Kraken and Coinbase are both crypto exchanges that offer investors access to the most popular cryptocurrencies available on the market, and allow them to securely buy, and trade their cryptocurrencies. Each is designed for experienced and inexperienced investors and allows you to buy multiple currencies using fiat money (for example, US dollars or Euros).
Kraken’s low-fee services and high trading limits appeal to both high-volume and low-volume traders. Coinbase’s digital wallet and funding choices are convenient for new investors in the United States.
Jesse Powell started Kraken in 2011 to assist consumers who had been displaced by the Mt. Gox exchange attack, which resulted in the theft of over $450 million in Bitcoin from investors. In 2013, Kraken became one of the most popular crypto exchange platforms for trading Bitcoin, and since then, it has added over 110 cryptocurrencies to its platform.
Brian Armstrong and Fred Ehrsam created Coinbase in 2012. It has since thrived and continues to climb up and become the most popular centralized exchange platform in the United States, serving the most popular cryptocurrencies. The user-friendly software and the option to purchase digital assets with a credit option like a card simplifies the process even more.
That means new traders or investors do not have to worry about a lot of aspects as they enter this sector.
In this simple guide, we compare Kraken and Coinbase, as well as their unique features, security, fees, and simplicity of use. While both platforms have appealing features like mobile apps and round-the-clock customer assistance, each has benefits that will appeal to different investors.
Let us get started on this overall comparison.
⌛ Reputation and Time in Business
Both platforms emerged around the same period. Kraken was launched in 2011, just two years after Bitcoin itself, and has become one of the most established crypto exchange platforms on the market. Although being the oldest, this does not mean that it’s the best crypto exchange platform currently available.
Kraken provides top-tier security, over 60 coins to pick from, and the opportunity to “stake” or loan out your coins for rewards, all at lower-than-average pricing. It also has a wide range of cryptocurrencies available. But it also has its disadvantages, for example, its fees can be perceived as being high for beginners, it offers limited customer support, and it has no tax support.
Kraken’s top-notch security, low trading fees, and wide range of available cryptos can make it a suitable alternative for both new and experienced cryptocurrency investors.
Kraken’s range of digital assets, the value of staking your asset, and even the ability to increase your position by borrowing can be compelling to many digital asset speculators.
There are a wide variety of aspects to know to genuinely have a good experience when digital asset trading and Kraken offers a guide and definitions on many of the terms present in the sector.
There are some options that may not be available to certain people in the United States that have a certain net worth or are found in certain states.
Those who are veterans in the sector will know that it has a great amount of cryptocurrency trading markets and inexpensive fees as trading volume increases.
Coinbase was founded only one year after Kraken, in 2012, and it started attracting traders with its slick design and easy-to-navigate interface. Coinbase simplifies the process of divesting and acquiring cryptocurrencies and, due to these features, it quickly became one of the most used crypto exchange platforms in the US.
Despite its popularity, the site’s fees can be exceedingly high, so most investors will be better off using Coinbase Pro or possibly another trading platform entirely as soon as they feel comfortable. The fees on Coinbase Pro are much lower and straightforward, as they follow the normal maker/taker model. When you initiate a trade and it is quickly filled, the taker fee is charged, lowering the overall liquidity available on the exchange. The maker fee is applied to orders that aren’t filled right away, providing liquidity, and perhaps garnering a lesser fee.
🤖 Trading Bot Support via API
Luckily, both platforms allow the use of trading bots. Kraken welcomes traders to use trading bots on their market and even gives you advice on how to implement such a bot on their platform. The same thing can be said about Coinbase which provides a dependable API connection that minimizes connection issues in order to help its traders to increase their profits. With Coinbase API, traders can expect a reliable trading setup.
⚙️ Trading Modes and Features
Trading modes indicate the type of orders that can or cannot be placed, whether pending orders can be canceled or any order matching can occur. Both Coinbase and Kraken offer multiple trading modes that are presented below:
Coinbase trading modes
Limit Orders – these orders are “buy and sell” types of orders. They are executed at the minimum price which you are setting or at lower prices. These orders are also feature enhanced, including order options such as expiration and execution instructions.
Market Orders – these are the orders that execute immediately at the current market price. They cannot be canceled since they are filled immediately. Market orders may be partially filled at several prices and each part of the order will be shown to you.
Stop-limit Orders – a stop-limit order allows you to automatically place a limit order to either acquire or divest a token when its price reaches a specific value. This order type can be especially useful for traders when they are trying to protect their profits, limit losses or initiate new positions.
Kraken trading modes
Online – this mode is used when the markets are operating normally. All order types can be submitted and order matching can occur.
Maintenance – used when the markets are offline for maintenance reasons. At this time, the orders cannot be placed, and already existing orders cannot be canceled. Besides this, order matching will not occur.
Cancel Only – in this mode, pending orders can be canceled, but you cannot place new orders. No order matching will occur.
Post Only – only the limit orders that are using the post-only option can be submitted in this mode. Pending orders can be canceled and no order matching will occur.
Limit Only – in this mode, only the limit orders can be submitted, other market orders will be rejected. Pending orders can be canceled and no order matching will occur.
📋 Features
As far as, or rather, concerning the features, Kraken has characteristics that are excellent for international investors or US traders who are willing to set aside convenience in exchange for lower fees and additional services.
For US investors, Coinbase’s digital choices make the process easier. You’ll get the following benefits from both Kraken and Coinbase:
Availability: Kraken is available in 176 countries, while Coinbase only offers trading in 100 countries. Both platforms’ functions however may vary depending on your location.
Customer Service: For both platforms, round-the-clock service is available globally via live chat. During high-traffic trading periods, support availability may drop, and wait times may increase, but fortunately, both include question-and-answer centers and help center manuals.
Margin Trading: Kraken is offering margin trading with up to five-times leverage, while Coinbase used to offer limited availability at three-times leverage, but disabled it in November 2020
Mobile Apps: Both platforms come with mobile apps for trading, offering all the features that are available on their website version.
But when it’s time to make a difference regarding these platforms’ features you have a few standouts.
Kraken offers Cryptowatch, a trading platform that monitors and generates data on more than 2,000 cryptocurrency exchanges. Traders may use the free tool to track price changes and market trends across many platforms and establish price alerts. Investors can pay one credit each alert to enhance their service and receive more timely notifications.
Coinbase however, provides its users with a hot wallet, which they can use to deposit, store, and withdraw their currencies. The wallet may be used without being a Coinbase user, making it perfect for traders who move between fiat currency and cryptocurrencies. Kraken provides a digital wallet for customers to hold funds in between purchases, but no personal wallet service.
💸 Trading and Withdrawal Fees
A difference between Kraken and Coinbase can be observed. Kraken’s maker-trader fees are maxing out at 0.26%, while the same thing cannot be said about Coinbase, since their fees are nearly double, maxing out at 0.50%.
Comparing them head-to-head we can see this difference in trade percentages. For wire transfer, Kraken doesn’t tax you for depositing up to $10 but will request you a fee of $4 to withdraw $35, while Coinbase requires a $10 deposit and a $25 withdrawal.
Tax on Crypto conversion is based on the traded volume on Kraken, while on Coinbase it’s a standard of 0.50%. A difference can be made at the level of extra fees, Kraken does not apply extra fees, while for Coinbase, extra fees may apply depending on the situation.
Kraken calculated fees according to the volume traded by you in a 30-day period starting from a 0.16% maker fee or a 0.26% taker fee, ending with a 0% maker fee and a 0.10% taker fee when transactions get over $10,000,000.
📊 Trading Pairs and Volumes
Not all currencies available on Kraken are able to be directly traded for each other. The same way goes for crypto to currency trades. All cryptos on Kraken can be traded for Bitcoin, however, and as far as currency goes, all cryptocurrencies can be traded for either USD or EUR.
Kraken’s 24h trading volume is $1.02 billion, ranking them 13th when compared with other crypto exchange platforms, with a market share of 1.32%, 393 available markets for you to trade any of the 89 cryptocurrencies listed on the platform. The top trading pairs on Kraken are:
BTC/USD with $184 million dollars traded on a 24h volume base
ETH/USD with $135 million dollars traded on a 24h volume base
BTC/EUR with $102 million dollars traded on a 24h volume base
USDT/USD with $95 million dollars traded on a 24h volume base
USDT/EUR with $77 million dollars traded on a 24h volume base
Coinbase ranks higher, placing 4th with a 24h trading volume of $2.74 billion. It also has a market share of 3.53%, 375 available markets, and 123 cryptocurrencies listed. The top trading pairs on Coinbase are:
BTC/USD with $756 million dollars traded on a 24h volume base
ETH/USD with $521 million dollars traded on a 24h volume base
BTC/EUR with $74 million dollars traded on a 24h volume base
ADA/USD with $50 million dollars traded on a 24h volume base
USDT/USD with $49 million dollars traded on a 24h volume base
👍 Pros and Cons of Each Exchange
Kraken and Coinbase are both very popular exchange platforms, but each one of them comes with its respective benefits and negatives. One would want to dive into the benefits and negatives of each of these entities.
Kraken Pros
- Low fees for exchanges, even in comparison with Coinbase, which has fees that maxed out are approaching double the cost of Kraken’s fees
- It’s both secure and reliable, providing 2FA withdrawal email confirmation, air-gapped cold storage, strict surveillance, precise API key permission control, SSL encryption
- High deposit and withdrawal limits, that can reach $100.000 daily for intermediate level members)
- Many options when it comes to currencies
Kraken Cons
- Some of the options provided by the platform are not available in the U.S.
- The times to verify transactions can prove to be rather long
- The user interface may prove to be challenging, especially to new or inexperienced traders
Coinbase Pros
- The user experience is excellent, and user friendly even for beginners
- It offers easy funding options and the possibility to use PayPal to withdraw or sell
- Fiat currencies are accepted
Coinbase Cons
- It’s not available in all countries
- Some coins are not accepted
- The fees are higher, nearly double Kraken’s fees
The Final Points
Kraken and Coinbase are both solid options to consider when you want to get into crypto trading, but the distinction between them should be made based on your needs and budget.
Leveraged trading is not available on Coinbase, the regular version but it is present on Coinbase Pro.
Alternatively, Kraken offers a way to conduct more sophisticated trading via derivatives and such. Both entities are based in the United States and offer their products and digital asset services in many different countries.
If you are new to the sector, Coinbase is a smart choice because the trading choices are quite in line with your needs.
Kraken provides a wide variety of benefits and enables a simple interface, feasible trading, and more speculative activities. It is on you to choose what is best for you.
Of course, we do know that you can try both of them and see what you like the best as well.