Exchanges · reviewed, compared, checked 23 Sept 2026
Which exchange should you open first?
4 exchanges, each read from its own pages and its regulators’ registers: what a new account really pays, who runs it, what has gone wrong there, and who it won’t accept. We name the weakness instead of handing out stars.
- exchanges reviewed
- 4
- fees on a $1,000 round trip
- $2–$16
- scores that commission can move
- 0
4 exchanges, 4 different jobs
What each one is good at — and where it costs you
Affiliate disclosure: the “Open” buttons are referral links — if you open an account through one, the exchange pays us a share of its fees at no extra cost to you. It changes nothing in the cards or the scores. Full policy.
- Widest product range
Binance
70/100Pick it if you mostly trade spot on the big coins and want one account that has everything, at low published fees.
Where it costs you Futures and leverage sit one tap from the spot screen, and its licences have moved twice in three years.
- Spot
- 0.1% / 0.1%
- Per $1k trade
- $2.00
- Demo
- Spot + futures
Checking whether Binance is offered where you are…
Not in the US, Canada or the EU (+3 more) · checked 23 Sept 2026
- Best demo account
OKX
63/100Pick it if you want to rehearse every order type — spot, margin, futures, options — with play money before any real deposit.
Where it costs you For most of the world you contract with a Seychelles company that pleaded guilty in the US in 2025.
- Spot
- 0.08% / 0.1%
- Per $1k trade
- $2.00
- Demo
- All products
Checking whether OKX is offered where you are…
Not in the US, Canada or Hong Kong (+10 more) · checked 23 Sept 2026
- Most open fee table
Bybit
63/100Pick it if you want to see every fee before you sign up, and learn how futures behave on a funded demo.
Where it costs you Its own terms name two different companies, no licence covers the global site, and it lost US$1.46bn to a hack in 2025.
- Spot
- 0.1% / 0.1%
- Per $1k trade
- $2.00
- Demo
- 50,000 USDT
Checking whether Bybit is offered where you are…
Not in the US, Canada or Australia (+10 more) · checked 23 Sept 2026
- Open to US readers
Kraken
70/100Pick it if you live in the US (not New York or Maine), or you put regulation and account security ahead of cost.
Where it costs you Fees: 0.40% / 0.80% at the entry tier — about $16 on a $1,000 round trip, against about $2 elsewhere.
- Spot
- 0.4% / 0.8%
- Per $1k trade
- $16.00
- Demo
- None
Checking whether Kraken is offered where you are…
Not in New York and Maine (US) · checked 23 Sept 2026
Decide in three questions
Where you live, what you trade, how much you know
Answer them in order and the choice usually makes itself. Not personal advice.
Where do you live?
An exchange that won’t take you has a fee of infinity. US: Kraken is the only one here that accepts you. EU: Binance stopped taking EU customers in 2026. UK: this site shows no sign-up links at all.
What will you trade?
Spot: entry-tier fees (maker / taker) are OKX 0.08% / 0.1%, Binance 0.1% / 0.1%, Bybit 0.1% / 0.1% and Kraken 0.4% / 0.8%. Futures: not before the capital and risk part of the course.
How much do you know?
Never placed a trade: start in a play-money demo — Binance, OKX and Bybit all have one; Kraken does not. Spend a week there before any deposit.
FAQ
Questions people ask before choosing
Which crypto exchange is best for a beginner?
The one that accepts customers where you live, has a demo account, and whose fees you understand before you deposit. For most readers outside the US that points to an exchange with a free demo; in the US it points to Kraken, the only one we review that accepts US customers.
Are these exchanges safe?
None is risk-free: they all hold your coins, and each review lists what has gone wrong there before — a US guilty plea, a US$1.46bn hack, a Seychelles operator. Use two-factor security, keep only what you trade on an exchange, and read the custody lesson first.
Do you get paid if I sign up?
For Binance, OKX and Bybit, yes: the “Open” buttons are referral links and the exchange pays us a share of its fees, at no cost to you. We have no referral link with Kraken. Payment is never an input to a score.
Why is there no link for my country?
We hide every exchange link for UK readers, and each exchange’s link for the countries its own terms exclude — for example Binance for the US, Canada and the EU. If we cannot tell where you are, we show no link at all.
How often are the numbers checked?
Every fee, licence and restriction carries the date it was checked and the source it came from, listed at the bottom of each review. Fees change; the date is part of the fact.