Slippage vs Price Impact in Solana Swaps
Two different reasons the amount you receive can differ from a reference price.
Updated 18 October 2026
Price impact belongs to the quote
Your order can consume liquidity at different prices. A larger amount may receive a worse average rate than a small one. Compare a fresh quote for the intended size rather than multiplying a small quote.
Slippage is an execution boundary
The market can move after the quote is built. Slippage tolerance sets how much worse an execution may be before the transaction fails its constraint. It does not improve liquidity or guarantee success.
A simple example
If an illustrative quote gives 100 output tokens and the applicable tolerance is 0.5%, the corresponding lower bound is about 99.5 before rounding and route-specific accounting. The ticket’s actual minimum received is the value to review, not this example.
When a swap fails
Refresh the quote and inspect its age, impact and minimum received. Do not automatically increase tolerance to force a volatile trade through. Check SOL for fees and the transaction status before retrying.