Crypto Exchange Comparison — Fees, KYC & Proof of Reserves
Every major exchange claims low fees. This table puts the published numbers side by side, states where each one came from, and shows a blank rather than a guess wherever we have not verified a field ourselves.
| Exchange | Maker | Taker | Standing discount | Fiat deposit | KYC | BTC withdrawal | Founded | Base | Proof of reserves | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MEXC ° | 0% | 0.05% | — | P2P and third-party providers | Tiered | Varies by network | 2018 | Seychelles-registered | Yes | Review |
| OKX | 0.08% | 0.1% | — | P2P and third-party card providers; direct bank rails vary by region | Required | Varies by network | 2017 | Seychelles-registered | Yes, monthly | Review |
| Binance | 0.1% | 0.1% | 25% off with BNB held for fees (0.075% / 0.075%) | Bank transfer, card and P2P — the available rails differ sharply by country | Required | Varies by network | 2017 | No single stated headquarters | Yes, Merkle-tree | Review |
| Bybit | 0.1% | 0.1% | — | Mostly P2P and third-party providers; most users arrive via stablecoins | Tiered | Varies by network | 2018 | Dubai, UAE | Yes | Review |
| Bitget | 0.1% | 0.1% | 20% off with BGB held for fees (0.08% / 0.08%) | P2P and third-party card providers | Tiered | Varies by network | 2018 | Seychelles-registered | Yes | Review |
| KuCoin ° | 0.1% | 0.1% | Discount available when holding KCS | P2P and third-party providers; limited direct bank rails | Required | Varies by network | 2017 | Seychelles-registered | Yes | Review |
| Gate ° | 0.2% | 0.2% | Discount available when holding GT | P2P and third-party providers | Tiered | Varies by network | 2013 | Cayman Islands-registered | Yes, one of the earliest to publish | Review |
| Crypto.com ° | 0.25% | 0.5% | Lower tiers available when staking CRO | Card, ACH, SEPA, Faster Payments and local bank transfer in many markets | Required | Varies by network | 2016 | Singapore | Yes | Review |
| Kraken | 0.4% | 0.8% | Stablecoin and FX pairs 0.20% / 0.20% at the same tier | ACH, domestic and international wire, SEPA — among the strongest fiat rails in the sector | Required | Varies by network | 2011 | United States (San Francisco) | Yes, with auditor attestation | Review |
| Coinbase ° | 0.6% | 1.2% | Falls steeply with 30-day volume; the simple buy flow costs more again | ACH, wire, debit card and PayPal in the US; SEPA in the EU; Faster Payments in the UK | Required | Varies by network | 2012 | United States (no single office; Nasdaq-listed) | No — audited public-company financials instead | Review |
Where these numbers come from
This table mixes two kinds of figure, and the difference matters enough to spell out.
Read directly from the exchange — these fees were taken off the venue's own published schedule on the date shown:
- OKX — fee schedule read 2026-07-28
- Binance — fee schedule read 2026-07-28
- Bybit — fee schedule read 2026-07-28
- Bitget — fee schedule read 2026-07-28
- Kraken — fee schedule read 2026-07-28
From our reference data (marked °) — accurate to the best of our knowledge but not re-read from the exchange on the date above. Several of these venues block automated access to their fee pages, which is the honest reason. Treat them as indicative and confirm on the exchange before you trade:
- MEXC
- KuCoin
- Gate
- Crypto.com
- Coinbase
Withdrawal fees are shown as "varies by network" on purpose. Every venue adjusts them with congestion and sets a different figure per asset, so any static number here would be wrong by the time you read it — check the amount the exchange quotes at the moment you withdraw.
A blank cell means we do not have that field at all. We would rather show nothing than a plausible guess.
What a trade actually costs you
A fee percentage is not a cost. Work out what your own trading pattern costs on each venue — the gap between the cheapest and the most expensive is usually far larger than people assume, and it compounds every month.
| Exchange | Fee rate | Cost per trade | Per year | vs cheapest |
|---|
Trading fees only. Deposit, withdrawal and spread costs are not included, and on thin order books the spread can cost more than the fee — which is why the cheapest fee is not always the cheapest trade.
The ten venues, one by one
The table above ranks by cost. This section is the part a data site cannot generate: what each venue is actually good at, and where it will let you down.
MEXC °
0.05% taker- Spot fees
- 0% / 0.05% maker / taker
- Standing discount
- —
- Fiat deposit
- P2P and third-party providers
- Identity checks
- tiered
- Availability
- Not available to US users; availability varies elsewhere
- BTC withdrawal
- Varies by network
- Trading since
- 2018
- Registered
- Seychelles-registered
- Proof of reserves
- Yes
What it does well
- The cheapest headline spot fees of any venue here — zero maker fee is unusual and real.
- Lists new tokens faster than almost anyone, so it is often the first venue where something is tradeable.
- Low minimums make it practical for very small positions.
Where it falls short
- The listing speed is the risk, not the feature: a large share of what appears has no durable value and thin exit liquidity.
- Order books outside the majors are shallow, so the low fee is frequently cancelled out by spread and slippage.
- Fiat access is limited and regulatory coverage is narrow.
OKX
0.1% taker- Spot fees
- 0.08% / 0.1% maker / taker
- Standing discount
- —
- Fiat deposit
- P2P and third-party card providers; direct bank rails vary by region
- Identity checks
- required
- Availability
- Not available to US retail users; availability varies elsewhere
- BTC withdrawal
- Varies by network
- Trading since
- 2017
- Registered
- Seychelles-registered
- Proof of reserves
- Yes, monthly
What it does well
- The lowest base-tier maker fee of any venue in this table, with no token-holding requirement to get it.
- Publishes proof-of-reserves attestations monthly rather than sporadically — the most consistent cadence among the offshore venues.
- A genuinely good self-custody wallet and DEX aggregator built in, so moving on-chain does not mean leaving the app.
Where it falls short
- Closed to US retail users, and availability elsewhere has shifted more than once.
- The product surface is enormous and spot trading is not the default path through the interface.
- Documentation and support quality is noticeably uneven between languages.
Binance
0.1% taker- Spot fees
- 0.1% / 0.1% maker / taker
- Standing discount
- 25% off with BNB held for fees (0.075% / 0.075%)
- Fiat deposit
- Bank transfer, card and P2P — the available rails differ sharply by country
- Identity checks
- required
- Availability
- Regional entities differ; the main platform is closed to US users, who are served by a separate company
- BTC withdrawal
- Varies by network
- Trading since
- 2017
- Registered
- No single stated headquarters
- Proof of reserves
- Yes, Merkle-tree
What it does well
- Deepest spot liquidity anywhere, which usually saves more in slippage than any fee difference in this table.
- The widest asset selection of the large venues, so it is often the only deep market for a given mid-cap token.
- Base-tier fees are already low before the BNB discount takes them lower.
Where it falls short
- Its legal position differs by country and has changed repeatedly, including a major US settlement — check what actually applies to you before funding an account.
- Deliberately states no headquarters, which makes it unclear which regulator you would turn to if something went wrong.
- Derivatives and leverage are pushed prominently, which is a hazard if you only came to buy spot.
Bybit
0.1% taker- Spot fees
- 0.1% / 0.1% maker / taker
- Standing discount
- —
- Fiat deposit
- Mostly P2P and third-party providers; most users arrive via stablecoins
- Identity checks
- tiered
- Availability
- Not available in several major markets, including the US
- BTC withdrawal
- Varies by network
- Trading since
- 2018
- Registered
- Dubai, UAE
- Proof of reserves
- Yes
What it does well
- Holds a licence from Dubai's virtual-asset regulator, which is a clearer accountability story than most offshore venues offer.
- Fast, uncluttered trading interface that experienced traders consistently rate highly.
- Unified account shares margin across spot, derivatives and options.
Where it falls short
- Primarily a derivatives venue — spot depth on smaller pairs is thinner than Binance or OKX.
- Fiat funding is weak compared with the regulated exchanges; expect to bridge in with stablecoins.
- Closed to several large markets, so check availability before planning around it.
Bitget
0.1% taker- Spot fees
- 0.1% / 0.1% maker / taker
- Standing discount
- 20% off with BGB held for fees (0.08% / 0.08%)
- Fiat deposit
- P2P and third-party card providers
- Identity checks
- tiered
- Availability
- Not available to US users; availability varies elsewhere
- BTC withdrawal
- Varies by network
- Trading since
- 2018
- Registered
- Seychelles-registered
- Proof of reserves
- Yes
What it does well
- The most developed copy-trading product of any large venue, if that is something you actually want to use.
- Base-tier fees match the majors, and the BGB discount takes them below.
- Maintains a publicly stated protection fund alongside reserve attestations.
Where it falls short
- Lists new tokens very quickly, and a meaningful share of what appears has no durable value.
- Spot order books are thinner than the top venues, so large orders slip more.
- Heavy promotional and gamified surfaces wrapped around the trading experience.
KuCoin °
0.1% taker- Spot fees
- 0.1% / 0.1% maker / taker
- Standing discount
- Discount available when holding KCS
- Fiat deposit
- P2P and third-party providers; limited direct bank rails
- Identity checks
- required
- Availability
- Mandatory identity verification since 2023; not available to US users
- BTC withdrawal
- Varies by network
- Trading since
- 2017
- Registered
- Seychelles-registered
- Proof of reserves
- Yes
What it does well
- One of the broadest altcoin selections anywhere, and often lists earlier than the regulated venues.
- Trading bots and grid tools are built in rather than bolted on.
- Recovered fully from a major 2020 hack and reimbursed affected users — a data point about conduct under pressure.
Where it falls short
- Moved from optional to mandatory verification, which stranded users who had chosen it for the opposite reason.
- Has faced enforcement action over serving users it was not licensed to serve.
- Support is slow once an issue needs a human.
Gate °
0.2% taker- Spot fees
- 0.2% / 0.2% maker / taker
- Standing discount
- Discount available when holding GT
- Fiat deposit
- P2P and third-party providers
- Identity checks
- tiered
- Availability
- Not available to US users; availability varies elsewhere
- BTC withdrawal
- Varies by network
- Trading since
- 2013
- Registered
- Cayman Islands-registered
- Proof of reserves
- Yes, one of the earliest to publish
What it does well
- Trading since 2013, which makes it one of the longest-running venues still operating.
- Published reserve attestations years before the 2022 collapses made them standard — that was a choice, not a reaction.
- An extremely long listing tail, useful if you are looking for something obscure.
Where it falls short
- Base-tier fees are twice the cheapest venues here unless you hold its token.
- The interface is dense and hard to navigate for a first-time user.
- Closed to US users and unavailable in a number of other markets.
Crypto.com °
0.5% taker- Spot fees
- 0.25% / 0.5% maker / taker
- Standing discount
- Lower tiers available when staking CRO
- Fiat deposit
- Card, ACH, SEPA, Faster Payments and local bank transfer in many markets
- Identity checks
- required
- Availability
- Broadly available including the US, with licences in several jurisdictions
- BTC withdrawal
- Varies by network
- Trading since
- 2016
- Registered
- Singapore
- Proof of reserves
- Yes
What it does well
- The strongest fiat and card coverage of the non-US-listed venues, in a lot of countries.
- Holds licences or registrations across multiple jurisdictions rather than operating purely offshore.
- The app is the most approachable route into crypto for someone who has never used an exchange.
Where it falls short
- The app and the Exchange are priced very differently, and the app's spread makes it one of the more expensive ways to buy — most users never discover the Exchange.
- Exchange base-tier fees are high unless you lock up CRO, which is itself a risk position.
- Marketing spend is enormous and the product is pushed harder than it is explained.
Kraken
0.8% taker- Spot fees
- 0.4% / 0.8% maker / taker
- Standing discount
- Stablecoin and FX pairs 0.20% / 0.20% at the same tier
- Fiat deposit
- ACH, domestic and international wire, SEPA — among the strongest fiat rails in the sector
- Identity checks
- required
- Availability
- Available in most markets including the US, though some products are state-restricted
- BTC withdrawal
- Varies by network
- Trading since
- 2011
- Registered
- United States (San Francisco)
- Proof of reserves
- Yes, with auditor attestation
What it does well
- Operating since 2011 with no loss of customer funds — the single most underrated line in this entire table.
- Genuinely reachable human support, which is rare at this scale.
- Real fiat rails in USD, EUR and GBP rather than stablecoin-only funding, and reserve attestations signed by an outside auditor.
Where it falls short
- The base-tier taker fee is by far the highest here; it only becomes competitive at volume or on stablecoin pairs.
- Deliberately lists fewer speculative small-caps than the offshore venues.
- Splitting the product across Kraken and Kraken Pro confuses newcomers into paying the higher instant-buy pricing.
Coinbase °
1.2% taker- Spot fees
- 0.6% / 1.2% maker / taker
- Standing discount
- Falls steeply with 30-day volume; the simple buy flow costs more again
- Fiat deposit
- ACH, wire, debit card and PayPal in the US; SEPA in the EU; Faster Payments in the UK
- Identity checks
- required
- Availability
- Available in most major markets; the most straightforward option for US users
- BTC withdrawal
- Varies by network
- Trading since
- 2012
- Registered
- United States (no single office; Nasdaq-listed)
- Proof of reserves
- No — audited public-company financials instead
What it does well
- A Nasdaq-listed public company filing audited accounts with the SEC. That is a stronger guarantee than any proof-of-reserves snapshot, and no other venue here offers it.
- The simplest path from a bank account to crypto for a first-time buyer, with tax documents that actually make sense in filing season.
- Long operating history in the most heavily scrutinised jurisdiction in the sector.
Where it falls short
- The highest base-tier fees in this table, and the simple buy flow is more expensive still — use Advanced and the cost drops sharply for an identical trade.
- Fewer listed assets than the offshore majors.
- Account holds and reviews are a common complaint, which is the flip side of the compliance posture.
How to read this table
- Maker vs taker. A maker order sits in the order book and waits; a taker order fills immediately against what is already there. Taker fees are higher almost everywhere, and market orders are always taker orders. Simply using limit orders is the cheapest fee reduction available to you.
- Base tier only. Every figure here is the entry-level rate with no volume history and no discounts applied beyond a standing native-token discount where one exists. If you trade serious size, your real rate will be lower.
- Fees are not the whole cost. On thin order books the spread — the gap between the best bid and the best ask — can cost more than the fee. This is why the venue with the lowest published fee is not automatically the cheapest place to trade a small-cap token.
- Proof of reserves is a snapshot, not an audit. It shows that assets existed at a moment in time. It says nothing about liabilities, which is precisely what went wrong at the exchanges that failed.
What actually matters when choosing
For most people the fee difference on a handful of trades a year is worth less than the answers to three other questions: can you get your local currency in and out without friction, will the platform still be operating and solvent in five years, and can you reach a human when something breaks. A venue that is 0.05% cheaper and cannot process your withdrawal is not cheaper.
Fees start to dominate once you trade frequently. Use the calculator above with your real trade size and frequency — at four trades a month the annual difference between the cheapest and most expensive venue here is substantial, and that is money leaving your account for nothing in return.
Frequently asked questions
Why are some cells blank?
Because we have not verified that field against a primary source yet. Fee schedules, deposit rails and country restrictions change without notice, and a stale number on a page like this is worse than no number — you might trade on it. Blank means unverified, not zero.
How often is this updated?
Each row carries the date we read the exchange’s own fee schedule; expand “Where these numbers come from” to see them. We re-check quarterly, but if you are about to move significant money, click through to the source and confirm.
Do you earn money from these links?
Yes, on some of them, and they are marked as sponsored in the page’s markup. It changes nothing about the numbers: the fees shown are whatever the exchange publishes, the table sorts by cost rather than by what pays us, and exchanges we earn nothing from are listed alongside the ones we do. See our affiliate disclosure.
Is the cheapest exchange the best one?
No, and treating this table as a ranking would be a mistake. It compares cost and a handful of structural facts. It cannot tell you which venue is available in your country, which will handle a support ticket properly, or which will still exist in a decade — and those have cost people far more than fees ever have.