Krakenvs
Coinbase
Coinbase: Largest U.S. cryptocurrency exchange with 100+ supported countries, beginner-friendly interface, and strong regulatory compliance, though with higher fees than Kraken.
Kraken
Secure cryptocurrency exchange for serious traders
As of 30 August 2026, Kraken is free to use. Kraken is one of the oldest and most trusted cryptocurrency exchanges, known for its security and compliance. Softwr lists it under Personal Finance. Kraken is made by Payward Inc., launched in 2011, available on Web, iOS, Android.
Overview
What Kraken does
Kraken is one of the oldest and most trusted cryptocurrency exchanges, known for its security and compliance. It offers spot trading, futures, margin trading, and staking services with competitive fees and a wide selection of cryptocurrencies.
What people use it for
- Exchanges
- Trading
- Staking
Related searches
The honest half
Where it falls short
Concrete and checkable, so you can decide whether any of them matter to you. This is the half of a review a vendor will not write about 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
Cross-shopped
What people choose instead of Kraken
Each pairing was judged by two reviewers asking whether a buyer would genuinely weigh the two against each other. The ones that failed were deleted rather than published.
- KrakenvsBinance
Binance: World's largest cryptocurrency exchange by volume, offering 500+ coins, advanced trading features, lower fees than Kraken Pro at scale, and global coverage.
- KrakenvsCrypto.com
Crypto.com: Global cryptocurrency exchange with crypto credit card, staking rewards, and DeFi platform integration, operating in 190+ countries with competitive fee structure and strong brand presence.
Pricing
What Kraken costs
Taken from the vendor's own pricing page. Prices move, so check before you buy.
Starter
Free
- Basic trading
- Staking
- Instant buy
Pro
Free
- Advanced trading
- Margin trading
- Futures
Capabilities
Features
Spot Trading
Futures Trading
Margin Trading
Staking
OTC Desk
Bank transfers
Integration with Bank transfers
SWIFT
Integration with SWIFT
Plaid
Integration with Plaid
Web support
Available on web
Ios support
Available on ios
Android support
Available on android
Answered, with sources
Questions people ask
Each answer names the page it came from, so you can check it rather than take our word for it.
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.
SourceIn 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.
SourceIs 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.
SourceWhat 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.
SourceBehind it
Who makes Kraken
- Company
- Payward Inc.
- Based in
- San Francisco, California
Keep looking
Where to go from Kraken
- Kraken alternativesEvery product people weigh against it
- Kraken pricingPlans, floors and what the tiers exclude
- Kraken badgesWhich rules it meets, and the figure behind each
- All Personal Finance softwareThe full category
- Best Personal Finance softwareThe shortlist, and how it was cut
Best Personal Finance software for
Compare Kraken with
- Coinbase
- Crypto.com
- Fidelity
- E*TRADE
- Vanguard
- Remitly
- Apple Pay
- Banktivity
- Charles Schwab
- Credit Karma
- GnuCash
- Google Pay
- Afterpay
- Betterment
- Firefly III
- Monarch Money
- Fidelity
- Mint
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Softwr does not host reviews and shows no star rating for Kraken, because a rating we did not collect is not ours to publish. What is here is the pricing and platform detail from the vendor’s own pages, limitations we could state concretely, and alternatives a reviewer confirmed people weigh against it. Tell us if any of it is wrong.
More on Kraken
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