Top tools to help you get started in DeFi | 20+ useful DeFi tools

Decentralized finance, or DeFi for short, is a term that covers a wide range of decentralized financial applications on the blockchain.

But like any emerging technology, it can be confusing for newcomers. 

In this article, we look at 20+ tools that can help with your first foray into DeFi.

Wallets

Metamask

Metamask is a non-custodial wallet that allows you to store, send, and swap ETH and Ethereum-based crypto assets, such as NFTs. You can also buy ETH directly in your MetaMask wallet via MoonPay.

Metamask also helps you connect to blockchain-based decentralized applications and manage assets safely with a key vault, secure login, token wallet, and token exchange. 

You can download MetaMask as a browser extension or a mobile application.

Key Features:

• Store a wide range of crypto assets.
• Login to decentralized applications (dApps).
• View trade prices and gas fees.
• Purchase crypto with your preferred payment method. (Since MoonPay is one of Metamask’s trusted partners, you can also use our tool to buy crypto to add to your wallet).

Pricing: Free.

Argent

Argent is a non-custodial smart contract wallet that enables you to buy, earn, stake and trade on Ethereum Layer-2.

It holds each user’s private keys on their mobile device and locks their funds in a smart contract. This mitigates the risks of storing private keys elsewhere. 

Key Features:

• Experience Ethereum’s Layer-2 with ease.
• Store crypto assets in a non-custodial wallet.
• Recover wallet without a private key or seed phrase through trusted individuals or devices called Argent guardians.
• Set daily limits on withdrawals and prevent anyone from draining funds beyond daily limits in case of any hack. 

Pricing: Free.

Pro tip: Check whether a wallet supports the tokens you’re transferring before you send them. If a wallet doesn’t support a token, you’ll likely lose your funds if you try sending those tokens to that wallet.

Gnosis Safe

Gnosis Safe is a multiple-signature (multisig) Ethereum-based wallet that helps you securely store ERC-20 tokens and interact with decentralized applications and DeFi platforms.

It’s available as a mobile app, desktop app, and browser extension.

Key Features:

• Set up multisig wallets for maximum security. 
• Sign transactions from any wallet.
• Store NFTs and estimate their value.

Pricing: Free.

Monolith 

Monolith is a non-custodial crypto wallet that comes with a Visa crypto debit card that you can use anywhere in the world where Visa is accepted. 

For now, Monolith only supports ETH and ERC-20 tokens and works using GBP and Euro fiat currencies, but plans are underway to expand support to other tokens. 

Key Features:

• Buy ETH/DAI with low fees using traditional payment methods like credit/debit cards. 
• View all transactions within the app and get instant updates whenever you spend money. 

Pricing: Free to purchase but incurs other costs like ATM withdrawal fees, replacement charges, and purchase fees.

Pro tip: Keep your crypto wallet secure by following these recommendations.

Analytics

Nansen Portfolio

Nansen Portfolio, previously called Ape Board, helps you track DeFi assets across 40+ chains and 500+ protocols in a single dashboard. You can connect multiple wallets to the application. 

It’s popular for its easily understandable visual data that enables users to make informed decisions quickly. 

Key Features:

• Track net profit or loss on your trades.
• Estimate your NFT portfolio value and liquidity.
• Analyze your transaction history to understand your investment patterns.

Pricing: From $80/mo with an annual plan (free plans available).

DeFiLlama

DeFiLlama is a multi-chain dashboard that offers you a detailed snapshot of the entire DeFi space. You can track the total value locked (TVL) of various DeFi protocols, explore live protocols across multiple chains, check airdrops, study forks, dive into NFT collections and more. 

DeFiLlama has become a highly reliable source for DeFi information thanks to its accurate and reliable data. This is primarily because the platform is open-source and maintained by dedicated teams from the respective protocols, all coordinated through DeFi Llama’s GitHub repo.

Key Features:

• Get an in-depth overview of the entire DeFi ecosystem.
• Get TVL data for any supported DeFi protocol. 
• View protocol market cap data. 
• Filter projects based on specific blockchains. 
• View a heatmap of APY across different protocols and the average APY vs. volatility in the market.

Pricing: Free.

Vfat Tools

 Vfat Tools is a yield farming dashboard and calculator that helps you find the most popular yield farms and their annual percentage yield (APY).

This DeFi tool is a fork of yieldfarming.info, and it expanded to include many projects while maintaining the minimalistic UI of the original platform. 

While the current version of the DeFi tool is basic and shows all incentivized liquidity pools (LPs), V2 is expected to have a better graphic interface and only show pools that you can access with your wallet. 

It will also include information about every farm and have advanced features like adding single-sided liquidity and claiming from multiple pools simultaneously. 

Key Features:

• Gather data on all liquidity pools within a protocol.
• View all positions on one page. 
• Stake, unstake, or claim rewards from an LP within the application. 

Pricing: Free.

Revert Finance

Revert Finance is a powerful analytics tool that provides accurate data to DeFi liquidity providers who want to contribute to the Uniswap and SushiSwap decentralized exchanges (DEXs). 

Decentralized exchanges like Uniswap and SushiSwap are peer-to-peer marketplaces where swap transactions occur directly between crypto traders.

Key Features:

• Track the performance of positions with position analytics. 
• Initiate a position and tweak the different parameters like fee tiers for any pair.
• Auto-compound your accrued fees.

Pricing: Quote upon request.

Dune Analytics 

Dune Analytics is a DeFi analytics tool that allows you to access actionable insights across DeFi protocols, blockchains, and NFT platforms. What sets Dune Analytics apart is the way it converts data from blockchains into intuitive charts and metrics. 

Since it’s a community-driven platform, anyone can query blockchain data using Dune and publish DeFi dashboards of different sets of data for others to use. 

Key Features:

• Explore protocols and chains using data dashboards.
• Query data from blockchains and create dashboards. 
• Enjoy financial incentives to create dashboards.

Pricing: Freemium; Paid plans cost $349-849 per month.

Dapp Radar

Dapp Radar is a global app store for decentralized applications that helps you track and analyze 3,000+ decentralized applications across 10+ blockchains.

Key Features:

• Estimate the value of NFT collections.
• Filter dApps based on multiple categories and get access to live dApp data.
• Buy crypto using your credit card.

Pricing: Free; Hold 5,000 RADAR tokens to access Dapp Radar PRO.

DEX Screener

Dex Screener is a real-time blockchain analysis and screening app that enables investors to analyze assets across several decentralized exchanges and networks, including

• Ethereum (ETH), Binance Smart Chain (BNB), Polygon (MATIC), Avalanche (AVAX), Fantom and Harmony.

The platform offers detailed information like price, market cap, 24-hour volume, circulating supply and more for 1,200 tokens and coins.

Key Features:

• Use without sign-up. 
• Set custom alerts.
• Easily understandable information presented in free charts.

Pricing: Free.

Liquidity tools

Orion Protocol 

Orion Protocol is the world’s first decentralized liquidity aggregator platform. Unlike its competitors, Orion aggregates asset liquidity from decentralized as well as centralized exchanges. 

Orion offers the best of both worlds as it enables you to trade on a centralized exchange (CEX) with plenty of liquidity while remaining anonymous and having complete control over your assets.

Key Features:

• Get abundant liquidity from across CEXs and DEXs.
• Offers ability to generate passive income in 18 ways apart from trading.
• Break down an order into many parts and route it through different crypto exchanges for the best buy and sell price.
• Purchase decentralized applications like algorithmic trading bots and payment integration systems through the marketplace.

Pricing: Free.

APY.vision 

APY. vision is a DeFi tool for liquidity providers. It allows you to track information like liquidity pool gains, yield farming rewards, and impermanent loss. 

Key Features:

• Analyze a pool’s past APY.
• Find new pools to join. 
• Track pool gains and market value across different protocols and chains.

Pricing: Quote upon request. 

Liquidity Folio

Liquidity Folio is a tool for liquidity providers to find the best liquidity pools across popular decentralized exchanges (DEXs) like Uniswap, Curve, Balancer, SushiSwap, 1inch, and more.

Key Features:

• Run “what-if” scenarios in DeFi using simulations. 
• Get comprehensive information like current liquidity, fees, ROI, and Annual Percentage Returns. 
• Forecasts for assets.

Pricing: Free.

Portfolio management

Zapper 

Zapper is a lot of things in one, but primarily it’s a DeFi asset management platform that compiles all the information about your investments across blockchains into one handy dashboard.

It can also be used as a research tool. Zapper allows you to research DeFi protocols, NFT projects, crypto tokens, and even dig into portfolios of prominent DeFi investors. You can also use Zapper to swap your existing tokens, bridge them to a different blockchain, and conduct a range of DeFi activities.

Key Features:

• Get an overview of your multi-chain DeFi portfolio in one place.
• Swap and bridge crypto assets easily.
• Follow and track NFT and DeFi investors’ portfolios.

Explore DeFi protocols, DAOs, NFTs and more.

Pricing: Free.

Zerion

Zerion is a non-custodial web3 wallet with a built-in portfolio management interface that helps you track your DeFi assets across popular blockchains. 

It also allows you to import existing non-custodial wallets such as MetaMask to track your portfolio, trade, and bridge assets across 10+ networks and 500+ protocols.

Key Features:

• Connect to any dApp on any device. 
• Keep track of your DeFi and NFT portfolio across blockchains.
• Bridge assets between chains. 
• Follow and track popular investors’ NFT and DeFi portfolios. 

Pricing: Free.

DeFi Saver 

DeFi Saver, formerly called CDP saver, is an advanced DeFi management tool that you can use to manage and track trade positions from a single organized dashboard. 

It supports a range of wallets including Metamask, Ledger, and Trezor, and charges low transaction fees, which makes it attractive for users.

Key Features:

• Increase debt or pay it back in a single transaction. 
• Refinance DeFi loans. 
• Find the best rates across multiple protocols.

Pricing: Free.

DeFi Yield 

DeFi Yield is an asset management platform containing a full suite of innovative tools that help you control your digital assets and keep them safe. 

It also has an investment toolkit that provides you with insights to make more informed investment decisions. 

Key Features:

• Get detailed reports on assets.
• Monitor price, profit/loss, asset summary, and transaction history. 

Track staked amounts, balance summaries and liquidity pool assets.

Pricing: Free.

Security tools

DeFi Safety 

DeFi Safety is a leading technical risk analysis company that evaluates blockchain protocols based on software process, transparency, and best practices. So far, it has evaluated 260+ protocols, 20+ chains, and 25,400+ contracts. 

Key Features:

• Access reviews that are based on key elements of DeFi projects. 
• Get essential data regarding smart contract security to make better decisions.

Pricing: Retail: $200-540/year. Professional: $3,840/year. Enterprise: $15,600/year.

RugDoc IO

RugDoc IO is more of a DeFi safety and education community than a “tool”, but it uses certain tools as well as content and services to empower its users to have more information about their crypto investments. 

RugDoc IO will review any project for its users—someone just has to fill out the review form. Once this is done, RugDoc will review and publish the project on its website within 36 hours. 

Key Features:

• Get reliable reviews for Web3 projects.
• Tools for project owners.

Pricing: Free. 

Miscellaneous

Multichain

Multichain, formerly known as Anyswap, is a cross-chain router protocol that allows users to transfer crypto assets from one blockchain to another.

Once you initiate a transfer, Multichain will lock your tokens on one blockchain and then mint wrapped tokens of the same value on the other blockchain. 

Multichain currently supports more than 63 chains and also has a governance token called MULTI, enabling token holders to participate in its governance mechanism.

Key Features:

• Swap tokens.
• Issue tokens across multiple chains. 
• Transfer a variety of DeFi tokens, including non-fungible tokens (NFTs) across blockchains.

Pricing: Free.

Nanoly (formerly Coindix) 

Nanoly (formerly Coindix) is a platform that monitors thousands of DeFi protocols across 27 chains to bring its users the best DeFi investment opportunities in one place. 

Key Features:

• Set up alerts to find opportunities that match your risk and reward expectations. 
• Monitor the metrics for each opportunity with the watchlist option. 

Pricing: Free. Quote upon request for premium features.

Begin your DeFi journey with MoonPay

DeFi can help you earn interest and grow your crypto portfolio. To get started, simply buy cryptocurrency via MoonPay using your credit card or any other preferred payment method.