Kraken review: is Kraken Pro the cheapest safe way to trade Bitcoin against dollars?
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.
8.4/10
Kraken is one of the better-run exchanges for trading Bitcoin and Ethereum against dollars and euros. Pro fees start high at 0.40% maker and 0.80% taker but fall with volume, security is well documented and reserves are audited. Skip the simple Buy button, which costs 1% to 1.5%, and skip Kraken if you want a tiny first-tier fee.
Best for
Active spot traders who use Kraken Pro, not the simple app
The question we put to Kraken was narrow: if you only ever swap dollars or euros for Bitcoin and Ethereum, is this the exchange where the swap is cheapest and your coins are safest? The honest answer has two halves, and the second half hinges on which button you press.
Two Krakens under one login
There is the simple app, and there is Kraken Pro. They share an account and they do not share a price list.
On the fee schedule, the simple app charges 1% on Instant Buy/Sell and 1.5% on custom orders, and a flat 3% when you sweep small balances into something else. That is the price of not having to think. A $1,000 purchase costs $10 to get in, and another $10 to get out.
Kraken Pro is where the exchange earns its reputation. Its spot schedule opens at 0.40% maker and 0.80% taker for someone with no volume, and falls tier by tier to 0.00% maker and 0.05% taker at $500 million or more. Nobody reading this will reach the bottom rung. The point is that the entry rate is still cheaper than the simple app for anyone who places limit orders, and a resting limit order pays the maker rate, half the taker rate.
kraken.com
Kraken's fee schedule page, the source for every fee quoted in this review.
What changed in July
Kraken changed how tiers are assigned on 9 July 2026. Your tier now comes from your spot volume or from the assets you hold on the platform, whichever gives the better rate. For a buy-and-hold customer with a large balance this is a real improvement: you can land in a lower tier without churning trades. For a small account it changes nothing, because you start at the top of the fee ladder either way.
We would not call 0.40% and 0.80% cheap. Several rivals start lower on headline rates, and a trader moving $5,000 a month will sit near the entry tier. What Kraken sells is the combination of fee ladder and trustworthiness, not the lowest first step.
The safety case is unusually well documented
Most exchanges say "bank-grade security". Kraken's security page lists things you can check. Two-factor authentication supports FIDO2 and passkeys, account recovery does not go through SMS (the route SIM-swap attackers like), and a global settings time lock freezes changes while you are away. New withdrawal addresses need an email confirmation. The company holds ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certification and has completed a SOC 2 Type 1 examination.
What the page does not give is a cold storage percentage. We looked for one and found none, so we will not quote one.
kraken.com
The security page, where the passkey, time lock and certification claims are listed.
Proof of reserves, and its limits
The proof of reserves page shows a snapshot dated 30 June 2026 with ratios above 100% on the major assets: BTC 102.9%, ETH 100.5%, XRP 102.3%, and 105% or more on the big stablecoins. Clients can verify their own balance was included through a Merkle tree.
Kraken is candid about what this cannot do. The procedure "cannot prove exclusive possession of private keys" and cannot detect borrowed funds used to pass the review. That candour is to its credit, and it is also the reason to treat a reserve report as a useful signal rather than a guarantee. No exchange balance is insured like a bank deposit.
kraken.com
The proof of reserves page that carries the 30 June 2026 snapshot.
Kraken Pro at the screen
The Kraken Pro page calls the platform "Powerful. Customizable. Beautiful.", and for once the adjectives are close to the product. You get depth charts, a full set of order types, and a layout you can rearrange. A newcomer will find it dense. Someone coming from a forex platform will feel at home.
kraken.com
The Kraken Pro page, in dark mode.
Who should skip it
Anyone buying through the simple Buy button. A 1% to 1.5% charge each way is hard to defend when the same exchange offers 0.40% on Pro.
Traders chasing the lowest possible entry fee. Volume discounts help later, not on day one.
People who expect insurance. Reserve audits reduce uncertainty. They do not replace a deposit guarantee.
Deposit and withdrawal costs deserve a check before you fund an account. Kraken says its fees are both static and dynamic and may be adjusted with costs and market conditions, so read the deposit page for your own method and currency on the day.
Verdict
For trading Bitcoin and Ethereum against fiat, Kraken Pro is a strong choice: a sensible fee ladder, documented security and reserve reporting that most rivals do not match. It is not the cheapest at the door and the easy app is expensive. Crypto trading carries a real risk of loss, prices can fall sharply, and this review is general information, not personal advice.
