Bybit vs. FTX

The information provided on this page is for educational purposes only and is not intended as investment advice, an endorsement of a cryptocurrency, or a recommendation to trade or use any services. We may receive compensation from our partners if you visit their website. Read our disclaimer for details.

FTX and Bybit are two of the most well-known and respected cryptocurrency margin platforms in the world. Each exchange allows users to deposit fiat currency (e.g. US Dollars) and have become a world-class platform for leverage trading. In this comparison of Bybit vs FTX, we will compare the exchanges head to head and weigh up the pros and cons. Our assessment will explore their main features, supported markets and currencies, charting and trading experience, fees, and security.

UPDATE: FTX is no longer available and therefore ByBit wins this comparison by default.

Bybit vs FTX Compared

	ByBit	FTX
Website	https://bybit.com	https://ftx.com
Promotion	0% trading fees for 30 days (spot only)	5% off trading fees
Fiat Currency	USD, EUR, GBP, AUD, CAD, +125 Others	Crypto & 13 fiat currencies
Supported Cryptocurrency	331 (608 trading pairs)	319
Max. Trading Fee	0.06% / 0.01% (leverage), 0.1% (spot)	0.02% / 0.07% (spot and leverage)
Staking	Yes (Launchpool)	Yes
Markets	Spot, futures, margin, leveraged tokens	Spot, futures, leveraged tokens, options, volatility contracts
Mobile App	Yes	Yes
US Residents Allowed	N/A	Yes
Overall Rating	HedgewithCrypto Score 4.8/5 Visit ByBit	HedgewithCrypto Score 3.8/5 Visit FTX
Review	Read our full ByBit review	Read our full FTX review

Bybit Overview

Bybit is a cryptocurrency spot exchange and derivatives trading platform that was founded in 2018 and quickly amassed over 4 million traders. The exchange specializes in leverage crypto trading with a variety of markets such as inverse perpetual contracts, USDT perpetual, inverse futures and spot. Featuring an advanced, modern charting and trading engine with an excellent mobile app, Bybit is suitable for beginners and professional traders.

$5,000 Referral bonus: Find out how to claim the ByBit referral bonus.

FTX Overview

FTX exchange is an advanced exchange that was purpose-built by serious crypto traders. In a relatively short period, FTX has become one of the best cryptocurrency exchanges for spot and margin trading. FTX was best known for its innovative trading products such as derivatives, options, volatility, leveraged tokens, and spot markets making it a good Bybit alternative at the time.

FTX vs Bybit Features

FTX and Bybit are heavyweight crypto exchanges with many similarities when it comes to their features. Both trading platforms are tailored for a broad range of traders from beginners, intermediate, advanced and professional prop firms and institutions. FTX in particular is best-known in the industry for releasing innovative and new features before its competitors. Features and products available to both FTX and Bybit include:

Bybit and FTX offer cryptocurrency trading in over 140 countries worldwide. Due to strict regulations on derivatives products, Bybit is not available in certain countries such as the United States, Canada, China, Singapore and others. FTX has similar availability restrictions but is available in the United States through FTX.US. There are specific restrictions on the products and services that can be offered due to US regulations, however, is one of the most popular crypto exchanges in the USA for spot trading.

A strength of Bybit and FTX is the variety of crypto markets that can be traded with margin. Bybit offers 48 crypto assets that can be traded across inverse perpetual contracts, USDT perpetual, inverse futures and spot. In comparison, FTX has slightly fewer available assets at 37 but can be speculated on a few more trading products that are not available on Bybit. These include call options, volatility and crypto leveraged tokens which is a point of difference between FTX and Bybit.

Both FTX and Bybit are currently ranked 5th and 6th largest cryptocurrency derivatives exchanges in the world based on reported trading volumes according to coinmarketcap. While FTX has a slightly higher trading volume than Bybit for its leveraged markets, the difference is quite minimal. Traders on both exchanges will be able to fill large positions at the desired price with minimal slippage. Bybit and FTX are both ideal exchanges for high net worth retail traders and prop firms.

FTX and Bybit trading volumes on derivatives markets.

Serious crypto traders rely on technical analysis to find trade opportunities and manage leveraged positions. FTX and Bybit have purpose-built trading platforms with TradingView charting and rapid order matching engines. The user interface on FTX is geared to professional traders, whereas the trading experience on Bybit is intuitive for all experience levels.

Bybit features a feature-rich mobile trading app that is highly rated on the AppleStore and Android PlayStore with a star rating of 4.3/5 based on 92,810 customer reviews. In comparison, the FTX app is slightly more difficult to use and is not responsive on all mobile devices based on our experience. The average rating of the FTX app is 3.6/5 stars based on a combined 7,430 user comments.

FTX introduced cryptocurrency staking on its trading platform for its users to store and stake the native FTT tokens. The benefits include reduced trading fees, maker fee rebates and increased referral rates. FTX staking is limited to FTT tokens, Solana and Serum only. In comparison, Bybit offers flexible staking on Ethereum, Bitcoin, USDC, USDT, SAND and AXS. Other features to passively grow assets that are exclusive to Bybit include dual asset mining, DeFi mining and Launchpool.

Bybit flexible staking features.

Supported Currencies

When it comes to buying cryptocurrencies on the spot exchange, FTX offers a wide selection of coins. There are currently 258 cryptocurrencies on FTX that can be bought and sold using 13 fiat currencies such as the USD, EUR, GBP, AUD, CAD and others. In comparison, there are 81 cryptocurrencies on Bybit's spot market that can be purchased with 5 traditional assets like the USD, EUR, GBP, AUD, CAD and AED.

Bybit supported crypto markets.

In terms of the derivatives markets, there are more trading pairs on Bybit, 48 versus 37 on FTX. In summary, FTX is a better option in terms of available spot markets and liquidity compared to Bybit. For leverage trading, there are minimal differences between the two in terms of trading volume, however, Bybit has more trading pairs available.

Trading Experience: FTX vs Bybit

For beginners and experienced crypto traders alike, the user interface is an important consideration to take into account. This is where the majority of a trader's time will be spent browsing the markets, analyzing the price charts, entering orders and managing trades.

Starting with Bybit, the user experience is sleek, modern and highly visual. The charts, order entry window and asset overview to monitor open orders and positions are well laid out. The asset list is hidden and can be expanded as required to maximize the charting area. The price charts, drawing tools and technical indicators are provided by TradingView which is renowned for its advanced tools for crypto traders. Each window is fully customizable and can be moved or minimized to suit each trader.

Related: What is the best crypto charting software?

Bybit charting user interface.

Useful features that are available to traders on Bybit that are not offered on FTX include a take profit and stop loss order that can be moved on the charts. The is also a full-featured calculator that is beneficial to determine the estimated profit and loss for a trade based on position size and leverage amount. The calculator can be used in a variety of combinations with different inputs to help traders manage their risk.

Similarly, FTX has a technically advanced trading engine that is also powered by Tradingview charts. Users have access to a wide suite of technical trading tools and indicators at their disposal which can be overlaid on the price charts. The asset list is shown by default and can be minimized which reduces the charting area which is a great feature. There is also a full-screen charting mode available.

FTX charting user interface.

The window to monitor the order book, recent orders and enter positions includes all of the basic features expected for a trading platform. Unlike Bybit, there are no unique features on the FTX trading terminal. FTX does also offer a calculator to determine the %gain and %loss based on take profit and stop loss values. Apart from this, trading is straightforward and serious crypto traders will be comfortable speculating on the variety of assets on offer.

Trading on FTX is stress-free with a clearly visible user interface to enter orders, select a pre-defined position amount and to enter a long or short trade. Navigating through the available markets and trading pairs can be confusing at first due to the number of supported assets. The number of crypto markets is excellent for serious crypto traders but can be overwhelming for newer traders.

Overall, the user interface on Bybit is advanced but not overcomplicated. The intuitive and fresh design makes Bybit a good alternative to FTX for individuals of all experience levels. In comparison, FTX meets the high standard for a top-tier crypto platform, however, beginners may find the user interface a little basic and difficult to navigate at first.

Bybit vs. FTX Trading Fees

There is a slight difference between Bybit and FTX for their leverage trading fees. Bybit fees are based on VIP levels that start at 0.06% and 0.1% for makers and takers that reduce with each level. The lowest fees that can be obtained on Bybit's perpetual platform is 0.03% for makers. In comparison, the leverage trading fees are 0.02% and 0.07% on FTX. By default, the futures trading fees on FTX are slightly cheaper than Bybit.

Moreover, FTX uses a tiered fee structure that reduces with higher trading volume. Therefore, high net-worth traders and institutions with a trading volume per month in excess of 2 million can obtain lower taker fees compared to Bybit. However, using a market order (i.e. taker fees) should be avoided where possible as it incurs higher fees compared to limit orders (i.e. maker fees). For more information on what are maker and taker fees, read this article.

For the spot exchange trading fees, Bybit fees begin from 0.1% and reduce with each VIP level. FTX uses the same trading fees as its leveraged pairs which are 0.02% and 0.07% respectively. Overall, the trading fees for spot and derivatives markets on FTX offer far better value for money when compared to Bybit. The ability to unlock cheaper fees with higher trading volumes or staking the native token FTT makes FTX the cheaper option between the two.

Bybit vs FTX: Security

Security measures are an important aspect when deciding whether FTX or Bybit is the better exchange. Based on our research, both trading platforms have never been hacked and have a solid track record when it comes to security due to industry-leading safety measures and regular upgrades (i.e. mobile app).

FTX offers security features such as 2 Factor Authentication (2FA) to login and for withdrawals, IP address and wallet address whitelisting and a backstop liquidity fund. Bybit offers similar security features to protect users personal information and funds held by the exchange. Overall, both FTX and Bybit appear equal in terms of security.

Our Verdict

Bybit and FTX are world-class exchanges that specialize in cryptocurrency derivatives trading with a combined trading volume of 16 Billion per 24 hours. Both crypto exchanges have earned a place among the best crypto platforms for day traders and are equally matched against each other in terms of the number of supported markets, trading experience, leverage amount, overall fees and mobile app.

Bybit is suited for all types of traders due to its intuitive user interface and excellent mobile app. On the other hand, FTX is geared toward serious crypto traders that want to speculate on a range of markets. In short, the best platform for crypto leverage trading depends on personal preference, although the trading fees on FTX are cheaper.

You might also be interested in

Updated Aug 30th, 2023

Bybit vs. Kraken: Features & Fees Compared

Updated Aug 30th, 2023

ByBit vs. KuCoin: Which Is The Better Exchange?

Updated Aug 31st, 2023

ByBit vs Coinbase: Which Should You Choose?