Is Kraken or Lago better?

Neither clearly leads. Kraken starts at Free and Lago at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, Kraken or Lago?

Kraken starts at Free and Lago at Free.

Does Kraken or Lago run on more platforms?

Kraken runs on Web, Ios, Android. Lago runs on Web, Cloud, Self-hosted, On-premise, VPC.

Can I use Kraken for free?

Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.

What is Kraken best used for?

Kraken is most often used for exchanges, trading, staking. Of those, exchanges and trading are not what Lago is typically brought in for.

What can Kraken do that Lago cannot?

Kraken covers Spot Trading, Futures Trading, Margin Trading, Staking. Lago covers Real-time usage metering, Multiple pricing models, Automated invoicing, Prepaid credits.

Personal Finance · head to head

Kraken vs Lago

Kraken

Personal Finance

Secure cryptocurrency exchange for serious traders

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

Lago

Accounting

Open-source billing infrastructure for usage-based models

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Each has a real cost: Kraken restricted in 16 jurisdictions due to compliance requirements; Lago free tier limited to 10,000 entities per month with 5M event cap
They diverge on capability: Kraken covers Spot Trading, Lago covers Real-time usage metering.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Kraken and Lago actually diverge.

Attributes where Kraken and Lago differ
Attribute	Kraken	Lago
Pricing model	freemium	Freemium with optional paid tiers
Platforms	Web, Ios, Android	Web, Cloud, Self-hosted, On-premise, VPC
Category	Personal Finance	Accounting
Founded	2011	Unknown

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Kraken

Spot Trading
Futures Trading
Margin Trading
Staking
OTC Desk
Bank transfers
SWIFT
Plaid

Only in Lago

Real-time usage metering
Multiple pricing models
Automated invoicing
Prepaid credits
Entitlements
Multi-currency support
Payment orchestration
Revenue analytics

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Kraken

Exchangesnot Lago
Tradingnot Lago
Stakingnot Lago

Lago

Building usage-based billing for high-volume APIs and infrastructurenot Kraken
Implementing metered billing for AI and tokenized servicesnot Kraken
Creating subscription and hybrid pricing modelsnot Kraken
Managing multi-currency billing for global companiesnot Kraken
Maintaining billing infrastructure without vendor lock-innot Kraken

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Kraken

Restricted in 16 jurisdictions due to compliance requirements
Withdrawal processing delays due to KYC verification, blockchain confirmations, and compliance checks
Account restrictions triggered by scam prevention can only be lifted after 90 days
Margin trading limited to 5x leverage on most assets; 10x available only to eligible users

Lago

Free tier limited to 10,000 entities per month with 5M event cap
No specific pricing published for Pro annual plan or Scale plan
Self-hosted and on-premise deployments require engineering resources
Community support only on free tier
Scale plan requires annual contracts and sales engagement

Pricing, plan by plan

Kraken

Free

StarterFree
- Basic trading
- Staking
- Instant buy
ProFree
- Advanced trading
- Margin trading
- Futures

Lago

Free

Build (Free)Free
- 10,000 managed entities per month
- 5M usage events per month
- 1K events per second rate limit
Pro$399/month
- 10,000 entities included (graduated pricing to 100K)
- 25M usage events included (to 500M with graduated rates)
- 10K events per second (upgradeable to 100K)
Scale$null/custom
- Custom entity and event volumes
- 50K events per second (upgradeable to 100K)
- RBAC and SSO (SAML)

Which should you pick?

Choose Kraken if

You need spot trading.
You want to start without paying.
You work on Web, Ios, Android.
You also want futures trading.

Kraken review

Choose Lago if

You need real-time usage metering.
You want to start without paying.
You work on Web, Cloud, Self-hosted, On-premise, VPC.
You also want multiple pricing models.

Lago review

Questions people ask

Is Kraken or Lago better?: Neither clearly leads. Kraken starts at Free and Lago at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Kraken or Lago?: Kraken starts at Free and Lago at Free.
Does Kraken or Lago run on more platforms?: Kraken runs on Web, Ios, Android. Lago runs on Web, Cloud, Self-hosted, On-premise, VPC.
Can I use Kraken for free?: Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Kraken best used for?: Kraken is most often used for exchanges, trading, staking. Of those, exchanges and trading are not what Lago is typically brought in for.
What can Kraken do that Lago cannot?: Kraken covers Spot Trading, Futures Trading, Margin Trading, Staking. Lago covers Real-time usage metering, Multiple pricing models, Automated invoicing, Prepaid credits.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Kraken: How much does Kraken charge in fees?

Kraken Pro spot trading fees start at 0.25 percent maker and 0.40 percent taker for entry-level volume, decreasing to 0.00 percent maker and 0.08-0.10 percent taker at USD 10M+ monthly volume. The Kraken standard platform charges 1 percent on instant trades and 1.5 percent on custom orders. Kraken+ membership costs 4.99 USD/month or 49.99 USD/year for up to USD 10k/month in fee-free volume.

Source

Lago: Can I use Lago open-source for free?

Yes, Lago is open-source under the AGPLv3 license and can be self-hosted. The cloud-based Build plan is also free with limits of 10,000 entities and 5M events per month.

Source

Kraken: In how many countries can I use Kraken?

Kraken supports 190+ countries and 9 major fiat currencies (USD, EUR, GBP). However, services are restricted in 16 jurisdictions including Russia, Iran, North Korea, Syria, and Afghanistan due to regulatory compliance requirements.

Source

Lago: What payment providers does Lago integrate with?

Lago integrates with Stripe and Adyen for payment processing. It is not a payment processor itself but orchestrates payments through these providers.

Source

Kraken: Is Kraken custody secure?

Kraken holds ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certification and passed SOC 2 Type 1 examination. The exchange uses cold storage with crypto infrastructure in secure cages under 24/7 armed surveillance. Kraken Custody uses multiparty computation (MPC) and hardware security module (HSM) technology. As a Wyoming SPDI-chartered institution, Kraken Financial operates on full-reserve basis, holding 100 percent of client deposits in unencumbered liquid assets.

Source

Lago: Does Lago support multiple currencies?

Yes, Lago supports multi-currency billing with automatic currency conversion for global businesses.

Source

Kraken: What cryptocurrencies can I trade?

Kraken supports 500+ cryptocurrencies across 600+ crypto trading pairs. The platform also offers tokenized equities (xStocks) for direct trading of stock exposure, and supports staking rewards on eligible digital assets.

Source

Kraken vs Lago

Kraken

Lago

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Kraken

Only in Lago

What people use each for

Kraken

Lago

Where each one falls short

Kraken

Lago

Pricing, plan by plan

Kraken

Lago

Which should you pick?

Choose Kraken if

Choose Lago if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Kraken

More on Lago

Keep looking

Other head to heads