Choosing the right exchange is one of the most crucial decisions you'll face in the world of cryptocurrency. The BEST Crypto Exchanges can make your experience seamless, while the wrong choice might leave you stranded and empty-handed. In this blog post, we'll dive into the five best crypto exchanges available today, evaluating them based on security, asset support, fees, and trading experience. Stick around for tips that could save you thousands of dollars!
Table of Contents
Key Considerations Before Choosing an Exchange
Before we get started, here are a few important points to remember:
- Self-custody is crucial. Always store your crypto in your own wallet if you're not actively trading. Exchanges can fail without warning.
- This blog is not sponsored. While we may have affiliate partnerships, they do not influence our evaluations.
1. Coinbase: The Blue Chip Boss
OK, first up is the bluest of blue chip crypto exchanges. It's Coinbase, one of the biggest names in crypto, and it has a brand so strong that it even has imitators in other countries. Not naming any names, of course.
Coinbase is the largest exchange by trading volume in the United States, and it's also the only crypto exchange that's listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Being a publicly traded company has helped Coinbase to achieve possibly the best brand recognition in all of crypto, but it's also put the company under a great deal of regulatory scrutiny. So fittingly, Coinbase's brand has been built on its efforts to comply with a tangled mess of regulations in the US.
These efforts have helped Coinbase to become the de facto leader of crypto advocacy in Washington, D.C. and beyond. Now, the company was co-founded by current CEO Brian Armstrong in 2012, making it one of the oldest exchanges in crypto today. It was originally headquartered in San Francisco, but shut its offices in 2021 and is now run remotely and operates in around 100 countries.
Coinbase is still a US exchange, though, and it is the quintessential onshore exchange. More on that later. So now you know a bit about the company, but what about the exchange itself? Is it safe to use? Well, among crypto exchanges, Coinbase has got a strong reputation.
You don't spend a decade building a squeaky clean brand name without having a secure exchange to back it up. 98% of crypto assets in Coinbase's custody are held offline in cold storage, and those that are online are insured. In the US, customer cash deposits are covered by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation for up to $250,000.
Just note, though, that this coverage does not extend to crypto assets. As a publicly traded company, Coinbase has its financial statements audited by Deloitte, one of the world's top accounting firms. This is about as good as it gets when it comes to an exchange giving customers confidence in its solvency.
Now, like I said, Coinbase has a stellar reputation for security, but is it spotless? Well, not quite. Coinbase has been hacked once, in March 2021. Hackers managed to access 6,000 customer accounts, which is obviously a pretty serious breach.
To Coinbase's credit, though, the matter was resolved promptly, customers were reimbursed for losses, and security procedures were improved. All in all, if the idea of putting money on a crypto exchange makes you nervous, then Coinbase is a pretty safe bet. Its whole shtick is playing by the rules, doing everything above board, and being an upstanding representative of crypto in general.
Just remember, no exchange is ever as secure as self-custodying your crypto. One of the drawbacks to Coinbase's compliance-first approach, however, is that its listing policies are quite conservative. For example, the second largest meme coin on Ethereum, Pepe, was only listed in November 2024.
This was more than a year later than other major exchanges, whose more liberal listing policies emphasize striking while the iron is hot, so to speak. Now, when you load up the Coinbase exchange, you'll see a very long list of over 17,000 cryptos. But unlike other exchanges, the list that Coinbase shows you here is merely an index of cryptos like CoinMarketCap or CoinGecko.
At the top of the list, there is a filter for displaying tradable cryptos, and if you use it, the list shrinks dramatically to just 263. Now, this should be more than enough if you're looking for majors, large or medium cap cryptos. For many smaller coins and tokens, though, Coinbase is likely not the exchange for you.
Now, this is just a symptom of it being an onshore exchange, which means Coinbase has to tread carefully in order not to get sued by U.S. authorities. This means refraining from listing cryptos that the SEC might label a security, although this approach hasn't worked, and the SEC actually sued Coinbase last year. However, that was Gary Gensler's SEC, and as we write this, he's going to need a new job soon.
With the recent regime change in Washington, U.S.-based exchanges like Coinbase and Kraken will now have little reason to not list hot new cryptos at the same rate as their offshore competitors. It's no coincidence that Coinbase listed WIF and Pepe shortly after Donald Trump was re-elected, and not before. Now, cryptos are not the only assets we need to worry about, however.
The ability to convert fiat currencies into crypto is one of the most important features of any exchange. But despite Coinbase operating in over 100 countries, users are only able to on-ramp using U.S. dollars, British pounds, and the euro. It is possible to on-ramp using local currencies in other parts of the world, but this can be expensive and your fiat will be displayed in dollars.
This is a shame because some of Coinbase's competitors support a much wider range of fiat currencies. Like most other exchanges, though, Coinbase offers various different methods of getting fiat on and off the platform, including credit and debit cards and bank transfers. You have to be careful here, though, because the fees vary a lot.
Wherever you are, using a credit card is usually the most expensive option, so it should be avoided if at all possible. Most other methods will be cheaper.
So how much does it cost to use Coinbase?
Well, I'm afraid to say it has a reputation for charging higher trading fees than other top exchanges. Like other exchanges, how much you pay depends on how much you trade.
All of the exchanges we'll talk about today share the same basic fee structure, where users are placed into tiers based on their 30-day trading volume. The higher your tier, the lower your fees will be. Now, fees are charged based on the maker-taker model.
If you're not familiar, this is order book jargon, but it's quite simple. You are a taker when you place a market order and it is executed immediately. Your order was matched with another order that was already on the order book, hence you are taking liquidity.
Coinbase charges taker fees ranging from 0.04% to 0.6%. Makers are the other end of the transaction. When you place an order but it's not executed immediately, it will stay on the order book until it's matched with a taker's order. You are, therefore, a maker of liquidity on the order book.
Coinbase charges makers between 0% and 0.60%. These maker and taker fees make Coinbase one of the most, if not the most expensive crypto exchange on the market. Now then, what about the experience of trading? Like the Coinbase brand, the exchange is approachable and easy for beginners to understand.
Newcomers will not be confronted with an intimidating trading terminal because this is tucked away into Coinbase Advanced Trade. If you navigate to Advanced Trade, you'll find the order book, candlestick charts, and indicators provided by TradingView, and limit, market, and stop orders. Although for an advanced trading platform, there's surprisingly little else.
I guess Coinbase Intermediate doesn't sound as good, but that would be a little more accurate. The features here will be sufficient for most users, but they are quite minimal when compared to trading terminals on other major exchanges, as we shall soon see. So then, all in all, Coinbase is an excellent crypto exchange for casual users and newcomers dipping their toes into crypto for the first time.
It's even better if you're based in the US, UK, or Europe, where on-ramping is cheap, if not free. Coinbase's top-notch security and regulatory credentials also put it a cut above most of its competitors in these territories. On the other hand, if you're trading a lot of crypto and don't want to spend a lot of money on fees, if you're looking for small-cap cryptos, or if you're a professional trader looking for advanced tools, then another exchange may be better suited to your needs.
Other major exchanges list more cryptos, have lower trading fees, and many more features catering to traders as well.
Also Read: Top 8 Altcoins to Consider for Investment in 2025
Bybit: The Trader’s Paradise
OK, our next top exchange is Bybit. Unlike Coinbase, Bybit is an offshore exchange. This just means that it's based outside of certain key territories like North America, Europe, Japan, and a few others. But this gives Bybit the freedom and flexibility to list more cryptos and offer more features than US-based exchanges like Coinbase, which have to tread more carefully due to regulatory constraints.
Now, Bybit was co-founded in Singapore in 2018 by current CEO Ben Zhou, a former Forex broker. After being orange-pilled in the mid-2010s, Ben noticed inefficiencies in the crypto exchanges of the day, which tended to suffer from overloads and lackluster customer support. He set out to address these shortcomings and his exchange has done just that.
Six years on from its founding, Bybit now consistently ranks among the top three crypto exchanges on CoinGecko. Bybit has many different features, but it is first and foremost an exchange for trading crypto derivatives. And this is helped by Bybit's powerful matching engine, which can process 100,000 transactions per second, or one match every 10 microseconds.
There's also no server downtime, as updates to Bybit are implemented by hot patch, i.e. while its systems are running. Bybit also prides itself on its refreshingly good customer support, with 24-7 live chat support available in English, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. Bybit's help center is also very comprehensive, and there's a whole library of written content to guide you through the many things you can do with your crypto on the platform.
Now, after running into regulatory hurdles in Singapore, Bybit relocated to Dubai in 2022, where it benefits from the UAE's more favourable regulatory environment. Offshore status does come with its drawbacks, though. Bybit operates in 190 countries, but unfortunately not in certain key markets, including the US, Canada, UK, and the European Economic Area.
If you're in one of those countries not officially served by Bybit, it may be more convenient to use an onshore exchange like Coinbase or Kraken. But is Bybit secure? Well, the first answer is always, not as secure as self-custody in your crypto, but you knew that already. The second answer is, yes, Bybit runs a very tight ship, with no known hacks, exploits, or security incidents reported in the history of the exchange.
In addition to best practices like two-factor authentication, biometric verification, cold storage, and multi-signature wallets, Bybit also employs some more novel security features. These include round-the-clock automatic emergency response systems and an AI-driven risk engine that prevented $79 million in fraud during suspicious withdrawal attempts this year alone. Recently, Bybit introduced additional checks for high-value transactions and a one-click account freeze, empowering users to block unauthorized access to their assets.
Bybit has also doxed its own wallets to show proof of reserves. This means that anyone can verify the balance of their own assets on the exchange via Merkle Tree. You can also see the balance and ownership of the exchange wallets as well as Bybit's reserve ratio.
Now, one aspect where Bybit can't compete with the likes of Coinbase is insurance. Customer deposits are not insured, so if disaster strikes, there's no external organization that will swoop in and reimburse you. Bybit does have a customer insurance fund, but this has a more specific purpose than the name might suggest.
The insurance fund is a buffer for ensuring that leverage positions are closed in an orderly fashion without resulting in a complete loss for users during liquidation events. This does not imply insurance for spot account balances or unused balances in non-leverage positions. Right, next up, asset support.
This is one area where offshore exchanges trounce the likes of Coinbase 10 times out of 10. Being based in Dubai, Bybit is not constrained by the SEC's regulatory straitjacket. This means it can list any crypto at a moment's notice in response to market demand.
And Bybit has been taking full advantage of this, moving quickly to list many of this year's hottest meme coins. In a purely attention-driven sector like memes, this ability to strike while the iron is hot is a major advantage over onshore exchanges. Thanks to this flexibility, Bybit now boasts an impressive 500-plus cryptos listed across its various markets.
You'll recall how Coinbase has been around for about twice as long as Bybit, but has far fewer cryptos available for trading. And what about fiat currencies? Well, on the Bybit fiat deposit page, there's a drop-down menu showing 21 different national currencies, including US dollars, UK pounds, euros and many more. Unfortunately, when we checked, the deposit feature was unavailable for more than half of these currencies, including US dollars.
The deposit methods are also a little hit-and-miss. If you're using euros, depositing by bank transfer or SIPA incurs low fees of around 0.08% plus about 30 euro cents. If you're depositing British pounds, your only option is via ZEN, a credit card provider who will charge a much higher rate of 1.22%. But what about the fees on Bybit itself? Well, as an exchange oriented towards derivatives trading, very large leverage positions are standard fare here.
If you are holding a large position, even trading fees of tenths of a percent can end up costing you thousands of dollars over time. As such, low trading fees are a must for any exchange catering to derivatives traders. Like Coinbase, Bybit uses the same volume-based tier system to determine rates.
However, unlike Coinbase, Bybit is serious about competing with Binance when it comes to fees. For spot traders, maker and taker fees both start at 0.1%. For those with the very highest trading volumes, they can reach as low as 0.015% for takers and 0.005% for makers. For perpetual and futures contract traders, the base fee is 0.055% for takers and 0.02% for makers.
At their lowest, these can be reduced to 0.018% for takers and 0% for makers. Bybit also has the same beginner-friendly one-click buy feature as Coinbase. Here, you'll see a wide range of payment methods and fiat currencies supported, certainly more than you'll find on the deposit fiat page anyway.
But as you probably guessed, this is an unnecessarily expensive method of buying crypto that we don't recommend unless it's your only option. So then, what's it like trading on Bybit? Well, unlike Coinbase, Bybit doesn't have separate regular and advanced or pro versions. If you navigate to the trade or derivatives menus, you'll immediately be confronted with a fully featured and customizable trading terminal.
And this is exactly what most Bybit users are looking for. Like I said, there are lots of other features for casual users to enjoy like Bybit Earn and perhaps trading bots and copy trading. But first and foremost, it's an exchange for derivatives traders.
And this is what it does best. Between the powerful matching engine and the high liquidity on Bybit, trading on the platform feels very responsive, with orders executing and filling almost instantly. You can use advanced charting tools from TradingView and view up to four charts at once in the terminal.
Bybit also has many different order types, including conditional orders such as scaled orders, TWAP, Chase Limit, Iceberg and Webhook signals trading, which is an automated trading method based on TradingView signals. There's also a calculator to help you plan your trades and figure out what kind of risk and reward you're looking at. You can also see data like open interest, long short ratio, and volume by order size.
There's really a lot of information at your fingertips here and Bybit has done a great job of annotating parts of the terminal to make it clear what exactly you're looking at. So all said, Bybit is a fantastic exchange for anyone who is serious about trading. There are a ton of cryptos listed, Bybit's security record is spotless, the liquidity is great, customer support is great and you have all the tools you need to execute advanced trading strategies with ease.
And the fees are low too. Of course, if you're dipping your toes into crypto for the first time and you aren't familiar with candlestick charts and trading tools, then you might be better off getting started with Coinbase or Kraken. Then again, if you want to pay the lowest fees possible, then it is well worth learning how to buy and sell crypto through a trading terminal like Bybit's because it's not that complicated and it can save you a lot of money in the long run.
Kraken: An OG Superstar
Right, next up, Kraken, an exchange that has much in common with Coinbase. Kraken is another OG among crypto exchanges and one that's very well respected.
Like Coinbase, it was founded in San Francisco, but one year earlier in 2011. This was the era of Mt. Gox and other ill-fated early crypto exchanges.
Jesse Powell was an entrepreneur who also served as a security consultant to Mt. Gox and after witnessing firsthand the vulnerabilities in its security practices, he recognized a gap in the market for a secure and reliable platform for trading crypto. After two years of development and rigorous security testing, Jesse and his team launched the Kraken exchange in 2013.
Kraken gained early credibility by working with tradfi institutions and regulators to ensure everything was done above board and compliantly. This approach paid off and under Jesse's leadership, Kraken became one of the world's biggest and most well-regarded crypto exchanges, not to mention one of the longest running. Jesse was CEO until 2022 and now serves as chair of Kraken's board of directors.
Former COO Dave Ripley is the current CEO. Now, Kraken operates in 190 countries and has obtained licenses in various jurisdictions including Europe, Canada, the US, the UK, Australia and Japan. Despite Kraken's best efforts though, it has been sued by the SEC on two occasions.
The first time around, Kraken settled by paying the SEC $30 million and ceasing offering its staking services in the US. However, the SEC came back for more in November 2023 and a federal judge has since denied Kraken's motion to have this new lawsuit dismissed. The case is still ongoing but a change in leadership at the SEC next year might bring it to an end, so watch this space for updates.
We should also mention that Kraken has a reputation for outstanding customer service, which is frankly not something you hear very often about crypto exchanges. There are hundreds of trained staff members in the US, UK, and Europe providing 24-7 customer support via phone, email, or in-app chat. Having humans who are paid to help you resolve any problems you might encounter on the exchange makes Kraken a particularly beginner-friendly and dependable choice.
Like Coinbase, Kraken's reputation and longevity are the fruit of its efforts to comply with regulations and provide the most secure platform for crypto trading on the market. It's a testament to these efforts that Kraken hasn't suffered a single security incident in its 11-year history. No hacks, no exploits, nothing.
No other major exchange of comparable age has a record this spotless. And when you consider that crypto exchanges are massive honeypots for hackers, this is seriously impressive. Now, credit is due to Kraken Security Labs, a team dedicated to identifying and addressing vulnerabilities within Kraken and the broader crypto ecosystem.
Among other measures, the team conducts rigorous penetration testing and an industry-leading bug bounty program. Kraken also pioneered the regular implementation of external proof-of-reserve audits to demonstrate the solvency of the exchange and reassure users about the security of their assets. However, customer cash deposits at Kraken are not insured by the FDIC like they are at Coinbase.
And this is something to keep in mind if you're anxious about placing your assets in the custody of an exchange. Like Coinbase, Kraken has typically erred on the side of caution when it comes to new listings. This is a characteristic of onshore exchanges which face greater regulatory scrutiny than their offshore competitors.
There were around 298 cryptos listed on Kraken by our last count, which is more than Coinbase, but still a small number compared to offshore competitors. Of course, these are 298 of the biggest and most in-demand cryptos out there, so Kraken is likely to have most, if not all of the assets you need. However, if it's memes, newly launched tokens, or other small-cap cryptos you're after, then Kraken might leave you wanting.
Not too long ago, getting any of these cryptos listed on Kraken was a pretty long shot. The Kraken website makes clear that, quote, we have strict legal, compliance, engineering and business standards for every listing. In other words, Kraken is pretty conservative when it comes to listing new cryptos.
However, like Coinbase, Kraken does appear to be listing cryptos more liberally nowadays. The enormous demand for meme coins this year has reset the playing field for crypto exchanges and they have to adapt to stay relevant. With the war on crypto in the US all but concluded, American exchanges like Kraken and Coinbase are likely to start closing the gap between their own offerings and those of offshore exchanges which are listing memes like nobody's business.
However, this will take time and if trading a wide range of smaller-cap cryptos is an immediate priority for you, then another exchange may meet your needs better than Kraken. Anyway, when it comes to fiat currencies, Kraken leaves Coinbase trailing in the dust. You can make deposits and on-ramp in American, Canadian and Australian dollars, British pounds, euros, Swiss francs and Japanese yen.
Wherever possible, we recommend funding your fiat deposits via bank transfer as this is typically the cheapest option. Kraken's fees, meanwhile, are quite competitive with maker and taker fees that are lower than Coinbase but a little higher than Bybit and Binance. There's a similar tier structure with fee rates depending on your 30-day trading volume.
The lower the tier, the higher the fees. For makers, fees start at 0.16% and can reach as low as 0%. Taker fees start at 0.26% and can be as low as 0.1%. However, you should bear in mind that these fees apply to Kraken Pro, which is analogous to Coinbase Advanced.
On the more beginner-friendly standard version of Kraken, you'll pay a premium for the convenient Instant Buy feature. There's a 1.5% charge for most cryptos and 0.9% for stablecoins when paying with USD. Once again, paying with a card is best avoided because you'll be charged an additional 3.75% plus 25 cents, fees which go to third-party service providers.
This fee also applies if you're using a digital wallet. Bank transfer is a better option with a fee of 0.5%. But this is still significantly higher than what you'd pay as a maker or taker on Kraken Pro. So unless you like paying more than you need to, we don't really recommend Instant Buy.
Moving on. When it comes to trading, Kraken exists on a spectrum somewhere between Coinbase and the likes of Bybit or Binance. Like Coinbase, the standard interface for buying and selling crypto is very simple, intuitive, and user-friendly.
It's an excellent design for casual users and beginners. But just remember that you'll be paying some high fees here. As I mentioned, Kraken Pro is analogous to Coinbase Advance, but with some important differences.
Whereas Coinbase is pretty bare-bones, Kraken has more of the features that one would expect from a pro trading terminal. For example, Kraken has nine order types, including iceberg and permutations of trailing stop and take profit orders. Meanwhile, Coinbase Advanced has only three.
On Kraken Pro, you can also set price alerts and the terminal is easily customizable. There's even a whole library of widgets that you can add to your terminal to show you open interest, the long-short ratio, liquidation volume, volatility, and more. As such, we think Kraken Pro lives up to its name better than Coinbase Advanced, as there are plenty of functions and tools that will satisfy the needs of traders and technical analysts of all levels, not only the most casual.
Now, Kraken is a name you don't see in headlines too often, perhaps because it's one of the least drama-prone companies in the whole crypto industry. This is a very good thing, and it's quite fitting for the exchange with the longest flawless security record. Anyone who uses Kraken will know that it's a fantastic exchange in basically every way.
Its features are user-friendly and enjoyable to use, and this includes a pro platform that crypto pros will appreciate too. Crypto asset support is improving, but still quite far behind offshore competitors. Fiat currency support is very good though, and this makes Kraken a popular choice for on- and off-ramping.
All in all, it's difficult to find something to dislike about Kraken. We are big fans, and we strongly recommend checking it out.
Comparison Table of the 5 BEST Crypto Exchanges
| Exchange | Security | Asset Support | Fees (Taker/Maker) | Trading Experience |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coinbase | Strong, 98% cold storage | 263 tradable | 0.04%-0.6% / 0%-0.6% | Beginner-friendly |
| Bybit | Never hacked, robust security | 500+ | 0.1% / 0.015% | Advanced trading terminal |
| Kraken | Flawless security record | 298 | 0.16% / 0.26% | User-friendly, advanced features |
| Binance | Improved after 2019 hack | 386 | 0.1% / 0.1% | Feature-rich but busy |
| OKX | Never hacked, strong security | 296 | 0.08% / 0.1% | Intuitive and clean interface |
FAQs
What is the safest crypto exchange?
Coinbase and Kraken are often regarded as the safest due to their strong security measures and clean track records.
Which exchange has the lowest fees?
Bybit and Binance typically offer the lowest fees, especially for high-volume traders.
Can I trade all cryptocurrencies on every exchange?
No, each exchange has its own list of supported cryptocurrencies. For broader options, consider using multiple exchanges.
Is it better to use an offshore exchange?
Offshore exchanges often have fewer regulatory constraints, allowing for more cryptocurrencies and lower fees, but they may carry higher risks.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the BEST Crypto Exchanges can significantly enhance your trading experience. Make sure to choose one that aligns with your trading needs and security preferences. Let us know in the comments which exchange you prefer and why!