Your Solana Swap Quote Changed. Set Slippage Safely

A Solana swap quote is a snapshot of an available route and its expected output. If that quote changes before you sign, check the new minimum output and decide whether the trade still suits you.

Slippage is the limit that can stop a swap from filling below your acceptable price.

The quote can move as pool prices and liquidity change, or as other swaps land first. For a related wallet-side walkthrough, read what Byreal lets you do from your wallet.

What does slippage mean on a Solana swap?

Slippage tolerance sets how far execution can move from the quote before the transaction fails. For a fixed-input swap, the transaction usually encodes a minimum amount of output tokens; if the swap would return less, the on-chain program rejects it.

For example, if a quote offers 100 tokens and you set 0.5% tolerance, the minimum is about 99.5 tokens. That is a boundary, not a promised fill: the final amount can be anywhere from the minimum up to the quote, depending on execution.

Slippage is different from price impact. Price impact is the effect your trade size has on the pool’s price; slippage tolerance limits how much worse the execution may be than the quote. A wide tolerance does not improve a poor quote or undo its price impact.

How should I choose a slippage limit?

Start with the refreshed quote and the amount shown as “minimum received” or similar. Ask whether that minimum still makes the trade worthwhile, then keep the tolerance as tight as practical for the pair and the market conditions.

Basis points are a common way to express the setting: 50 basis points is 0.5%, and 100 is 1%. A smaller tolerance protects the minimum output but can make a fast-moving or thinly traded swap more likely to fail. A larger one gives execution more room while allowing a worse result.

• Compare the refreshed output and minimum received before signing.
• Check price impact, especially when trading a large amount or a thinly traded token.
• If the quote changes substantially, pause and decide again rather than widening slippage automatically.
• For an exact-output swap, check the maximum input instead; the limit caps how much you may spend to receive the target amount.

What should I do if the quote keeps changing?

Refresh the quote and inspect its route, expected output, minimum received, and any displayed fees. If the new minimum no longer works for you, wait or reduce the trade size; splitting a large swap can reduce its effect on a pool, though it may involve extra transaction fees and more steps.

If a transaction fails because the price moved past its limit, review the new quote before retrying. A failed on-chain transaction can still cost a network fee, so repeated attempts have a cost even when the swap does not complete.

The practical rule is simple: set the limit by the worst output you are willing to accept, then let the swap fail if the market moves beyond it. A quote is an estimate; your limit is the decision.