Coinbase VS Kraken: Ultimate Crypto Exchange Comparison Guide

Comparison
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Contents
  1. General Information
  2. Available Cryptocurrencies and Traded Pairs
  3. Coinbase
  4. Kraken
  5. Commission
  6. Coinbase
  7. Kraken
  8. Security
  9. Coinbase
  10. Kraken
  11. Pros and Cons
  12. Coinbase
  13. Kraken

General Information

CoinbaseKraken
Year of foundation20122011
CountryUSAUSA
LanguagesEnglish, Portuguese, German, French, Spanish, Italian, DutchEnglish, Japanese, Chinese, German, Spanish, Russian, Greek, Ukrainian, Turkish, French, Italian, Portuguese, and two types of Korean
Mobile appiOS, AndroidiOS

Available Cryptocurrencies and Traded Pairs

Coinbase

Coinbase executes trades on your behalf, and then you have to withdraw your money from the exchange when you are done trading. It does not support leveraged trading. It’s just a crypto-brokerage service.

Kraken

According to the section of the active market on CoinMarketCap, Kraken currently supports 72 trading pairs. The company offers a decent selection of cryptocurrencies, including some of the most popular options such as Bitcoin, Litecoin, Dogecoin, Augur, Ripple, Stellar Lumens, Ethereum, Ethereum Classic, Tether, Dash, Zcash, Monero, Gnosis, EOS, and Bitcoin Cash.

Commission

Both exchanges are known for their relatively low and average commissions. However, it is Kraken that steals the crown for the lowest fee of the two.

Coinbase

Coinbase has a slightly more complicated payment system, and while they are relatively higher than Kraken, it is worth noting that Coinbase is a much more sophisticated service. For example, Coinbase accepts debit cards (which inherently have higher fees). Bank transfer purchases on Coinbase are typically subject to a 1.49% fee, while debit card purchases are about 4.00%. They vary greatly depending on the payment method and the country you’re in.

Kraken

Kraken’s trading fees are usually well below the 0.36% mark, depending on the currency pair.

Security

It’s safe to say that both exchanges follow absolute top industry practices in terms of security.

Coinbase

In addition to offline cold storage for funds, Coinbase provides several additional safeguards. Cryptocurrency stored online in Coinbase wallets is automatically insured by Lloyd’s of London Syndicate, and U.S. customers’ wallets are covered by FDIC insurance up to $250,000.

Kraken

Kraken has a unique security system, using offline cold storage to store funds and other security measures such as two-factor authentication.

Pros and Cons

Coinbase

Pros
  • Serious reputation. For all time of work, there were no significant attacks that led to the loss of money by clients.
  • Insurance of client accounts.
  • Easy-to-use platform with extensive functionality. Since the addition of GDAX, Coinbase has been on par with other professional exchanges that offer an advanced terminal for analysis and the ability to open different types of orders.
  • High level of security. Coinbase offers a lot of methods to protect customer funds and the trading platform, which virtually eliminates the possibility of funds theft.
  • Possibility to work with fiat currencies.
  • Diversified system of charging commissions with rebates.
Cons
  • A large number of complaints on the exchange on various issues.
  • Support service cannot cope with the flow of tickets.
  • Only a few cryptocurrencies are available for trading. The choice of assets is very limited.
  • Lack of leverage.

Kraken

Pros
  • number of trading pairs
  • margin trading
  • age of occurrence
  • security
  • flexible verification system
Cons
  • compulsory and complex verification
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