How to Use Uniswap: Step-by-Step Swap Guide

Last Updated: October 2026

To use Uniswap, open app.uniswap.org, connect a self-custody wallet holding ETH (or the network’s gas token), pick a network, choose the token you’re paying with and the token you want, check the price impact and minimum received, approve the token if asked, and confirm the swap in your wallet. That’s the whole flow, and it’s the same whether your trade ends up in a v2, v3 or v4 pool: there is no separate “v4 mode”. The interface routes each swap through whichever pools give the best price. The details below are what separate a smooth swap from an expensive mistake: which network to use, what each line of the review screen means, how v4 changes swaps, the best ways to swap for different trade sizes, why swaps fail, and how liquidity provision differs between Uniswap v3 and v4.

This guide is part of our DeFi hub, which maps every related guide in one place.

Key takeaways

• Uniswap is a set of smart contracts, not a company account; there’s no sign-up, and nobody can reverse a swap.
• Swapping on an L2 such as Base, Arbitrum or Unichain usually costs cents, versus dollars on Ethereum mainnet.
• Price impact (how far your trade moves the pool) matters more than slippage settings; above a few percent, trade smaller or elsewhere.
• Always get a token’s contract address from the project or CoinGecko; anyone can create a token with the same name.
• Since December 2025, Uniswap governance has switched on a protocol fee on many pools, while Uniswap Labs said it would stop charging its own interface fee.

What You Need Before Starting

• A self-custody wallet: MetaMask, Rabby, Coinbase Wallet or the Uniswap Wallet all work. New to wallets? Start with our MetaMask guide.
• The gas token for your network: ETH on Ethereum, Base, Arbitrum, OP Mainnet and Unichain; POL on Polygon; BNB on BNB Chain.
• The correct contract address of the token you want, from the project’s official site, CoinGecko or CoinMarketCap.
• The correct website: bookmark app.uniswap.org. Fake Uniswap sites appear in search ads and DMs.

How to Swap Tokens on Uniswap

1. Open app.uniswap.org from your bookmark.
2. Connect your wallet: click “Connect”, choose your wallet, approve the connection. Connecting only shares your address; it can’t move funds.
3. Select the network in the top-right selector. Your wallet will ask to switch networks.
4. Choose tokens: the top box is what you sell, the bottom box what you buy. If a token doesn’t appear, paste its contract address. Uniswap shows a warning for tokens not on its default lists; read it.
5. Enter an amount and wait for the quote.
6. Review the details (explained in the next section).
7. Approve the token if it’s your first time selling it. Uniswap uses a contract called Permit2: you approve Permit2 once per token, then sign a time-limited permit for each swap.
8. Click “Swap” and confirm in your wallet. Check the network fee shown by the wallet as well.
9. Wait for confirmation: a second or two on most L2s, around 12 seconds or longer on Ethereum mainnet. The bought token may need to be “imported” in your wallet to display.

How to Swap Tokens on Uniswap v4

You swap tokens on Uniswap v4 the same way as on any other version: start a normal swap on app.uniswap.org, and the router sends the trade through v4 pools whenever they offer the best price. You don’t pick a version, and you don’t need a separate app. Uniswap’s Universal Router contract handles v2, v3 and v4 pools in one transaction, and can split a single trade across several of them.

What’s different when a swap touches v4:

• Native ETH: v4 pools can hold ETH itself rather than WETH (wrapped ETH), so an ETH swap routed through v4 skips the wrapping step and usually costs a little less gas.
• Cheaper multi-hop routes: all v4 pools sit in a single contract, so a route such as ETH → USDC → a smaller token avoids moving tokens between separate pool contracts.
• Hooks: some v4 pools attach a hook, custom code that can charge dynamic fees or add rules to the pool. The default router only uses pools it can quote, but a pool’s hook is still code written by whoever deployed it. That’s one more reason to stay with the default route and not hunt for an obscure pool.
• Same approvals: token approvals still go through Permit2, so if you’ve approved a token before, a v4 route won’t ask you to approve it again.

To check whether your trade used v4, expand “Order routing” on the review screen before you confirm. It lists the pools and their versions. For background on how Uniswap’s pools work, read what Uniswap is.

How to Swap ETH on Uniswap

To swap ETH on Uniswap, put ETH in the top “Sell” box, pick the token you want in the bottom box, and confirm. Because ETH is the network’s native coin rather than a token, ETH → token swaps never need an approval step, just the swap transaction itself. Swapping a token back to ETH works the other way round: the first time you sell that token, you approve it, then you swap.

• Leave ETH for gas: don’t swap your entire ETH balance. You need some left to pay for the next approval or swap, and more on Ethereum mainnet, where fees can spike.
• ETH vs WETH: if you pick WETH by mistake, swapping it to ETH (or the reverse) is a 1:1 wrap or unwrap with no price impact. You only pay gas.
• Choose the right chain’s ETH: ETH on Base or Arbitrum is the same asset bridged to that network, but it only shows in your wallet when the wallet is set to that network.

Best Ways to Swap Tokens on Uniswap

The best way to swap on Uniswap depends on trade size and urgency. For most people, a standard swap on a low-fee L2 with automatic slippage is the right default. Bigger or more price-sensitive trades benefit from the options below.

Whichever route you use, compare the “minimum received” figure after gas, not the headline rate. If a DEX is new to you, our explainer on what a DEX is covers the basics.

Reading the Swap Review Screen

Worked example: you sell 2,000 USDC for a small token in a pool holding about $40,000 of liquidity. Your trade is 5% of the pool, so price impact will be several percent: you might receive roughly 5–9% less than the headline price suggests, depending on the pool type. Splitting into four $500 trades a few minutes apart, or buying where liquidity is deeper, reduces that cost. On a USDC/ETH pool with tens of millions in liquidity, the same $2,000 trade has negligible impact.

Setting Slippage

Slippage tolerance caps how far the price can move between quoting and execution. Uniswap sets it automatically by default, which suits most trades. Override it via the gear icon only when you know why. Our slippage explainer goes deeper.

• Around 0.5% or auto: major tokens and stablecoins.
• 1–3%: mid-cap tokens with moderate liquidity.
• Higher: only for tokens with transfer taxes or very thin pools, and only with amounts you’re prepared to lose some of. High slippage on Ethereum mainnet is an open invitation to sandwich attacks.

Why Uniswap Swaps Fail (and Fixes)

• “Price moved” / slippage error: the market moved past your tolerance. Refresh the quote; raise slippage slightly only if the token is volatile.
• Insufficient gas: you have the token but not the network’s gas coin. Keep a small ETH balance on every L2 you use.
• Token with a transfer tax: some tokens deduct a fee on every transfer, so the swap can’t deliver the quoted amount. Check the project’s docs; raise slippage to cover the tax.
• Stuck “pending” on mainnet: your gas price was too low. Use your wallet’s speed-up or cancel option.
• Token shows zero balance: usually the wallet just hasn’t added it. Import the contract address.

Using Uniswap on Layer 2 (Recommended)

The same swap that costs several dollars on Ethereum mainnet usually costs cents on an L2. Uniswap runs on Base, Arbitrum, OP Mainnet, Polygon, BNB Chain, its own Unichain (launched February 2025) and others.

Uniswap Labs also makes a wallet; our Uniswap wallet review explains how to get the official app and avoid the fake copies that are common.

1. Get ETH or USDC onto the L2, ideally by withdrawing straight from an exchange that supports that network, or by bridging. See our guides on bridging to Base and Layer 2 networks.
2. Select that network in Uniswap.
3. Swap as normal. Liquidity for a given token may be concentrated on one chain, so check where the main pool is.

Uniswap Versions: v2, v3, v4 and UniswapX

• v2 (2020): liquidity spread evenly across all prices; still used by many small tokens.
• v3 (2021): concentrated liquidity, so LPs pick a price range and earn more per dollar while price stays inside it.
• v4 (January 2025): all pools live in one contract (cheaper multi-hop swaps) and pools can attach “hooks”, custom code for things like dynamic fees or limit orders. Hooks add flexibility and new risk, because a pool’s hook can change how it behaves.
• UniswapX: an intent-based system where you sign an order and third-party fillers compete to fill it, often with gas built into the price and some protection from MEV.

The interface routes between these automatically; you rarely need to choose.

Providing Liquidity on Uniswap

1. Go to “Pool” and choose “New position”.
2. Select the pair, the version and the fee tier (common tiers are 0.01%, 0.05%, 0.3% and 1%; stable pairs use the low tiers, volatile pairs the higher ones).
3. Set a price range. Narrow ranges earn more while price is inside and nothing once it leaves; full range behaves like v2.
4. Deposit both tokens in the ratio the range requires.
5. Collect fees periodically, and rebalance if price leaves your range.

Since governance activated the fee switch in late December 2025, a slice of the trading fee goes to the protocol (and is used to burn UNI) instead of entirely to LPs. It started with v2 and selected v3 pools on Ethereum mainnet, and governance proposals in 2026 have sought to extend it to more pools and chains, so check the pool’s details. The bigger risk is impermanent loss: if one token rises sharply, your position ends up holding more of the laggard than if you had simply held both.

For the full process of opening, managing and closing a position, follow our Uniswap v3 and v4 liquidity guide, which covers fee tiers and price ranges step by step.

If you hold UNI as well as trading on the exchange, our UNI price prediction looks at the fee switch and other factors that could affect the token.

Uniswap vs. a DEX Aggregator

Uniswap’s interface already routes across its own v2, v3 and v4 pools and, for many trades, UniswapX fillers. An aggregator such as 1inch, CoW Swap or Matcha goes further and compares Uniswap with every other DEX on the chain. For a $100 swap of a major token the difference is usually negligible. For larger trades, or tokens whose deepest liquidity sits on another DEX (Aerodrome on Base, Curve for stablecoins), it’s worth pasting the same trade into an aggregator and comparing the “minimum received” figures before you sign. Use whichever quote is better after gas; there’s no loyalty bonus for staying on one interface.

Safety Tips for Uniswap

• Verify contract addresses every time, especially on cheap chains where copycat tokens are free to deploy. Our scam guide lists common tricks.
• Check liquidity and holders on the token’s explorer page before buying anything new.
• Read signature requests: a Permit2 signature can authorise spending. Only sign on app.uniswap.org.
• Revoke stale approvals with revoke.cash or your wallet’s built-in tool.
• Test small first when using a new token or network.

FAQ

Is Uniswap safe?

Uniswap’s core contracts are among the most audited and heavily used in DeFi and have handled trillions of dollars of cumulative volume. Most losses come from elsewhere: buying scam tokens, signing malicious approvals on fake sites, or setting huge slippage. v4 hooks add a new variable, since a pool’s hook is third-party code, so stick to pools the interface routes you to by default.

Why are Uniswap fees so high?

Usually it’s Ethereum mainnet gas, not Uniswap. The pool’s trading fee is a percentage (often 0.05% or 0.3%), while gas on mainnet is a flat cost that can dwarf a small trade. Moving to Base, Arbitrum or Unichain cuts gas to cents. A high price impact on a thin pool can also look like a “fee”.

Can I buy any token on Uniswap?

Any token with a pool on a supported network, which includes thousands not listed on centralized exchanges. That openness cuts both ways: anyone can create a token and a pool in minutes. Uniswap’s interface shows warnings for unverified tokens, but it does not vet projects, so the research is on you.

Do I need to pay taxes on Uniswap swaps?

In the US and many other countries, swapping one crypto for another is a taxable disposal, even if you never touch dollars. Keep records of each swap’s date and value, or use a tracker that reads your wallet address. Uniswap does not issue tax forms.

Do I have to choose Uniswap v4 to get the best price?

No. The Uniswap interface quotes v2, v3 and v4 pools (and UniswapX where it’s available) for every trade, and picks or splits the route for the best net price after gas. Choosing a version manually only matters when you provide liquidity, not when you swap.

Crypto is volatile and risky; this is education, not financial advice. Do your own research.