Crypto exchange · Fee comparison

Cheapest Crypto Exchange Fees in 2026

On the operators’ fee pages read on 22 and 23 September 2026, the lowest base spot rate here is OKX at 0.08% maker / 0.10% taker; Binance, Bybit and Bitget charge 0.10% either side, Coinbase’s Exchange schedule 0.40% / 0.60% and Kraken 0.40% / 0.80%. Only one referral code in this comparison lowers the rate: Binance PRM26 rebates 20% of spot and margin fees. Bybit’s PCNVIP is our affiliate code: it leaves the fee untouched and adds no reward of its own.

Binance: not for new EU/EEA users since 1 July 2026, no rebate for UK users, not available in the US. Bybit: EEA residents are directed to Bybit EU, where PCNVIP does not apply; the UK service (since December 2025) offers spot and P2P only and no referral rewards; not available in the US. In the EEA, OKX Europe has the lowest spot rate compared here (OKX, no affiliate link).

Affiliate link: Binance pays us a commission if you register through it. The fees and rebate you receive are the same either way.

What decides the cheapest crypto exchange fees for you

A headline maker rate is the first of five numbers. We compare base spot maker and taker fees, USDT-perpetual maker and taker fees, token discounts for paying fees in the exchange’s own coin, referral rebates that reduce the rate as opposed to vouchers, and withdrawal and liquidation fees where an operator publishes a concrete figure. Bybit, Binance, OKX and Bitget are compared in full; Kraken and Coinbase serve as reference points. Every rate comes from the operator’s own fee page or help centre, dated under Sources; where a page gives no figure, the table says so.

Cryptocurrency trading carries substantial risk; this page is information, not financial advice.

Base spot and perpetual fees side by side

ExchangeSpot maker / takerUSDT perpetuals maker / taker
OKX0.08% / 0.10%0.020% / 0.050%
Binance0.10% / 0.10%0.020% / 0.050%
Bybit0.10% / 0.10%0.020% / 0.055%
Kraken0.40% / 0.80% (tier 1); 0.20% / 0.20% on stablecoin and FX pairs0.02% / 0.05% (tier 1)
Coinbase0.40% / 0.60% at 0 to 10,000 USD (Coinbase Exchange schedule; the Advanced table appears after login)Not covered on the pages read
Bitget0.10% / 0.10%; its public spot-pair list shows 0.20% for 54 older pairs, BTC/USDT among them, so check the order screen0.02% / 0.06%

Binance (fee schedule), Bybit (fee structure, Bybit’s own “last updated 2 September 2026”), Kraken and Coinbase read 22 September 2026; OKX (fee page, OKX Europe, Spot and Futures tabs) and Bitget (fee page and fees FAQ of 20 August 2026) read 23 September 2026. Bybit’s rate can vary by region (My Fee Rate page after verification). Kraken’s tier 2 (0.30% / 0.60%) starts at 2,500 USD of 30-day volume; Bybit’s VIP 1 (0.0675% / 0.08%) needs 100,000 USD in assets or 1 million USD of 30-day spot volume. Perpetual futures are leveraged: a small price move against you can liquidate the position and lose the entire margin.

Token discounts and referral rebates that change the rate

ExchangeToken discountReferral code effectEffective base-tier rate
Binance25% off spot and margin fees, 10% off futures fees when paid in BNBPRM26: 20% of spot and margin fees rebated until VIP 3; up to 20% on futures for 12 months; paid hourly in USDC on net fees0.06% spot with BNB and PRM26 (1 minus 0.75 times 0.8 = 40% off); 0.045% perpetual taker with BNB, before the futures rebate
Bybit25% off spot and spot margin fees, 10% off USDT perpetual and expiry and USDC perpetual futures fees when paid in MNT; not for API, Pro or institutional users, trading bots, copy-trading followers or liquidation ordersPCNVIP: no change to the fee rate; the welcome reward and tiered deposit bonuses are Bybit’s general new-user rewards0.10% at VIP 0; 0.075% spot with MNT; perpetuals 0.018% / 0.0495% with MNT
OKXNone: OKX’s fee FAQ (updated 9 September 2026) says holding OKB does not offset trading feesNot covered0.08% / 0.10%
Bitget20% off spot fees paid in BGB (fee page, as in its 2024 help article); no BGB discount in its futures tableNot covered0.08% spot with BGB
KrakenNone publishedNot covered0.40% / 0.80%
CoinbaseCoinbase One subscription: zero trading fees with limits; a spread may still applyNot covered0.40% / 0.60% without the subscription

Perpetual futures are leveraged: a small price move against you can liquidate the position and lose the entire margin.

A rebate reduces what you pay per trade; a voucher is a bonus traded at your normal rate. Binance’s rebate is conditional: it stops at VIP 3, is closed to new EU/EEA users since 1 July 2026, and UK users receive none. PCNVIP changes no fee and adds no reward of its own; Bybit’s welcome gift and deposit tasks are its general new-user rewards.

What 10,000 USD of trading costs at each exchange

Spot: buying 10,000 USD of BTC with a market order pays the taker rate. Perpetual: a 10,000 USD position, say 1,000 USD of margin at leverage 10; fees are charged on the notional, not the margin, so the same 10,000 applies.

10,000 USD tradedSpot, takerSpot, makerPerpetual, takerPerpetual, maker
Binance, no discounts10.00 USD10.00 USD5.00 USD2.00 USD
Binance, BNB + PRM266.00 USD6.00 USD4.50 USD with BNB; 3.60 USD with the full 20% futures rebate1.80 USD with BNB; 1.44 USD with the full rebate
Bybit, with or without PCNVIP10.00 USD10.00 USD5.50 USD2.00 USD
Bybit, fees paid in MNT7.50 USD7.50 USD4.95 USD1.80 USD
OKX10.00 USD8.00 USD5.00 USD2.00 USD
Bitget10.00 USD (20.00 on a 0.20% pair)10.00 USD6.00 USD2.00 USD
Kraken, tier 180.00 USD40.00 USD5.00 USD2.00 USD

Binance spot with BNB and PRM26: 0.10% times 0.75 times 0.8 = 0.06%; the PRM26 share is credited in USDC within 6 hours. Perpetual fees are charged on the full notional position; a small price move against a leveraged position can liquidate it and lose the entire margin. Withdrawal fees are left out here; see the full comparison.

A round trip, buying and then selling, pays the fee twice. Ten 10,000 USD round trips a month make 200,000 USD of volume, below Bybit’s VIP 1 threshold of 1 million. A year of that costs 2,400 USD at 0.10% on Binance or Bybit, 1,800 USD with BNB or MNT, and 1,440 USD on Binance with BNB and PRM26: 960 USD less than the base rate.

Crypto exchange fee comparison 2026: Bybit vs Binance vs OKX vs Bitget beyond the base rate

Head to head on their own fee pages of 22 and 23 September 2026, Bybit, Binance, OKX and Bitget sit close on the base rate (table above): three charge 0.10% on spot, OKX 0.08% as maker, and perpetual takers pay between 0.050% and 0.06%. What separates them is the fee token and its exclusions, whether a code is a rebate or a voucher, and the fees outside the order book.

Fee tokens. BNB and MNT work largely the same way: 25% off spot fees and 10% off futures fees on top of the VIP rate; each has to be switched on and paid from the right account. MNT is excluded for API, Pro and institutional users, trading bots, copy-trading followers and liquidation orders. BGB takes 20% off Bitget’s spot fees only. OKX has no fee token: its fee FAQ of 9 September 2026 says holding OKB does not offset trading fees.

Rebate or voucher. Only PRM26 lowers a rate: 20% of spot and margin fees rebated in USDC until VIP 3, up to 20% of futures fees for 12 months. PCNVIP registers your Bybit account under our affiliate account: it costs nothing, changes nothing for you and supports this site through a commission; Bybit’s welcome gift and deposit tasks are its general new-user rewards. Neither code applies to new registrations from the EEA.

Withdrawals. Withdrawal fees are set per coin and network and change, so this page quotes none apart from the one fixed figure Coinbase publishes for USDT withdrawals: 0.01%, capped at 20 USDT, plus the network fee. Bybit’s is a fixed fee per coin and chain. Current tables: Bybit, Binance, OKX, Bitget.

Liquidation. What each exchange adds when a leveraged position is closed by force:

ExchangeLiquidation fee
BybitNone on Perpetual and Futures Trading; 2% on Spot Margin and Crypto Loan; 0.2% on Options
BitgetLiquidation fee rate of 0.06%
OKXYour tier’s taker rate
BinanceLiquidation Clearance Fee on the notional value at rates set in its trading rules, not quoted here

Bybit help centre article on fees (8 April 2026), Bitget liquidation article (16 December 2025), OKX fee FAQ (9 September 2026), Binance liquidation protocols (4 January 2026), read 23 September 2026. Perpetual futures are leveraged: a small price move against you can liquidate the position and lose the entire margin.

A zero liquidation fee is not a safety feature. A liquidated position loses its margin on every exchange here; Bybit simply adds nothing on top. Correction, 23 September 2026: an earlier version of our fee comparison guide misdescribed Bybit’s liquidation fee on perpetuals and listed withdrawal fees without a source; both are corrected here.

Verdict: the cheapest crypto exchange, by residence

Outside the EEA, for example in Switzerland. On fees alone the pick is Binance with PRM26, and Binance pays us a commission if you register through our link: 0.06% on spot with BNB and the rebate, against 0.075% on Bybit with fees paid in MNT. On perpetuals the base taker rate is 0.050% at Binance against 0.055% at Bybit; with each exchange’s token discount it is 0.045% (BNB) against 0.0495% (MNT), before the PRM26 futures rebate of up to 20% in the first 12 months. OKX and Kraken also charge 0.050%, without a token discount. Bybit, which also pays us a commission, beats Binance on no trading-fee line once both token discounts are used; it charges no liquidation fee on perpetuals, which removes a fee, not the loss of margin. Choose Bybit for its products or the MNT discount, not to save on trading fees; PCNVIP adds no reward of its own. Perpetual futures are leveraged: a small price move against you can liquidate the position and lose the entire margin.

Security and regulatory record. On or about 21 February 2025 Bybit was hacked; the FBI attributed the theft of about 1.5 billion USD to North Korea (I-022625-PSA). In November 2023 Binance and its then CEO resolved US charges for over 4.3 billion USD, 2.85 billion of it with the CFTC (release 8825-23).

In the EEA. Binance has taken no new EU/EEA users since 1 July 2026, and Bybit is restricting its global platform for EEA residents in phases (notice of 29 June 2026). Bybit EU is not the cheapest licensed venue: 0.10% maker / 0.25% taker on spot until 5 October 2026 and a single 0.25% rate after that, spot and spot margin only. On these fee pages OKX Europe wins at 0.08% / 0.10%, MiCA-licensed in Malta, and we have no affiliate relationship with OKX; Kraken and Coinbase are MiCA-authorised, Bitget is not. Kraken’s 0.20% stablecoin and FX schedule competes only on pairs such as EUR/USD.

In the UK. Binance pays UK users no rebate, and Bybit’s UK service (since December 2025) offers spot and P2P only, with no referral rewards.

Where the competitors win. OKX has the lowest base spot maker fee at 0.08%. OKX and Kraken match Binance’s base perpetual rates of 0.02% / 0.05%. Neither Bybit’s code nor its base schedule is the cheapest here, affiliate or not.

Cheapest crypto exchange fees: common questions

Which crypto exchange has the lowest spot trading fee in 2026?
On the operators’ fee pages (22 and 23 September 2026), OKX has the lowest base rate at 0.08% maker / 0.10% taker. Binance falls below that only with discounts: 0.06% with BNB and the PRM26 rebate. Bybit charges 0.10% at VIP 0, or 0.075% with fees paid in MNT.
What does each exchange charge a perpetual taker?
At the base tier on USDT perpetuals: Binance and OKX 0.050%, Bybit 0.055%, Bitget 0.06%, and Kraken 0.05% at tier 1 (fee pages read 22 and 23 September 2026). The maker side pays 0.020% at Binance, OKX, Bybit and Bitget and 0.02% at Kraken.
Does the Bybit referral code PCNVIP reduce trading fees?
No. Bybit’s published schedule applies with or without a code: 0.10% spot and 0.020% maker / 0.055% taker on USDT perpetuals at VIP 0. PCNVIP is our affiliate code and adds no reward of its own; Bybit’s welcome gift and deposit tasks are its general new-user rewards. Only Binance’s PRM26 lowers a rate, and neither code applies to new registrations from the EEA.
How much does the Binance referral code PRM26 actually save?
20% of spot and margin fees until VIP 3, and up to 20% of futures fees for 12 months, calculated hourly on net fees and paid in USDC. With the 25% BNB discount the spot rate falls from 0.10% to 0.06%. Not for new EU/EEA users.
Do Binance’s BNB and Bybit’s MNT discounts work the same way?
Largely. Both take 25% off spot fees and 10% off futures fees, on top of the VIP rate. Each has to be switched on and paid from the right account. MNT is excluded for API, Pro and institutional users, trading bots, copy-trading followers and liquidation orders.
Is a maker order always cheaper than a taker order?
Not on spot at Binance or Bybit, where both sides pay 0.10% at VIP 0. It matters on perpetuals (Bybit 0.020% against 0.055%, Binance and OKX 0.020% against 0.050%, Bitget 0.02% against 0.06%) and on spot at Kraken and OKX.
Does Bybit’s zero liquidation fee lower the cost of being liquidated?
It removes the fee, not the loss: nothing is added on top, but the margin behind the position is still lost. Bitget uses a liquidation fee rate of 0.06%, OKX its taker rate and Binance a clearance fee from its trading rules. The size of the loss depends on leverage and position size.
Which crypto exchange has the lowest withdrawal fees?
Withdrawal fees are set per coin and network and change, so this page does not rank them. Bybit charges a fixed fee per coin and chain; Coinbase publishes 0.01% on USDT withdrawals, capped at 20 USDT, plus the network fee. Check the operator’s withdrawal-fee table for the coin and network you use before you send.
Which is the cheapest MiCA-licensed exchange for EEA residents?
Of the venues compared here, OKX Europe at 0.08% maker / 0.10% taker, licensed by the Malta Financial Services Authority. Bybit EU charges 0.10% / 0.25% until 5 October 2026 and 0.25% after; Kraken 0.40% / 0.80%.

Sources

  1. Binance: fee schedule, Referral Pro FAQ and referral terms, read 22 September 2026: base rates, BNB discount, PRM26 terms; BNB discount FAQ and liquidation protocols, read 23 September 2026.
  2. Bybit: Trading Fee Structure (updated 2 September 2026), read 22 September 2026; FAQ – Paying Trading Fees with MNT (updated by Bybit on 30 March 2026), fees you need to know and EEA notice of 29 June 2026, read 23 September 2026; Bybit EU: Trading Fee Structure (updated 4 August 2026), read 22 and 23 September 2026.
  3. OKX: fee page (OKX Europe; Spot and Futures tabs, licence footer) and trading fee FAQ (updated 9 September 2026), read 23 September 2026: 0.08% / 0.10% spot, 0.020% / 0.050% futures, no OKB fee offset, liquidation at the taker rate.
  4. Bitget: fee page (spot and futures VIP tables, BGB discount), fees FAQ (updated 20 August 2026), spot fees, liquidation and its public spot-pair list for the 0.20% pairs, read 23 September 2026.
  5. Kraken fee schedule, Coinbase Exchange fees and Coinbase pricing and fees disclosures, read 22 September 2026; ESMA MiCA register, read 23 September 2026.
  6. FBI announcement I-022625-PSA (26 February 2025) and CFTC release 8825-23 (21 November 2023).