Long-running Melbourne order-book venue with deep AUD liquidity and free instant Osko funding, held back by a high entry-tier trading fee.
A card-friendly exchange licensed across most of the US, but currently closed to deposits and trading in Europe.
No verdict: both exchanges score 4.0 out of 5 on our rubric, so the rows below decide by what you need.
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 | BTC Markets | CEX.IO |
|---|---|---|
| Editorial rating | 4.0 | 4.0 |
| Published fees | 0.85% taker at entry tier | Maker-taker; card costs more |
| Maker fee | Tiered by 30-day volume; bitcoin markets pay makers a 0.05 percent rebate | Not published |
| Taker fee | 0.85 percent on AUD pairs at the entry tier, falling to 0.10 percent above 5 million Australian dollars a month | Not published |
| Identity verification | Required | Required |
| Bitcoin-only | No | No |
| Payment rails supported | 3 | 6 |
| Countries ranked in | 1 | 146 |
| Ranks first in | 0 | 0 |
| Countries shared | 1 | 1 |
| Security record | No record on file | 6 dated events, 1 incident, latest 2026-08-27 |
| Founded | 2013 | 2013 |
| Headquarters | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia | London, United Kingdom |
| Last reviewed | 2026-08-23 | 2026-08-27 |
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.
| Country | Status | BTC Markets ranks | CEX.IO ranks | Comparison |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | Legal | #8 | #11 | Best exchanges there |
Dated events from each review, newest first: breaches, enforcement actions, licences, audits and proof-of-reserves publications. 1 of the 2 carry no dated record on our reviews yet.
Deposits and trading unavailable in Europe, withdrawals still open
Money transmitter licences in 38 states and DC under NMLS 1804170
UK entity registered with the FCA under the money laundering rules
No verdict: both exchanges score 4.0 out of 5 on our rubric, so the rows below decide by what you need. 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.
BTC Markets: 0.85% taker at entry tier. CEX.IO: Maker-taker; card costs more. 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 Australia. BTC Markets is ranked in 1 countries in all and CEX.IO in 146; each country guide ranks its own roster, so the two can sit in a different order from one country to the next.
BTC Markets carries no dated security record on our review yet, a gap in our records rather than a clean bill. CEX.IO carries 1 incident among 6 dated events, the latest on 2026-08-27: Deposits and trading unavailable in Europe, withdrawals still open. Both reviews list every event with its source.
BTC Markets: required. CEX.IO: required; identity verification is required before purchasing..
The full reviews: BTC Markets and CEX.IO, each with its sources, and every exchange we review.
Every other head-to-head BTC Markets or CEX.IO appears in.
Australia