Kraken Vs Coinbase Pro: Which One to Choose?

There is no doubt that Coinbase Pro and Kraken are two of the most distinguished cryptocurrency exchanges available in the market today. Both staking platforms have been around for multiple years now.

But that does not mean that Kraken vs Coinbase Pro are identical in terms of features and offerings. Coinbase Pro joined the crypto space in January 2019, while Kraken—a BTC brokerage firm—has been around since 2011.

Both platforms are very similar regarding certain aspects such as trading fees, regulations, security, and transparency. At the same time, they also differ on many other aspects such as supported cryptocurrencies, design, customer support, liquidity, etc.

Our audiences vary from crypto enthusiasts to fans of advanced technologies. This Kraken vs Coinbase Pro comparison will help you choose the right platform for your cryptocurrency trading needs.

We’ll be providing a detailed explanation of the strengths of each exchange along with areas where they can improve. The review compares fees, available coins, and the trading volume for both exchanges.

Kraken vs Coinbase Pro – what these exchanges have to offer

The following guide will help you determine what these exchanges offer and which is better for you:

Kraken

Strengths: Kraken provides high liquidity for many cryptocurrencies for ongoing traders and investors. The platform offers advanced security measures that include cold storage solutions and multi-login protection of accounts.

These advanced security measures let users store their funds safely in a secure wallet address. Kraken makes it difficult for hackers to attack individual accounts and access users’ funds. Kraken differentiated itself by becoming very professional in the crypto sphere.

Weaknesses: That being said, there are some downsides to using this exchange, particularly for those looking to use more advanced trading tools. There’s no option for market orders on the site, meaning you have to make your purchase via limit order. And there’s a $100 minimum deposit for all accounts.

Coinbase Pro

Strengths: With an interface that offers top-of-the-line security and reliability for experienced traders, Coinbase Pro continues to be one of the most popular cryptocurrency exchanges in the United States.

They offer advanced features like staking and revocable withdrawal rights, which are unavailable on other US-based trading platforms. Coinbase Pro provides insurance protection on cryptocurrency stored on the platform for complete security and control over your funds.

Weaknesses: Customer support is currently a significant area where Coinbase Pro exchange can improve. Coinbase doesn’t offer advanced trading options and has suffered from lagging user service. As Coinbase Pro is a professional trading platform, the interface can be a little hard to navigate for beginners.

Comparison

We’ve outlined their significant comparison below to help you make an informed decision about which of these exchanges is for you.

Kraken vs Coinbase Pro operates similarly, has a bitcoin wallet linked to the platform, and accepts payments from most banks.

Kraken is suitable for low trading quantities; Coinbase Pro is ideal for larger trades with immediate execution.

One significant advantage of Kraken over Coinbase Pro is that it provides margin trading.

Coinbase is a U.S.-based exchange that operates three of the largest crypto exchanges in the United States. Kraken is a Hong Kong-based exchange that focuses on regulatory compliance, has low fees, and offers fiat deposits.

In the Coinbase Pro vs Kraken battle, it isn’t easy to decide which way to go. Each exchange brings unique features and pros, which are essential when comparing.

What to expect from the Kraken exchange

Kraken is one of the oldest and most trusted cryptocurrency exchanges globally. It’s based out of San Francisco, California, and has been around since 2011. The company was founded by Jesse Powell, who is currently the CEO of Kraken.

These current features are what you can expect from the Kraken exchange:

Fiat-to-Crypto trading platform: If you’re looking to trade cryptocurrencies with fiat (USD, EUR) currencies, you will be able to do so through their platform. Fiat currencies allow a lot of flexibility for people who want to invest in cryptos but prefer to use a more traditional payment method.

Margin trading: You can also leverage your positions using their margin trading feature. However, it’s worth noting that this option isn’t available for all pairs but only certain ones marked as “Margin Trading Enabled.”

Advanced charting: Kraken provides technical indicators and detailed charting tools that promote accurate trades. Advanced charting is another feature that makes Kraken stand out from its competitors because many exchanges don’t provide such details and analysis with their charting tools.

Kraken offers a lot of advanced features that are geared towards experienced crypto traders as well as newbies. They offer a ton of helpful information and have an active community.

The Coinbase Pro Exchange

Coinbase Pro is the latest upgrade to Coinbase’s exchange services. Coinbase Pro will be replacing GDAX as the primary platform for advanced and active traders.

The new platform will offer many of the same features from its predecessor, including:

Lower fees: Traders on Coinbase Pro will enjoy a maker-taker fee structure that discounts market makers.

Increased liquidity: The company has announced plans to offer more than 30 cryptocurrencies and a vast selection of fiat trading pairs, which should increase liquidity for advanced traders (read this – best PoS cryptocurrencies).

Coinbase wallet integration: Users will now trade directly from their cryptocurrency wallets on the exchange without moving funds first.

New charting tools: The new exchange will feature various technical analysis tools built in-house by Coinbase’s developers.

New API functionality: Developers using third-party software or hardware can now utilise Coinbase Pro’s market data in their products, according to a blog post by the company.

The Difference Between Coinbase and Coinbase Pro

Coinbase or Coinbase Pro are both options for buying cryptocurrencies with fiat money. The difference between Coinbase and Coinbase Pro can be confusing for newcomers. Below, we explain what each platform offers and how they differ from each other.

Coinbase Pro: The Coinbase Pro is Coinbase’s professional trading platform for more advanced and active traders. The GDAX platform (the Global Digital Asset Exchange) is the company’s regulated trading platform designed for more advanced cryptocurrency traders.

Coinbase: The Coinbase platform offers less functionality than the GDAX platform, but it’s also available to international users, and it accepts payments from anywhere in the world.

The Kraken, Coinbase, Binance comparison

In this section, we will look at the most popular exchanges: Kraken, Coinbase and Binance.

Coinbase vs Kraken: An essential factor to consider when choosing your exchange is probably fees. Coinbase has a reputation for high fees, and it’s not always the cheapest option out there. At first glance, Kraken doesn’t look much better, with some of the highest fees in the business.

Coinbase vs Binance: Both exchanges are similar in terms of functionality, but if you’re looking for as many altcoins as possible and don’t mind paying a bit more, Binance might be the best option for you.

Binance vs Kraken: Their trading fees are the same, but they differ in deposit fees, withdrawal fees, and other transaction types fees. If we’re talking about deposit fees, they are almost the same (~0).

Features comparison: Kraken vs Coinbase Pro

The main differences between Kraken vs Coinbase Pro platforms are:

Coinbase Pro: This exchange only allows cryptocurrencies to be deposited and traded on its platform. They focus more on individual traders. Coinbase Pro is much more beginner-friendly, but it’s also more limited in functionality.

Kraken: The services of this exchange include fiat currency deposits and withdrawals for those who prefer to use dollars and euros. They target the needs of institutional investors and larger businesses. Kraken offers a broader range of options and features, a bit overwhelming for inexperienced traders.

Features comparison: Kraken Pro vs Coinbase Pro

The Kraken Pro vs Coinbase Pro battle is interesting because of their contrasts.

Kraken Pro: This is a professional trading platform for serious cryptocurrency investors. Kraken Pro allows traders to buy, sell and trade cryptocurrencies with other cryptocurrencies. They offer trading on margin with 7-10% interest rates.

This exchange supports residents of Japan and the US only. Kraken Pro only supports Bitcoin (BTC), XBT, Bitcoin cash (BCH), Ethereum (ETH), Dash (DASH), Litecoin (LTC), and Ripple.

Coinbase Pro: This platform is ideal for beginner traders who want to dip their toes into the crypto market. In a nutshell, Coinbase Pro is the well-established retail trading platform that allows you to buy, sell and trade cryptocurrencies with fiat currency.

They are available in 32 countries around the world. This exchange charges a 0.50% fee while trading on the platform. Coinbase Pro supports over 100 digital currencies.

Weaknesses of both Kraken Pro and Coinbase Pro: The customer support at both exchanges is poor, and the best way for users to get help is via the online community.

There are numerous complaints of delayed responses from customer support staff at both exchanges, so it’s better to use their chat services or forums for faster assistance.

Kraken Fees vs Coinbase Pro

Here is a brief discussion about the Kraken vs Coinbase Pro fees structure:

Kraken Commission Fees

Maker fees: 0.20%

Taker fees: 0.20%

Coinbase Pro Commission Fees

Maker fees: 0.50%

Taker fees: 0.50%

Comparison: The maker and taker fees of Coinbase Pro are much higher than Kraken.

Maker fee: A maker is a trader who places a limit order below or above the market price to trade at a specific price.

It refers to the cost of placing an order on the order book of an exchange platform. The maker fee is always subtracted from the amount you wish to sell with every trade. Makers are also called “volunteers” because they provide liquidity by adding orders to a platform’s order book.

When you place a buy or sell order, you’re expected to pay the maker fee for that commitment. This rule applies whether you’re buying or selling bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies on a crypto-only exchange or one that supports fiat currencies like USD and GBP.

Taker fee: The taker fee is an exchange charge for the service of taking an order from their order book. The taker fee is different from the maker fee, which is paid by a user who adds liquidity to the market by placing limit orders below the ticker price.

The fee can vary based on if you’re a maker (positive) or a taker (negative). These maker fees are usually lower than taker fees. The difference between lower and higher maker fees is usually insignificant.

The fee also changes based on what currency pair you’re trading against in the market. For instance, when trading BTC/USD, you’ll pay less than if you were trading BTC/CAD. A higher volume will also mean lower fees.

On the other hand, if there are no orders in the book, the system will execute your order immediately. The system will not deduct or charge any fees.

Before deciding between Coinbase Pro vs Kraken Fees, you must know the difference between a maker and a taker fee and the features each platform offers.

Kraken Fees vs Binance

These are the fees you pay when you buy or sell an asset. Each asset has a different commission fee, so it’s essential to determine the fee before using the exchange.

Kraken Commission Fees

Maker fees: 0.20%

Taker fees: 0.20%

Binance Commission Fees

Maker fees: 0.10%

Taker fees: 0.10%

Comparison: Binance charges 0.10% on buying and selling your cryptocurrency, which is currently the lowest of all the fee structures on the market. According to Kraken Fees vs Binance structure, you can see why Kraken may not be the best choice for traders looking for lower fees.

Trading fees in Kraken and Coinbase Pro

One of the main differences between Kraken vs Coinbase Pro is their fee structure.

Kraken Trading fees

• Kraken maker fees: 0.16% to 0.00%;

Taker fees: 0.26% to 0.10%

(In this case, the higher the 30-day trade volume, the lower the fees.);

• Kraken stablecoin trades:

Maker/Taker fees: 0.20% to 0.00%;

• Kraken futures trades:

Maker fees: 0.02% to 0.00%;

• Kraken taker Fees:

0.05% to 0.01%;

• Kraken margin trades:

Opening fees: 0.01% to 0.02%;

• Kraken rollover fees:

0.01% to 0.02% (every 4 hours)

Coinbase Pro Trading Fees

Coinbase Pro’s fee structure is based on two factors, a trading fee, and an exchange fee. Both fees can vary depending on how much volume you’re trading.

Trading Fees: The trading fee is a variable percentage depending on the price of the cryptocurrency you’re buying or selling. For example, if you’re buying bitcoin with a 1% trading fee, your total transaction cost will be 1%.

If you’re buying bitcoin with a 0.25% trading fee, then your total transaction cost will be 0.25%. The same logic applies to selling bitcoin through Coinbase Pro.

Coinbase Pro Exchange Fees: Coinbase charges an additional fee on top of the trading fee, depending on the trade volume. This charge can range from 0% to 0.5% depending on volume and is usually in addition to any third-party network transaction fees that may apply (e.g., miner fees).

This exchange fee is tied to each trade and not to your account as a whole. Therefore, if you make multiple trades within 10 minutes, you may be charged multiple exchange fees (one per trade), but only one trade fee would be deducted from your account at a time.

Comparison

Coinbase Pro: As a general rule, Coinbase Pro has higher fees than Kraken because users of the former platform pay a 0.25% trading fee for each trade they execute, regardless of the amount traded or asset type traded.

Kraken: In contrast, Kraken does not charge additional fees beyond deposit, withdrawal, and trading fees associated with a particular cryptocurrency.

Both platforms have non-trading transaction fees that apply to activities such as deposits or withdrawals that do not involve buying or selling assets.

Coinbase Pro vs Kraken – volume and available coins

Below, you can find a comparison of the volume and coin availability between the Coinbase Pro vs Kraken trading platforms:

Coins available to trade in Kraken and Coinbase Pro

If you’re looking to trade and want the best possible deal, Kraken vs Coinbase Pro is a question many crypto traders ask themselves.

Kraken: In addition to Bitcoin and Ethereum trading pairs, Kraken supports Litecoin, Ripple, Bitcoin Cash, Augur REP tokens, ICONOMI, Zcash, Dogecoin, Stellar/Lumens, and Ripple.

Coinbase Pro: As the interest in the cryptocurrency space continues to explode, Coinbase has become one of the most popular exchanges for buying and selling Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Litecoin (LTC), and other cryptocurrencies.

Comparison: At Kraken Exchange, you can trade between fiat and cryptocurrencies. Over 50 cryptocurrencies are available for trading. On the other hand, Coinbase Pro is the new trading platform that works as an alternative to Coinbase. It offers 40+ cryptocurrencies for buying and selling.

Trading volume in Coinbase Pro vs Kraken

Trading volume is a metric used to define the amount of trading activity across a specific digital coin or a fiat currency on a cryptocurrency exchange. By definition, it refers to how much volume equals a volume of all coins or currencies exchanged over a short period on an exchange, for example, 24 hours.

Comparison: Kraken vs Coinbase Pro has been around for a long time and has traded billions of dollars over their lifetime. With a considerable customer base of users and trading volumes each day, Coinbase Pro is unmatched by other cryptocurrency exchanges like Kraken.

Kraken vs Coinbase Pro – final words

Just like this review has shown, both Kraken and Coinbase Pro are trustworthy exchanges with good reputations. Both have stellar reputations with their investors, as well as with the media.

Kraken has more advanced orders, volume, more coins, and is overall better. Generally speaking, Coinbase Pro may be more suitable for starters, and Kraken for professional traders.

The two most significant differences are Kraken’s loan service and margin trading and being available across the globe, while Coinbase Pro is only in the US.