KuCoin vs. Kraken: Features & Fees Compared

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Quick Verdict

KuCoin is designed for active traders that want access to up-and-coming cryptocurrencies with much smaller market caps. It has a simple and advanced trading platform, and trading fees are very low starting at 0.1% per trade depending on the cryptocurrency. KuCoin offers a ton of other features as well, including interest-bearing accounts, crypto trading bots, derivatives, margin trading, Peer-to-Peer (P2P exchange, and a newly-launched NFT marketplace.

On the other hand, Kraken is a longstanding and reputable cryptocurrency exchange that offers a simple trading experience for beginners, as well as a professional trading platform for experienced traders. Kraken offers robust security, protecting user funds and data on multiple levels, ideal for security-conscious investors and institutional traders. Kraken also offers crypto staking to earn rewards, trading with margin, and futures markets. Overall, Kraken is the winner of this comparison given its availability in the United States.

	KuCoin	Kraken
Website	https://www.hedgewithcrypto.com/go/kucoin	https://www.hedgewithcrypto.com/go/kraken
Promotion	Up to 500 USDT in bonuses	None available at this time
Fiat Currency	USD, GBP, EUR, CNY & 46 others	USD, GBP, EUR, CAD, CHF, JPY & AUD
Supported Cryptocurrency	806	222
Max. Trading Fee	0.1%	0.16% (maker) and 0.26% (taker)
Overall Rating	HedgewithCrypto Score 4.6 / 5 We provide an overall weighted average rating out of 5 stars. Our ratings are based on objective criteria like the ease of use, fees, deposit methods, customer support and availability. Our reviews are not influenced by 3rd parties. Click here for further information about our rating methodology and a full list of categories we review against. Visit KuCoin	HedgewithCrypto Score 4.8 / 5 We provide an overall weighted average rating out of 5 stars. Our ratings are based on objective criteria like the ease of use, fees, deposit methods, customer support and availability. Our reviews are not influenced by 3rd parties. Click here for further information about our rating methodology and a full list of categories we review against. Visit Kraken
Review	Read our full KuCoin Review	Read our full Kraken Review

In-Depth Comparison: KuCoin vs Kraken

KuCoin is a cryptocurrency exchange that offers one of the biggest selections of coins around and a wide selection of trading features. Established in late 2017, KuCoin has quickly amassed a huge customer base, with over 20 million users located in more than 207 countries around the globe. According to the website, 25% of worldwide crypto traders use KuCoin to trade crypto.

With access to a spot exchange, futures and margin markets, leveraged tokens, zero-fee crypto swaps, staking rewards, crypto lending services to earn interest on crypto holdings and purchase crypto using a credit/debit card, Kucoin is one of the most comprehensive crypto platforms on the market today.

Kraken is a cryptocurrency exchange based in the United States (USA) that offers an advanced and stable trading platform and an easy-to-use mobile app. As one of the oldest crypto exchanges launched in 2013, Kraken is a reputable and reliable exchange that offers a secure way to buy crypto with traditional money. To cater to a variety of customers from beginners to experienced traders, Kraken offers both simple and advanced trading platforms, as well as access to spot trading with margin, and a futures trading platform.

Kraken has over 9 million customers in over 190 countries around the globe and processes over $1 billion in spot trading volume daily. It also offers crypto staking (USA residents not eligible) to earn rewards on deposited crypto and is launching an NFT marketplace very soon. In short, Kraken is a top exchange in the crypto industry.

KuCoin vs. Kraken: Supported Countries

KuCoin and Kraken are available worldwide, supporting customers in over 190 countries around the globe. KuCoin offers derivatives markets, and due to global regulations, it is not supported in the United States. Although, the market is available in every other supported country. Moreover, KuCoin has over 20 million customers which makes it one of the largest exchanges in the world. In comparison, Kraken is also a large exchange that is particularly popular in the USA. At the time of writing, Kraken does not have the same reach globally as KuCoin but still has over 9 million customers in 190 countries.

KuCoin vs. Kraken: Trading Volume & Liquidity

Kraken is a popular exchange for those that want to buy crypto as an investment using fiat currency with daily spot trading volumes of over $1 billion. It does not process quite as much volume for derivatives trading, with about $100 million in daily volume. KuCoin matches Kraken with almost $1 billion in daily spot trading volume but far surpasses this with over $4 billion in daily derivatives trading volume.

At the time of writing, Kraken offers deep liquidity on most large-cap coins, with an average liquidity score of 748 (out of 1,000). KuCoin has an average liquidity score of 588, which is much lower than Kraken, but it offers great liquidity (650+) on top coin pairs such as USDC, USDT, BTC, and ETH. Liquidity ratings help determine whether users can place large orders and avoid excess slippage. Kraken offers better liquidity overall as a spot trading platform, making it an ideal crypto day trading platform for experienced traders who place larger orders.

KuCoin vs. Kraken: Features, Products & Services

KuCoin and Kraken offer multiple trading platforms with a great selection of cryptocurrencies available, and both offer derivatives trading. Here is a comparison and overview of some of the common and unique features of both KuCoin and Kraken.

Supported Cryptocurrencies

Kraken offers just over 190 crypto assets that comprise over 500 trading pairs, which is a very good selection. In addition, Kraken offers forex trading on some of the most popular and liquid FX pairs and crosses. The exchange continues to add support for more cryptocurrencies each month and has very deep liquidity on the most popular coins.

KuCoin, on the other hand, is one of the best altcoin exchanges in the market offering 700+ cryptocurrencies that equate to more than 1,200 pairs to trade. This is one of the best selections in the crypto market and has a greater choice for diversifying a portfolio when compared to Kraken.

Fiat Currencies & Deposit Methods

KuCoin supports 50+ fiat currencies such as USD, AUD, CAD and THB, while Kraken only supports 7 fiat currencies which is quite limited. That being said, KuCoin fiat deposits may come with high fees due to a third-party provider. Moreover, the selection of crypto that can be purchased is not the full list and is limited to about 7 assets at the time of writing. As for payment methods using fiat currencies, both Kraken and KuCoin have credit/debit card purchases, but charge high fees to use these services. Kraken exchange also lets individuals buy crypto with Apple Pay and Google Pay which is not offered on all exchanges.

Leverage Trading

KuCoin offers a top-shelf crypto platform for margin trading with over 220 margin pairs supported with up to 10x leverage. The base pairs that can be used as collateral are BTC, ETH, USDC, and USDT. The charting and trading platform support take-profit, stop-loss and combined take-profit and stop-loss orders to risk-manage open leveraged positions.

In addition, KuCoin has a futures market where users can buy or sell cryptocurrencies at a predetermined price at a specific time in the future. There are more than 110 coins that can be traded with leverage up to 100x at the time of writing. Futures contracts can be settled in USD, however, the supported currencies are limited to BTC (including quarterly), ETH, DOT, and XRP.

In contrast, Kraken has a spot margin trading and futures trading platform. Traders can open positions with up to 5x leverage available on spot purchases, and up to 50x leverage available on futures contracts with 7 different collateral pairs that can be used which is more than KuCoin. The futures contracts are available on a perpetual basis or on a quarterly basis.

Earning Interest on Crypto

KuCoin and Kraken both offer users a way to earn interest on their cryptocurrency to help grow a portfolio. KuCoin offers multiple Earn products that support more than 50 cryptocurrency assets. The available products that can be used under KuCoin Earn include:

• KuCoin Savings. Deposit coins into a savings wallet to earn a return on investment between 5 and 8% APR. The funds do not have to be locked in and can be transferred to the trading account at any time.
• KCS Bonus. Users can earn daily trading fee bonuses by holding Kucoin tokens (KCS), the native token of the exchange.
• Liquidity pool mining. Join liquidity pools to earn yield by collecting transaction fees from DeFi exchanges.
• KuCoin lottery. KuCoin offers a lottery game called Lucky Raffling that draws winners of a large jackpot.
• Staking. Users can earn stable interest on both fixed and flexible terms on its crypto staking platform.
• Cloud mining. Kucoin offers its own cloud mining service, allowing users to combine resources to share mining rewards. KuCoin manages the hardware and utilities. This service is only available on occasion.

In comparison, the products and services on Kraken for users to earn a passive income on a crypto portfolio is very limited. The only product is cryptocurrency staking by depositing or purchasing Proof-of-Stake (PoS) coins. The exchange supports 15 tokens that can be staked on Kraken, including Ethereum 2.0. The highest reward at the time of writing is 23% APY.

Buying & Selling NFTs

Kraken and KuCoin don’t offer traditional NFT marketplaces (yet), but KuCoin does have an NFT launchpad that allows users to buy, invest in, and manage in-game NFTs. KuCoin also partners with a third-party NFT marketplace where users can buy, sell, and mint NFTs. Kraken has yet to launch its NFT marketplace, though it does have a waitlist, indicating it will be coming soon. Other exchanges with more developed NFT marketplaces to consider are Binance and FTX.

KuCoin vs. Kraken: Ease of Use

KuCoin and Kraken both offer well-designed mobile apps and advanced trading platforms, but each with a different experience. Kraken offers both a beginner-friendly trading platform and an advanced platform for professional traders, while KuCoin offers an advanced trading platform for intermediate and advanced users.

Kraken’s standard trading experience is a simple order form, allowing users to buy, sell, or swap crypto directly. The Kraken Pro platform offers a more comprehensive trading platform with advanced charting tools, access to margin, and hundreds of crypto pairs to choose from.

The KuCoin platform offers a bit of everything, with a simple “Buy Crypto” option for beginners, but also an advanced trading platform with detailed charting, access to margin and derivatives trading, as well as programmable trading bots and leveraged tokens. The mobile app offers a simpler user experience for beginners, but advanced traders can access most of the same trading tools as the web platform as well. For absolute beginners that are new to crypto-to-crypto trading, there is a KuCoin Convert product for zero-fee crypto trading that is simple to use.

KuCoin vs. Kraken: Trading Experience

The new Kraken Pro beta platform offers a fantastic trading experience, with access to most every tool an active trader could want. There are multiple order types available, as well as live order books, advanced charting with TradingView chart integration, and custom watch lists for tracking crypto favorites. The layout is well-designed, and users can drag and drop windows to customize their layout.

KuCoin also offers an advanced trading platform that is powered by TradingView charts, giving users access to hundreds of indicators and charting tools. KuCoin offers live order books, a depth chart, isolated and cross margin, and access to their comprehensive futures markets. Users can save their favorite trading pairs, with access to over 1,200 pairs across 700+ cryptocurrencies.

Users can program a crypto grid trading bot for more automated trading strategies directly from the order form. The derivatives platform offers access to hundreds of trading pairs for perpetual futures trading, and even trading competitions with prizes. Overall, KuCoin offers almost every tool available for advanced crypto trading.

KuCoin vs. Kraken: Trading Fees

KuCoin offers very low fees for traders, starting at 0.3% per trader for less common crypto, and starting at 0.1% per trade for most large-cap coins. KuCoin utilizes a maker-taker fee schedule, with rebates available for the highest level traders and those that hold a significant amount of the native KuCoin token (KCS).

	KuCoin Trading Fees	Kraken Trading Fees
Spot (fiat-to-crypto)	0.1% (maker) / 0.1% (taker)	Instant Buy: 0.9% – 5.25%, Trading: from 0.16% (maker) / 0.26% (taker)
Leverage trading	From 0.02% (maker) / 0.06% (taker)	From 0.02% (maker) / 0.05% (taker)

Kraken has multiple trading fee structures, with its standard “Buy Crypto” purchase experience charging very high fees (up to 5% or more), while the maker fees and taker fees on Kraken Pro start at 0.16% and 0.26%, respectively. Discounts on trading fees can be obtained for high-volume traders that also use a maker and taker fee structure.

For derivatives trading, KuCoin and Kraken have nearly identical fees, with Kraken starting slightly lower for taker fees. However, KuCoin offers trading rebates on derivatives trading to the highest volume traders or KCS token holders.

When it comes to withdrawal fees, this is not an option on KuCoin as it does not allow traders to cash out of fiat currencies to a bank account. This can be problematic for those that want to withdraw from KuCoin to a bank account. On Kraken, there are varying withdrawal fees that depend on the fiat currency (e.g. USD, EUR, GBP etc) and the method of transfer to a nominated bank.

KuCoin vs. Kraken: Mobile App

Kraken offers two mobile apps, one for beginners, and a Kraken Pro app for advanced traders. The regular Kraken app offers a simple user experience for buying and selling crypto, while the advanced app offers all of the advanced charting and trading tools experience traders would expect. Based on 18,000 customer reviews at the time of writing, the Kraken Android app has a very good rating of 4.2/5.0, while the Kraken Pro Android app has a score of 4.0/5 based on 26,000 customer reviews. We found that each app was responsive and well-suited for traders to place trades and monitor their holdings.

The KuCoin app is also available on Android and iOS mobile devices and offers an incredible amount of features, but this makes for a crowded home screen, which may overwhelm beginners. The Android app has been downloaded by 5 million+ users and boasts a 4.4/5.0 based on over 100,000 reviews at the time of writing. Based on our reviews, the KuCoin app has a huge selection of features and advanced trading tools but has too many popups.

KuCoin vs. Kraken: Security

Both KuCoin and Kraken offer advanced security measures to protect user funds and data, with end-to-end data encryption and cold wallet storage of crypto assets. KuCoin and a Kraken account both offer Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) for accounts, KYC identity verification (though KuCoin users can trade without this), the ability to whitelist withdrawal addresses, and both keep a majority of crypto in offline cold storage.

Related: How long does KuCoin verification take?

But while Kraken has been around for a decade with a hack, KuCoin was hacked to the tune of $275 million in September of 2020. The exchange hack was the result of a breach of the KuCoin hot wallets for a number of cryptocurrencies. KuCoin was able to recover most of the funds, and the KuCoin insurance fund covered the remaining losses. This means investors were made whole available, though this was not an immediate process.

Final Comparison Scores

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

Comparison Criteria	Winner
Supported Countries	KuCoin
Trading Volume	Kraken
Supported Coins	KuCoin
Leverage Trading	KuCoin
Earning Interest on Crypto	KuCoin
Ease of Use	Draw
Trading Experience	KuCoin
Mobile App	Kraken
NFTs	KuCoin
Trading Fees	KuCoin
Security	Kraken