12 Best Coinbase Alternatives for 2024

Coinbase is the starting point for many crypto traders — and with good reason. As the world’s largest publicly traded exchange, Coinbase has earned a reputation for transparency through its public filings and boasts over 250 cryptos to trade. But with hundreds of crypto trading platforms around the globe, traders also have some other great options. So, what are the best Coinbase alternatives?

In this roundup, we’ll review the 11 best alternatives to Coinbase, weighing the pros and cons of each and how they compare. Let’s see what the other top crypto trading platforms have to offer.

The Best Alternatives to Coinbase Reviewed

With 24-hour trading volume on the exchange often approaching $1 billion USD, Coinbase remains a popular choice, but it’s not the only game in town. Several competitors bring some interesting advantages, including social trading, lower fees, and a wider selection of cryptocurrencies.

1. Kraken – Overall Best Coinbase Alternative With 250+ Cryptocurrencies and Proof of Reserves

Like Coinbase, Kraken offers a simple trading platform paired with an advanced trading platform (Kraken Pro). The exchanges even offer a similar number of cryptocurrencies from which to choose, both in the 250 range. Both offer a self-custody wallet option – Coinbase Wallet and Kraken Wallet.

But Kraken brings a few other goodies to the table that may make it the best Coinbase alternative for some investors.

• Lower fees for advanced trades
• Proof of reserves
• Leverage and futures trading

Lower Fees

Coinbase Advanced offers lower fees compared to simple trades on Coinbase, but Kraken Pro comes in at a fraction of the cost. Lower trading volumes earn 0.06% fees on limit Coinbase limit orders and 0.8% on market orders. By comparison, Kraken Pro charges just 0.16% for limit orders and 0.26% for market orders. If you trade often or trade larger amounts, the savings add up quickly.

Proof of Reserves (PoR)

Following the collapse of the FTX crypto exchange, it’s valid to question whether your exchange actually has the crypto in your account. Kraken was among the first to offer proof of reserves, a blockchain-based way to prove the exchange has the crypto that shows in your account. No more wondering.

Leverage Trading and Futures

Availability varies based on location, but in many areas, Kraken offers futures trading that lets you bet on the future price of top cryptocurrencies. You can also bet with more than you have. Kraken supports using leverage of up to 5x for qualified accounts.

Kraken vs Coinbase Compared

2. eToro – Popular Crypto Trading Platform With Transparent Fees And Smart Portfolios

Founded in 2007, eToro has become a leading trading platform for crypto, with over 30 million customers in over 100 countries. It is beginner-friendly, caters to experienced investors, and is currently the best alternative to Coinbase.

It offers a selection of more than 5,000 financial instruments, including stocks, ETFs, cryptos, forex, commodities and indices.

The platform features a transparent fee structure where it charges only 1% for buying and selling cryptos. This fee is adjusted in the market price i.e. the bid and ask spread.

The eToro app also features smart portfolios, with a minimum investment of $500, offering managed investment strategies in various sectors.

A copy trading feature is available with a minimum investment of $200. Users can mimic the trades of successful investors. The platform’s crypto exchange has over 70 cryptos and also has its proprietary wallet.

Because of the above features, many crypto enthusiasts may find eToro particularly appealing and the best alternative to Coinbase.

With many asset classes and a focus on the community using CopyTrading, eToro is ideal for those looking to make well-informed investment choices and engage with the markets regardless of their experience level. The platform is also highly accessible as it requires a minimum deposit of just $10.

eToro vs Coinbase Compared

3. Gate.io – Pay Low Trading Fees on 1,700+ Cryptos, Get High Staking Yields 

The next alternative to the Coinbase exchange is Gate.io – a multi-faceted crypto trading platform. Investors can access everything from crypto loans to margin trading and high staking yields with Gate.io. 

Gate.io is used by over 14 million registered customers and has a 24-hour trading volume of more than $10 billion. You can trade over 1,700+ cryptos, paying a fee starting at just 0.09% per trade. This is lower than Coinbase’ trading fees. 

Furthermore, advanced traders can access margin trading. To heighten the value of your trades, Gate.io allows retail investors to apply up to 10x leverage. You can also lock your crypto as collateral on Gate.io, to take out crypto loans. 

For beginner traders, Gate.io offers a number of tools. First is the Copy Trading feature, where you can copy the trades of more skilled and experienced traders. Through Gate.io Startup, you can invest in new and innovative cryptocurrency projects. 

Additionally, long-term investors can stake their tokens on Gate.io and earn high APYs (Annual Percentage Yields). For instance, stake USDT and earn 16.65% APYs. Payments can be made using a numer of payment options – P2P trading, debit/credit cards, and bank transfers. 

There is no minimum deposit on Gate.io.

Gate.io vs Coinbase Compared

4. Binance – Low-Fee Platform With 350+ Cryptos and Futures Trading

Binance is the proverbial 800-pound gorilla of the crypto exchange world. Along with the largest trading volume on earth, which provides more liquidity when you need to buy or sell, Binance offers a host of advanced trading features that aren’t available on Coinbase. Features include crypto loans, automatic trading bots, and perpetual futures that let you bet on the future price of supported cryptos without ever owning the asset.

But Binance isn’t just for advanced traders; newer traders can use simple trades and enjoy lower fees compared to Coinbase. Advanced trading brings even more savings on fees.

Binance Instant Buy/Sell

Binance uses a base fee, which for many popular assets like BTC is just 0.1%. If you use Binance Advanced Trade, you’ll see this low fee. Where many crypto trading platforms can get expensive is when traders use the simple trade boxes available on many exchanges. These newbie-friendly widgets often use a “display fee,” which is only shown when you’re making a trade. Alternatively, they may use a complicated fee structure that’s difficult to follow.

Binance keeps simple trading easy to understand and easy on your wallet, adding a 0.5% fee to its easy-to-use Instant Buy/Sell trades.

At 0.6% total for simple trades, Binance’s trading costs come in at the same cost as using Coinbase Advanced — and you won’t need a finance degree to use the interface.

Binance vs Coinbase Compared

5. MEXC – Trade 1,000+ Cryptos and Pay 0% Spot Trading Fees

One of the most popular crypto exchanges in the world – MEXC is used by more than 10 million users. Compared to Coinbase’s 250+ available tradable cryptos, MEXC offers more than 1,000 cryptos to trade. 

This popular trading platform processes more than 1.4 million transactions per second – and gives investors access to more than 2,000 trading pairs. 

The platform also stands out due to its limited trading fees. MEXC charges 0% spot trading fees and a 0.02% taker fee. Furthermore, the taker fee reduces to 0% for limit orders. 

MEXC uses high-performance mega-transaction matching technology – allowing it to execute fast and efficient trades. On MEXC, investors can also stake their crypto holdings to generate high APYs. For instance, tokens such as BTC, ETH, and DOT can be locked in to earn up to 10% in annual yields. 

Through the ‘MEXC Launchpad’ feature, you can even buy and stake new cryptos that have just been released. Investors can access any of the advanced charts and trading indicators to efficiently place new trades. 

For safety, MEXC uses two-factor authentication protocols and has an anti-DDoS protection set in place. MEXC is compliant with the Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySec) and the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority). 

MEXC vs Coinbase Compared

6. OKX – Low-Cost Exchange With Demo Account and 350+ Cryptos

Similar to Kucoin, OKX provides a myriad of trading tools for advanced traders and offers some of the lowest fees available through any exchange. Limit orders at the low-volume tier cost 0.08%, and fees for market orders are 0.1%.

Traders in over 200 countries can use the main exchange at OKX, whereas people in Canada or the US are directed to OKcoin, an exchange that offers simpler trading options (and slightly higher fees).

OKX offers two standout features: trading bots and a demo account. Trading bots trade automatically according to the rules you define. With trading bots, you can choose from off-the-shelf bots, like dollar-cost averaging (DCA) bots that work to optimize your buying cost as you build a position.

You can also build your own trading bot on OKX, a feature available in both live trading and demo accounts (up next).

OKX provides traders with a demo account that can be used with most of the trading tools on the platform. It’s a great way to learn how to trade with no risk of losing real money.

OKX vs Coinbase Compared

7. Zengo – Highly-Rated Mobile Wallet with 120+ Cryptocurrencies and Multichain NFT Support

Users of the Zengo mobile wallet can buy, sell, and trade over 120+ cryptocurrencies along with NFTs from multiple different blockchains. The cryptocurrencies available include many of the top blockchains, like Bitcoin and Ethereum, alongside some of the most popular ERC20 tokens.

The self-custody Zengo wallet also hosts a dApp marketplace, where users can seamlessly connect to and use dApps, with connections facilitated by the industry standard, WalletConnect.

Zengo offers 24/7 customer support, and this and all the above features are what have helped Zengo wallet to earn a rating of 4.2 stars on Trustpilot, with reviews from over 600 customers—far away from Coinbase’s 1.5 star rating on Trustpilot.

Zengo has been around since 2018 and has since served 1 million customers and not had a single report of a hack. The Zengo wallet software undergoes a security audit each year—conducted by a different auditor each year.

All these features are available in the free version of the Zengo mobile app. However, those looking for extra security for their crypto assets should consider the Pro version of Zengo, whose benefits include:

• Legacy Transfer: Automatically transfer all assets to a new address after a user-defined period of inactivity
• Theft Protection: Protect large transactions, above a user-defined limit, with mandatory 2-factor authentication
• Web3 Firewall: Receive protection from, and alerts about, Web3 hacks
• Priority Support: Guaranteed responses from support within 1 hour, typically within 5 minutes

Zengo vs Coinbase Compared

8. PrimeXBT – Trade Cryptos by Applying 50+ Technical Indicators and High Leverage 

With a user base of over 1 million registered investors – PrimeXBT is a viable platform to begin trading with. While the platform only offers trading access to 40+ cryptos – it offers multiple trading indicators, trading contests, and fast execution speeds. 

To start off, one can access spot trading and futures markets for cryptos. This cost-effective platform charges a taker fee of 0.2% per transaction. If you make a $500 deposit within 48 hours of opening your account, PrimeXBT gives you a $100 trading bonus. 

When trading futures, investors can apply up to 100x leverage. To maximize your trading, PrimeXBT provides customizable charting software, which comes equipped with over 50 technical indicators. 

This powerful trading engine has an average execution speed of only 7.12ms. Skilled investors can access cross-margin trading and take out perpetual contracts with PrimeXBT – which won the ‘Best Margin Trading Platform’ award during the ADVFN International Financial Awards. 

PrimeXBT is available through the desktop/laptop version and the mobile app. 

PrimeXBT vs Coinbase Compared

9. Bitrue – Trade 700+ Cryptos and Access Crypto Loans 

Bitrue is a popular cryptocurrency trading platform – used by more than 10 million people worldwide. Since the platform’s launch, Bitrue has processed more than 10 billion in trading volume. 

Compared to Coinbase’s 250+ cryptos, Bitrue gives you trading access to 700+ spot trading pairs, and over 120 futures pairs. The fee for trading Bitcoin is 0.098%, but can reduce as low as 0.0686% if you hold BTR – the native token. 

Investors can also lock up their tokens on Bitrue’s staking platform to generate high yields. Bitrue also introduces a Power Piggy tool – where you can earn high APYs by locking up assets for a day. For instance, you can stake USDC and generate 16% APYs. 

This popular platform also provides loans and crypto backed lending services. You can take out loans by putting up your existing tokens as collateral. Other features include the Bitrue Launchpad, which gives you access to new projects and IEOs. 

Bitrue incorporates two-factor authentication and cold wallet storage to protect customers’ funds. However, the platform has faced several hacks in the past. 

Bitrue vs Coinbase Compared

10. Kucoin – Powerful Trading Platform With 700+ Cryptocurrencies

On the other side of the spectrum from Robinhood, you can consider Kucoin, an advanced exchange with over 700 cryptocurrencies available for trading. If you’re looking for a tough-to-find crypto, exchanges with a wide selection like Kucoin, Binance, or OKX may have what you need.

Crypto trading fees on Kucoin parallel those of Binance for low-volume traders (under $50 per month in trading volume) when trading “Class A” cryptos. These include BTC, ETH, and dozens of others. Limit trades for Class A assets cost just 0.1%, 83% lower than trading fees on Coinbase Advanced using a limit order.

Many of Kucoin’s features, like trading bots, futures trading, and leveraged tokens, target advanced traders. If you’re currently using Coinbase Advanced or a similar advanced trading platform, you’ll find more tools available on Kucoin. However, the exchange may not be a perfect fit for beginners.

Kucoin is not available in the US but serves 200+ other countries around the world.

Kucoin vs Coinbase Compared

11. Margex – Popular Platform Uses High Bank-Grade Security Standards

Margex is an intuitive trading platform that offers high-grade security measures and multiple trading options. Compared to Coinbase, Margex offers just 9 crypto trading pairs. 

However, investors can take out futures contracts and access up to 100x leverage. For new investors, Margex features a learning section to view tutorials on margin trading and the basics of crypto investing. 

This highly liquid trading platform determines the asset price by using the combined liquidity of 12+ exchanges. Margex also uses the highest cryptocurrency and bank-grade security standards and stores 100% of all assets in offline cold storage. 

To avoid potential price manipulation, Margex uses the MP Shield System. Other features on Margex include the staking mechanism – where you can earn up to 5% APYs. Notably, Margex allows investors to trade their staked cryptos. 

The platform charges a taker fees of only 0.06% on trading Bitcoin. Payments can be made using VISA, Mastercard, PayPal, or ApplePay.

Discover more in our detailed Margex vs Coinbase guide. 

Margex vs Coinbase Compared

12. Poloniex – Access Low-Cost Crypto Trading and Get High Staking Yields 

The next Coinbase alternative is Poloniex – a multi-use cryptocurrency trading platform. On Poloniex, investors can trade more than 400 cryptos. 

Along with spot trading, Poloniex offers perpetual futures, margin trading, and cross-margin trading. To heighten the value of your trades, you can apply up to 100x leverage with Poloniex. 

Perpetual contracts can be settled with USDT on Poloniex. 

If you trade under $50,000 a month – Poloniex charges a low taker fee of 0.155% per trade. New investors can access the Copy trading feature – and copy the exact trades of more skilled investors. 

You can also start staking some of the top cryptos with the ‘Polo Earn’ tool – and earn up to 3% annually by staking Bitcoin. Other features include access to new token airdrops. With the Poloniex LaunchBase, investors can access new crypto launches. 

Notably, Poloniex allows you to buy, sell and trade new NFTs. Investors can make a deposit on Poloniex with bank accounts and debit/credit cards. 

Poloniex vs Coinbase Compared

Why Look for an Alternative to Coinbase?

Coinbase is among the most trusted crypto exchanges and is often considered one of the safest places to buy crypto as well. However, there are several reasons traders may want to explore alternatives.

High Trading Fees

The cheapest way to trade on Coinbase is to use the advanced platform. But fees on Coinbase Advanced can be much higher than you’ll find on competing platforms.

Let’s compare fees to purchase $100 worth of Bitcoin with a market order.

When using Coinbase’s simple trades, however, the fee for the same $100 trade skyrockets to $3.84.

Fees of 1% or lower can work for low-volume traders. But when you start trading more frequently or in larger amounts, trading costs can create a strong headwind to overcome.

Limited Trading Tools for Advanced Traders

Advanced trading platforms like Binance, OKX, Pionex, and Kucoin offer several trading tools not available on Coinbase or only offered in a limited capacity.

For example, all four exchanges offer trading bots, which are useful for tasks like dollar-cost averaging or scooping up profits in a tight trading range. The closest option available through Coinbase is recurring buys, which are only available through the simple trade interface. For smaller purchase amounts common for dollar-cost averaging, the fees can reach 10% or higher. Even at higher trading amounts, the fees for recurring buys approach 4%.

Crypto Selection and Mix Of Assets

Coinbase has over 250 cryptos available for trading. However, with thousands of cryptocurrencies on the market, you might have trouble finding some market favorites. For example, Coinbase doesn’t offer TRON or BNB, both of which are currently in the top 12 cryptocurrencies when measured by market capitalization. Coinbase also delisted XRP, another leading crypto, before relisting XRP again recently.

Even if you use Coinbase, you might find value in using another exchange as well when building a diversified crypto portfolio.

Diversification can help protect against market volatility, and it may make sense to diversify beyond your crypto investments. A platform like Robinhood lets you invest in stocks alongside your crypto investments.

Ease of Use

Finally, not everyone wants to use switches and toggles and complex trading platforms to stack some BTC or ETH. Coinbase’s fees for simple trades force cost-conscious investors to use the advanced platform, which can be an unwelcome experience for new traders and even some experienced traders.

Many traders prefer powerful trading platforms. But sometimes a simpler trading experience is a more enjoyable one, and one you’ll be more likely to use to its full potential.

Conclusion

Several crypto trading platforms offer lower fees when compared to Coinbase. Some also offer more advanced trading tools.

But the best Coinbase alternative for the way many traders trade may be Kraken. Kraken has been chosen by over 10 million clients who trade over $200 billion each quarter. With over 200 cryptocurrencies to choose from and low fees for trading on top of NFT support, Kraken is an excellent choice for beginners and seasoned traders.

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