While looking for a crypto exchange, it is important to choose a platform that meets your requirements. It must help you with all your needs like margin and futures trading, and crypto wallet, and should have lower fees.
There are multiple exchanges available out there. However, two of the popular names that we get to hear are Kraken and Binance. But which one should you choose between these two?
Well, this is what we will be finding out in this Kraken vs Binance comparison. So let’s get into the topic right away:
Introduction: Kraken vs Binance
What is Kraken?
Kraken is one of the oldest US-based crypto leverage trading exchanges available out there. It was launched back in 2011 and serves millions of users around the world.
Kraken offers a safe and easy way to buy/sell cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, LUNA, and a bunch of other digital assets.
It is a trading platform that is made for both beginners and experienced traders. Also, it has low fees for trading and supports multiple payment methods for buying/selling crypto.
One of the highlighted features of Kraken is its futures and margin trading. You are allowed to take a long or short position in the crypto market with up to 5x leverage.
Also, to help you with smoother trading, it offers you a pro trading interface. So you can easily manage your positions with an intuitive trading platform and advanced order options.
What is Binance?
Binance is known to be the largest cryptocurrency day trading platform by trading volume out there. You can use the platform for spot, margin, and futures trading. Also, it offers you a bunch of other crypto-related services.
With the Binance platform, you can trade in 150+ supported cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Link, Tezos, Cardano, Ethereum, and more.
Apart from trading crypto, you can also enjoy features like Bitcoin futures and options trading. Plus, you will get access to other popular crypto products, which will help you manage your crypto portfolio in a better way.
To help you earn more on your crypto, it also offers you the Binance Savings and Staking feature, which pays some of the highest interest rates on the market.
Overall, Binance Futures is suitable for both beginners and advanced traders. Also, it has a low trading cost and lets you buy crypto using fiat currencies.
Binance vs Kraken: Supported Cryptocurrencies
As you start your trading journey, you would want to invest in newer coins. Hence, it is important to choose a crypto exchange that supports a wide range of cryptocurrencies.
Both the exchanges support a huge number of cryptocurrencies and offer you a bunch of trading services and products. However, to make it easy for you, here is a Kraken vs Binance comparison for supported coins:
Binance
When it comes to supported currencies, Binance seems like a better option. It supports more than 500 cryptocurrencies and digital assets, including Bitcoin, Ether, Binance Coin, Dogecoin, LUNA, Litecoin, and more. Also, newer coins keep being added to the exchange.
Kraken
In comparison with Binance, Kraken supports a less number of cryptocurrencies. It supports more than 120 cryptocurrencies as of now. But just like Binance, newer coins keep getting added to Kraken even before Binance lists them.
You can use Kraken to trade coins like Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Dogecoin (DOGE), Litecoin (LTC), Ripple (XRP), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), and many others.
Binance vs Kraken: Trading Fees
When it comes to a crypto exchange, it is important to choose a platform that has lower fees. So you can save more while trading. Luckily, both the exchanges have a tiered fee structure which is a common thing across all the crypto exchanges.
Kraken
When it comes to Kraken has one of the lowest trading cost for spot trading. For a 30 day trading of between $0 – $50,000 you will have to pay maker-taker fees of 0.16% and 0.26%, respectively. However, the higher amount you trade, the lower maker-taker fees you will have to pay.
For futures, the maker and taker fees are 0.0200% and 0.0500% for a 30 days trading between $0 – $100,000.
For margin trading, the fee depends on different factors. For instance, your base currency and your quote currency, and more. So I would recommend you to check out their trading fees page for more information on this.
Binance
Binance also has a low trading fee. Also, you can lower your trading fees by 25% if you choose to pay using BNB. If you don’t pay using BNB, then it will occur a standard fee of 0.1%.
Talking about the regular trading fees, for a trading amount of less than 1,000,000 BUSD will occur 0.1000% / 0.1000% as the maker-taker fees. Also, if you pay the trading fee using BNB, it will cost you 0.0750% / 0.0750% as the maker and taker fees.
For USDⓈ-M Futures Trading, Binance charges you 0.0200%/0.0400% as the maker and taker fees for a trading volume of less than 1,50,00,000 BUSD. For futures trading, Binance offers you a 10% discount. So the maker/taker fee would be 0.0180%/0.0360%.
Apart from this, Binance also has a different fee structure for other types of trading. So I would recommend you to check out their fee structure page for more information.
Binance vs Kraken: Account Funding Methods
Both Kraken and Binance support different account funding methods. You can use your debit card or credit card to buy crypto. Also, both the exchange platforms support different payment methods. So you can buy crypto using your local fiat currency.
Let’s now look at the account funding methods supported by both the platforms:
Kraken:
You can deposit funds into your Kraken account using cryptocurrencies and supported fiat currencies. Kraken supports a wide range of coins that you can use for depositing funds into your account.
For fiat currencies, there are lots of options available as well. For instance, Kraken lets you make USD deposits using bank transfers, credit card deposits, debit cards, and many other payment options. For depositing EUR, you have options like wire transfer and Etana custody.
Similarly, for any other fiat currencies, you will find supported payment gateways at their fund’s deposit gateway.
Binance:
Binance is globally available. As a result, users from different countries can sign up on the exchange and start trading. Also, depositing funds support a wide range of payment methods.
One of the best parts is that it supports peer-to-peer trading or P2P trading. As a result, you can use your local currency to buy/sell crypto using locally available payment options.
On top of that, you can use a Bank transfer, visa and MasterCard card debit card, and credit card for buying or selling crypto.
Plus, it supports different third-party payment methods like Paxos, Simplex, and Banxa. Also, it supports a wide range of fiat currencies such as USD, EUR, INR, AUD, JPY, and many more.
Binance vs Kraken: Spot Trading
Both the crypto exchange platforms support spot or regular trading, and they have their own set of features.
For instance, Kraken has a tiered fee structure for margin trading, and it is one of the lowest in the market.
With Kraken Pro, you can trade in more than 120 cryptocurrencies. Also, Kraken is a highly traded trading engine. Hence, your orders get executed right away. Plus, Kraken users can enjoy different types of trading tools that are suitable for more advanced traders and absolute beginners.
Similarly, Binance also offers you a premium trading terminal for the spot market. Since Binance is the largest cryptocurrency exchange out there. It offers enough market liquidity to execute your orders the moment you place your orders.
On top of that, you enjoy cheaper trading fees compared to Kraken fees. Also, if you hold BNB in your Binance wallet, the trading fee gets discounted by 25%.
Along with that, it supports a wide range of cryptocurrencies. Plus, the number of supported coins is growing each day. You can also use Binance for initial coin offerings and buy coins that might become the next big thing in the crypto industry.
Kraken vs Binance: Margin & Derivatives Trading
Most advanced traders prefer using margin trading. As it allows them to trade with a higher volume.
In margin trading, trades are executed by borrowing funds. So the traders get access to greater sums of capital to leverage their positions. Both Binance and Kraken offer you lucrative margin and futures trading features.
If we talk about Kraken, it allows you to place long or short positions in the crypto market up to 5x leverage. Plus, it has a low rollover fee, and you don’t have to pay more than 0.2$ per 4 hours in rollover fees.
Also, Kraken supports margin trading for a wide range of cryptocurrencies. Such as AAVE, REP, ALGO, BTC, ADA, BCH, DAI, DOGE, DOS, EOS, ETH, and many others.
On the other hand, Binance also offers you amazing features for margin trades. It supports over 600 trading pairs such as BTC, ETH, BNB, USDT, etc. Along with that, you will enjoy the best transaction rates with quality services.
Also, the margin trading market on Binance provides you with high liquidity. So you won’t have to wait for your trades to get executed.
On top of that, Binance also offers you some additional features like an insurance fund that protects your account when your equity is less than 0, or the assets of the pledge currency borrowing orders are insolvent.
Also, to help you avoid excessive trading, margin trading also comes with a cooling-off period feature.
However, when it comes to trading futures, Kraken might not be an ideal choice. As it only supports trading in five perpetual inverse contracts, including XRP/USD, BCH/USD, XBT/USD, ETH/USD, and LTC/USD. Also, for futures trading, you are getting leverage up to 50x.
But for the future, Binance is a much better option. It offers you multiple types of future trading contracts such as USDⓈ-M Futures, COIN-M Futures, Binance Leveraged Tokens, and Binance Options. Also, it has lower futures trading costs and offers you tons of features.
Binance vs Kraken: Mobile App
Both the exchanges offer a great mobile app. The mobile app is enough to execute all your trading operations. And the apps are available for both iOS and Android devices.
Talking about Kraken mobile app, you can use it for buying/selling crypto, use preset amounts to create orders in a single tap, and set up custom orders using a simple form. Plus, it gives you an exact price quote before you buy/sell crypto.
To help you manage your portfolio better, it helps you with simple graphics that show your investment allocation and total balance. You can also review the value of each investment and its % of your portfolio and so on.
Binance mobile app also offers you a complete trading experience. You can set up price alerts with a single tap to buy crypto at your desired price, you can also stake your crypto easily using the app to earn staking rewards.
Also, the mobile app comes with two user interfaces: Binance Lite and Pro and you can switch between them with a single tap. The lite version is suitable for beginners, while the advanced traders like the pro version.
Kraken vs Binance: Opening Account & Account Limits
When it comes to opening an account on Kraken or Binance, the process is pretty straightforward. You can open an account and get done with the account verification process within a few minutes only, and you are ready to exchange cryptocurrencies.
However, depending on the type of verification, you will enjoy a different deposit and withdrawal limit.
On one side, Kraken has four verification levels, including Starter, Express, Intermediate, and Pro. The starter and express verification levels don’t require you to complete KYC verification. And you will enjoy a deposit limit of $9k in a lifetime and withdraw up to $9k a month.
Plus, the unverified users will not get access to features like staking rewards, margin and futures trading, and others.
However, this is not the same thing with Binance. After opening your Binance account, you will get a daily deposit limit of up to $100,000.
Also, the withdrawal limit depends on your account verification status. F0r instance, regular users can enjoy a withdrawal limit of up to BUSD 8,000,000.
However, unlike Binance, Kraken does not let you access most of its features if you are not a verified user. So if you don’t want to go through the KYC process, Binance is an ideal choice.
To get started with Kraken and Binance, you can follow the below steps:
Open Kraken Account
- Visit Krakne’s official website kraken.com.
- Click on the Create Account button in the upper-right corner.
- Next, enter your personal details and set up a username and password.
- Then verify your email address.
- Next, complete the KYC verification process.
- Finally, deposit funds to your Kraken account, and you are all set to use the exchange.
Open Binance Account
- Visit Binance.com.
- Click on the Register button.
- Enter your email address and set up a password.
- After that, verify your email address, and your Binance account is ready to be used.
- Also, you can go to the settings to complete your KYC verification process.
Kraken vs Binance: Ease Of Use & Interface
Both the exchanges have an easy-to-use trading interface, and the overall interface of the exchange is user-friendly.
On one side, Kraken has a great trading interface. It offers you a proprietary charting system that covers the entire left side of the trading terminal. Also, the charging system is inspired by TradingView, but it has only a few features. But luckily, it has all the features you need to trade crypto. To learn more, you can check this quick Kraken tutorial.
On the other hand, Binance’s trading interface is more suitable for advanced users. It supports multiple chart reading options like Binance’s own charting system, or you can use TradingView.
The platform is also pretty quick to navigate through, and they include more trading pairs and tools which can help you with advanced trading.
However, as a newbie, you might feel the tools are confusing to use. But they have a trading knowledge section on their website where you can learn how to use Binance or trade crypto on the exchange.
Kraken vs Binance: Security Features
Kraken and Binance are two of the secure cryptocurrency exchanges available out there. Both of the exchanges have top-notch security measures in place and keep most of their user funds in cold storage. As a result, there is little risk of your funds being stolen.
As a user, you are also getting a bunch of security features. For instance, Kraken offers you security features like 2FA with Google Authenticator and Yubikey, and it does not provide you with a phone/SMS account recovery option.
Additionally, you will also get email confirmations for withdrawals and configurable account timeout for another layer of protection. Plus, Kraken keeps 95% of the funds in cold storage, but they don’t offer you any insurance on USD coins or crypto assets.
On the other hand, with Binance, you are getting features like two-factor authentication or 2FA, address whitelisting, device management, the ability to restrict device access, and more.
Also, if you are using the Binance.us platform for trading crypto, then you will enjoy FDIC insurance on all your USD funds under Binance, FDIC-insured USD balances policy.
Kraken vs Binance: Customer Support
Both Binance and Kraken offer great customer support and ensure that you are getting help for all your queries.
Kraken offers you chat and phone support. So you can instantly get your query solved. Also, you can raise a support ticket, and they will get back to you quickly. Additionally, they have a support center where you will find in-depth guides for commonly faced issues or questions.
However, in terms of support, Binance is lacking behind. There is no chat or phone support. But Binance provides a virtual chatbot that will answer commonly faced issues instantly.
But if you wish to get further help, you have to raise a support ticket from their website, and their support team will respond to you as quickly as possible.
- Is Kraken Safe?
Kraken is the oldest cryptocurrency exchange out there. The platform is accessible in 176 countries and 48 US states. Plus, on Kraken, you can trade more than 100 cryptocurrencies. Plus, it keeps 95% of funds into offline storage and offers you tons of security features which makes Kraken a pretty legit and secure platform.
- Is Binance Safe?
Binance is also one of the most secure trading platforms out there. The exchange is globally available and helps you with different security features. So you can keep your funds safe and secure. On top of that, you are also getting your funds insured through FDIC insurance while using Binance.us.
Conclusion
Kraken and Binance are two of the best cryptocurrency exchanges out there. Both of them offer you tons of features for trading and security, such as profit market order, 2FA, address whitelisting, advanced chart reading interface, and more.
Plus, both the exchanges have low fees for trading, depositing, and withdrawing funds. However, in terms of features, Binance has an extra edge. But Kraken is equally good.
So go ahead and check both the platforms out and see which one works for you.
See how Kraken and Binance compares to other exchanges:
- Kraken vs Phemex
- Kraken vs Poloniex
- Kraken vs KuCoin
- Binance vs PrimeXBT
- Binance vs StormGain
- Binance vs Bitget
