Padre, now Pump.fun's Terminal, edges out Photon: more users, wallet tracking and four chains in one app. Photon's strengths are an official fee page and a simpler screen. Both have clean security records. Padre scores 7.1/10 and Photon 6.9/10, and they sit #7 and #8 on our editors' list, which weighs score, usage and ease of starting (how we rank).
Risk notice: Crypto trading is high risk and memecoins can go to zero in minutes. Trading bots use hot wallets. This page is not financial advice; only trade what you can afford to lose.
Quick verdict
- Pick Padre (Terminal) if you trade Pump.fun launches on desktop and want DCA orders, an Alpha Tracker for wallets and Ethereum, BNB Chain and Base in the same app. Open Padre
- Pick Photon if you want a fee you can read in official docs, DCA orders and the Memescope screener. Open Photon
Side by side
| Padre (Terminal) | Photon | |
|---|---|---|
| Our score | 7.1/10 | 6.9/10 |
| Fee | 1% reported (no official fee page) | 1% (official docs) |
| Net fee after official discounts | 1% (reported cashback unofficial) | 1% |
| Platforms | Web | Web |
| Chains | Solana, Ethereum, BNB Chain, Base | Solana; separate BNB and Base sites |
| Checklist features (of 10) | 6 | 5 |
| Copy trading | Limited | No |
| Custody | Non-custodial, built on Turnkey; password not stored (Terminalpedia) | Key shown once at sign-up (Photon Guides) |
| Owner | Pump.fun, since Oct 2025 | No ownership change in sources we checked |
| Security record | No reported incident; PADRE token fell ~80% after acquisition | No confirmed breach; clone sites reported |
| 30-day fees on DefiLlama | $5.39M | $432K |
Sources: Blockworks, Terminalpedia, Photon fee docs, Photon Guides. Usage: Terminal and Photon on DefiLlama, as of September 26, 2026.
Fees
Photon's docs state 1% "of the initial token amount" for every buy and sell, collected in SOL. No tiers, no cashback, no referee discount published.
Terminal has no fee page, and Padre's old docs don't list one. Terminalpedia (updated August 6, 2026) says Terminal's live code shows a flat 1%, with 10% cashback for direct sign-ups and 35% for sign-ups through a referral link, fixed when the account is created. That would mean 0.90% or 0.65% effective. Other sites report different numbers, and we couldn't confirm any of it from Pump.fun, so we score Terminal at a plain 1%.
Both terminals see a lot of Pump.fun tokens, and those carry Pump.fun's own fee: 1.25% on the bonding curve and 0.30%-1.25% on PumpSwap pools (Pump.fun docs). That's often bigger than the terminal fee. Background in what is Pump.fun.
Winner: Photon for a fee you can verify; Terminal may be cheaper if the reported cashback is accurate.
Features
| Checklist item | Padre (Terminal) | Photon |
|---|---|---|
| Sniping / launch buys | Not a documented sniper | Auto-buy triggers |
| Limit orders | Yes, with SL/TP | Yes, with SL/TP |
| DCA / TWAP | DCA (TWAP not confirmed) | DCA |
| MEV protection | Optional | Smart-MEV |
| Wallet tracking | Alpha Tracker | No |
| Copy trading | Limited (legacy) | No |
| New-token feed | Trenches | Memescope |
| Perps | No | No |
| Multichain | One app, four chains | Separate sites |
| Social / X monitoring | No | No |
The two are closer than their histories suggest. Both have limit orders with stop loss and take profit, MEV protection and a new-token feed. Both offer DCA orders; Terminal's are live in the app's code but undocumented, and TWAP, listed by older reviews, was not found in the code (Terminalpedia, August 19, 2026). The real difference is wallet tracking: Terminal's Alpha Tracker follows wallet activity, and Photon has none. Neither is a good choice for copy trading; see best Solana copy trading bot.
Winner: Padre, narrowly.
Safety
Padre (Terminal): no reported hack. Terminalpedia says wallets are non-custodial, built on Turnkey and encrypted with a password the platform doesn't store; lose it and you may lose access. The notable event was the acquisition: Pump said the PADRE token would have no further utility, it fell about 80%, and holders were later offered PUMP tokens (Blockworks).
Photon: no confirmed breach. Photon Guides reports clone sites that drain wallets, and says Photon shows your private key once at sign-up.
Both score 9.0 on security in our method. For both, the practical steps are the same: type the URL yourself, write down the key or password offline, and move profits out often. See are Solana trading bots safe?
Winner: tie.
Ease of use
Both are browser-only, with no Telegram bot or native app. Photon publishes fee docs; Terminal doesn't, which is why Photon scores 7 on usability and Terminal 6. Photon's layout is plainer. Terminal's is built around Pump.fun's launch flow, which helps if that's what you trade. Setup help: how to use Photon.
Winner: Photon.
Usage
As of September 26, 2026, DefiLlama shows Terminal with about $5.39 million in 30-day fees, almost all on Solana, and Photon with about $432,000. Terminal is about 12 times busier. Photon Guides puts Photon's monthly peak around $84.6 million in January 2025.
Who should pick which
Pump.fun launch trader: Terminal. See best Pump.fun trading bot.
Wants a fee in official docs before signing up: Photon.
Wants to follow wallet activity: Terminal's Alpha Tracker.
Wants scheduled DCA: Photon.
Trades Ethereum, BNB or Base memecoins from one screen: Terminal.
Wants more than either offers: look at Axiom vs Padre or Photon alternatives.
Scores
| Fees | Features | Security | Usability | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Padre (Terminal) | 6.0 | 6 | 9.0 | 6 | 7.1 |
| Photon | 6.0 | 5 | 9.0 | 7 | 6.9 |
Method: about page.
Bottom line
This is a close call between two web terminals near the bottom of our list. Terminal wins on users, wallet tracking and multichain reach; Photon wins on documentation. If you trade Pump.fun launches, Terminal is the more natural fit (how Padre Terminal works). Both trail Axiom and GMGN on features. See the full Solana trading bot ranking and Axiom vs Photon.