A white label DEX lets you offer token swaps under your own brand without designing an exchange from scratch. This guide compares the four ways to launch one, lists the risks that sales pages leave out and gives the checks to run on a provider or vendor.
Widgets and aggregator APIs route trades through existing liquidity, a forked AMM uses your own pools and a vendor script can use either source. The decentralized exchange development guide explains how an exchange works from first principles, and the decentralized exchange software guide covers packaged exchange software more broadly.
White label DEX options compared
| Option | Liquidity source | Your contracts | Revenue model | Time to launch |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Swap widget | The provider's aggregator | None | Integrator fee on each swap | Days |
| Aggregator API with your own interface | The provider's aggregator | None, or a thin fee contract | Integrator fee | Weeks |
| Forked AMM | Your own pools | Factory, pools and router | Swap fees, sometimes a token | Weeks to months |
| Vendor exchange script | Varies | The vendor's code | Varies | Weeks |
Swap widgets
A swap widget is a ready-made swap box that an aggregator publishes for embedding. The widget asks the provider's routing engine for a price and gives the user a transaction to sign. You set the tokens, chains, theme and fee recipient, but you run no servers for swaps and deploy no contracts.
The LI.FI widget is one example. It handles swaps and bridging across ecosystems such as Ethereum, Solana, Bitcoin and Sui, and it supports static or dynamic integrator fees. A widget limits design control, and your swaps depend on the provider's uptime, routing quality and policies.
Aggregator APIs
An aggregator API returns a quote and ready-to-send transaction data for a swap routed across many DEXs, and sometimes across bridges. Providers include 0x, 1inch and LI.FI. You build your own interface, choose the chains and add an integrator fee in basis points. Wallet apps commonly add swaps this way.
0x's fee guide shows a typical setup, in which the integrator sets a fee recipient, a fee in basis points and the token the fee is paid in. The default limit on that integrator fee is 1,000 basis points, or 10%. When a trade fills at a better price than quoted, the difference is called trade surplus, and 0x keeps it unless the integrator has a custom plan.
An aggregator API gives competitive prices from the first day, because the routes draw on the liquidity of every connected DEX. The DEX aggregator guide explains how routing and split orders work.
Forked AMM
Your own Uniswap-style or PancakeSwap-style pools earn swap fees and give you full control, but they start empty, and without liquidity the prices are poor and aggregators do not route trades to them. A forked AMM suits a team that will be the main venue for a token ecosystem or a new chain. The PancakeSwap clone script guide covers what a fork involves.
Most white label AMM offerings build on one of three designs:
- Uniswap: v2 uses constant-product pools, v3 adds concentrated liquidity and v4 puts all pools in one contract with hooks. Uniswap v4 core mixes Business Source License and MIT files, so a v4 fork needs a license check per file.
- SushiSwap: began as a Uniswap v2 fork and added the MasterChef farm and a fee share for token stakers.
- PancakeSwap: began as a Uniswap v2 fork on BNB Smart Chain, added v3 pools and farms and later released Infinity, a hook-based design.
A "Sushi clone" and a "Pancake clone" mostly share the same Uniswap v2 math and differ in farm contracts and front ends.
Vendor exchange scripts
Many sellers offer white label swap "clone scripts". Some are open-source code with only branding changes, and others contain owner backdoors, unaudited changes or license violations. Any vendor code needs a review before it holds user funds.
Risks that sales pages leave out
- Approvals: a swap interface asks users to approve a spender contract, which lets that contract move their tokens. A malicious or compromised spender can take every token a user approved. Use well-known router contracts, ask for approval of the exact trade amount or use Permit2-style signatures that expire, and show users what they approve.
- MEV and slippage: a loose default slippage invites sandwich attacks. Offer MEV-protected submission where the chain supports it, and set slippage defaults per pair type.
- Token lists: a swap by contract address exposes users to scam tokens that copy real names. Curate a default list, warn on unverified tokens and detect fee-on-transfer tokens, which take a cut on every transfer, before quoting a price.
- Front-end integrity: an attacker who takes over your domain or hosting can insert a malicious spender. Lock the domain at the registrar, monitor the deployed files and add subresource integrity hashes to script tags, so the browser compares each loaded script with its hash and blocks altered scripts.
- Compliance: in some jurisdictions, fee income from routed swaps can make the operator look like a broker or money transmitter. Many providers screen addresses against sanctions lists. Find out what your provider screens and what stays your duty.
How to evaluate a white label swap provider or vendor
- Ask for audits of every contract users will approve, with the dates and the commit hashes audited.
- Confirm custody: user funds never pass through an address that the vendor or you control.
- Check admin powers: find out who can upgrade the router or change fee recipients, and whether a timelock delays those changes.
- Test routing quality: compare quotes with other aggregators across trade sizes and chains.
- Read the terms: rate limits, fee splits, notice before an API version ends and the provider's right to block your users.
- Verify licenses of any forked code you receive.
Which option fits which project
| Project | Usual option | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Wallet, app or community that wants swaps as a feature | Aggregator API with your own interface, or a widget | Prices come from existing liquidity, and no contracts need an audit. |
| Token ecosystem or new chain that needs a main trading venue | Forked AMM with few changes and an audit | No aggregator can route to pools that do not exist yet. |
| Team offered a closed-source script | No deployment until an independent firm reviews the source code | Closed code cannot be audited by the buyer or by an outside firm. |
Frequently asked questions
What is a white label DEX?
A white label DEX is a branded swap interface built on existing technology. It either routes trades through a provider's API or widget, or it runs pools from a licensed copy of an AMM. You control the brand and the user experience.
How does a white label swap make money?
Most white label swaps add an integrator fee in basis points to each swap. A forked AMM earns a share of the swap fees from its own pools instead.
Do I hold user funds?
Not in a non-custodial design. Users sign transactions from their own wallets, and tokens move through audited contracts. A design that needs deposits to an address you control is a custodial exchange, with very different legal duties.
Can a white label DEX support several chains?
Yes. Most aggregator APIs cover many EVM chains, and some also cover Solana and cross-chain routes through bridges. Cross-chain swaps add bridge risk, so the interface should show which bridge each route uses.