Kucoin vs Binance | Which Exchange Has More Strenghts?

kucoin vs binance image
Jack Moreau
Aug 2023
7 min to read
Fact checked

Introduction: When it comes to cryptocurrency exchanges, there are a few that stand out from the rest. Kucoin and Binance are two of the most well-known and respected exchanges in the industry. But when you pit them against each other, which one comes out on top? To figure this out, we've compared Kucoin and Binance across 10 key categories. Read on to see how they stack up against each other!

Kucoin

+800 cryptocurrencies

Spot, Margin, Futures

0.1% spot fees & 100X Leverage

Quick signup & No KYC

Visit Kucoin
eToro USA LLC: Investments are subject to market risk.
Including the possible loss of principal.
Binance

+350 cryptocurrencies

0.1.% Spot Fees & 125X Leverage

Spot, Futures, Perps, Margin

Cheap Deposits/Withdrawals

Visit Binance

Kucoin vs Binance: Comparison

Kucoin
Binance
OKX
Founded
2017
2017
2017
Registered
Seychelles
Cayman Islands
Hong Kong
Countries N/A
US, China
US, CN, ML, JP, CA
US, CA
Users
20M
120M
20M
Cryptos
+800
+350
+350
Spot Fees
0.1%
0.1%
0.08%
KYC Required
Yes
Yes
Yes
Best for
Altcoin hunters
Great All Around
Spot & Futures trading
Rating

When it comes to comparing Kucoin and Binance, it’s hard to go wrong with either choice. Both exchanges offer a variety of features that are perfect for anyone looking to invest in cryptocurrencies. 

Both Kucoin and Binance are available in a large number of countries around the world with Kucoin available in over 200 countries and Binance offering support in over 180 countries. However, there are some small differences between the two exchanges in terms of which countries they are available in.

Kucoin Exchange
Kucoin Exchange

For example, neither Kucoin nor Binance is available in the United States or China. This is likely due to the stricter regulations surrounding cryptocurrency exchanges in these two countries.

Besides this, Binance is also not available in Malaysia, Japan, UK, Thailand and Ontario (Canada). Overall, Kucoin has a slight advantage over Kucoin in terms of the number of countries it is available in. 

Binance exchange
Binance exchange

In terms of the number of cryptocurrencies, Kucoin finally gets to win one category. Kucoin offers 700 cryptocurrencies to Binance’s 350. While you will find the most popular cryptocurrencies on both exchanges, Kucoin is your go-to exchange for the more hard-to-find and exotic altcoins.

Kucoin app
Kucoin app

Binance is the undisputed heavyweight champ of the world regarding the trading volume and no exchange comes close.

Binance 24-hour trading volume was over $6 billion compared to Kucoin’s $700 million. Why does liquidity and trading volume matter your ask? Higher liquidity translates to lower spreads which means better prices for users. 

In terms of security, both Kucoin and Binance have implemented a number of measures to ensure the safety of user funds. Both exchanges keep the vast majority of funds in cold storage (offline) and only a small percentage is held in hot wallets for day-to-day trading. 

And regarding platform security, both exchanges use all the latest security features such as Two-Factor Authentification (2FA), Phone & Email verification, Anti-Phisihing codes, Withdrawal whitelists and much more. 

For users that wish to use either Binance or Kucoin on mobile, both exchanges are available on Android and IOS where they have been downloaded millions of times and have over 4-star ratings.

Binance app
Binance app

Kucoin vs Binance: Signup & KYC

The signup process on KuCoin is also quick as users only need to provide an email and a password.

Unverified accounts can then buy and sell the same cryptocurrencies that verified accounts can which means that KYC is not mandatory on Kucoin. For those that wish to increase their trading limits and leverage on Kucoin, they will have to pass KYC.

Kucoin KYC
Kucoin KYC

Basic verification can be approved by Kucoin in hours while a full KYC verification can take up to 2-3 business days.

On the other hand, creating a Binance account is equally quick and can take less than a minute.

However, in order to access all the features of Binance, users must verify their account through KYC. This process involves submitting personal information and documents such as country of residence, address and government ID.

Binance KYC
Binance KYC

So while KYC is not obligatory on Kucoin for all users, that is not the case as no users can signup and begin trading without providing KYC information and getting their account verified.

Kucoin vs Binance: Products and Services

In terms of product range, Kucoin offers basic spot and margin trading for over 700 cryptocurrencies with additional products such as futures trading, leveraged tokens, copy trading and trading bots.

Kucoin orderbook
Kucoin spot trading

The max leverage that users can take on Kucoin is 100X, 10X in terms of margin leverage and daily spot trading volumes tend to range between $500 million to $1 billion per day.

Kucoin also offers financial services like lending, borrowing, and staking opportunities which enable users to earn interest on their digital assets.

Kucoin staking
Kucoin staking

Kucoin has also expanded its offering with an NFT marketplace called Windvane where users can buy and sell popular NFTs. The user experience on Kucoin is pretty good overall with a wide variety of coins and products that are easy to navigate.

Kucoin NFTs
Kucoin NFTs

Binance being the biggest cryptocurrency exchange in the world provides a  wider variety of products than Kucoin.

This includes trading services like spot trading, futures trading, margin trading, perps and options trading. Binance also offers contracts that can be settled either perpetually or on a quarterly basis with USDT, BUSD and other cryptocurrencies.

Binance spot trading
Binance spot trading

For those that wish to take on leverage (more risk), Binance offers max leverage of up to 125X on futures and 5X on margin trading.

Binance also offers trading bots and copy trading which allows users to follow and copy the trades of successful traders. Lastly, Binance provides leveraged tokens and for users who want to earn on their assets, staking, lending and different types of vaults.  

Binance levereged tokens
Binance levereged tokens

For those that wish to trade NFTs or store their digital assets in a non-custodial wallet, Binance can satisfy those needs with it's own NFT marketplace and acquired Web 3 wallet in Trust Wallet.

Binance NFT marketplace
Binance NFT marketplace

The user experience on Binance is quite good considering the wide range of products on offer. It manages to offer this wide range without overwhelming the user. Liquidity on Binance is one of the best in the world with daily spot trading volumes frequently exceeding $10 billion.

Kucoin
Binance
OKX
Spot Trading
Yes
Yes
Yes
Futures
Yes
Yes
Yes
Perps
yes
Yes
Yes
Margin
Yes
Yes
Yes
Options
-
Yes
Yes
OTC Desk
-
Yes
-
Copy Trading
Yes
Yes
Yes
Trading Bots
Yes
Yes
Yes
Staking
Yes
Yes
Yes
Lend & Borrow
Yes
Yes
Yes
NFTs
Yes
Yes
Yes
Web 3 Wallet
Yes
Yes
Yes
Debit Card
Yes
Yes
-

Kucoin vs Binance Fees

When it comes to trading fees, Binance charges a spot maker fee of 0.1% and spot taker fee of 0.10%. And for those that wish to trade futures, Binance charges a maker fee of 0.02% and 0.04% for takers.

Binance also offers lower trading fees for those with monthly trade volumes exceeding $1 million or holding at least 25 BNB tokens.

Binance spot fees
Binance spot fees

Similar to Binance, Kucoin also charges a spot trading fee of 0.1% for both makers and takers. For futures trading, the fees are 0.02% for makers and 0.06% for takers which is just slightly higher than Binance.

And once again, similar to Binance, Kucoin also offers discounts for high volume traders or for those that hold at least 1000 KCS tokens.

Kucoin spot fees
Kucoin spot fees

Kucoin
Binance
OKX
Spot (mkr)
0.10%
0.1%
0.08%
Spot (tkr)
0.10%
0.1%
0.10%
Futures (mkr)
0.02%
0.02%
0.02%
Futures (tkr)
0.06%
0.04%
0.05%

Kucoin vs Binance: Deposit Methods

Both Kucoin and Binance provide support for a large variety of fiat deposit methods and fiat currencies. This includes fiat deposits via Bank Transfer, Credit Cards, P2P Trading, and Third-Party payment providers. 

Binance fiat deposit
Binance fiat deposit

While both exchanges provide a wide range of options, in this category, Binance is the clear winner with free and seamless Bank Transfers and cheaper Card deposit fees. You can deposit USD with SWIFT free of charge and EUR with SEPA for only 1 EUR.

Kucoin
Binance
OKX
USD
Debit/Credit card
Bank Transfer, SWIFT
-
EUR
Debit/Credit card
VISA, MC, SEPA
-
GBP
Debit/Credit card
VISA, MC
-

Kucoin vs Binance: Withdrawal Methods

Binance offers multiple methods for people to withdraw their fiat currencies. USD can be withdrawn via SWIFT, EUR via SEPA, and GBP via Faster Payments (FSP).

Binance fiat withdrawals
Binance fiat withdrawals

They do charge a 1.8% withdrawal fee for fiat withdrawals with Visa and MasterCard, but offer a 1 EUR withdrawal fee with SEPA and free bank withdrawals with many other fiat currencies.

On the other hand, Kucoin allows for the withdrawal of fiat currencies like EUR using SEPA. To withdraw using this method, users will be charged a fee of 5 EUR.

Kucoin fiat withdrawals
Kucoin fiat withdrawals

When it comes to cryptocurrency withdrawals, the fees charged by Kucoin are 0.001 BTC for Bitcoin, 0.01 ETH for Ethereum, and 0.01 SOL for Solana.

Kucoin
Binance
OKX
USD
-
Bank Transfer, SWIFT
-
EUR
SEPA
Sepa, Bank Card
-
GBP
SEPA
Bank Card
-
Kucoin
Binance
OKX
Bitcoin
0.001 BTC
0.0002 BTC
0.0002 BTC
Ethereum
0.01 ETH
0.0008 ETH
0.0014 ETH
Solana
0.01 SOL
0.008 SOL
0.008 SOL
USDT (ERC-20)
5 USDT
3.2 USDT
3.8 USDT

Is Kucoin better than Binance?

While it was a close contest, Binance proved to be the clear winner across most the categories.

Binance offers more product and services than Kucoin while Kucoin offers over 700 cryptocurrenciecs which is twice as many offered by Binance.

On the other hand, Binance is the more liquid exchange with means that spreads are lower which leads to lower trading costs.

And speaking of trading costs, both Binance and Kucoin offer 0.1% for spot makers and takers with additional discounts being an option for high volume traders.

Now does this mean that you should never use Kucoin and only use Binance?

Of course not, no matter how big an exchange is or gets, there will always be discrepancies between the exchanges in terms of the cryptocurrencies and services that they offer. 

In this case, as Kucoin offers more cryptocurrencies than Binance, it makes it a great choice when you want to buy some hard to find altcoins.

Kucoin

+800 cryptocurrencies

Spot, Margin, Futures

0.1% spot fees & 100X Leverage

Quick signup & No KYC

Visit Kucoin
eToro USA LLC: Investments are subject to market risk.
Including the possible loss of principal.
Binance

+350 cryptocurrencies

0.1.% Spot Fees & 125X Leverage

Spot, Futures, Perps, Margin

Cheap Deposits/Withdrawals

Visit Binance
Author
Jack Moreau
Jack is a crypto writer and reviewer who has been active in the space since he caught the crypto bug in 2017. With a passion for trying out new shiny things, Jack is always eager to try the latest cryptocurrency exchanges, wallets or DeFi applications.

More Exchange Comparisons