If you’re looking to buy Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies, you might be wondering whether Kraken or Coinbase Pro is the better exchange. Both are popular choices, but which one is cheaper?
Kraken is generally the cheaper option, though there can be exceptions. For example, if you’re buying a large amount of Bitcoin, Coinbase Pro may be a better choice due to its lower fees.
Coinbase Pro charges a flat fee of $0.99 per trade, while Kraken’s fees start at 0.16% and go as low as 0.02% for high-volume traders.
So, if you’re buying $1,000 worth of Bitcoin, you’ll pay $9.99 on Coinbase Pro and just $2 on Kraken.
However, it’s important to compare the total cost of your trade when considering which exchange is cheaper. That’s because Kraken also charges a small “maker” or “taker” fee depending on whether you’re the one placing an order or taking an order from the exchange.
For example, let’s say you want to buy 10 Bitcoin at $10,000 each. If you place an order on Kraken that gets filled immediately, you’ll pay a 0.26% taker fee, or $26 for the trade. If you place an order that isn’t immediately filled (i.e.
it’s a maker order), you’ll pay just 0.16%, or $16 for the trade.
So in this case, it would actually be cheaper to use Coinbase Pro despite its higher flat fee. However, if you were buying just 1 Bitcoin at $10,000 each (i.e.
a smaller trade), Kraken would be the cheaper option due to its lower maker/taker fees.
Generally speaking, Kraken is the cheaper option for most trades, but it’s always important to compare the total cost of your trade before making a decision.