The 2026 Creator Question
If you are launching a memecoin on Solana in 2026, the decision is no longer just "Pump.fun or not". Raydium's LaunchLab has changed creator economics enough that picking the wrong platform leaves real money on the table.
This is a creator-side comparison. We are not ranking which platform produces more pumps for traders. We are answering: where does the creator actually make money, and what are the trade-offs?
The Core Difference: Who Captures Fees
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Pump.fun creator fee | $0 | After bonding curve
LaunchLab creator fee | 10% LP fees | Forever
Graduation threshold | $69k MC | Pump.fun
LaunchLab graduation | 85 SOL raised | Lower bar
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On Pump.fun, the creator launches a token, the bonding curve runs, and at $69k market cap the token graduates to a Raydium AMM pool. The protocol provides the liquidity. The LP is burned. The creator receives nothing from secondary trading.
On LaunchLab, the same launch curves up, but at 85 SOL raised the liquidity migrates to a Raydium pool where the creator's wallet is registered as an LP fee recipient. The LP is burned, but the creator address keeps a 10% share of the pool's swap fees indefinitely.
For a token that does $1M lifetime volume at Raydium's typical 0.25% LP fee, that 10% creator share is approximately $250 in fees over the token's life. For a token that does $100M (a successful memecoin), it is $25,000. The difference between platforms is not small.
Graduation Mechanics Compared
The bonding curves work differently too.
Pump.fun: The bonding curve is a straight line. Tokens graduate at a fixed market cap ($69k as of May 2026). Liquidity comes from the protocol. Once graduated, the protocol has no continuing involvement.
LaunchLab: The bonding curve is also fixed-shape, but the graduation trigger is the SOL raised rather than the market cap. 85 SOL gets you into a Raydium AMM pool automatically. LP is burned. Creator share is registered.
Both platforms burn LP tokens. Both end in a Raydium pool. The difference is the destination pool's fee routing.
Other Creator Incentives
Beyond the LP share, LaunchLab adds two more mechanisms that Pump.fun does not have:
Referral airdrops. Users who refer new traders via shared links receive 0.1% of swap volume in SOL, airdropped automatically. This compounds with the creator's LP share if the creator promotes their own token through referral links.
Liquidity Provider Locker integration. Tokens that graduate go through Raydium's LP Locker, which is the same locker most legitimate Solana memecoins use. The lock or burn is built into the graduation flow.
When to Pick Each Platform
The decision tree:
Pick Pump.fun if:
- You want the largest possible launch audience. Despite losing the top spot in May 2026, Pump.fun is still the most-trafficked launchpad.
- You don't care about LP fees and are launching purely for the chart.
- Speed-to-deploy matters more than long-term economics. Pump.fun's UI is the most polished for casual launches.
Pick LaunchLab if:
- You expect your token to generate sustained secondary volume. The LP share compounds over time.
- You are part of the BONK ecosystem (LetsBONK runs on top of LaunchLab) and want the cross-promotion.
- You want to refer traders to your own token via referral links and collect the airdropped SOL.
Skip both and deploy directly if:
- You want a specific tokenomics from day one (custom decimals, custom initial supply, immediate revoke of authorities, custom metadata).
- You want a token without a bonding curve. Direct deploy lets you set the initial price wherever you want.
- You want to pair with a Raydium pool you create yourself, so you fully control the LP. Deploy via ManagerNest Token Creator, then open a pool, then burn the LP if you want to commit to no-rug.
The Hybrid Approach
A pattern that emerged in May 2026: deploy through LaunchLab for the chart momentum, but maintain a separate ManagerNest-deployed mint for utility (governance, staking, distribution). Two tokens, one chain, one community. The LaunchLab token captures speculation. The direct-deployed token captures utility.
This works because Solana's transfer costs are so low that running two tokens in parallel does not add meaningful overhead. The team posts both addresses publicly and the community holds whichever one fits their use case.
Costs Side by Side
The upfront cost is not the deciding factor. All four paths cost under $50 in fees. The decision should be made on creator-side economics and target audience.
Verification After Launch
Whichever platform you pick, do these three things within an hour of launch:
- Run your own mint through an analyzer. Paste it into ManagerNest Token Analyzer or RugCheck. Verify the score is 80+. If it's lower, identify which check failed and decide if you can fix it.
- Add socials. DexScreener pulls token info from Metaplex metadata. Update the token's metadata (via ManagerNest Metadata Editor) to include your website, X, Discord. Tokens with socials have meaningfully higher buyer trust scores.
- Verify the LP burn / lock. Whether automatic (LaunchLab, Pump.fun) or manual (direct deploy + Raydium), check the Raydium pool page. The LP token should be in a known burn address or a recognized locker (Streamflow, Team Finance, PinkLock).
What's Coming Next
Two trends to watch through Q3 2026:
Creator-fee competition will intensify. LaunchLab's 10% set the new baseline. Expect Pump.fun to introduce a creator-fee tier in response, possibly tiered by reputation or by post-launch performance.
Hybrid launches will proliferate. The pattern of deploying on multiple platforms simultaneously (LaunchLab for chart, direct for utility) is becoming standard practice for teams that want both.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is LaunchLab the same as Raydium?
LaunchLab is a product built by Raydium. Tokens that launch on LaunchLab end up trading in Raydium AMM pools after graduation. The branding is separate; the infrastructure is shared.
Does Pump.fun ever pay creators?
Not as of May 2026. Creator-fee mechanics on Pump.fun are being discussed but have not shipped.
Can I migrate a Pump.fun token to LaunchLab?
No. The mint is fixed. You can deploy a new token on LaunchLab and migrate community / branding, but the original mint cannot move.
What is the difference between LaunchLab and LetsBONK?
LetsBONK is built on LaunchLab. LetsBONK adds the BONK ecosystem branding, trading-bot integrations, and additional cross-promotion. The underlying mechanics are LaunchLab.
What's the actual creator-fee math on a successful LaunchLab token?
If your token does $10M lifetime DEX volume at Raydium's 0.25% LP fee, that's $25k in total LP fees. Your 10% creator share is $2,500 sent to your wallet automatically over the life of the pool.