Bonding curve or liquidity pool: which to launch with

A new Solana token can start trading in two ways. A bonding curve sells it at a price that rises with each buy, then moves it to a pool. A liquidity pool trades from the first second against liquidity you put in. The choice mostly comes down to whether you have that liquidity.

	Bonding curve	Liquidity pool
Liquidity at launch	None needed: buyers fund it	Yours, deposited at launch
Starting price	From the starting market cap you set	From your deposit, or a price you type
Supply	Sold on the curve, then paired in a Meteora pool	Minted to your wallet; you choose what goes in
Upfront cost on T-minus	About 0.02 SOL	0.1 SOL plus your liquidity
T-minus's share of trading fees	10% of what Meteora leaves	None
Anti-sniper fee	Yes	Yes, as a fee that falls over time
Scheduled start	No	Yes, up to a year ahead
Works for a token you already have	No	Yes

Choose a bonding curve when

The token is new and you don't want to supply liquidity: buyers fund the pool as they buy.
You want demand to set the price from a low start, up to graduation at a market cap you choose.
You want to launch for about 0.02 SOL, with an anti-sniper fee at the start.

Choose a liquidity pool when

The token already exists, or you want its whole supply minted to your wallet.
You have liquidity to put in and want to set the starting price yourself.
You want trading to open at a set time, or liquidity concentrated in a price range.

Liquidity and locks

On a curve the liquidity appears at graduation, and your fee wallet's 90% of it is locked for good by default. In a pool it is your deposit, and you choose at launch whether to lock it, vest it or keep it free. More in Locking liquidity on Meteora.

Questions

Can a token I already have go on a bonding curve?

No. A bonding curve always creates its own token. A token that already exists gets a pool.

Which one is cheaper?

A curve costs about 0.02 SOL upfront and T-minus takes 10% of each fee after Meteora's cut. A pool costs 0.1 SOL plus your liquidity, and T-minus takes nothing from its trading.

Launch a token