Margex vs Coinbase – Which is Best in 2024?

Can’t choose between Margex and Coinbase? This Margex vs Coinbase comparison covers everything traders need to know.

Read on to assess how each exchange compares for fees, safety, supported markets, leverage, and other key factors.

Tradable Cryptocurrencies and Markets

Margex: 9/10

Coinbase: 8/10

In this section of our Margex vs Coinbase comparison, we’ll explore tradable cryptocurrencies and instruments.

We break this down by the market type, such as instant buy,  spot trading, and perpetuals. This will help you decide which of the two crypto trading platforms is best for your investment and trading goals.

Instant Buy

Both Margex and Coinbase offer an ‘Instant Buy’ feature. This is aimed at investors who want to purchase cryptocurrencies with fiat money, such as a debit/credit card or e-wallet.

Starting with Margex, users can instantly buy the following coins:

• BTC
• AVAX
• BNB
• LINK
• DAI
• ETH
• LTC
• SOL
• USDT
• TRX
• TUSD
• USDC
• USDD
• WBTC

In contrast, Coinbase’s instant buy feature supports 249 cryptocurrencies. This offers a much wider choice when building a diversified portfolio.

Spot Trading

Margex doesn’t offer a spot trading department. It specializes in perpetual futures, which we cover in the next section. Coinbase offers two spot trading options.

First, users can instantly swap cryptocurrencies from the main Coinbase platform. For instance, swapping ETH for USDT or BTC for LTC. The other option is to use Coinbase Advanced. This offers much lower fees but is aimed at more experienced traders.

Perpetual Futures

Perpetual futures are Margex’s primary offering. They track real-time crypto prices and unlike traditional futures, perpetuals never expire. What’s more, Margex futures support long and short trading, not to mention leverage of up to 100x.

55 perpetual futures are supported by Margex.  This includes large caps like BTC, ETH, BNB, XRP, LTC, EOS, and ADA. Margex also supports some of the best meme coins, including BONK, PEPE, DOGE, and SHIB.

Coinbase also supports perpetual futures trading with limitations. For instance, US traders must be qualified. Moreover, the maximum leverage permitted is 10x. This is considerably lower than Margex’s 100x. Nonetheless, those eligible to trade have access to dozens of perpetual markets, including BTC, ETH, LTC, and DOGE.

Margex Fees vs Coinbase Fees

Margex: 9/10

Coinbase: 4/10

The next section of this Margex vs Coinbase comparison explores fees. Read on to determine which exchange offers the most cost-effective trading experience.

Trading Commissions

Both Margex and Coinbase charge trading commissions when buying and selling cryptocurrencies.

Starting with Margex, it has a simple and transparent pricing structure. There are two commission rates depending on the order type. Those placing limit orders pay just 0.019% per slide. This amounts to commissions of just $0.19 for every $1,000 traded. Alternatively, those placing market orders will pay a higher commission of 0.06%. Even so, this amounts to just $0.60 for every $1,000 traded.

Coinbase commissions aren’t as transparent as Margex. There isn’t a central section detailing trading charges. Instead, users must cipher through multiple pages. Moreover, commissions vary depending on whether you’re using Coinbase or Coinbase Advanced.

For example, standard trading commissions are 1.49% on Coinbase. That’s $14.90 for every $1,000 traded, which is considerably more than the $0.19 available at Margex.

Moreover, Coinbase charges a premium on orders below $200. There’s a flat fee depending on the exact order size. Nonetheless, the final commission amounts to more than 1.49%. That said, Coinbase Advanced offers more competitive pricing. This can be accessed from the same Coinbase account, so it’s worth taking advantage of.

For example, limit orders start from 0.6% per slide, amounting to $6 for every $1,000 traded. This increases to 1.2% per slide when placing market orders. Coinbase Advanced offers lower fees when your 30-day trading volume is increased. For instance, trading at least $1,000 reduces limit/market orders to 0.35% and 0.75%, respectively. However, you’d need to trade millions of dollars every month to align commissions with Margex, so this is a major drawback when choosing Coinbase.

Instant Buy Fees

The instant buy feature allows you to buy cryptocurrencies with fiat money. The order is processed immediately, which is ideal if you don’t have any coins to trade. This feature is offered by both exchanges.

Instant buys are charged differently from trading commissions. This is because you’re purchasing coins directly from Margex or Coinbase, rather than trading with other market participants.

So, starting with Margex, it has partnered with Changelly and ChangeNOW for fiat purchases. Margex doesn’t add any fees to the transaction, meaning you’ll pay whatever the respective fiat on-ramp charges. This is displayed when setting up the order and fees are built into the exchange rate.

In contrast, Coinbase facilitates instant buys directly. This means you don’t need to use third-party on-ramp providers. Coinbase charges 3.99% when using Visa, MasterCard, or PayPal. This amounts to $39.90 for every $1,000 purchased.

Deposit Fees

Fees are charged differently when directly depositing funds, rather than using the instant buy feature. That said, the only other option on Margex is to deposit cryptocurrencies. No fees are charged. So it’s just the network fee that you need to cover when making the transfer from a private wallet.

Coinbase also offers fee-free crypto deposits. It also enables users to deposit fiat money directly into their accounts. Fees vary depending on the payment method, currency, and country of residence. For instance, UK users transferring GBP from a local bank account pay just £1. US users depositing funds with PayPal pay 2.5%.

Withdrawal Fees

Margex doesn’t support fiat withdrawals. You can, however, withdraw crypto balances with ease. It charges a flat fee depending on the coin being withdrawn. For example, Bitcoin withdrawals cost 0.002 BTC. While Litecoin withdrawals cost 0.1 LTC. You can check the specific fees from within your Margex account.

As with other Coinbase fees, withdrawal charges aren’t transparent. Coinbase explains that “all fees are disclosed at the time of the transaction.” This means you won’t know how much you’re being charged until you request the withdrawal.

Trading Tools & Features

Margex: 8/10

Coinbase: 7/10

We’ve covered supported markets and fees. Next, let’s explore how Margex and Coinbase compare for advanced trading features and tools.

Copy Trading

Margex offers a comprehensive copy trading feature. This enables users to ‘copy’ another Margex trader. This feature will appeal to beginners who want to actively trade perpetual futures but don’t feel comfortable doing it themselves. It’s also ideal for experienced traders who don’t have time to research the markets and place orders accordingly.

There are currently 36 pre-vetted traders that can be copied. Margex offers multiple tools to help users find the right trader. For example, you can sort traders by their total equity, return on equity, and number of followers. Additional data is available when clicking on a trader. This includes an overview of the trader’s strategy and their current collateral.

Once you’ve selected a trader all future positions will be copied automatically. This will be proportionate to your investment size. For example, let’s say you invest $2,000. The trader risks 10% of their balance on a BTC perceptual order. You automatically place the same order but at $200 (10% of the $2,000 investment). Conversely, Coinbase doesn’t offer any copy trading tools.

Leverage

Leverage is increasingly becoming popular with advanced traders. This high-risk feature is available at both Margex and Coinbase. However, there are some differences in what’s offered.

As the name implies, Margex offers margin trading to all account holders. It doesn’t discriminate based on the user’s location or trading status. The maximum leverage available is 100x. This is offered on three cryptocurrencies; BTC, ETH, and BNB. So, let’s say a trader has $500 in their Margex account. Applying leverage of 100x on BTC/USD would increase the $500 position to $50,000.

Suppose that BTC/USD position increases by 10%. This would amount to gains of $5,000 (10% of the $50,000). However, lower leverage limits are offered on other cryptocurrencies. For example, MATIC, DOT, LINK, SOL, EOS, and LTC come with 50x leverage. This is reduced to 25x on other markets, such as ARB, SUSHI, MANA, ATOM, and PEPE. Nonetheless, we found that Margex is one of the best crypto leverage trading platforms around.

Coinbase offers leverage via perpetual futures. These products are only available to non-US clients. The maximum leverage available is 10x. US clients have access to delivery futures. However, only those with a ‘qualified’ status. This will rule out the vast majority of Coinbase users.

Staking

The best crypto exchanges come with in-built staking tools. Margex and Coinbase are no different. This means account holders can earn passive income on idle balances.

Margex supports a much smaller range of staking pools when compared to Coinbase. This includes BTC, ETH, and LINK. Stablecoins like USDC and USDT are also supported. However, Margex offers an innovative staking feature that provides instant liquidity. This is because the coins staked can still be used to trade.

For example, suppose you deposit $1,000 worth of BTC into the Margex staking pool. That $1,000 can be used as collateral for a 100x position, meaning you’ve got $100,000 to trade with. Staking yields are also competitive at Margex. You’ll earn 5% on USDC and USDT. BTC and ETH pay 3% and 4.7% respectively. Moreover, Margex doesn’t charge staking fees.

Moving on to Coinbase, 18 staking coins are supported. Some coins come with competitive APYs while others don’t. For example, Coinbase offers 5.47% on SOL and 11.68% on DOT. However, you’ll get just 2.05% when staking ETH. What’s more, Coinbase charges staking fees of up to 35%. This will be reduced from the staking rewards generated. You won’t be able to use your staked funds as liquidity when using Coinbase.

Demo Accounts

Demo accounts are an integral part of crypto exchanges. They enable traders to test the user experience before risking money. Demo accounts are also ideal for trying new strategies.

Margex offers free demo accounts without requiring users to register. Just click the ‘Live Demo’ button to load the charting area. Demo accounts come prefunded with over 5,000 BTC, 700 WBTC, 500 DAI, and 150 TRON. Moreover, Margex demo accounts mirror live market conditions. This includes fully-fledged order books and real-time pricing.

Coinbase doesn’t offer any demo trading facilities. This is surprising considering the popular crypto trading platform is largely aimed at beginners.

Charting Tools

Margex offers comprehensive and customizable charting tools. Users can choose from a dark or light theme, and whether to have order books on the left or right of the chart. The Margex charting area is ideal for technical traders. It supports multiple time frames and the best crypto indicators.

This includes everything from the MACD and Ichimoku Cloud to the Price Volume Trend and RSI. Charts can also be customized with the preferred colors, status lines, and symbols. It’s also possible to deploy drawing tools and take snapshots of the respective findings.

Coinbase trading tools depend on the division. For example, the standard Coinbase trading platform doesn’t offer any analysis tools at all. It’s primarily used by beginners who want to buy and sell cryptocurrencies in a no-frills environment.

That said, Coinbase Advanced is considerably more extensive. It offers deep order books with trading history, customizable charts, and a complete suite of technical indicators, not to mention custom order types and drawing tools.

User Experience

Margex: 8/10

Coinbase: 7/10

Next in this Coinbase vs Margex comparison is the user experience.

The Margex user experience is solid from start to finish. However, do remember that Margex largely focuses on perpetual futures. These are high-leverage products that aren’t suitable for beginners.

Nonetheless, getting started with Margex takes seconds. It’s a no KYC exchange, meaning new users only need an email address and password. And, deposits are credited swiftly, so you’ll be trading cryptocurrencies in no time at all.

In contrast, getting started with Coinbase can be cumbersome. All accounts – regardless of whether you’re depositing fiat or crypto – must complete an extensive KYC process. This requires personal information and a government-issued ID. It also requires a selfie, where the ID is held next to your face. Coinbase’s automated systems often don’t work.

It continuously asks for the documents to be reuploaded even though the quality guidelines have been met. Users have no choice but to keep repeating this step until the system approves it. That said, the main Coinbase platform is perfect for investors without any prior experience. The design and layout are super beginner-friendly.

Mobile Apps

Margex: 8/10

Coinbase: 8/10

Our Margex vs Coinbase comparison also evaluated the exchanges’ native mobile apps. Both iOS and Android are supported.

Margex offers two different apps. The first is linked to the main trading account. This enables users to buy and sell perpetual futures on the move. It comes with optimized charting tools, meaning technical analysis can be employed even on smaller screens. Navigating between markets and placing orders is also seamless.

The other Margex app is dedicated to copy trading. This is great for seeing how the copied traders are performing. Just open the app for real-time statistics on open positions, profit/loss levels, and other important metrics. The copy trading app also offers a great user experience.

Coinbase also offers multiple mobile apps. The main app is for buying, selling, and trading cryptocurrencies. The user experience is beginner-friendly just like the main Coinbase website. Coinbase also offers a native app for non-custodial storage. This enables users to store cryptocurrencies away from Coinbase’s centralized wallets. Only the user has access to the wallet’s private keys.

Payments

Margex: 7/10

Coinbase: 8/10

Now let’s explore whether Margex or Coinbase is best for payments.

Margex accepts fiat and crypto payments. No deposit fees are charged by Margex. However, fiat payments are processed by third-party providers, which add a markup to the purchase. This is built into the exchange rate and shown before confirming the order. For example, we were quoted 0.0015078 BTC for a $100 credit card payment.

The purchased coins are immediately transferred to the Margex account. The minimum fiat deposit depends on the provider. For example, ChangeNOW requires $18.40 when using Visa or MasterCard. Other payment methods are accepted too, such as Revolut and Google/Apple Pay.

Depositing crypto into a Margex account is also seamless. Users must select their preferred coin and Margex automatically generates a unique deposit address. The coins can then be transferred from a private wallet. BTC deposits average 10 minutes. Other coins often arrive in seconds.

Coinbase also accepts fiat and crypto payments. The instant buy feature accepts Visa, MasterCard, and PayPal. This costs 3.99% of the purchase amount. However, fees are even higher if the purchase amount is under $200. Depositing fiat directly into a Coinbase account is often considerably cheaper. Local bank transfers attract a nominal fee. For instance, UK users pay £1 when using Faster Payments.

Regulation & Security

Margex: 7/10

Coinbase: 9/10

Both platforms offer a secure trading environment. However, one of the departments where Coinbase really excels is regulation and security. It’s considered the Gold Standard for client safety. Not only is Coinbase regulated in the US and European markets, but also in Australia, the UK, and Singapore. It holds the majority of client-owned cryptocurrencies in cold storage wallets. These require multi-signature access and are guarded 24/7.

Moreover, Coinbase offers two-factor authentication (2FA). This must be provided when signing in and withdrawing funds. IP address and device whitelisting are also supported which means 2FA will kick in when visiting Coinbase from a location or device it doesn’t recognize. Coinbase is also a public company listed on the NASDAQ exchange. This provides quarterly financial reports, ensuring complete transparency.

However, all of this regulation comes with a potential drawback. All Coinbase accounts require extensive KYC procedures. Moreover, certain crypto products – such as staking, perpetual futures, and leverage – aren’t available in certain countries.

Moving on to Margex, it’s important to note the exchange doesn’t hold any regulatory licenses. This is similar to other crypto derivative platforms like Bybit and BitMEX. Although this increases the risks, the benefit is that Margex users can avoid KYC processes. This means users can trade leveraged products without providing personal information and a government-issued ID.

Margex also offers robust security features, ensuring client-owned funds are kept safe. For example, account sign-ins are protected by 2FA via Google Authenticator. Withdrawal requests not only require 2FA but also email confirmation. Margex also offers email notifications on select account functions, such as logging in or making a deposit.

In addition, Margex only processes withdrawals once per day. This is a core security step. For instance, if an account is compromised, users could still have enough time to notify Margex and subsequently block withdrawals. Crucially, Margex keeps 100% of digital assets in cold storage wallets. They come with access segregation, ensuring individual employees can’t initiate movements.

Conclusion

This Margex vs Coinbase comparison has left no stone unturned. In summary, Coinbase excels in a few departments, including the user experience for beginners, supported coins, and its solid regulatory framework.

However, Margex scores highly in most other areas. Especially fees, leverage levels, copy trading tools, and staking. Margex also offers a more seamless registration process – only an email address is collected from new users.

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Kane Pepi

Editor

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Kane Pepi

Editor

Kane Pepi is an accomplished financial and cryptocurrency writer who has an extensive portfolio of over 2,000 articles, guides, and market insights. With his expertise in specialized subjects such as asset valuation and analysis, portfolio management, and financial crime prevention, Kane has built a reputation for providing clear explanations of complex financial topics. He holds a Bachelor's Degree in Finance and a Master's Degree in Financial Crime, and is currently pursuing his Doctorate degree, which focuses on investigating the complexities of money laundering in the cryptocurrency and blockchain technology sectors. Kane's wealth of knowledge and experience in the field make…

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