Coinbase vs. Kraken: Which crypto exchange is better?

Disclaimer: This page is not financial advice or an endorsement of digital assets, providers or services. Digital assets are volatile and risky, and past performance is no guarantee of future results. Potential regulations or policies can affect their availability and services provided. Talk with a financial professional before making a decision. Finder or the author may own cryptocurrency discussed on this page.

Coinbase and Kraken are two of the most popular cryptocurrency exchanges on the market today.

Both trading platforms offer great experiences for both new and experienced users, with easy signup processes and a wide asset and feature selection. Coinbase offers users a Visa debit card and more currency choices, while Kraken has lower fees.

In this guide, we compare Coinbase against Kraken to determine which exchange is better for your needs.

Round 1: Kraken vs. Coinbase on vital statistics

Coinbase and Kraken are both US-based crypto exchanges, and each offers a decent selection of digital assets for users. They also both have a variety of deposit and withdrawal alternatives, earning opportunities and trading options.

Coinbase offers a proprietary wallet that users have full control over, plus a Visa debit card and interesting withdrawal options like PayPal. Kraken also offers a proprietary wallet and more earning options with higher rates, in addition to having lower trading fees.

Winner: Kraken

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Round 2: Supported coins

Kraken and Coinbase both offer extensive cryptocurrency selections, with Coinbase supporting approximately 277 cryptocurrencies and Kraken supporting over 400. Both platforms provide hundreds of spot trading pairs, including USDC pairs and stablecoin pairs.

Overall, Kraken supports a wider range of coins for users interested in diversifying their crypto investments.

Winner: Kraken

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Round 3: Supported fiat currencies

Coinbase supports over 60 fiat currencies, including major ones like USD, EUR, and GBP. This extensive number makes Coinbase a strong option for users across various regions or those who want to trade in multiple currencies. In comparison, Kraken only offers fiat support for seven currencies, including USD, EUR, GBP, CAD, AUD, CHF and JPY.

Overall, Coinbase is clearly the better choice for fiat support by number.

Winner: Coinbase

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Round 4: Fees and costs

When comparing trading fees between Coinbase and Kraken, Kraken comes out slightly ahead. Its maker and taker fees top out at 0.25% and 0.40%, respectively, whereas Coinbase fees reach up to 0.40% for maker and 0.60% for taker.

Coinbase has no crypto or fiat deposit minimums, while Kraken has crypto deposit minimums but no fiat ones. Coinbase doesn’t charge a withdrawal fee apart from network fees. Both Kraken and Coinbase have withdrawal minimums for crypto and fiat.

Overall, Kraken’s fees are a tad cheaper and a bit more straightforward than Coinbase’s.

Winner: Kraken

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Round 5: Wallets

The Coinbase Wallet can store assets from multiple blockchain networks such as Ethereum, Binance Smart Chain, Solana and Avalanche. It’s self-custodial, meaning you hold the private keys. It can also be connected to decentralized exchanges and applications for easy DeFi interaction.

The Kraken Wallet is also a self-custodial wallet that supports multiple networks, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana and Polygon. Like the Coinbase Wallet, it gives you full control of your private keys. The Wallet also integrates with WalletConnect for access to decentralized apps and services. Its open-source design emphasizes security and simplicity for managing crypto and NFTs.

Winner: Tie

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Round 6: Ease of use

Both Coinbase and Kraken are fairly easy-to-use platforms, with Coinbase being more beginner-friendly. However, Coinbase also has a more confusing fee structure, leading new users to higher-fee buying and selling options.

That being said, it’s certainly easier for US residents to open and fund an account with Coinbase due to the many instant funding options available. Both platforms offer learning guides for users.

Winner: Coinbase

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Round 7: Security

In 2021, hackers stole funds from over 6,000 Coinbase accounts. They used a vulnerability in Coinbase’s SMS-based two-factor authentication system to breach the accounts. In response, Coinbase updated its SMS Account Recovery protocols to prevent hackers from further exploiting the vulnerability in the authentication process. It also reimbursed the affected users.

In 2024, a third-party security researcher targeted a zero-day flaw in its platform and stole over $3 million from its treasury. However, no users were directly impacted by the breach.

While both offer significant cold storage, Kraken goes above and beyond with its security. Kraken has bug bounty programs, reserve audits and constant penetration testing of its systems.

Winner: Kraken

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Coinbase vs. Kraken winner: Kraken

Taking four out of seven categories, Kraken is our winner when compared to Coinbase. Coinbase has an easy-to-use platform, with its own wallet and a Visa debit card, in addition to support for many fiat currencies.

But Kraken has much lower fees, better security, more trading pairs and better earning opportunities than Coinbase. This was a close contest, with neither exchange being a bad option for new users.

Go to Kraken's website

Disclaimer: This page is not financial advice or an endorsement of digital assets, providers or services. Digital assets are volatile and risky, and past performance is no guarantee of future results. Potential regulations or policies can affect their availability and services provided. Talk with a financial professional before making a decision. Finder or the author may own cryptocurrency discussed on this page.