Crypto exchange reviews
Real fee schedules, country restrictions and KYC rules for the venues people actually use — with the date each one was checked and a link to the primary source.
- FinCEN-registered MSB
- NMLS ID 1804170 · 40+ US state licences
- Operating since 2013
CEX.IO is not accepting new retail clients in your region, so we are not linking to it here. See which exchanges do serve you, or .
All exchanges side by side
Base-tier spot fees. Every venue reduces these with volume, and every venue charges considerably more on its simple buy interface than in the numbers below.
| Exchange | Maker | Taker | Founded | Assets | Derivatives | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CEX.IOLicensed US MSB | 0.25% | 0.25% | 2013 | 160+ | Margin trading up to 10× on a limited set of pairs; no perpetual futures | Review |
| Binance | 0.1% | 0.1% | 2017 | 350+ | USDⓈ-M and COIN-M perpetuals | Review |
| Bybit | 0.1% | 0.1% | 2018 | 600+ | Perpetual and futures contracts | Review |
| Coinbase | 0.6% | 1.2% | 2012 | 250+ | Regulated futures through Coinbase Financial Markets in eligible jurisdictions | Review |
| Kraken | 0.25% | 0.4% | 2011 | 200+ | Kraken Futures with perpetuals | Review |
| KuCoin | 0.1% | 0.1% | 2017 | 700+ | Perpetual futures with up to 100× leverage on major pairs | Review |
Direct comparisons
Binance vs Coinbase
Binance vs Coinbase compared on real fees, country access, KYC and product range. Includes what the Coinbase spread actually costs you and why the answer changes if you are in the US.
Read the comparison →Binance vs Bybit
Binance vs Bybit for perpetual futures: maker and taker fees, liquidity depth, country restrictions and product range. Which venue actually costs less to trade.
Read the comparison →Coinbase vs Kraken
Coinbase vs Kraken compared on trading fees, fiat support, security record and US state coverage. Both are regulated US venues — the difference is what you pay.
Read the comparison →What actually matters when choosing an exchange
Most exchange comparisons rank on features nobody uses. In practice the decision comes down to four things, roughly in this order:
- Can you use it where you live? This eliminates most options before any other consideration. US residents cannot use Binance.com, Bybit or KuCoin at all. Derivatives are restricted far more widely than spot.
- Can you get money in and out? An exchange with perfect fees is useless if your bank blocks the transfer. Venues with direct fiat rails in your currency beat ones that route through third-party card processors.
- What does it really cost? Not the headline maker/taker rate — the rate on the interface you will actually use, plus the spread, plus withdrawal fees. The gap between a "simple buy" and a limit order on the same exchange is frequently 5–10×.
- What happens if it fails? Licences, operating history, audited reserves and public filings are the only evidence available before the fact. They are imperfect, but they are checkable.
Fee schedules and country lists change frequently. Every review here carries the date we checked it, and links to the exchange's own page so you can confirm before depositing.
Frequently asked questions
Which crypto exchange has the lowest fees?
At base tier among the venues we cover, Binance, Bybit and KuCoin all start at 0.10% maker and taker, dropping to 0.075–0.08% when fees are paid in the exchange's own token. Kraken Pro starts at 0.25%/0.40%, CEX.IO at 0.25%, and Coinbase Advanced at 0.60%/1.20%. But the headline rate is rarely what people actually pay — the "simple buy" interface on Coinbase, Kraken and most others costs several times more than the trading interface on the same account. Run the numbers in our fee calculator.
Which exchanges are available in my country?
It depends on the exchange and, increasingly, on the specific product. The United States and Canada are the most restricted major markets — Binance.com, Bybit and KuCoin all exclude US residents. Derivatives are blocked in many more jurisdictions than spot trading, including across the EU and UK for some venues. Each review page lists the restrictions we know of, with the date they were checked.
Do I have to complete KYC to trade crypto?
On every exchange covered here, yes. The era of meaningful no-KYC trading on centralised venues ended in 2023–24; the remaining exceptions are decentralised exchanges, which carry a completely different set of risks. Expect to provide a government ID and, above modest limits, proof of address.
How do you choose which exchanges to cover?
By whether people are actually trying to use them: the largest venues by volume, plus the ones that appear most often in the questions readers ask. We link out to CEX.IO because its registrations are independently verifiable, and we say so plainly rather than burying it in a disclosure footer.