With cryptocurrency trading becoming more accessible, people are flocking towards this thriving industry. But whether you are new to the cryptocurrency segment or remain a seasoned member of the community, choosing your primary cryptocurrency exchange is nothing short of a feat.
If you have been searching for a good cryptocurrency exchange to start or continue your endeavors in this industry, you might have stumbled upon the names Pionex and Binance. Since both of these exchanges enjoy immense popularity at the moment, it can be difficult to choose one of them to be your go-to trading platform.
To help you through this quandary, here is a detailed comparison of Pionex vs. Binance. By going through this guide, you can ensure to make an informed decision to grow and protect your cryptocurrency portfolio.
⌛ Reputation and Time in Business
Launched in 2019, Pionex has been operating as a cryptocurrency exchange from its headquarters in Singapore. As a holder of the U.S. FinCEN’s Money Service Business (MSB) License, Pionex also legally operates in the United States through its headquarters in Princeton, NJ.
For legal purposes, Pionex.com and Pionex.US operate as two different entities under the same brand name. Pionex.US is currently available in 38 states and plans to expand to 48 states by the end of 2022.
This makes Pionex one of the few cryptocurrency exchanges that have the legal license to operate in the U.S. With that being said, U.S. residents can only trade coins available in the Spot market and remain barred from using products such as Leveraged Tokens.
While Pionex has been in business for just a little over 3 years and does not entertain fiat deposits, it has garnered a significant fan following due to its services and features that include a set of built-in trading bots. These trading bots allow you to quickly buy and sell cryptocurrency on Pionex through an automated system without having to pay for a third-party platform.
This makes Pionex a highly sought-after solution provider for trading cryptocurrency. This is especially true for those users who do not want to spend more money paying for a cryptocurrency trading bot or invest more time searching for one.
Over the course of its operations, Pionex has received rave reviews from its users with limited complaints about its offerings. This leads to Pionex enjoying a pristine reputation without many red flags associated with its name. However, Pionex still has a small trading volume as compared to major exchanges. At the time of writing, Pionex stands just in the Top 40 exchanges in the world by trading volume.
Now to compare Pionex vs. Binance, the latter launched in 2017 and currently has its headquarters based in the Cayman Islands. It also has the U.S. FinCEN’s MSB license to its name, which gives it quite some distinction and stands it among some of the most reputable exchanges in the world.
To keep in line with legal requirements, Binance.com and Binance.US both operate as different organizations. Binance.US is available in all but 4 states, namely Hawaii, New York, Texas, and Vermont.
Binance offers global users the ability to engage in trading services including but not limited to spot trading, margin trading, and futures trading. However, solutions such as margin trading and futures trading are not offered to Binance.US users.
Through the overall set of its services, Binance has emerged as one of the most widely used exchanges in the world. While its U.S. arm has competition from the likes of Coinbase, the exchange still has a major hold in its target market.
Over the past half a decade, Binance has found itself embroiled in controversies. These have included regulatory issues as well as a money-laundering probe from the U.S. government. However, Binance’s popularity has not been hampered due to these problems. In fact, at the time of writing, it remains the top exchange in the world by trading volume.
When compared side by side, Binance’s popularity overshadows Pionex’s outreach by a landslide. Apart from word of mouth and user base, this also reflects in Binance’s overall trading volume. In turn, Binance enjoys the distinction of being a behemoth in the cryptocurrency industry; while Pionex operates as a small exchange that is still finding its ideal traction in the industry.
🤖 In-house Automated Trading vs. Trading Bot Support via API
This is one of the biggest differences between both Pionex and Binance. While Pionex allows you to utilize one of its built-in trading bots, Binance gives you the option to either set up an in-house trading bot or connect a third-party trading bot to your account.
When comparing Pionex vs. Binance, this marks a stark contrast between both approaches and makes them stand apart from each other.
Pionex’s offering comes with the benefits of not having to spend extra time and money to find a trading bot solution. Whereas, Binance’s services let you pick the exchange’s own Grid trading bot or third-party software that is completely in line with your preferences and requirements.
Pionex Trading Bots
Pionex’s automated bots allow you to choose between Grid and Dollar Cost Averaging (DCA) bots without any additional cost. This enables you to utilize the benefits of automated trading without having to search through different vendors or pay up an additional price for third-party software.
At the time of writing, Poloniex offers 12 different types of trading bots including but not limited to a martingale bot, rebalancing bot, and margin grid bot. However, their actual availability in the U.S. differs due to the region not having access to features such as margin trading.
You can set up these bots from your account area. For the Grid trading bot, you can either use a preset strategy that is operated by artificial intelligence (AI) or choose a customized approach to ensure that the finer details are according to your liking. The DCA bot is also set up through your account area and provides you with the power to automate your trades.
Binance Trading Bots
Binance has its own Grid trading bots for spot trading and futures trading. These bots can be set up from the account area. Additionally, Binance also gives you the ability to choose a trading bot of your own through a third-party developer.
These third-party providers include names such as 3Commas, Bitsgap, and Cryptohopper. While you need to pay these companies for their services, they offer you the ability to choose a platform that is right according to your liking. Going with a third-party trading bot platform also gives you access to more features.
These features include but are not limited to advanced functionalities, detailed signals, and comfortable design interface options. In turn, you are able to choose an automated platform that addresses your specific needs. This option to pick a third-party bot is especially helpful for those traders who want complete control over the type of bots that they want to set up or use for their Binance account.
Side-by-Side Comparison
In its value proposition, Pionex offers more built-in trading bot options free of cost. This means that if you don’t want to use a Grid bot but a DCA bot, you can count on Pionex to fulfill that need for you without any extra charges. But if you are with Binance, you can only choose a strategy with a Grid bot.
On the other side of the coin, Binance’s API support gives you the flexibility to pick and choose between a variety of third-party trading bots. At the same time, it also lets you have the benefit of selecting the platform’s built-in Grid strategy bots.
This Binance service opens doors to a wide variety of trading bot options that can fulfill your highly specific requirements. This makes it a great feature if you have already purchased a subscription to a cryptocurrency bot or have a favorite program that you want to use with your trading activities.
When comparing Pionex vs. Binance trading bot offerings, it comes down to your personal preference as well as the features and functionalities that you want from your trading bot. If you yearn for more convenience than specifications, you can go with Pionex. But in case you want advanced control over each aspect of your trading bot such as its interface, you can choose Binance in combination with a third-party trading bot.
⚙️ Trading Modes and Features
Both Pionex and Binance have different trading modes and features that make up for their value proposition. You can take a closer look at these offerings below.
Pionex Trading Modes and Features
- Spot Trading
- Stop Order
- Limit Order
- Leveraged Tokens
- Built-in, Free Trading Bots
- Mobile Apps
Binance Trading Modes and Features
- Spot Trading
- Margin Trading
- Futures Trading
- Options Trading
- OTC Trading
- Market Order
- Limit Order
- Staking
- Built-in, Free Trading Bots
- Trading Bot Support
- Mobile Apps
- Binance Academy Knowledge Base
However, it is important to note that while Pionex.com and Binance.com both cater to a global audience, they have their U.S. entities operating as Pionex.US and Binance.US, respectively. The latter options don’t have as many trading features available on them. For instance, margin trading is not available for either Pionex.US or Binance.US.
Keeping this in mind, make sure that you are checking for available services in your region before you move forward with choosing either option. This allows you to understand exactly what to expect from their overall set of offered activities.
💸 Trading and Withdrawal Fees
The fee structure for both Pionex and Binance is outlined below.
Pionex Fees
Spot Trading Fee
- Maker Fee: 0.05%
- Taker Fee: 0.05%
Leveraged Trading Fee
- Maker Fee: 0.10%
- Taker Fee: 0.10%
Withdrawal Fee
This depends upon the asset that you are withdrawing. You also need to adhere to minimum deposit and withdrawal limits.
Deposit Fee
Pionex does not charge deposit fees.
Depending upon your 30-day trading volume, your trading fee can be lowered. This discount for the VIP tier starts from a 30-day trading volume of 15 BTC or higher.
You can also get updated details through the Pionex fee schedule and the Pionex.US fee schedule. However, the fees for the latter are different. For instance, the BTC/USD trading pair has no trading fee, but other maker/taker transactions have a fee of 0.10%.
Binance Fees
Spot Trading Fee
- Maker Fee: 0.10%
- Taker Fee: 0.10 %
Futures Trading Fee
- Maker Fee: Range starts from 0.02%
- Taker Fee: Range starts from 0.04%
Margin Borrow Interest
Depends upon the coin and trading volume.
Withdrawal Fee
This depends upon the asset that you want to withdraw. You can take a look at Binance withdrawal fees for updated information.
Deposit Fee
There are no deposit fees.
- Spot trading fees can be lowered, depending upon your trading volume.
- Future trading can also be decreased, depending upon your trading volume and trading pair.
- If you buy the Binance Coin (BNB), you can use it to pay your trading fees. This gives you a flat discount of 25% on your spot trading fees, regardless of your trading volume.
- If you have a specific amount of BNB and a corresponding trading volume, you can also get discounts on futures trading.
For updated details, don’t forget to check the Binance fee schedule. The Binance.US fee schedule is also different from Binance global. For instance, it lets you enjoy 0% fees on trading select pairs.
Side-By-Side Comparison
While comparing these two exchanges, the fees for Pionex global beat those offered by Binance global. But when you add the discount offer through the usage of BNB, the 2x difference in trading fee gets cut by 25% of your total trading fee on Binance.
At first glance, Pionex.US and Binance.US operate on almost the same scale of trading fees. But when you use BNB, you can get further discounts on your trading fees.
This means that in terms of global services, Pionex wins this round. But when it comes to U.S. solutions, Binance holds the crown.
With that being said, Binance global’s set of solutions surpasses those offered by Pionex global. This means that if you want to participate in margin trading or futures trading, you may not feel so bad paying some extra amount to Binance.
📊 Trading Pairs and Volumes
Pionex has around 500 cryptocurrencies listed on its global exchange. However, many of these markets have little to no trading volume. This brings Pionex’s total active assets to around 380. This is similar to the 350+ cryptocurrency count that Binance mentions on its own official website.
When it comes to Pionex.US, the platform’s official App Store page mentions that it has over 250 cryptocurrencies available on it. Whereas, Binance.US mentions that it has over 100 assets listed on its platform.
While Pionex seems to hold the upper hand here, Binance’s trading volume easily speeds past the former. As the world’s top exchange by global volume, Binance stands tall in terms of its distinction in this segment. Whereas, Pionex trails behind in the Top 40 global exchanges by trading volume.
At the time of writing, Binance.US itself has a 24-hour trading volume of just above 30,936 BTC, while Pionex global has a 24-hour trading volume of just over 26,280 BTC. This figure is easy to outline how Binance has a firm grasp on the trading volume aspect and wins this ongoing battle between Pionex vs. Binance.
👩💻 Customer Support
Pionex has different modes of assistance available on its website. This starts with live chat, which allows you to speak to a representative about the questions and inquiries that you may have. A FAQ section is also available to help you use the platform and its offered services.
Pionex also offers a blog, which sheds light on its different features. Apart from these solutions, Pionex tutorial videos also offer some support. Lastly, those who want to write to the exchange can also use email.
On the other hand, Binance provides you with the same modes of contact and assistance to make sure that your experience on the platform comes with minimal issues. But its crown jewel is the Binance Academy. This knowledge base is detailed enough to help new cryptocurrency traders learn the ropes of the industry, while also assisting seasoned traders with adopting new technologies and features.
This makes both Pionex and Binance stand on the same level of customer support, with Binance having a slight edge due to its detailed Binance Academy section.
👍 Pionex vs. Binance: Pros and Cons of Each Exchange
Pionex
To go through a quick summary of both Pionex and Binance, here are the key benefits and disadvantages of these platforms.
Pros
- Free built-in trading bots
- Large selection of cryptocurrencies
- Competitive fees
- Easy to use interface
Cons
- No fiat deposits
- Limited trading products
Binance
Pros
- Vast selection of trading products
- Wide range of cryptocurrencies and financial assets
- BNB token offers discounts
- Convenient onboarding and learning curve
Cons
- Regulation troubles in the past
- Fees are a bit high for products other than spot trading
📢 Conclusion
In a detailed comparison of Pionex vs. Binance, Binance comes on top due to its global popularity, selection of trading productions, and overall affordability as compared to other major exchanges. On the other hand, Pionex holds its own with free built-in trading bots, an intuitive user interface, and competitive fees. However, the latter stumbles with the lack of fiat deposits, which essentially asks you to go through another exchange to convert your fiat into crypto.
Despite its controversial past, this makes Binance a better choice in many aspects. Furthermore, if you are specifically looking for an immensely popular exchange to use with a third-party trading bot, you might want to pick Binance. But in case you don’t want to spend additional money on trading bots and already have cryptocurrency at hand, Pionex would be a good option.