low fees make onchain order books practical.
- Prop AMMs are pools run by professional market makers that update prices constantly.
- Aggregators compare all of them per trade, so most users never pick a venue manually.
Check yourself
3 questions. Get them all right to mark this lesson complete.
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Facts checked Oct 19, 2026. Educational content, not financial advice.
