The largest crypto exchange by volume: the deepest bitcoin liquidity anywhere, the lowest headline spot fee of any major platform, and quarterly proof of reserves, under a settled US case and an independent monitor.
The easiest US on-ramp for beginners, publicly listed, and legally in the clear since the SEC dropped its case.
Coinbase rates higher on our rubric: 4.5 against 4.2 for Binance.
Every row is from the two reviews as of their review dates, with sources on each. A check marks the side a decidable criterion favours; rows without one are information, not a score.
| Fact | Binance | Coinbase |
|---|---|---|
| Editorial rating | 4.2 | 4.5 (favoured on this row) |
| Published fees | From 0.1% spot, maker and taker | Maker-taker on Advanced Trade |
| Maker fee | 0.1% at the base tier, falling with 30-day volume and BNB holdings | Advanced Trade maker fees fall with 30-day volume and sit well below simple-buy pricing |
| Taker fee | 0.1% at the base tier, falling with 30-day volume and BNB holdings | Advanced Trade taker fees fall with 30-day volume and sit well below simple-buy pricing |
| Identity verification | Required | Required |
| Bitcoin-only | No | No |
| Payment rails supported | 42 | 13 |
| Countries ranked in | 181 | 62 |
| Ranks first in | 100 | 7 |
| Countries shared | 37 | 37 |
| Security record | 10 dated events, 2 incidents, latest 2026-06-25 | 10 dated events, 3 incidents, latest 2026-05-07 |
| Founded | 2017 | 2012 |
| Headquarters | Not stated | United States (remote-first) |
| Last reviewed | 2026-08-12 | 2026-08-12 |
Each country guide ranks its own roster on published fees, security record and local payment support, so the two can sit in a different order from one country to the next.
Dated events from each review, newest first: breaches, enforcement actions, licences, audits and proof-of-reserves publications. Every exchange ranked here carries one.
Failed to obtain a MiCA licence and stopped serving EU clients
Abu Dhabi regulator licensed the main Binance.com platform
Pricing failure forced liquidations, 283 million dollars repaid
An AWS cooling failure halted Coinbase trading for eight hours
Central Bank of Ireland fines Coinbase Europe 21.5 million euro
Coinbase authorised under MiCA by Luxembourg's CSSF
Coinbase rates higher on our rubric: 4.5 against 4.2 for Binance. The rating weighs published fees, security record and local payment support; the table above sets each beside the other so you can check the score against the facts.
Binance: From 0.1% spot, maker and taker. Coinbase: Maker-taker on Advanced Trade. Those are each platform's published headline rates; card purchases and instant-buy widgets cost more than the order book on both, and each review carries the full schedule.
Both are ranked in our guides for 37 countries, including Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil. Binance is ranked in 181 countries in all and Coinbase in 62; each country guide ranks its own roster, so the two can sit in a different order from one country to the next.
Binance carries 2 incidents among 10 dated events, the latest on 2025-10-10: Pricing failure forced liquidations, 283 million dollars repaid. Coinbase carries 3 incidents among 10 dated events, the latest on 2026-05-07: An AWS cooling failure halted Coinbase trading for eight hours. Both reviews list every event with its source.
Binance: required; identity verification is mandatory for all users; there is no unverified tier.. Coinbase: required; identity verification is required before buying or depositing..
The full reviews: Binance and Coinbase, each with its sources, and every exchange we review.
Every other head-to-head Binance or Coinbase appears in.
Argentina
Australia
Austria
Belgium
Brazil
Bulgaria
Chile
Colombia
Croatia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Iceland
Ireland
Italy
Latvia
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Malta
Mexico
New Zealand
Norway
Peru
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden