Binance and Coinbase are two of the most popular cryptocurrency exchanges in the world. They both offer a large crypto selection, easy-to-use mobile app, and a full library of educational materials to help users learn more about crypto.
So which one should you use?
We’ve compared the crypto selection, fees, security, and features of both Coinbase and Binance to help you find the best exchange for your needs.
About Binance
Founded in 2017 by Changpeng Zhao, Binance has quickly become the largest crypto exchange in the world, with over $70 billion in daily trading volume. Binance offers access to hundreds of cryptocurrencies, margin, futures and derivatives trading, NFTs, crypto savings accounts, crypto lending, a crypto credit card, and even trading competitions with prizes. To say that Binance offers a lot of features is understating the scope of the platform (by a mile).
Binance boasts over 90 million customers globally, carries over 600 cryptocurrencies, and offers some of the lowest trading fees on the market. Binance is not available to U.S. residents, but its sister company, Binance.US, does offer a more limited trading platform available to U.S. customers.
Read our full Binance.US review.
About Coinbase
Coinbase is a U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange founded in 2012 by Brian Armstrong and Fred Ehrsam, and has grown to be one of the largest crypto exchanges in the world (by trading volume). With access to over 160 cryptocurrencies, a simple and advanced trading platform, and a recently-launched NFT marketplace, Coinbase offers a lot of features for crypto enthusiasts.
Coinbase has over 70 million customers across the globe in over 100 countries, transacting over $500 billion in trading volume each quarter. Designed with beginners in mind, the Coinbase platform offers a simple way for beginners to purchase their first cryptocurrency, as well as learn about the industry with built-in educational content.
Read our full Coinbase review.
Binance vs. Coinbase overview
| Binance | Coinbase | |
|---|---|---|
| Fees (maker/taker) | Up to 0.015%/0.10%, depending on 30-day trade volume and BNB holdings | $0.99–$2.99, for orders below $200.
1.49%–3.99% for trades over $200 Advanced: Up to 0.60%/0.60%, depending on 30-day trade volume |
| Trading options | Buy/sell, trading, staking, earn interest, API integration, futures and margin, derivatives, trading competitions, peer-to-peer trades | Buy/sell, trading |
| Funding options | Bank transfer (ACH, SEPA, SWIFT), wire transfer, crypto deposit | Wire transfer, ACH, debit card, PayPal, crypto deposit |
| Currency selection | 600+ crypto, 40+ fiat | 160+ crypto, 5 fiat |
| Verification process | 2–3 minutes | 2–3 minutes |
Binance vs. Coinbase fees
Coinbase and Binance charge fees for trading crypto, with various fee structures for different types of transactions. In general, Coinbase charges much higher fees than Binance, but has recently launched an “Advanced” trading platform, which offers much lower fees than standard Coinbase purchases.
Both Coinbase and Binance offer free crypto deposits, but may have a charge for fiat currency deposits, depending on the currency and deposit method. Crypto and fiat withdrawals may charge a fee based on the currency being withdrawn and the network it is on. You can see a breakdown of Coinbase deposit and withdrawal fees and Binance deposit and withdrawal fees on their websites.
Binance trading fees
Binance fees are slightly more complicated, but still based on a maker-taker fee model. Binance offers discounts to higher-volume traders, as well as those who hold the native Binance token (BNB). There are also separate fee schedules for margin trading, futures trading, and peer-to-peer (P2P) trades. Fees also vary by currency, depending on the type of trade. View a full breakdown of Binance trading fees.
For regular spot trades, here’s how Binance trading fees are listed:
| Level | 30d trade volume (BUSD) | and/or | BNB balance | Maker/taker | Maker/taker
(BNB 25% off) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regular user | < 1,000,000 BUSD | or | ≥ 0 BNB | 0.1000% / 0.1000% | 0.0750% / 0.0750% |
| VIP 1 | ≥ 1,000,000 BUSD | and | ≥ 25 BNB | 0.0900% / 0.1000% | 0.0675% / 0.0750% |
| VIP 2 | ≥ 5,000,000 BUSD | and | ≥ 100 BNB | 0.0800% / 0.1000% | 0.0600% / 0.0750% |
| VIP 3 | ≥ 20,000,000 BUSD | and | ≥ 250 BNB | 0.0700% / 0.1000% | 0.0525% / 0.0750% |
| VIP 4 | ≥ 120,000,000 BUSD | and | ≥ 500 BNB | 0.0700% / 0.0900% | 0.0525% / 0.0675% |
| VIP 5 | ≥ 200,000,000 BUSD | and | ≥ 1,000 BNB | 0.0600% / 0.0800% | 0.0450% / 0.0600% |
| VIP 6 | ≥ 500,000,000 BUSD | and | ≥ 1,750 BNB | 0.0500% / 0.0700% | 0.0375% / 0.0525% |
| VIP 7 | ≥ 1,000,000,000 BUSD | and | ≥ 3,000 BNB | 0.0400% / 0.0600% | 0.0300% / 0.0450% |
| VIP 8 | ≥ 2,500,000,000 BUSD | and | ≥ 4,500 BNB | 0.0300% / 0.0500% | 0.0225% / 0.0375% |
| VIP 9 | ≥ 5,000,000,000 BUSD | and | ≥ 5,500 BNB | 0.0200% / 0.0400% | 0.0150% / 0.0300% |
Bottom line: Binance offers 0.10% trade fees (or lower), making them one of the most cost-effective crypto exchanges in the world.
Coinbase standard trading fees
For standard trades, Coinbase requires a minimum trade fee of $0.99, with fees reducing as orders get larger. Here’s a quick breakdown of the fees:
- Orders of less than $10: $0.99.
- Orders of $10.00 – $24.99: $1.49.
- Orders of $25.00 – $49.99: $1.99.
- Orders of $50.00 – $199.99: $2.99.
For orders over $200, fees can vary, and include a transaction fee and “spread” fee, and are calculated individually per transaction. Based on a few tests, this fee hovers around 1.50%, but can vary a bit.
Coinbase Advanced trading fees
Coinbase recently launched Coinbase Advanced, offering fees that are based on trading volume, and using a maker-taker fee model. These fees are much lower than standard Coinbase transactions.
Taker fees are charged when your order is matched against an order already on the order book, which takes liquidity from the market. Maker fees are charged when your trade order is not matched immediately, but is instead placed in the order book, adding liquidity to the market.
Here’s a breakdown of the Coinbase Advanced trading fees:
| 30-day trading volume | Taker fee | Maker fee |
|---|---|---|
| <$10k | 0.60% | 0.40% |
| $10k – $50k | 0.40% | 0.25% |
| $50k – $100k | 0.25% | 0.15% |
| $100k – $1m | 0.20% | 0.10% |
| $1m – $20m | 0.18% | 0.08% |
| $20m – $100m | 0.15% | 0.05% |
| $100m – $300m | 0.10% | 0.02% |
| $300m – $500m | 0.08% | 0.00% |
| $500m+ | 0.05% | 0.00% |
Binance vs. Coinbase security
Both Coinbase and Binance offer comprehensive security features, helping protect user funds and data. Here are a few of the security features offered by both Coinbase and Binance:
- Two-factor authentication: Both platforms offer two-factor authentication to secure your account, requiring entering a code before logging in and making withdrawals.
- Cold storage: Both platforms utilize cold storage to store a majority of crypto assets offline.
- Insurance: Coinbase offers FDIC insurance on user USD deposits (up to $250k per person), while Binance carries a $1 billion insurance fund to repay lost cryptocurrencies as the result of theft.
Overall, both Binance and Coinbase offer some of the best security in the industry, but Binance has been hacked in the past, losing up to 7,000 Bitcoins in a hacking incident in 2019.
Binance vs. Coinbase features
While Binance and Coinbase are both large crypto exchanges that offer buying, selling, and trading of cryptocurrencies, they have very different features to offer. Here are a few of the unique features on each platform:
Binance features
- Binance advanced trading tools. Binance offers most every trading tool imaginable, with built-in TradingView charts with hundreds of indicators, live order books and depth charts, isolated and cross margin, derivative trading options, and a wide range of order types to control every trade.
- Binance futures and derivatives trading. Binance offers trading of crypto futures contracts, as well as derivative products that track the value of underlying assets. Users can trade with up to 125x margin and have access to leveraged tokens as well.
- Binance Earn. Binance offers a large marketplace of interest-earning crypto products, including coin staking and crypto savings accounts.
Coinbase features
- Coinbase Learn. Coinbase offers the ability to learn about cryptocurrency within its app by watching short-form videos. Users can also earn crypto by taking short quizzes at the end of each lesson.
- Coinbase News. Coinbase offers a built-in newsfeed to the platform, as well as curated news that is available below each crypto listed on the exchange. This helps keep new investors up-to-date on the latest crypto happenings and market-moving news stories.
My experience with Binance and Coinbase
I have used Coinbase for most of my crypto trading, and have explored the Binance platform as well. When exploring Binance, the vast array of products was slightly overwhelming, but I was able to quickly find how to buy and sell crypto. Moving over to the trading interface, the charts and massive wealth of choices for placing orders was hard to follow, but I found that it actually mirrors most other advanced trading platforms.
One of the more interesting features of the platform is the Binance Earn section, where different savings account and staking opportunities would pay out up to 20% APY (or more) when depositing crypto, especially the Binance Coin (BNB). And while the new NFT marketplace offers some interesting projects, the layout is not very user-friendly compared to other popular NFT marketplaces.
I have purchased Bitcoin and Ethereum on Coinbase over the past few years, but slowed down due to the high fees on the standard platform. I’ve used the Coinbase Learn platform to earn crypto rewards, as well as learn about up-and-coming crypto projects and how they work. I have also used the sister platform, Coinbase Pro, as the fees were much lower until the recent introduction of Coinbase Advanced.
Read more: Coinbase Pro review: advanced crypto exchange for experienced traders
Overall, Coinbase is a great platform for beginners and makes it really easy to get started, but with much higher fees. Binance is a more advanced and full-featured crypto exchange, but might overwhelm new users who accidentally wander over to the derivatives platform or strategy trading platforms.
Who is Binance best for?
Advanced crypto traders
Binance is made for active crypto traders who want access to every trading tool imaginable. With advanced charting and order types, access to margin and derivatives trading, trading challenges, and extremely low fees, Binance is designed for advanced crypto enthusiasts.
Non-U.S. residents
Binance is available globally, but U.S. residents cannot use the platform. While it does offer a smaller exchange at Binance.US, it does not offer the breadth of features that Binance.com offers, and has a more limited crypto selection.
Who is Coinbase best for?
New crypto investors
Coinbase is designed to make buying crypto easy, and its mobile app is perfect for beginners. Coinbase makes the sign-up process easy, helps walk new users through buying crypto, and has built-in education to help beginners get up-to-speed on all things crypto.
Users who spend their crypto
The Coinbase Visa debit card allows you to spend your crypto balance by processing the transaction and automatically selling a small portion of your crypto to cover the purchase.
Read more: What are crypto credit cards and are they worth it?
Binance pros & cons
Pros
- Advanced trading features. Binance offers more advanced trading features than most exchanges, with trading tools, advanced charts, multiple trading strategies, and access to multiple types of crypto derivatives.
- Low fees. Binance offers some of the lowest fees of any exchange on the market, with fees only going as high as 0.10% for trades, and offering discounts to high-volume traders.
- Access to margin and derivatives. Binance allows traders to trade with up to 125x margin, as well as access to multiple derivative trading platforms. Users can also trade leveraged tokens, and even join futures trading battles to win prizes.
- Crypto selection. Binance offers over 600 cryptocurrencies, with thousands of trading pairs available on the platform. This is far more than most exchanges, and more than Coinbase’s 160+ crypto selection.
Cons
- Too complicated for beginners. While Binance is a great platform for active traders, new crypto investors might feel overwhelmed with the trading interface and complicated derivatives trading platform.
- Not available in the U.S.. Binance is not available to U.S. traders, and its sister platform, Binance.US, does not offer the same features and listed cryptocurrencies.
Coinbase pros & cons
Pros
- Ease of use. Coinbase offers one of the easiest trading apps on the crypto market, making it very simple for beginners to buy their first cryptocurrency.
- Educational tools. With built-in video training and a crypto rewards program, Coinbase makes it easy to learn about crypto while paying crypto rewards to users.
- Crypto debit card. The Coinbase Visa Card makes it easy to spend your crypto by allowing you to simply swipe the card and spend your crypto balance.
Cons
- High fees. Coinbase fees are very high compared to other exchanges, especially for smaller transactions. These fees can be mitigated by using Coinbase Advanced, but this may be too complicated for a new user.
- No interest accounts. Coinbase does not offer interest-bearing crypto savings accounts. And while “staking” should be coming soon, it has yet to materialize.
So, which one is the best?
Both Binance and Coinbase offer access to popular cryptocurrencies, offer advanced trading tools, and both even recently launched an NFT marketplace. While Coinbase offers a great user experience for crypto newbies, Binance is designed for advanced traders who want access to a wide range of trading tools. And while Binance seems to edge out Coinbase on features and fees, both platforms serve very different users.
Coinbase is one of the best platforms for beginners, even with higher fees. Its mobile app, slick interface, and educational tools make it ideal for new users just getting into crypto.
Advanced traders should choose Binance, but only if you live outside the U.S. Binance offers over 600 cryptocurrencies, hundreds of trading tools and features, advanced order types, margin and derivatives trading, competitions, and more. The vast array of features would overwhelm most new users, but the low fees may be attractive enough to learn how to use the platform.
Overall, both platforms offer a great way to trade crypto, but since Binance is not available to U.S. users, you may need to give Binance.US a look if you want to save on fees.
Featured image: insta_photos/Shutterstock.com
Read more:
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