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    Crypto.com vs. Coinbase: Features, Ease of Use & Fees Compared

    Jacob Wade
    Posted by: Jacob WadeUpdated Apr 14th, 2023

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    Crypto.com and Coinbase are two popular cryptocurrency exchanges that offer a large selection of crypto, well-designed mobile apps, intuitive trading platforms, NFT marketplaces, and the ability to earn interest on deposited cryptocurrency. But while Crypto.com offers an advanced trading platform with very low fees, Coinbase is aimed at new users that are just learning about crypto. In this comparison review, we assess the similarities and differences between Crypto.com and Coinbase and evaluate which is the better option for crypto investors.

    Coinbase vs Crypto.com Quick Verdict

    Crypto.com is designed for both beginners and advanced traders, with a simple-to-use mobile app, as well as a comprehensive derivatives trading platform that offers trading with up to 100x leverage. It has a ton of other features as well, including an NFT marketplace, invest-bearing accounts, and crypto loans.

    On the other hand, Coinbase focuses on beginners by offering a simple trading experience that is aimed at everyday investors. While the fees are a little more expensive at 0.5%, it is one of the safest crypto exchanges and wins this comparison.

    Start trading with Coinbase

    Crypto.com vs. Coinbase: A Quick Overview

    CoinbaseCrypto.com
    Website
    Promotion$5 BTC bonus (USA only)None available at this time
    Fiat CurrencyUSD, GBP, EUR, CAD, SGD, NZD & AUDUSD, EUR, GBP, AUD, CAD & 20 others
    Supported Cryptocurrency250+229
    Deposit MethodBank account transfers, SEPA Payments, Wire transfers, Debit card, Faster Payments, 3D Secure Card, PayPalBank transfer, wire transfer, credit/debit card, SEPA, Transfer, Wise, PayPal & others
    Max. Trading Fee0.5% - 4.5%0.2%
    Overall Rating
    HedgewithCrypto Score
    HedgewithCrypto Score
    4.7/5Our ratings take into account the ease of use, fees, deposit methods along with the exchange's reputation. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team.
    Full StarFull StarFull StarFull StarHalf Star
    Visit Coinbase
    HedgewithCrypto Score
    HedgewithCrypto Score
    4.2/5Our ratings take into account the ease of use, fees, deposit methods along with the exchange's reputation. All ratings are determined solely by our editorial team.
    Full StarFull StarFull StarFull StarEmpty Star
    Visit Crypto.com
    ReviewRead our full Coinbase reviewRead our full Crypto.com review

    In-Depth Comparison: Crypto.com vs Coinbase

    Crypto.com is a very popular crypto exchange that offers crypto trading, interest-bearing accounts, crypto lending, plus an NFT marketplace. Crypto.com is based in the Cayman Islands and available around the globe, with a focus on advanced trading and interest-earning products.

    Crypto.com services over 50 million users globally in over 90 countries. Users can trade over 250 cryptocurrencies, including 100 trading pairs for derivatives trading, as well as earn interest on 49 crypto. Users can also deposit crypto and borrow against it.

    Crypto.com Pros:
    • Over 250 crypto and over 450 trading pairs
    • Advanced trading platform with TradingView charting
    • Pays up to 14% APY on crypto savings accounts
    • Derivatives trading with extremely low fees
    • Crypto.com VISA debit card to spend crypto and earn rewards
    Crypto.com Cons:
    • U.S. users cannot access some of the features (derivative, etc.)
    • Must own CRO tokens for best interest rates
    • Not suited for serious crypto traders
    • Mobile app does not offer full features

    Coinbase is one of the most used exchanges in the world for crypto, serving over 90 million customers and available in over 200 countries around the globe. Constantly in the top 5 exchanges for trading volume, Coinbase is a favorite of both retail and institutional investors alike.

    Coinbase is a simple-to-use exchange aimed at beginners, offering a safe way to buy Bitcoin, Ethereum, stablecoins and 250 other altcoins. Its mobile app is highly-rated with an intuitive design, making it easy for users to trade on the go. Coinbase charges higher fees than most other crypto platforms, but recently launched the Advanced Trade platform that offers more competitive fees and advanced trading tools.

    Coinbase Pros:
    • Easy-to-use platform ideal for beginners
    • Built-in educational videos and learning modules to earn crypto
    • Deep liquidity for buying crypto with fiat
    • Extremely simple mobile app
    • Coinbase VISA debit card to spend funds
    Coinbase Cons:
    • High fees (3% or more) for trading on the standard platform
    • Deposit fees are high in countries outside of USA
    • No access to derivatives or margin trading

    Crypto.com vs. Coinbase: Supported Countries

    Crypto.com and Coinbase are available worldwide, with customers in over 100 countries around the globe. As Crypto.com Exchange offers derivatives markets, it is not able to provide some features in certain countries, such as the United States and Canada. However, most Crypto.com App features are available in all supported countries, which is just over 100 in total. Coinbase does not offer derivatives trading, so does not face the same geographic restrictions.

    Coinbase is one of the largest digital asset exchanges in the world, serving over 90 million customers across 200 countries around the globe. With Crypto.com holding approximately 50 million customers as of 2022, Coinbase is larger in customer size as well as more countries supported around the world.

    Crypto.com vs. Coinbase: Trading Volume & Liquidity

    In terms of trading volume and liquidity, Coinbase is one of the most traded exchanges for buying crypto with fiat. While Crypto.com is in the top 20. Crypto.com is also one of the top exchanges for derivatives trading, processing over $2 billion in daily trading volume. At the time of writing, the average liquidity scores of 634 and 737 (out of 1,000) for Crypto.com and Coinbase, respectively, means that users can place large orders and avoid excess slippage. This makes both Crypto.com and Coinbase brokerage services a reasonable day trading platform for crypto due to the low slippage for large order sizes.

    Reported Coinbase trading volume and liquidityReported Coinbase trading volume and liquidityReported Coinbase trading volume and liquidity. Source: Coinmarketcap.com

    Crypto.com vs. Coinbase: Features, Products & Services

    Crypto.com and Coinbase offer intuitive trading platforms with a large selection of cryptocurrencies available. Here is a comparison and overview of some of the common and unique features of both Crypto.com and Coinbase.

    Supported Currencies

    Coinbase supports over 250 crypto assets listed across over 500 trading pairs, which is a great selection. Coinbase has continually added to its selection on a weekly basis and offers deep liquidity on the most popular coins. Conversely, Crypto.com offers a slightly larger selection of coins with over 250 cryptocurrencies for purchase, but fewer trading pairs, with 450+ trading pairs available. Coinbase supports only 7 fiat currencies, while Crypto.com supports 25 fiat currencies when it comes to buying crypto. Both Crypto.com and Coinbase support bank transfers and debit card purchases. For the derivatives markets, Crypto.com Exchange offers about 100 trading pairs between the perpetual and futures trading features. Coinbase does not offer any derivatives trading currently.

    winner

    Winner: Crypto.com.

    Overall, Crypto.com and Coinbase have a similar number of supported cryptocurrencies. When it comes to their trading platforms, there is a greater selection of pairs to trade across spot and derivatives markets on Crypto.com.

    Margin Trading (with Leverage)

    Crypto.com Exchange features a solid crypto margin trading platform offering a range of markets including spot trading with margin and futures contracts. The available markets are:

    • Spot. Optional leverage up to 10x can be applied to over 200 trading pairs.
    • Futures contracts. Stablecoin settled futures contracts that can be set for monthly, quarterly, or perpetually. Trading on ETH and BTC futures is available, with up to 100x leverage available.

    On the other hand, Coinbase and Coinbase Pro do not offer any margin on spot trading pairs and don’t carry any derivatives products at all. Trading is limited to spot buys and crypto trading pairs only, which is not ideal for more advanced and experienced traders that know how to trade with leverage.

    winner

    Winner: Crypto.com.

    Coinbase does not offer leveraged trading currently, making Crypto.com the clear winner. Crypto.com is a solid derivatives and margin trading platform with deep liquidity, a large coin selection, and low fees.

    Earning Interest on Crypto

    Crypto.com and Coinbase both offer financial products that pay interest on deposited crypto. Crypto.com offers multiple interest-bearing products, including Decentralized Finance (DeFi) lending and interest accounts. The Crypto Earn product from Crypto.com allows users to lock in their crypto to the platform for up to 3 months to earn interest. Users with more of the Crypto.com native token (CRO) can earn higher rates, up to 14% APY or more, depending on the terms and amount of CRO held.

    Interest rates on Crypto.com AppInterest rates on Crypto.com App

    Crypto.com also has a DeFi Earn product allows users to earn interest through DeFi lending protocols, such as Aave and Compound, all through the Crypto.com app. There is no lockup period for deposits, and Crytpo.com handles all of the backend smart contract interaction to make it simple for end-users.

    In contrast, Coinbase does not offer crypto lending and savings products for its users to earn interest on crypto deposits. The only mechanism available for its customers to earn crypto within a Coinbase wallet is through staking.

    winner

    Winner: Crypto.com.

    While Coinbase offers some basic ways to earn interest such as staking, Crypto.com offers multiple interest-bearing products with high rates up to 14.5% APY and flexible terms. It also supports dozens of assets and products for its users to take advantage of and earn interest on idle crypto.

    Crypto Staking

    Both Coinbase and Crypto.com offer to stake coins and earn rewards. On the Coinbase platform, users can deposit tokens and earn up to 5.0% APY on Cardano, Ethereum 2.0 (ETH2), Tezos (XTZ), Cosmos (ATOM) and USD Coin (USDC). The selection of assets is quite limited, however, there is a low barrier for entry with a minimum staking amount of USD 1. Funds within a Coinbase wallet that are delegated for staking will automatically accrue rewards. There is a downside. Coinbase has a 25% commission for providing its service to stake coins which are very expensive when compared to the best staking platforms in the industry.

    Staking crypto with CoinbaseStaking crypto with Coinbase

    Crypto.com Exchange offers the ability to stake Proof-of-Stake (PoS) coins. There are 28 supported tokens that can be held within the exchange wallet to earn staking rewards at the time of writing. The staking feature is not accessible on the app, which means users need to transfer crypto to the Crypto.com Exchange account which isn't very convenient. There is also the option to stake more than 100,000 CRO tokens to increase the reward payouts for other coins.

    winner

    Winner: Coinbase.

    While Coinbase Earn has a 25% commission on staking rewards, the ease of use and simplicity of storing coins in a staking wallet to earn passive rewards is suited to beginners. On the other hand, While Crypto.com has a greater selection of coins, the assets need to be transferred from the app to the Exchange Wallet. Moreover, to obtain the highest staking rewards, users need to stake 100,000 tokens of the native CRO platform which is not accessible for everyone.

    Buying & Selling NFTs

    Crypto.com and Coinbase both offer NFT marketplaces that allow users to buy and sell NFTs. Crypto.com allows users to buy, sell, and mint NFTs on their platform, carrying NFTs from multiple blockchains. Those who mint can set a royalty fee to earn fees on each time an NFT is sold. On the other hand, Coinbase recently launched its marketplace but does not offer minting of NFTs just yet, and only supports the Ethereum blockchain.

    Both platforms are fairly new and only offer a limited selection of NFTs currently. Coinbase is currently running a promotion and charging 0% fees for buying or selling an NFT, while Crypto.com currently charges a 15% seller’s fee on the initial trade, and 5% for secondary trades.

    winner

    Winner: Coinbase.

    While both NFT marketplaces are very new, Crypto.com offers more NFTs on different blockchains, as well as the ability to mint NFTs on the platform. That being said, Coinbase is quickly adding features to its marketplace and has a great layout and user interface. Moreover, there is a 0% fee for buying and selling NFTs at the time of writing.

    Crypto.com vs. Coinbase: Ease of Use

    Crypto.com and Coinbase both offer simple-to-use mobile apps, but their trading platforms are very different. Coinbase offers a simplified trading platform with some advanced features, while Crypto.com provides a full-featured advanced trading platform for intermediate and advanced users.

    The Coinbase platform is very simple to use, with simplified line charts, an intuitive order form, and built-in educational videos. Users can easily buy, sell, or swap crypto, and even set up recurring purchases for regular investments into their favorite crypto. Coinbase does offer advanced trading with more detailed charting, but it is still much less complicated than most trading platforms.

    Crypto.com offers a more complex trading experience, ideal for pro-level traders and crypto enthusiasts. With so many features available beginners can quickly become overwhelmed with the plethora of choices, but Crypto.com does a decent job of laying out each feature in the mobile app. Overall, it is a solid platform that is not too difficult to navigate, if you know what you’re doing.

    winner

    Winner: Coinbase.

    Coinbase makes it easy to invest in crypto with an intuitive mobile app and simple web interface. Navigation is very easy, and new users can quickly get up-to-speed on crypto events with a built-in news feed and education center. On the other hand, Crypto.com is a bit more advanced, and new traders may feel overwhelmed a bit.

    Crypto.com vs. Coinbase: Trading Experience

    Coinbase offers a separate trading platform, Coinbase Advanced Trade, designed for more experienced traders. The platform offers live order books, watch lists, and advanced candlestick charting with some basic overlays and technical indicators, but not as many as a TradingView chart. The order forms offer more flexibility than the standard Coinbase forms, including limit and stop-loss orders. The trading tools give traders what they need to place trades, but not too much more.

    Crypto.com Exchange interfaceCrypto.com Exchange interfaceScreenshot of the Crypto.com Exchange interface.

    Alternately, Crypto.com has an advanced trading platform that is powered by TradingView charts. This allows full control over charting views, with hundreds of built-in indicators and drawing tools, as well as the ability to save different views per asset. Crypto.com also displays live order books, open orders and order history, and a quick jump menu to view trading pairs.

    Coinbase trading interfaceCoinbase trading interfaceScreenshot of the Coinbase trading interface.

    Users can quickly access spot (and optional margin), perpetual and futures contracts, and even program a crypto trading bot for more automated trading strategies. Order forms offer customization, including market, limits, stop-loss, and take-profit orders.

    winner

    Winner: Crypto.com.

    While Coinbase offers a straightforward trading interface for beginners and intermediate traders, Crypto.com offers far more charting software to view crypto pairs and is ideal for advanced and professional traders. With integrated TradingView charting and multiple markets (including derivatives), Crypto.com offers all the tools an active trader would need.

    Crypto.com vs. Coinbase: Trading Fees

    Crypto.com offers a tiered fee structure that starts from 0.4% and 0.4% for maker and taker orders, respectively. Users can pay lower fees by having a high 30-day trading volume or by owning a specific amount of CRO tokens in their Crypto.com wallet.

    Coinbase has multiple trading fee structures, with its standard platform charging very high fees (up to 3% or more), while the maker fees and taker fees on Coinbase Advanced Trade start at 0.4% and 0.6%, respectively. Similar to Crypto.com, discounts on trading fees can be obtained for high-volume traders that also use a maker and taker fee structure.

    Trading ProductCoinbase FeesCrypto.com Fees
    Spot (fiat-to-crypto)Standard: 1.49% - 4.5%, Advanced: From 0.6% / 0.4%From 0.4% (maker) / 0.4% (taker)
    Leverage tradingNot availableFrom 0.05% (maker) / 0.07% (taker)

    For derivatives trading, Crypto.com has much lower trading fees, offering 0.05% (maker) and 0.07% (taker). There is also up to a 100% discount for Crypto.com token (CRO) holders, but there are no rebates available.

    winner

    Winner: Crypto.com.

    While Coinbase is a solid platform, it charges high fees to users, especially compared to Crypto.com. Users can save money utilizing the “Advanced Trade” feature, but the fees are still higher than Crypto.com. In comparison, Crypto.com offers low trading fees on their standard platform, with discounts available for CRO token holders, and extremely low fees on its derivatives platform.

    Crypto.com vs. Coinbase: Mobile App

    Coinbase offers one of the best-designed crypto apps for Android and iOS devices. Similar to the website app, the Coinbase mobile app offers streamlined functionality for everyday investors to buy and sell crypto with ease. Based on 700,000 customer reviews at the time of writing, the Coinbase Android app has a very good rating of 4.1/5.0, which indicates its high reliability and reputation. We found the app to be simple, elegant even, and very responsive, which is ideal for beginners.

    Crypto.com App screenshotsCrypto.com App screenshotsCrypto.com App screenshots.

    The Crypto.com app is also available on Android and iOS mobile devices and provides access to most of the features available on the web app. The Android app has a lower rating than Coinbase, 3.8/5.0 based on over 360,000 reviews. Based on our reviews, the Crypto.com app was not quite as intuitive as Coinbase, and wasn’t as fast overall.

    winner

    Winner: Coinbase.

    Whilst the Crypto.com app offers access to some trading features and tools, it was a bit simplified, and doesn’t offer all of the advanced features the website does. It also was a bit slower than the Coinbase app, and with so many features available, could be overwhelming to new users. The Coinbase app was immediately intuitive, quick, and designed so new users could quickly learn how to use it.

    Crypto.com vs. Coinbase: Security

    Both Crypto.com and Coinbase are massive exchanges with some of the best crypto wallet and account security in the industry. Both follow best practices to protect user funds and data, including data encryption and cold wallet storage. Coinbase has never experienced a hack of its infrastructure or user data that has resulted in the loss or theft of digital assets and private keys.

    On the other hand, Crypto.com was hacked in January of 2022, resulting in the theft of over $30 million in Bitcoin and Ethereum from user wallets. Crypto.com quickly patched the bug and reimbursed all losses. While this specific hack should not happen again, it goes to show that even the most secure exchanges may be at risk.

    As of today, Crypto.com and a Coinbase account both offer Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) for accounts (Coinbase requires it), the ability to whitelist withdrawal addresses, and both keep a majority of crypto in offline cold storage. User data is protected via SSL data encryption, and both operate with geographically distributed architecture, avoiding a single point of failure (Coinbase does this in-house, while Crypto.com utilizes Ledger Vault). In case of a breach to hot wallets holding the private keys, both carry insurance against loss of user assets, with Crypto.com partnering with Ledger Vault to store user assets with an insurance fund of about $750 million, and Coinbase carrying crime insurance.

    winner

    Winner: Coinbase.

    Crypto.com and Coinbase both offer top-notch security, but Crypto.com was hacked as recently as 2022. Coinbase, on the other hand, has never been hacked, and offers bank-grade security, insurance against theft, FDIC insurance on USD cash balances, and very secure data infrastructure. Coinbase has been around longer and has proven itself as one of the most secure exchanges in the world.

    Crypto.com vs. Coinbase: Comparison Scores

    To conclude this comparison of which exchange is better between Crypto.com and Coinbase, each crypto exchange has been scored using simple evaluation criteria as shown below.

    Comparison CriteriaWinner
    Supported CountriesCoinbase
    Trading VolumeCoinbase
    Supported CoinsCrypto.com
    Leverage TradingCrypto.com
    Earning Interest on CryptoCrypto.com
    Staking cryptoCoinbase
    Ease of UseCoinbase
    Trading ExperienceCrypto.com
    Mobile AppCoinbase
    NFTsCrypto.com
    Trading FeesCrypto.com
    SecurityCoinbase

    Final Verdict: Crypto.com or Coinbase?

    With over 140 million customers between the two exchanges, Crypto.com and Coinbase are two of the most influential and popular exchanges in the market. Both exchanges offer a stellar user experience and a wide set of features any crypto enthusiast will enjoy including a debit card to spend funds. However, choosing between the two depends on the user's investing goals and level of trading experience.

    Serious crypto traders who need a full set of trading tools and charting features are best-suited for Crypto.com’s trading platform with a large selection of crypto, low trading fees, customizable charting and spot and derivatives markets. Moreover, the ability to stake and earn high interest makes Crypto.com one of the best alternatives to Coinbase for earning yield.

    In contrast, Coinbase continues to impress with its simple-to-use platform and intuitive app, which is ideal for beginners. It supports bank transfers and a debit card is the most common payment method using a bank account. With built-in training and a sleek design. Coinbase is by far one of the easiest exchanges to use in the crypto market, but the fees continue to be much higher than other exchanges. There is also the Coinbase VISA debit card which is useful to spend crypto. To switch between exchanges and transfer crypto from Crypto.com to Coinbase, read this article that explains the process with a step-by-step tutorial.

    For more information on the two exchanges, also read our extended Coinbase review and Crypto.com review.

    Jacob WadeJacob WadeJacob Wade

    Jacob Wade has been a nationally-recognized personal finance expert for the past decade. As a cryptocurrency enthusiast and investor since 2020, Jacob enjoys researching and writing about the latest in crypto and blockchain technology. Jacob's work has been featured in several publications like CBS News, MSN Money, Forbes, NASDAQ, Yahoo! Finance, Go Banking Rates, The Balance, Investopedia, New York Times and AOL Finance.

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