Why We Chose It

Kraken’s professional-grade trading platform is our pick for the best low-fee exchange because it charges some of the lowest fees in the crypto asset exchange landscape. However, it’s also our top choice for experienced traders, as it offers advanced order types and supports margin and futures trading.

Overview

Established in 2011 and headquartered in San Francisco, Kraken is one of the most reputable cryptocurrency exchanges in the world. The San Francisco-based exchange enables investors to buy, sell, and store over 200 cryptocurrencies while charging low fees on its professional-grade trading platform, Kraken Pro.

This feature-rich crypto exchange established itself as the go-to platform for professional investors in the early days of the crypto asset market, and it has maintained its reputation as a reliable and professional trading venue.

Kraken offers two platforms: its main trading platform and its professional platform, Kraken Pro. The exchange’s Pro dashboard provides highly customizable chart analysis tools, detailed insight into the order books, numerous order types, and high-speed execution. In addition to spot trading, Kraken users can also trade cryptocurrency using margin and execute crypto derivatives trading strategies.

Fees

Cryptocurrency investors who use the instant buy feature will incur a charge for the service. The fee will vary depending on the funding method, market conditions, order size, and asset type. When ready to execute the trade, investors will find the fee included in the pricing.

Kraken and Kraken Pro both offer a tiered fee structure that allows high-volume traders to save on trading fees. For traders with 30-day volumes of less than $10,000, Kraken Pro’s maker fees start at 0.25%, and taker fees start at 0.40%. However, maker fees can drop as low as 0%, and taker fees can drop as low as 0.10% (for traders with 30-day rolling volumes of over $10 million). Moreover, Kraken has limited funding options, with wire transfers being the primary payment method for Kraken users. ACH transfers are not supported.

Why We Chose It

Coinbase is our pick for the best crypto exchange for beginners because it offers a large number of supported cryptocurrencies, strong security, and advanced trading options, all on an easy-to-use platform.

Overview

coinbase as founded in 2012 to enable people to buy, sell, and store Bitcoin. Fast-forward to today, Coinbase is a publicly traded cryptocurrency exchange geographically decentralized with no headquarters and available in 100+ countries. It stands out for providing a user-friendly trading experience, robust security, and a range of advanced features for experienced traders

Because of its large number of supported assets (5,500+) on Coinbase Wallet and easy-to-use platform, Coinbase has become the go-to exchange for many first-time crypto buyers. The platform has the look and feel of an online banking app, which most people use already, making the transition to crypto investing simple.

Coinbase also insures the digital funds it holds on behalf of users and stores U.S. dollar balances in Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)-insured bank accounts to prevent a loss of user funds in the case of a security breach. Trading accounts can be funded with a wide range of payment methods, including wire transfer and ACH transfer.

Why We Chose It

We chose Cash App as our top pick among Bitcoin-only exchanges as it allows you to seamlessly and securely buy, sell, and store Bitcoin from your smartphone.

Overview

Launched in 2013 by Block, Inc. (formerly Square, Inc.), and headquartered in San Francisco, Cash App allows individuals in the United States and the United Kingdom to send, spend, bank, and invest. It’s essentially a mobile banking app geared towards peer-to-peer payments, but it also has an investment component. Users can invest in stocks, ETFs, and Bitcoin through Cash App.

Unlike its peers, such as Robinhood and Venmo, Cash App also lets users withdraw their Bitcoin to external wallets, which makes it stand out from its competition. In early 2022, Cash App’s CEO Jack Dorsey announced that the company has started to roll out support for the Bitcoin Lightning Network to enable near-instant Bitcoin transfers at almost no cost.

The main drawback of using Cash App to buy and store Bitcoin is that the in-app wallet is custodial, which means the company holds your virtual currency on your behalf. While custodial wallets can be convenient, they are also regarded as less secure than non-custodial wallets. However, since you can withdraw your Bitcoin from Cash App, you can move your cryptocurrency into a personal wallet to which you hold the private keys.

Cash App’s Bitcoin trading fees vary and are only shown when you are asked to confirm your buy or sell crypto transaction. When you trade Bitcoin, Cash App uses the mid-price and adds a spread fee. Cash App is also a winner in our Best Money Transfer Apps roundup article, making it a versatile option for those who want to own Bitcoin and be able to send money.

Why We Chose It

We chose Crypto.com as the best mobile crypto exchange app because it provides an extensive digital asset trading and investing ecosystem you can access easily from your smartphone.

Overview

After launching in 2016 and being founded in Hong Kong crypto.com has established itself as one of the leading global crypto exchanges. It’s now available in 90 countries worldwide, and it supports over 350 cryptocurrencies.

In addition to offering a large number of supported assets, Crypto.com provides a vast digital asset ecosystem composed of its own blockchain , Crypto.org Chain; a native token called CRO; a crypto visa card; yield-generating crypto products; and more.

What stands out the most, however, is the Crypto.com mobile app. While many crypto exchange mobile apps provide a watered-down version of the exchange’s web-based platform, Crypto.com put a strong focus on building an app that offers a wide range of products and features so users can benefit from this exchange’s ecosystem on the go. Mobile app users can buy, sell, trade, and earn interest on their crypto, as well as pay with crypto.

While Crypto.com offers an impressive array of products and features, customer support is lacking. Additionally, unless you trade at higher volumes, you will end up paying trading fees of up to 0.075%

If you are looking for an excellent mobile crypto trading experience, Crypto.com is arguably the best option thanks to its range of products and features, as well as its large number of supported assets.

Why We Chose It

We have picked Gemini as the crypto exchange with the best security because it has robust security protocols, insures user funds, and is SOC 2-certified. (SOC, or Service and Organization Controls, is a cybersecurity compliance standard). However, alongside its high-security standards, crypto traders will appreciate that the site's user experience is sleek and easy to use.

Overview

Launched in 2014 in New York City by Tyler and Cameron Winklevoss, Gemini stands out for putting a strong emphasis on security and compliance. The New York-based exchange has hot wallet insurance to make sure user funds remain safe in the case of a security breach.

Gemini also encourages users to utilize two-factor authentication to secure their accounts, and it provides the option of reviewing and approving devices used to log into the trading account. Another standout security feature of Gemini is that it is SOC 2-certified, which means that external auditors have verified the company’s security and compliance frameworks.

Built with advanced traders in mind, Gemini provides a professional-grade trading dashboard and supports over 80 digital currencies and tokens, including fiat currencies.

Gemini's main platform and active trader platform use different fee structures. The primary platform charges fixed amounts for smaller trades and a very high 1.49% on trades above $200. The active trader platform charges maker and taker fees up to 0.4%, with reductions as your volume grows. These are also on the high side. However, paying the comparatively high fee may be a small price to pay for Gemini’s highly robust security.

Traders and investors who prefer to trade on a highly secure platform will appreciate what Gemini has to offer.

Why We Chose It

BitMart is our top pick in the best for the altcoins category. Although crypto traders can still trade popular cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum, BitMart allows users in 160+ countries to buy and sell over 1,500 cryptocurrencies.

Overview

Founded in 2017, BitMart is a global cryptocurrency exchange that’s available in over 160 countries. It allows users to buy, sell, and store over 1,500 digital currencies and tokens. Incorporated in the Cayman Islands, BitMart has established itself as a leading trading venue for small and mid-cap cryptocurrencies.

BitMart offers more assets and trading pairs than its market-leading peers, so investors looking to add newly launched or obscure crypto assets to their portfolios will likely find what they are looking for on this exchange.

Additionally, BitMart customers can use the exchange’s Earn feature to receive interest on crypto assets held with the exchange. However, BitMart Savings is not available to investors residing in the United States.

Moreover, experienced crypto traders can trade perpetual swaps on over 100 cryptocurrencies on BitMart with leverage of up to 100 times. Users can also access trading fee discounts when holding the exchange’s native token, BMX.

While BitMart has a lot to offer for experienced crypto traders, the exchange has received some poor customer feedback over the years. Several complaints from users reported withdrawal problems, poor customer support, and trust issues. Other users report positive experiences.

Moreover, BitMart suffered a security breach in December 2021 that resulted in the loss of $196 million in user funds. BitMart promised to reimburse users. Still, the Kaspersky cybersecurity firm cites the hack as one of the most infamous cybersecurity hacks.

Despite these drawbacks, crypto enthusiasts interested in trading a wide range of lesser-known cryptocurrencies will find what they are looking for on BitMart.

Why We Chose It

Bisq is our pick for the best decentralized exchange because it allows users anywhere in the world to securely and privately buy and sell Bitcoin and a range of other cryptocurrencies.

Overview

Launched in 2014 and headquartered in Barcelona, Catalonia, Bisq is an open-source cryptocurrency trading software that enables individuals from across the globe to trade a range of digital currencies and tokens in a peer-to-peer manner. It currently does not disclose how many cryptocurrencies it supports.

This decentralized exchange does not require users to complete a Know Your Customer (KYC) identity verification process, nor is the trading software limited to users in specific jurisdictions. On Bisq, users can buy and sell Bitcoin and other types of crypto using various payment methods, including bank wire transfers, ACH transfers, and cash deposits.

While Bisq is popular among early cryptocurrency adopters as it stays true to many of the values that Bitcoin was built on, such as decentralization, privacy, and sovereignty, the exchange is not very beginner-friendly. The escrow mechanism used in the peer-to-peer trading process may be challenging for new users, while the comparatively slow trade execution could deter first-time users and active traders. Additionally, the exchange is more targeted at making smaller trades as trading volumes are lower than on centralized global exchanges.

However, for experienced crypto investors who prefer to trade on a decentralized, KYC-free platform, Bisq offers everything you need to buy and sell cryptocurrency.