Kraken vs Coinbase
Pick Kraken if you are traders in the US (outside New York and Maine), UK or EEA who want a long-running regulated exchange and will use Kraken Pro limit orders rather than the 1% instant-buy flow. Pick Coinbase if you are beginners in the US, UK or EU who want a regulated, KYC'd on-ramp with bank funding, and who can trade onchain Base/Solana tokens in the same app. For US users: Coinbase is available; Kraken is partly available.
Checked 2026-10-27 · both venues' fee pagesKraken is a US-based custodial crypto exchange run by Payward, Inc., founded in San Francisco in 2011 and open to the public since September 2013. Instant buys and sells in the Kraken app carry a 1% fee plus a spread, while the Kraken Pro order book charges 0.40% maker and 0.80% taker at the entry tier.
Coinbase is a US-listed (Nasdaq: COIN) custodial crypto exchange and broker. Simple buys and sells carry a spread plus a Coinbase fee, Coinbase Advanced is a maker/taker order book, and since 2025 the app has offered DEX trading of onchain Base and Solana tokens through an integrated self-custody wallet.
Our take
Both are custodial, KYC exchanges with an app for simple buys and a pro order book. On published entry-tier order-book rates Kraken Pro is cheaper: 0.40% maker and 0.80% taker against 0.50% and 0.90% on Coinbase Advanced in the US. Kraken does not serve New York or Maine, where Coinbase is the one of the two you can use.
Choose Kraken if
You trade on the order book and want the lower published entry-tier fee, or you buy often in the app and would pay Kraken+ ($4.99 a month) to waive the 1% instant-buy fee on up to $10,000 a month.
Choose Coinbase if
You live in New York or Maine, want onchain trading on Base and Solana inside the same app, or want a Nasdaq-listed company holding your funds.
Key differences
- Order-book fees at the entry tier: Kraken Pro 0.40% maker / 0.80% taker. Coinbase Advanced (US, since 2026-09-16) 0.50% / 0.90%.
- App buys: Kraken charges a published 1% fee (1.5% on custom orders) plus a spread. Coinbase shows a spread plus a variable fee on the preview screen and publishes no fixed rate.
- US availability: Kraken excludes New York and Maine. Coinbase is available across the US.
- Referral: Kraken pays up to $75 to a new US user who deposits from a bank and trades within 15 days. Coinbase Advanced pays the invitee $5 to $50 depending on 14-day volume.
- Regulatory history: Kraken paid $30M to settle the SEC's staking case in 2023. Coinbase had a customer data breach through bribed support agents in May 2025.
How to choose
- Lowest published order-book fee: Kraken Pro.
- In New York or Maine: Coinbase.
- Want Base and Solana onchain trades in the app: Coinbase.
- Either way, use the pro order book (Kraken Pro or Coinbase Advanced) instead of instant buys to avoid the spread.
Editorial view based on the fee and policy data on this page. Updated 2026-10-27.
Side by side
| Kraken | Coinbase | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Exchange | Exchange |
| Status | live | live |
| Chains | Base, Solana | |
| Platforms | web, ios, android, desktop | web, ios, android |
| Custody | Custodial | Custodial |
| KYC | required | required |
| Platform fee, round trip | 1.6% | — |
| $1,000 round trip | $16.00 | — |
| Sign-up perk | Up to $75 in the US once the new user deposits fiat from a bank and meets the offer's trading requirement within 15 days of signing up | Varies by country and program. With the Coinbase Advanced referral link, the invitee earns $5 (>$100), $20 (>$5K) or $50 (>$10K) based on 14-day Advanced volume. |
| Perps taker / maker | 0.05% / 0.02% | — |
| United States | Partly available | Available |
| United Kingdom | Available | Available |
| European Union | Available | Available |
| Launched | 2013-09 | 2012-06 |
| Reported incidents | 6 | 3 |
Features
| Feature | Kraken | Coinbase |
|---|---|---|
| instant buy/sell | ✓ | — |
| recurring buys | ✓ | — |
| Kraken Pro maker/taker order book | ✓ | — |
| margin trading | ✓ | — |
| futures and perpetuals | ✓ | — |
| staking | ✓ | ✓ |
| stocks and ETFs (US) | ✓ | — |
| xStocks tokenized equities (outside US) | ✓ | — |
| Kraken+ subscription | ✓ | — |
| proof of reserves | ✓ | — |
| API trading | ✓ | — |
| OTC desk | ✓ | — |
| mobile app | ✓ | ✓ |
| desktop app | ✓ | — |
| simple buy/sell | — | ✓ |
| convert | — | ✓ |
| limit orders | — | ✓ |
| coinbase advanced order book | — | ✓ |
"—" means the feature was not in the sources we checked, not proof it's missing.
Kraken: watch out for
- Not available to residents of New York or Maine.
- Instant buys cost 1% (1.5% custom orders) plus a spread that Kraken does not publish as a fixed rate.
- ACH Plaid purchases are held for seven days, and card or wallet purchases can be held for 72 hours, before withdrawal.
Coinbase: watch out for
- Simple trades combine a variable spread with a variable Coinbase fee, and no fixed % is published.
- Simple limit orders carry an extra 1% execution fee, which Coinbase One does not waive.
- DEX trades can add a separate service fee, which Coinbase One does not cover.
FAQ
Which is better, Kraken or Coinbase?
Both are custodial, KYC exchanges with an app for simple buys and a pro order book. On published entry-tier order-book rates Kraken Pro is cheaper: 0.40% maker and 0.80% taker against 0.50% and 0.90% on Coinbase Advanced in the US. Kraken does not serve New York or Maine, where Coinbase is the one of the two you can use.
Is Kraken better than Coinbase?
Pick Kraken if you are traders in the US (outside New York and Maine), UK or EEA who want a long-running regulated exchange and will use Kraken Pro limit orders rather than the 1% instant-buy flow. Pick Coinbase if you are beginners in the US, UK or EU who want a regulated, KYC'd on-ramp with bank funding, and who can trade onchain Base/Solana tokens in the same app. For US users: Coinbase is available; Kraken is partly available.
Which is cheaper, Kraken or Coinbase?
We could not compare published fees for both.
Can I use Kraken or Coinbase in the US?
Kraken: partly available. Coinbase: available. Based on each venue's own terms.
Sources
Last checked . Fees and terms change often; the venue's own page wins if it disagrees with ours.
- Kraken - Fee schedule (instant buy, Kraken Pro tiers, stablecoin, futures, perps) — checked 2026-10-27
- Kraken+ - zero trading fees subscription — checked 2026-10-27
- Kraken Support - Where is Kraken licensed or regulated? (geographic restrictions) — checked 2026-10-27
- Kraken Support - Changes that affected our Maine clients — checked 2026-10-27
- Kraken Support - Why is there a withdrawal hold on my account? — checked 2026-10-27
- Kraken Support - Cryptocurrency withdrawal fees and minimums — checked 2026-10-27
- Coinbase pricing and fees disclosures - crypto — checked 2026-10-16
- Coinbase Advanced fees (help) — checked 2026-10-16
- Coinbase UK - Advanced (<=0.4% maker, <=0.6% taker) — checked 2026-10-16
- Coinbase One plans and pricing — checked 2026-10-16
- Coinbase blog - Coinbase unlocks millions of assets with DEX trading (Aug 8, 2025; update Oct 8, 2025) — checked 2026-10-16
- Coinbase blog - DEX trading in Brazil — checked 2026-10-16