Kraken vs Binance
On trading fees Binance starts ahead: 0.1% taker versus 0.4% for Kraken. On listing breadth Binance wins (400 assets vs 250). Only Kraken offers derivatives (up to 50x leverage). Before picking between Kraken and Binance, ask whether you will trade actively or just accumulate: the answer can flip the ranking.
| Kraken | Binance | |
|---|---|---|
| Tier | S | A |
| Rating | ★ 4.9 | ★ 4.6 |
| Maker / Taker fee | 0.25% / 0.4% | 0.1% / 0.1% |
| Markets | Spot + Derivatives | Spot |
| Max leverage | 50× | 125× |
| Supported assets | 250+ | 400+ |
| Fiat on-ramp | Yes | Yes |
| Deposit methods | SEPA, SWIFT, Bonifico bancario, Carta di credito/debito, FedWire/ACH (USA), Faster Payments (UK), Interac e-Transfer (Canada), PayPal, Deposito crypto | — |
| Geo restrictions | New York (USA), Maine (USA), Washington State (USA), Hawaii (USA, limitato) | UK (retail), NL, CA |
| Staking / Earn | ETH ~3-3.5% APY, Solana, Polkadot, Kusama, Cardano. Staking reinstated USA gennaio 2025. Kraken Prime per istituzionali. | Earn, staking e risparmio flessibile su numerose crypto |
| Fund custody | Custodial (platform holds funds) | Custodial (platform holds funds) |
| KYC | Full | Full |
| Supported countries | US, EEA, UK, APAC · 60+ countries | EEA, APAC, LATAM, MENA, AFRICA · 180+ countries |
| Regulator | FinCEN, FCA, CSSF, MAS, BaFin, AMF, CONSOB, etc. | VARA, AMF, ASIC, CNMV, CONSOB, FMA, KNF, SEC, SFSA, etc. |
| OAM Italy registration | Yes | Yes |
| Segment | B2C | B2C |
| 24h volume (as of Jun 1) | — | $8.5B |
| Currencies / quote | — | EUR, USDT, BTC |
| Past incidents | — | $4.3B DOJ settlement (2023) · CZ convicted · Banned for UK retail / Netherlands / Canada |
| Regions | US, EU/EEA, UK, APAC | EU/EEA, APAC, LATAM, MENA, Africa |
| Licences & safety | Money Services Business + EMI partner UK | AMF (FR), OAM (IT), Bank of Spain, VARA (Dubai) |
Frequently asked questions
Kraken vs Binance: which is better?
On trading fees Binance starts ahead: 0.1% taker versus 0.4% for Kraken. On listing breadth Binance wins (400 assets vs 250). Only Kraken offers derivatives (up to 50x leverage). Before picking between Kraken and Binance, ask whether you will trade actively or just accumulate: the answer can flip the ranking.
Which is cheaper, Kraken or Binance?
On the standard spending profile Kraken has the lowest net annual cost: €0 versus €0 for Binance.
Is Kraken custodial or self-custody?
Kraken is custodial: funds are held by the platform, while Binance is custodial.