⚠️ Always use the official website. Bookmark it and never click links from emails, Telegram, or social media. Phishing clones are extremely common.
What you need before you start
- MetaMask wallet with BNB Chain network added (see step 1 below)
- BNB in your wallet for gas fees — a few cents worth is enough
- The token you want to swap from — BNB, USDT (BEP-20), or any BNB Chain token
Step-by-step — your first swap
Add BNB Chain to MetaMask
Open MetaMask and click the network dropdown at the top. Click "Add network" then "Add a network manually". Enter: Network Name: BNB Smart Chain · RPC URL: https://bsc-dataseed.binance.org · Chain ID: 56 · Currency Symbol: BNB · Block Explorer: https://bscscan.com. Save and switch to BNB Chain.
Fund your wallet with BNB
Send BNB from an exchange (Binance, Coinbase, Kraken) to your MetaMask address. Make sure you send BNB on the BNB Smart Chain network, not the Ethereum network.
Go to pancakeswap.finance and connect wallet
Navigate to the official PancakeSwap site. Click "Connect Wallet" and select MetaMask. Make sure your MetaMask is set to BNB Smart Chain before connecting.
Open the swap interface
Click "Trade" in the navigation then "Swap". You'll see the familiar two-token swap interface.
Select tokens and enter amount
Select the token you're swapping from and the token you want. Enter the amount. PancakeSwap will show the exchange rate and estimated output.
Confirm the swap
Check the rate and slippage. Click "Swap" then "Confirm Swap". Approve the transaction in MetaMask. BNB Chain is fast — your transaction should confirm in seconds.
💡 PancakeSwap fees are just 0.25% per swap — significantly cheaper than Uniswap on Ethereum mainnet during busy periods. This makes it popular for frequent, smaller trades.