OKX vs Kucoin: Which Exchange Has An Edge?
Jack Moreau
Mar 2023
3 min to read
Fact checked
Introduction: With the overwhelming number of cryptocurrency exchanges sprouting up, it can be tricky to find the one that best suits your needs. That's why we've made it easier for you by comparing two of the most popular exchanges around, OKX and Kucoin. In this comparison, we'll take a deep dive into their features, fees, security and user experience, so that you can decide exchange is the best fit for your trading needs.
OKX vs Kucoin: Overview
China, Malaysia, Japan, UK, Ontario
OKX and Kucoin are two of the most popular cryptocurrency exchanges. OKX was founded in 2017 and is headquartered in Hong Kong. It has over 1,200 employees and is available in 180 countries. The exchange has in a few short years amassed over 20 million users and over 1 million app downloads.
Kucoin was founded in 2017, is headquartered in Seychelles and has over 600+ employees around the world. It is available in most countries (not the US) and over 20 million users with 5 million app downloads. Both exchanges offer similar services and have a large user base.
OKX vs Kucoin: Signup & KYC
Signing up with OKX only takes a few minutes and the basic verification process normally takes up to 10 minutes. To achieve level 2 verification can take 2-3 business days.
Signing up to Kucoin takes less than a minute as only email signup is required. Kucoin on the other hand does not require any KYC verification and unverified accounts can buy and sell the same cryptocurrencies that verified accounts can. For those that want access to more features, basic verification can be approved in hours and KYC verification can take up to 2-3 business days.
OKX vs Kucoin: Products & Services
Both OKX and Kucoin offer trading services like spot, futures and margin trading. However, OKX offers more features such as trading bots, staking, lending and borrowing, NFTs and a Web 3 wallet. Kucoin on the other hand does not does not offer most of these features such as copy trading, OTC Desk, and Debit Card.
Both exchanges offer a high level of futures leverage, with OKX offering 100x while Kucoin offers up to 100x. OKX also offers a higher margin leverage with 5x compared to Kucoin's 10x. Overall, OKX provides quite a few more products and services compared to Kucoin.
OKX Fees vs Kucoin
When it comes to trading fees, OKX and Kucoin both offer competitive rates for spot and futures trading. For spot trading, OKX charges a Maker fee of 0.08% and a Taker fee of 0.10%, while Kucoin charges a Maker fee of 0.10% and a Taker fee of 0.10%. For futures trading, OKX offers a Maker fee of 0.02% and a Taker fee of 0.05%, while Kucoin charges a Maker fee of 0.02% and a Taker fee of 0.06%. OKX offers the lowest fees compared to Kucoin but the difference is obviously quite small.
OKX vs Kucoin: Deposit Methods
If you're looking for an exchange to buy cryptocurrencies, you'll need to know about the deposit options available. OKX and Kucoin both offer various deposit methods, but with some significant differences.
If you opt for OKX, bear in mind that this exchange doesn't support any fiat deposits. You can buy crypto with a credit/debit card or a third-party payment provider, with a 1-2% fee.
Kucoin, on the other hand, offers more deposit options with 28 fiat currencies available for deposit. You can also use Visa and Mastercard for deposits, but be aware that there is a 3.8% fee. Fortunately, crypto deposits on both exchanges are free.
Bank transfer, Visa/MC, SWIFT
Bank transfer, SEPA, Visa/MC
OKX vs Kucoin: Withdrawal Methods
Unfortunately, OKX doesn't support any fiat withdrawals at all, which means you'll need to look elsewhere to withdraw your funds in fiat currency.
Kucoin, on the other hand, supports EUR withdrawals via SEPA, and charges a 5 EUR fee for the transaction. This might be good news for those who prefer to withdraw their funds in fiat currency, as it gives them a way to get their money out of the exchange.
Overall, both OKX and Kucoin are providing quite lackluster support when it comes to fiat currency withdrawals.
Bank transfer, Visa/MC, SWIFT
Is OKX better than Kucoin?
You should go with OKX if:
- You want to access over 350 cryptocurrencies
- You want access low cost trading (0.08% fee)
- You want to trade spot without providing KYC
You should go with Kucoin if:
- You want access over 700 cryptocurrencies
- You want to trade in a liquid exchange with over 20M users
- You want to trade spot without providing KYC
