Kraken vs Gemini
Kraken is cheaper: a $1,000 buy-and-sell costs $16.00 in platform fees vs $24.00 on Gemini. 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 Gemini if you are uS users who want a regulated, licence-focused exchange and can use limit orders on ActiveTrader to avoid the higher app fees. For US users: Gemini 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.
Gemini is a New York-based crypto exchange founded by Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, live since October 2015. It runs under a New York limited-purpose trust charter and has been listed on Nasdaq as GEMI since September 2025. Simple buys in the app use quoted fees plus a spread, while the ActiveTrader order book charges maker/taker fees of 0.60%/1.20% at the base tier.
Kraken saves $8.00 per $1,000 round trip.
Side by side
| Kraken | Gemini | |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Exchange | Exchange |
| Status | live | live |
| Chains | ||
| Platforms | web, ios, android, desktop | web, ios, android |
| Custody | Custodial | Custodial |
| KYC | required | required |
| Platform fee, round trip | 1.6% | 2.4% |
| $1,000 round trip | $16.00 | $24.00 |
| 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 | The same amount as the referrer ($50) once the qualifying trade is made |
| Perps taker / maker | 0.05% / 0.02% | — |
| United States | Partly available | Available |
| United Kingdom | Available | Not available |
| European Union | Available | Not available |
| Launched | 2013-09 | 2015-10 |
| Reported incidents | 6 | 5 |
What your trade costs on each
Cost of a round trip (buy + sell). Platform fee only; network and pool fees are extra.
Features
| Feature | Kraken | Gemini |
|---|---|---|
| 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 | ✓ | — |
| ActiveTrader maker/taker order book | — | ✓ |
| web and mobile app | — | ✓ |
| perpetual futures | — | ✓ |
| Gemini Dollar (GUSD) stablecoin | — | ✓ |
"—" 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.
Gemini: watch out for
- Base ActiveTrader taker fee is 1.20%, so a market-order round trip costs about 2.4% before spread or deposit fees.
- App order fees are not published as a fixed table and a spread is added on Instant and Recurring orders.
- Earn customers' funds were frozen from November 2022 and drew SEC, NYAG, NYDFS and CFTC actions.
FAQ
Is Kraken better than Gemini?
Kraken is cheaper: a $1,000 buy-and-sell costs $16.00 in platform fees vs $24.00 on Gemini. 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 Gemini if you are uS users who want a regulated, licence-focused exchange and can use limit orders on ActiveTrader to avoid the higher app fees. For US users: Gemini is available; Kraken is partly available.
Which is cheaper, Kraken or Gemini?
Kraken. On a $1,000 round trip: Kraken $16.00 vs Gemini $24.00, platform fees only.
Can I use Kraken or Gemini in the US?
Kraken: partly available. Gemini: 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
- Gemini Support: Gemini closing accounts in the UK, EU, and Australia — checked 2026-10-17
- Gemini - ActiveTrader fee schedule (maker/taker tiers, stablecoin and derivatives fees) — checked 2026-10-17
- Gemini - Gemini mode fees (app order fees, spread) — checked 2026-10-17
- Gemini - Transfer fee schedule (deposits, withdrawals) — checked 2026-10-17
- Gemini - Referral rewards program terms (updated Jan 20, 2026) — checked 2026-10-17
- Gemini - Referral page — checked 2026-10-17