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, though Kraken is FCA-registered meaning it’s compliant with UK regulations. Each exchange 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 has no proprietary wallet but offers more earning options with higher rates, in addition to having lower trading fees.
Coinbase has a marginally better cryptocurrency selection than Kraken, with slightly more available options. However, Kraken offers assets like Ripple (XRP) and USD Tether (USDT) that Coinbase doesn’t. Kraken also offers far more trading pairs than Coinbase including direct pairs with fiat currencies.
Coinbase supports over three times the number of fiat currencies that Kraken does, making it more appealing to a wide range of users. Coinbase has no fiat trading pairs though, which means Kraken may be more appealing, assuming it supports the fiat you have.
Coinbase is clearly the better choice for fiat support by number, but Kraken gives users’ fiat utility.
When comparing trading fees between Coinbase and Kraken, Kraken is clearly the better option, with fees being 0.26% at most. Coinbase fees vary depending on whether you are using the base platform, Pro platform, and/or instant buy/sell/convert options.
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 for all aspects are easier to understand than Coinbase’s varying structures.
Deposit Fees
Wire transfer: $10
ACH deposit - Fees vary ($10 minimum deposit) Credit and debit card - Fees vary ($10 minimum deposit) Apple Pay or Google Pay - Fees vary ($10 minimum deposit) Crypto - Free
Trading Fee
Maker: 0.00 - 0.4% Taker: 0.05 - 0.6%
Maker: 0-0.16% Taker: 0.1-0.26%
Withdrawal Fees
Wire transfer: $25
FedWire withdrawal - $4-$35 Crypto - Fees vary depending on coin or token
Deposit methods
Bank transfer (ACH), Debit card, PayPal, Wire transfer, Apple Pay, Google Pay
Bank transfer, Credit card, Cryptocurrency, Debit card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, SWIFT, ACH online banking
Kraken has no proprietary wallet except for the exchange wallet provided for all users. Coinbase has an exchange wallet but also has its proprietary Coinbase Wallet.
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.
Winner: Coinbase
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 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
Round 7: Security
Neither Coinbase nor Kraken has ever had a significant hack, though both have had individual accounts compromised due to successful phishing scams.
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
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.
Whether products shown are available to you is subject to individual provider sole approval and discretion in accordance with the eligibility criteria and T&Cs on the provider website.
Keegan Francis was a cryptocurrency writer for Finder. He has been invested in cryptocurrencies since 2013 and writing about them since 2018. He has written and edited for CryptoVantage. In 2020 he and his wife Mrugakshee Palwe opted entirely out of the world of traditional finance and went "full crypto", covering their experience in the Go Full Crypto podcast and via a Substack newsletter. Keegan holds a Bachelor of Computer Science from Acadia University, and has attained graduate certificates from Ivan On Tech's lightning network course and the Consensys Academy Ethereum bootcamp. When Keegan is not working on cryptocurrency, he enjoys travelling, rock climbing and playing piano. See full bio
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