A token can be listed on a great exchange and still trade terribly - a few large orders move the price 20%, the spread between buy and sell prices is wide enough that nobody wants to trade, and the order book looks empty most of the day. That's usually not an exchange problem. It's a market making problem.
What market makers actually do
A market maker places continuous buy and sell orders for your token, narrowing the spread between them and keeping the order book populated. The practical effect: traders can actually buy and sell your token without moving the price dramatically, which is what most people mean when they say a token has "good liquidity."
Market making is a different service from exchange listing - you can be listed on the best exchange in the world and still have unusable liquidity without it, which is why the two are usually evaluated separately even though they're often needed together.
How market makers price their services
Pricing models vary by provider, and understanding the differences matters more than most founders realize before their first engagement:
Retainer. A fixed fee for ongoing market making services over a set period, usually with performance expectations (spread, depth, uptime) built into the agreement rather than paid purely on outcome.
Success fee. Fees tied more directly to specific performance outcomes.
Hybrid. A combination of the two - a base retainer plus a performance component.
There's also a structurally different model some market makers offer: loan-based market making, where the project lends the market maker tokens (sometimes with a call option attached) instead of paying cash. This model carries real risks for founders that are worth understanding before you consider it.
What actually varies between market makers
Minimum liquidity requirements. Providers usually require a minimum amount of capital or tokens to work with before they'll engage.
Supported exchanges. Coverage varies - not every market maker works on every exchange or every chain.
Track record. Anyone can claim tight spreads and deep liquidity; verifying it usually means checking with other projects who've actually worked with them.
A practical framework for choosing
Match the provider to your stage. A market maker built for high-volume, established tokens may not be the right fit - or the right price point - for a project that just listed.
Ask what "success" is defined as in the agreement. Spread percentage? Order book depth? Uptime? Vague agreements lead to vague results.
Get real numbers before you commit to a call. Pricing model, minimum budget, and supported exchanges should all be answerable before a first conversation, not after three of them.
Check the track record independently where you can, rather than relying only on the pitch.
How AnyPartners fits in
Every market maker on AnyPartners lists pricing model, minimum budget, and supported exchanges upfront, plus founder ratings across transparency, communication, reliability, expertise, and value for money - so you can compare real options before you ever get on a call.