Talking to a founder building a token launchpad.
So I researched 13 platforms on desktop.
Here's what I found.
Platforms I looked at:
Pump.fun
Bullshot
Raydium Launchlab
BONKfun
Sunpump
Four
Boop
Jupiter Studio
Orca Wavebreak
Bags
Heaven
Daos.fun
Gitfish
50k new tokens created daily! Wild.
It's a mess out there.
Biggest platform in terms of volume is
pump.fun.
You'd think they're doing something right so just copy them and you're good.
The answer as always is it depends.
1. Positioning
Most platforms present as the place to get rich quick by jumping on the latest hype meme.
Focus is on trading and launching quickly.
Assuming you know what a bonding curve is.
This reflects in the not too polished designs and UX.
On the other hand you have platforms like Jupiter Studio, the total opposite.
Feels like it's for more serious long term projects.
Trading is done separately so Studio is only for token creation.
UI is polished and you have embedded education and tools to get verified by them and grow.
Their wording aligns with culture architects, rather than full degens.
A more niche example is Gitfish, targeting dev communities.
They position as a way to fund open source GitHub projects.
It's refreshing to see.
2. Creation flow
As you would expect the get rich quick platforms have a a single form with all the fields.
Minimal guidance.
The other side takes you on a more considerate journey.
Multi step process, explanations and tooltips, bonding curve previews.
3. Trading
As you would imagine it's all about price action on most platforms.
The exceptions are GitFish and Heaven where you're buying into an idea or a long term project.
So what did I learn.
Again, my conclusion is start with the vision.
That should answer:
Who you're building for
Which projects do you want to attract
How much education they need
What tools do they need
Clear answers for these are crucial.
Otherwise you're building a something for everyone.
No way to stand out, no reason for anyone to choose you over others.