Which pool type should you pick?
Pick DLMM if you want to shape liquidity inside one position. Pick CLMM if your pair has deeper liquidity on Raydium or Orca.
Both designs use concentrated liquidity. You put capital in a price range, and you earn fees only while price trades inside that range.
Disclosure: met.guide can earn a referral commission when you use Meteora through its link. This page also states where CLMM is the better choice.
How do DLMM and CLMM differ?
DLMM (Dynamic Liquidity Market Maker) splits the price line into bins. Each bin has one fixed price, so a trade inside one bin executes at that price.
CLMM (Concentrated Liquidity Market Maker) uses price ticks, like Uniswap v3. On Raydium, each tick is a 0.01% price step. A position spreads one liquidity amount across its tick range.
| Feature | DLMM (Meteora) | CLMM (Raydium, Orca) |
|---|---|---|
| Price step | Bins. The pool's bin step sets the gap in basis points. | Ticks. The pool's fee tier sets the tick spacing. |
| Liquidity shape | Spot, curve, or bid-ask inside one position. | One even liquidity amount per position. A custom shape needs more positions. |
| Swap fee | Base fee from the bin step. Many pools add a variable fee that rises with volatility. | Raydium tiers run from 0.01% to 1%. Some Raydium and Orca pools add a volatility fee. |
| Trade inside one step | Executes at the bin's fixed price. | Price moves smoothly as the trade uses liquidity. |
| Out of range | Holds one token and earns no fees. | Holds one token and earns no fees. |
| Position record | A position account for your wallet. | Raydium: an NFT in your wallet. |
Choose DLMM if
If you have not opened a position before, start with the DLMM beginner guide.
- You want a spot, curve, or bid-ask shape inside one position.
- You want a fee that can rise when price moves fast.
- You want a one-sided entry that buys a token only as price falls into your bins.
- Your pair has its deepest pool on Meteora. Compare TVL (total value locked) and 24h volume first.
Choose CLMM if
- Your pair has more liquidity and volume on Raydium or Orca.
- You want a fixed fee rate. Choose a pool without a volatility fee.
- You want your position as an NFT in your wallet, as on Raydium.
- You already use tools built for Uniswap v3 math, which CLMM follows.
What are the honest tradeoffs?
Neither design moves your range for you. Some reviews say DLMM bins avoid the out-of-range problem. A DLMM position also stops earning when price leaves its bins.
Volatility fees are not unique to DLMM. Some Raydium and Orca pools also raise the fee when price moves fast. Compare the live fee on each pool page.
DLMM shapes give more control, and more control means more settings to get wrong. A CLMM position has fewer choices, but a custom shape needs more positions and transactions.
Impermanent loss applies to both designs. In either design, a tight range converts your capital to one token faster when price trends. Read the LP risk guide before you choose a width.
Meteora also has DAMM v2 pools. A concentrated DAMM v2 pool has one price range for the whole pool, set when the pool is created. You cannot choose your own range there.
Tools can mix the names. Hummingbot Gateway 2.17.0 lists Meteora DLMM under its CLMM routes, but the pool is still a bin-based DLMM pool.
Only Meteora positions can count toward the Meteora referral kickback. At launch, only DLMM positions with SOL or USDC as the quote token were eligible. Read the referral guide for the terms.
A real DLMM position, measured
met.guide opened one small DLMM position on 2026-10-09. It put 0.25 SOL in the SOL/USDC pool with a bin step of 4, which is 0.04% between bins.
The range covered nine bins, from 109.2 to 109.5 USDC per SOL. Price rose through the range in about 18 minutes, and the SOL became 27.382474 USDC.
The position earned 0.009895 USDC in fees, about 0.036% of its value. Network fees were about $0.005. This is one short test, not a fee forecast.
To choose a range width, read DLMM bin ranges explained. To compare fee rates, read DLMM fee tiers explained.