What’s the difference between price impact and slippage, and how do they affect my swap?

Price impact and slippage are closely related concepts that describe how market conditions influence the final result of your swap, but they refer to different stages of the process.

Price impact is the immediate effect your swap has on the token’s price inside the liquidity pool. Since pools use an automated market maker (AMM) model, every swap slightly changes the token ratio in that pool. The larger your swap compared to the pool size, the greater the price impact — meaning the effective exchange rate becomes less favorable as your order moves the market.

Slippage, on the other hand, refers to the difference between the price you see before confirming the transaction and the actual price at which the swap executes on-chain. It happens because prices in the pool can change between the moment you approve the swap and when it’s confirmed by the network. Network delays, high volatility, or other users swapping at the same time can all increase slippage.

In short: price impact is caused by your own swap size, while slippage is caused by market movement during transaction time. STON.fi shows both metrics before every swap — you can adjust the slippage tolerance in settings to control acceptable deviation. Understanding these two factors helps you minimize unexpected outcomes and plan larger swaps more efficiently.