Exchanges for buying, selling and trading Bitcoin, Ethereum and other crypto assets, compared on fees, security and licensing.
Buying Bitcoin and Ethereum in the simple Coinbase app costs several times what the same order costs on Advanced Trade. We lay out the fee arithmetic and who should still use the easy route.
Best for Beginners who want a regulated name, then Advanced Trade for cost
Kraken Pro starts at 0.40% maker and 0.80% taker, falls to zero maker fees at the very top, and publishes proof of reserves. We went through the schedule, the security page and the audit to see who it really suits.
Best for Active spot traders who use Kraken Pro, not the simple app
OKX pairs a centralised exchange, spot fees from 0.08% maker, with a separate self-custody wallet covering 130+ chains. We looked at fees, proof of reserves and the 2025 US settlement to see who it fits.
Best for Active non-US traders who want an exchange and a self-custody wallet
Bybit lost about $1.46 billion in February 2025 and covered every withdrawal within days. We weighed the recovery, proof of reserves, fees and the patchwork of licences to judge whether derivatives traders should trust it.
Best for Experienced traders using Bitcoin and Ether perpetuals who keep only trading funds on-exchange
Binance charges 0.1% on spot and offers the biggest order books in crypto. We priced the fee ladder, read its proof-of-reserves page and set both against the 2023 criminal settlement.
Best for Active spot and futures traders outside the US who self-custody savings
Gemini is a NYDFS-licensed trust company with SOC 2 audits and insured custody, but its ActiveTrader fees start at 0.60% maker and 1.20% taker. We compared the fee ladder with rivals and checked who can still open an account.
Best for US traders who put regulation and custody above the cheapest fees
Crypto.com sells an easy app, a Visa card tied to CRO staking and a cheaper exchange. We read the fee tables, card tiers and staking terms to see what the convenience costs and where the money gets locked.
Best for Active crypto traders who use the Exchange and already hold CRO for card rewards
Bitstamp opened in 2011 and Robinhood bought it in 2025. We read the September 2026 fee schedule, the MiCA licence trail and the complaint record to see who still benefits from an old-school exchange.
Best for Euro and dollar bank-transfer traders who value licences over the cheapest fees
Bitget's copy trading is deep and cheap to enter, with 0.1% spot fees and a profit share of 10% to 20%. The catch for a forex copier is what you are actually copying: leveraged crypto.
Best for Experienced traders sizing small copy positions in crypto futures
