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Answers built from our own research on 231 countries, every major exchange, wallet and card. Free, and no account needed.

The smartest way to buy bitcoin

Pick your country and get a ranked shortlist of exchanges that actually serve it, with fees, ID requirements and payment methods compared. Free, independent, and covering 231 countries.

AfghanistanAlbaniaAlgeriaAmerican SamoaAndorraAngolaAnguillaAntigua and BarbudaArgentinaArmeniaArubaAustraliaAustriaAzerbaijanBahamasBahrainBangladeshBarbadosBelarusBelgiumBelizeBeninBhutanBoliviaBotswanaBrazilBritish Virgin IslandsBruneiBulgariaBurkina FasoBurundiCambodiaCameroonCanadaCape VerdeCaribbean NetherlandsCayman IslandsCentral African RepublicChadChileChinaColombiaComorosCook IslandsCosta RicaCote d'IvoireCroatiaCubaCuracaoCyprusCzech RepublicDenmarkDjiboutiDominicaDominican RepublicDR CongoEcuadorEgyptEl SalvadorEquatorial GuineaEritreaEstoniaEswatini / SwazilandEthiopiaFalkland IslandsFijiFinlandFranceFrench GuianaFrench PolynesiaGabonGambiaGeorgiaGermanyGhanaGibraltarGreeceGrenadaGuadeloupeGuamGuatemalaGuernseyGuineaGuinea BissauGuyanaHaitiHondurasHong KongHungaryIcelandIndiaIndonesiaIranIraqIrelandIsle of ManIsraelItalyJamaicaJapanJerseyJordanKazakhstanKenyaKiribatiKuwaitKyrgyzstanLaosLatviaLebanonLesothoLiberiaLibyaLiechtensteinLithuaniaLuxembourgMacaoMadagascarMalawiMalaysiaMaldivesMaliMaltaMarshall IslandsMartiniqueMauritaniaMauritiusMayotteMexicoMicronesiaMoldovaMonacoMongoliaMontenegroMontserratMoroccoMozambiqueMyanmarNamibiaNauruNepalNetherlandsNetherlands AntillesNew CaledoniaNew ZealandNicaraguaNigerNigeriaNiueNorfolk IslandNorth MacedoniaNorthern Mariana IslandsNorwayOmanPakistanPalauPalestinePanamaPapua New GuineaParaguayPeruPhilippinesPitcairn IslandsPolandPortugalPuerto RicoQatarRepublic of the CongoReunionRomaniaRussiaRwandaSamoaSan MarinoSão Tomé and PríncipeSaudi ArabiaSenegalSerbiaSeychellesSierra LeoneSingaporeSint MaartenSlovakiaSloveniaSolomon IslandsSomaliaSouth AfricaSouth KoreaSouth SudanSpainSri LankaSt. HelenaSt. Kitts and NevisSt. LuciaSt. Vincent and the GrenadinesSudanSurinameSwedenSwitzerlandSyriaTaiwanTajikistanTanzaniaThailandTimor LesteTogoTokelauTongaTrinidad and TobagoTunisiaTurkeyTurkmenistanTurks and CaicosTuvaluU.S. Virgin IslandsUgandaUkraineUnited Arab EmiratesUnited KingdomUnited StatesUruguayUzbekistanVanuatuVatican CityVenezuelaVietnamWallis and Futuna IslandsWestern SaharaYemenZambiaZimbabwe

Popular guides

All 231 countries

What is the best bitcoin exchange in 2026?

There is no single best one, because availability is decided by where you live. The platforms below score highest across our reviews on fees, custody and track record, but each serves a different set of countries, so start with your country guide and pick from what it lists.

ExchangeRatingFeesGood for
Kraken4.7Kraken Pro charges 0.25% maker and 0.40% taker below $10,000 in 30-day volume, falling from there. The simple Buy widget and card purchases include a spread and cost noticeably more.San Francisco, United States
River4.6Zero fees on recurring buys; one-time purchases start around 1.2 percent.Bitcoin-only buyers
Strike4.6No added fee on sending bitcoin or money transfers; buying bitcoin carries a fee shown before you confirm, varying by market and purchase size.Bitcoin-only buyers
Bitvavo4.5A nine-tier schedule by 30-day volume, starting at 0.15 percent maker and 0.25 percent taker. Euro deposits by SEPA and iDEAL are free.Amsterdam, Netherlands
Coinbase4.5Simple buys layer a flat fee and a spread and are the expensive way in. Advanced Trade, in the same account, uses maker-taker pricing that falls with 30-day volume and costs a fraction of simple-buy rates.United States (remote-first)
Independent Reserve4.50.50 percent maker and taker to start, stepping down to 0.02 percent on volume. PayID, Osko and bank deposits are free; Australian cards cost 1 percent.Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Compare all exchanges

Watch: pick your country, then pick your exchange

How to decide where to buy bitcoin, in two steps: start from the country you are buying in, then choose an exchange that serves it. It is the same method every country guide on this site follows.

Step one is the country search at the top of this page, and step two is the comparison table above. From our YouTube channel @dontgetrekt, uploaded 2023-02-06.

How the world pays for bitcoin

Bank transfers are usually the cheapest way to fund an exchange and cards are the fastest, but what you can actually use is decided by where you live. These rails reach the most countries of the 90 we document, counted from the guides themselves, and each one names the exchanges that take it.

90 payment rails documented. Country reach is counted from our guides, never typed in.

The payment rails reaching the most countries of the 90 we document, counted from the country guides.
MethodFamilyCountriesExchanges
Credit or debit cardCard20621
P2P tradePeer-to-peer1331
Local bank transferDomestic bank rail10124
Wire transferInternational wire6514
Apple PayPay wallet486
Google PayPay wallet486
Compare all payment methods

Don't get rekt

Most losses in crypto are not market crashes. They are avoidable mistakes: coins left on failing exchanges, seed phrases in photo rolls, links from strangers.

Self-custody your savings

Exchanges fail. Keys you hold in a hardware wallet do not go bankrupt.

Guard the seed phrase

Written on paper or steel, never photographed, never typed into a website.

Assume the DM is a scam

Guaranteed yields, urgent support agents, romance plus investing: all scams.

Read the security guide

The bitcoin wallets we rate highest

An exchange balance is a claim on a company. A wallet whose keys you hold is not, which is the whole reason to move your savings off an exchange. These are the highest scoring of the 41 wallets we have reviewed, hardware and software together, and nobody can pay to move one up.

The six highest rated of the 41 wallets we review, by our editorial score.
WalletRatingTypeBitcoin-onlyPrice
Bitcoin Core4.7SoftwareYesFree download
Sparrow Wallet4.7SoftwareYesFree download
BitBox024.6HardwareNoNot stated
Trezor Safe 34.5HardwareNo$59
Electrum4.4SoftwareYesFree download
Keystone 3 Pro4.4HardwareNo$149
Compare all wallets

Crypto cards, minus the marketing

A crypto card spends ordinary money at ordinary shops and pays its rewards in crypto, sometimes only after you lock up the platform's own token. These are the top scorers of the 15 cards we review, rated on what the conditions leave of the headline rate.

The six highest rated of the 15 crypto cards we review, by our editorial score.
CardRatingEntry-level rewardCountries
Gemini Credit Card4.24% back, capped at $300/month combined spend, then 1% for the rest of that month2
Bitpanda Card4.11% cashback, paid in the crypto asset used for the purchase19
Fold Card (debit) and Fold Credit Card4.00.5% Bitcoin back base, with spin-wheel bonuses occasionally paying much higher amounts1
Bitget Wallet Card3.92% assetback54
Coinbase Card3.6Up to 4% on selected altcoins, 1% on BTC, ETH, DOGE, or DAI32
Gnosis Pay Card (Gnosis Card)3.61% (2% with OG NFT)36
Compare all crypto cards

VPNs, ranked by the evidence

A VPN hides your traffic from the network you are on. It does not hide your identity from an exchange, and it is not a way around identity checks. The services below carry the most independent audits of the 13 we review, which is the closest thing a no logs promise has to proof.

The six most independently audited of the 13 VPNs we review, by audit count.
ServiceAuditsJurisdictionCrypto paymentPrice
NordVPN6 (latest 2025)PanamaBTC, ETHFrom $3.39/mo on the 2yr plan
Proton VPN5 (latest 2026)SwitzerlandBTCFree tier, or paid VPN Plus
ExpressVPN5 (latest 2025)British Virgin IslandsBTCFrom $2.99/mo on the 2yr plan
Mullvad4 (latest 2024)SwedenBTC, BCH, XMRFlat EUR 5/mo, any term
IVPN3 (latest 2026)GibraltarBTC, XMRFrom $60/yr on Standard
CyberGhost3 (latest 2025)RomaniaBTCFrom $2.19/mo on the 2yr plan
Compare all VPNs

Learn bitcoin and crypto

Plain-English explainers, updated for 2026. No hype, sources included.

All guides

Bitcoin by the numbers

What public companies hold, what the network is producing, and when the next halving lands. Each figure comes from the data we sync, not from an aggregator's headline.

Crypto licenses by country

This page is for buyers. Running an exchange or custody business is a different question, with its own regulator in every country. These guides are built from regulator publications, not sales pages.

Browse the rest of the site

The two references behind everything above: the vocabulary, and the state by state guides for the United States.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best way to buy bitcoin?

Use a regulated exchange that serves your country, fund it with a bank transfer to keep fees low, and move meaningful amounts to a hardware wallet you control. Our country guides list vetted options for 231 countries and territories.

How does buybitcoinsmart make money?

Some outbound links may become referral links, which can pay us a commission at no cost to you. Rankings are editorial and never sold; defunct or risky platforms are labeled as such even when that costs us a link.

Do I need to verify my identity to buy bitcoin?

On nearly every regulated exchange, yes: KYC verification with a photo ID is required by anti-money-laundering law in most jurisdictions before you can deposit money.

Is it safe to keep bitcoin on an exchange?

For small, active balances a reputable exchange is acceptable. For savings it is not: exchange failures from Mt. Gox to FTX wiped out customer funds. A hardware wallet puts the keys in your hands.

How much money do I need to start?

Almost nothing. Bitcoin divides into 100 million satoshis, and most exchanges let you start with the equivalent of a few dollars, euros, or your local currency.

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