Beginner Exchanges, ranked
Scores come from the same four weighted criteria on every product. Tap a row to read the full review, with every fee we paid.
4 reviews
| Rank | Review | Score | Category | Price | Maker | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 |  KrakenKraken earns its reputation as a safer beginner exchange: it holds SOC 2 and ISO 27001 audits, offers passkey login and has never lost customer crypto to a hack in its history. The 1% Instant Buy fee stings anyone who never graduates to Kraken Pro, and New York residents cannot open an account at all. Move to Pro within a week of signing up and the fee problem mostly disappears. | 7.6 | Beginner Exchanges | Free to join; fees per trade | Payward | Read review |
| 02 |  CoinbaseCoinbase earns its reputation as the easiest legal on-ramp into crypto and its regulatory record is the cleanest among large US exchanges, but that ease has a price tag. Buy through the simple app and you can lose up to 2% to spread before any fee is even named. Route the identical order through Advanced Trade or pay $4.99 a month for Coinbase One and the same trade costs a fraction of that. Skilled or careless, you choose the price you pay. | 7.4 | Beginner Exchanges | Free to join; fees per trade | Coinbase Global | Read review |
| 03 |  GeminiGemini's pitch has always been trust before convenience, and the audit trail backs it up: SOC 1 and SOC 2 Type 2 reports from Deloitte, ISO 27001 certification, and $125 million in hot wallet insurance most rivals do not disclose in the same detail. That trust costs money, 0.6% maker and 1.2% taker on ActiveTrader before any spread, and it no longer reaches everyone; Gemini shut down UK, EEA and Australian retail accounts on April 6, 2026. If compliance and audits matter more to you than the lowest fee on the page, and you live somewhere Gemini still operates, it earns the premium. If you live in one of the exited markets, the question is already answered for you. | 6.9 | Beginner Exchanges | Free to join; fees per trade | Gemini Trust Company | Read review |
| 04 |  Crypto.com AppCrypto.com's app is genuinely easy to open an account on and covers stocks, predictions and crypto in one place, which few competitors match. The 0.80% flat fee on app trades plus a spread on top costs more than a plain exchange order book, and the card's headline cashback now requires CRO stakes running from $500 to $500,000 locked for a year, so most users will earn far less than the marketing implies. | 6.3 | Beginner Exchanges | Free to join; app fees and spreads per trade | Crypto.com | Read review |
The top 3 side by side
| Criterion | Kraken | Coinbase | Gemini |
|---|---|---|---|
| Our score | 7.6 | 7.4 | 6.9 |
| Best for | Beginners who plan to graduate quickly to Kraken Pro's lower fee tiers | First-time US and UK buyers who want a licensed, insured exchange and don't mind paying for convenience. | US-based traders who value audited custody and insurance over the cheapest possible fee schedule. |
| Price | Free to join; fees per trade | Free to join; fees per trade | Free to join; fees per trade |
| Maker | Payward | Coinbase Global | Gemini Trust Company |
| Category | Beginner Exchanges | Beginner Exchanges | Beginner Exchanges |
| Verdict | Kraken earns its reputation as a safer beginner exchange: it holds SOC 2 and ISO 27001 audits, offers passkey login and has never lost customer crypto to a hack in its history. The 1% Instant Buy fee stings anyone who never graduates to Kraken Pro, and New York residents cannot open an account at all. Move to Pro within a week of signing up and the fee problem mostly disappears. | Coinbase earns its reputation as the easiest legal on-ramp into crypto and its regulatory record is the cleanest among large US exchanges, but that ease has a price tag. Buy through the simple app and you can lose up to 2% to spread before any fee is even named. Route the identical order through Advanced Trade or pay $4.99 a month for Coinbase One and the same trade costs a fraction of that. Skilled or careless, you choose the price you pay. | Gemini's pitch has always been trust before convenience, and the audit trail backs it up: SOC 1 and SOC 2 Type 2 reports from Deloitte, ISO 27001 certification, and $125 million in hot wallet insurance most rivals do not disclose in the same detail. That trust costs money, 0.6% maker and 1.2% taker on ActiveTrader before any spread, and it no longer reaches everyone; Gemini shut down UK, EEA and Australian retail accounts on April 6, 2026. If compliance and audits matter more to you than the lowest fee on the page, and you live somewhere Gemini still operates, it earns the premium. If you live in one of the exited markets, the question is already answered for you. |