Coinbase vs Crypto.com: Which One Is Better Today?

One of the easiest ways to invest in digital currencies is by using a trading platform that covers all the essential services, from regular crypto trading to crypto staking and NFTs.

Both Coinbase and Crypto.com are two such platforms. In this Coinbase vs Crypto.com review, we’ll check out all the different services they offer, along with the fees, security measures, and more. 

About the Exchanges

Coinbase

Coinbase was among the pioneers of the global crypto trading industry in 2012, when there were barely a handful of crypto exchanges. While Coinbase began with just Bitcoin (BTC), the exchange started including all of the most reputable crypto projects in its crypto selection over time.

Coinbase is dedicated to following crypto industry trends, which is why the platform was quick to introduce essential services demanded by users, such as crypto staking, a professional trading section for experienced users, and the possibility of trading NFTs.

Nowadays, Coinbase is among the industry leaders in crypto investing and trading features, thanks to its extremely user-friendly interface, which is perfect for the average crypto enthusiast. 

Crypto.com

The story of Crypto.com began in 2016 when a group of financial experts and blockchain professionals from different parts of the world decided to create a crypto trading behemoth that can provide traders with absolutely all services regarding digital currency. The platform is headquartered in Hong Kong, but it’s available in a huge number of regions. 

The company cleverly chose the Crypto.com name to easily onboard new users to its trading platform, and the tactic proved very successful. Soon after its launch, Crypto.com became a globally recognized name, with numerous partnerships with sports teams and celebrities showcasing the Crypto.com name.

The exchange has over 80 million users across its numerous services, such as spot trading, crypto futures, margin trading, and instant trading. The platform even offers crypto loans and an online crypto payment service for businesses.

Pros and Cons

Coinbase Pros

• Coinbase has operating licenses from EU and US financial institutions
• More than 170 digital currencies
• Crypto beginners love the platform for its ease of use
• If you’re looking for pro tools, the Advanced Trade section has various order types and tech analysis features
• You can integrate your account with the Coinbase Wallet app and store your private keys on your device
• Browse and trade popular NFT collections
• Top up your Coinbase card with crypto and spend it at retail spots

Coinbase Cons

• No crypto derivatives, futures, or leveraged trading options
• Instant trading is rather expensive on Coinbase
• There was a significant platform hack in 2021
• Only three fiat currencies

Crypto.com Pros

• An exceptionally high number of over 250 crypto assets
• Really low trading fee rates
• The platform supports both spot and margin trading
• Numerous popular coins available for crypto staking
• Special benefits for keeping a certain amount of CRO coins in your account
• The unique Crypto.com debit card provides users with various added benefits depending on the card tier

Crypto.com Cons

• Cyber attackers stole 34 million USD in crypto tokens in 2021
• Numerous negative customer service reviews
• Beginners might find it challenging to use Crypto.com

Coinbase vs Crypto.com: The Crypto Exchange Comparison 

Opening an Account

Let’s open an account on the Coinbase exchange platform:

• Go to Coinbase.com and get started with our automatically applied affiliate code to earn a welcome bonus.
• Enter your credentials along with the other necessary details, including your email address and desired password.
• Agree with the Coinbase documents by clicking on the check box and proceed to the account activation step.
• You’ll receive an activation email from the exchange with a code you’ll need to enter when logging in the first time. 
• Once you’ve logged into Coinbase, it’s time to go through the mandatory KYC protocol and provide the exchange with additional details. This is a standard procedure for regulated platforms.
• First, verify your phone number through the appropriate option in the Accounts tab.
• Next, you’ll need to choose Document Verification and select which type of document you want to use to prove your identity.
• Take a photo of the document according to the instructions and send your information for verification.
• Coinbase handles account verification really fast, so if your details are in order, you’ll quickly be notified that you can start trading on the exchange.

Let’s move on to the Crypto.com platform:

• Click here to start filling out the necessary details for your Crypto.com account.
• As you’ll see, Crypto.com will immediately ask you to provide your nationality, phone number, name, and email address. Also, you’ll be asked to create a unique password and comply with the Crypto.com user policy.
• After creating your account, you’ll go through a process similar to that on Coinbase, with an activation code sent to your email address.
• When you finally log into Crypto.com, it’s best to complete the Advanced verification protocol right away to unlock all of the platform’s features.
• During the process, you’ll need to submit both a photo of your ID document and a frontal selfie image.
• Wait for the automatic verification protocol to send you a message and start trading. 

Main Features

Crypto beginners will definitely find Coinbase very practical and easy to use because the platform has been designed to look clutter-free. It has a simple interface where users can browse cryptocurrencies, view their price history and basic details and choose to buy or sell a specific asset. Also, users can easily stake multiple popular coins to earn an annual percentage yield or order the platform’s Visa card and top it up with crypto.

Experienced traders should head straight to the Advanced Trade subsection of the Coinbase platform because that’s where you’ll find all the pro features like candle-stick charts, technical analysis, price pattern measurement tools, and order books. 

One of the most valuable aspects of Coinbase is the Coinbase Wallet, which comes as a separate app. You can also connect your Coinbase account and trade directly from your wallet. You can deposit fiat currency to the Coinbase Wallet and then buy and sell assets through your Coinbase account. 

Crypto.com is extremely feature-rich and much more complex than Coinbase, so the platform can be overwhelming for beginners. 

Of course, the exchange has an instant trading section, but the main strength of the platform is its spot trading interface, which houses a highly detailed price chart with over ten analysis tools and more than 50 price pattern indicators. The abundance of technical analysis options makes Crypto.com a smart choice for pro traders looking to try out complex trading strategies. 

Additionally, Crypto.com supports leveraged margin trading and crypto futures, which are top-rated features among experienced traders. 

As for additional features, Crypto.com has a unique crypto debit card program with several types of Visa cards depending on the amount of CRO tokens a user has in their account. These cards can grant users special fee discounts, massive cashback rewards of up to 5% when spending crypto, and benefits such as free Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Spotify subscriptions. 

Supported Cryptocurrencies

Coinbase is dedicated to giving traders access to the most popular cryptocurrencies, focusing on reputable projects that definitely aren’t scam coins. The platform only lists verified projects and has trading licenses for each cryptocurrency. 

Coinbase has around 170 crypto coins. Here are some of the top ones: Bitcoin (BTC), Hedera (HBAR), Fantom (FTM), UniSwap (UNI), Dai (DAI), Monero (XMR), Flow (FLOW), BitDAO (BIT), Ethereum (ETH), and loads of other trending altcoins.

The Coinbase Earn option lets users stake crypto and watch their portfolio grow over time by staking coins such as Cardano (ADA), DAI, ETH, and others.

Crypto.com supports considerably more, at around 250+ projects, but users should be careful because some of those coins have low liquidity and are relatively new projects.

However, the platform offers solid liquidity for popular cryptos, and you won’t have problems trading assets like BTC, ADA, Ripple (XRP), Aptos (APT), Avalanche (AVAX), Coti (COTI), Compound (COMP), Convex Finance (CVX), Tether (USDT), and other popular coins. 

Crypto.com has its own CRO token, which grants fee discounts to users depending on how many CROs they have in their accounts. 

Additionally, users have more than 20 staking options on Crypto.com, including assets like FTM, Polkadot (DOT), Harmony (ONE), AVAX, Solana (SOL), BTC, ETH, CRO, and other tokens.

Payment Methods

On Coinbase, investors can use several payment channels to purchase assets or fund their accounts. The platform allows users to deposit GBP, USD, and EUR.

If you want to buy crypto in a matter of minutes, you can use your debit card, credit card, Apple Pay, and Google Pay in the instant buy/sell section. Also, Coinbase has a fiat currency wallet feature that allows users to store USD, GBP, and EUR in their platform accounts.

Also, the platform supports different types of bank account transfers, such as SEPA for users in the European Union, ACH for US customers, and SWIFT for the rest of the world. 

Unlike Coinbase, which focuses more on the US and EU markets, Crypto.com is more inclusive toward users from other global regions. That’s why the platform supports around 20 fiat currencies, including the likes of USD, JPY, BRL, TRY, GBP, CAD, and AUD.

As for the available payment channels, Crypto.com also supports all types of payment cards and bank transfers, with the addition of PayPal, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. 

Trading Fees and Limits

Coinbase fees are among the few cons of the platform because the fee for instant buy/sell transactions is 1%. Many competitors charge far lower fees for this type of service.

Coinbase’s pro trading platform, Advanced Trade, somewhat compensates for the primary platform’s high fees because it charges a maximum of 0.6% for market takers with low trading volumes below the 10,000 USD mark. 

Investors with larger monthly volumes can lower their trading fees, but they need to spend a lot of money to reduce them substantially. For example, if your monthly volume is between one million and 15 million USD, you’ll pay a 0.18% market taker and 0.08% market maker fee.

It’s also worth noting that Coinbase charges 1.49% for bank account deposits, except for ACH transfers from US bank accounts. However, bank account withdrawals are free of charge. Regarding bank card deposits, the standard fee is 3.99%.

On Crypto.com, the fee policy is based on your monthly trading volume, and the first fee tier is for investors who trade under 25,000 USD per month. These users pay a 0.4% maker-taker fee.

As you move up the trading volume tiers, your fees will drop. The fourth tier, for example, is for users with a 100,000 USD to 250,000 USD 30-day trading volume, and they incur a 0.1% maker and 0.16% taker trading fee.

Users can decrease their fees if they stake a certain amount of CRO coins in their platform account. The first discount tier is for users with over 5,000 CRO in their accounts, and they incur a 10% fee discount.

However, if you plan to make a large investment on Crypto.com, you might consider upgrading your fee discount tier by staking more CRO. For instance, the penultimate tier gives users a 60% discount if they stake between 100,000 and 500,000 CRO tokens, while the final tier gives a 100% discount if you stake over 50 million CRO.

Bank deposits are totally free, while withdrawals to your bank account cost 25 USD. Also, if you use the Crypto.com debit card, each time you top it up with crypto from your account, you’ll need to pay a 4% fee.

How Safe Are Coinbase and Crypto.com?

Today, Coinbase has a strong security protocol with a combination of platform encryption and passwords, along with periodical security audits. However, in 2021 the platform proved to have safety vulnerabilities in its two-factor authentication (2FA) feature, which led to a hack of thousands of user wallets. 

Coinbase quickly managed to fix the issue and used company assets to reimburse traders. The exchange handled the crisis well and has since improved the 2FA protocol, but the fact remains that the second-largest global crypto trading platform fell victim to hackers. 

Luckily, users don’t need to worry much about Coinbase getting hacked because the platform is subject to strict regulations, and it’s legally obliged to refund users in such events. Unregulated exchanges, on the other hand, don’t have any legal obligations toward users.

Additionally, since Coinbase users can connect their accounts to the non-custodial Coinbase Wallet, they can store all of their funds in the wallet and prevent any future hacks from endangering their Coinbase funds.

Crypto.com is another major exchange that had bad luck when it comes to cyber attackers. In a similar way to the Coinbase hack, hackers somehow tricked the 2FA protocol and withdrew around 35 million USD worth of crypto from nearly 500 trader wallets in early 2022. 

The platform did the only right thing in these situations and made users whole from the company’s crypto assets. Shortly after the hack, Crypto.com introduced a 24-hour buffer period between adding a new withdrawal address and being able to withdraw assets from that address. This measure gives users 24 hours to revoke a transaction in case an unauthorized party has somehow initiated it. 

Also, the exchange announced a plan to introduce a multi-factor login measure and a special fund that provides insurance for stored assets up to 250,000 USD  for each verified platform user. 

As for regulatory bodies, Crypto.com was an unregulated trading platform during the first years since its launch but has since obtained various operating licenses in regions such as the UK, the United Arab Emirates, France, and most US states.

Customer Support

If they encounter any problems, Coinbase users don’t need to send any emails or support tickets because the platform has a support phone line operating around the clock. Additionally, users can ask the support team to reach out to them on a social media platform of their choice.

Crypto.com has a live chat service and a dedicated support email address, but there are a lot of poor user reviews regarding the support team. It looks like it often takes quite a long for users to receive a reply from customer support and that even the live chat communication isn’t very helpful sometimes. 

Mobile Trading

The Coinbase mobile app brings users a top-quality trading experience on iOS and Android operating systems. The app follows the same pattern as the browser version of the exchange, making it easy for traders to access everything from buying and selling to swapping crypto. Also, the Coinbase Earn section is available in the Coinbase app, so users can easily stake crypto.

The only negative aspect of the app is that users can’t access the pro trading interface on Advanced Trade. Instead, they need to access the platform through a desktop computer. However, Coinbase announced it would launch a separate mobile app for pro traders soon. 

In the mobile trading segment, Crypto.com has a truly multifunctional mobile app packed with features. Unlike Coinbase, all of the exchange’s features are squeezed into the app, which includes everything from spot and margin trading to derivatives and futures.

Also, additional financial features such as loans and the possibility of accepting business payments through the Crypto.com Pay service are integrated into the app. However, this huge amount of features may be a bit complicated for beginners to navigate through.

How Do Coinbase and Crypto.com Compare to Other Crypto Exchanges

After going through all the key features of both exchanges, it’s time to take a look at a few competitors and what they offer. 

For this purpose, we’ll take Binance and KuCoin, which are firmly positioned among the leading global crypto trading platforms.

Binance and KuCoin aren’t regulated exchanges, and users don’t have any legal protection while using them. However, the platforms have millions of users thanks to the fact that they have very low fees and support hundreds of crypto coins. While Binance has over 350 digital currencies, KuCoin’s selection comprises more than 700 cryptos. 

In the fee segment, Binance and KuCoin are very competitive and charge minimal fees. Traders on Binance with a monthly volume below one million USD pay only 0.1% for each trade, while those on KuCoin incur a similar fee if they trade up to 50 BTC worth of assets per month.

Regarding security, there haven’t been any successful hacks of the Binance exchange, while KuCoin was a victim of one of the most devastating security breaches among exchange platforms back in 2020.

Both Binance and KuCoin also have a dedicated NFT section similar to Coinbase and Crypto.com, where users can purchase numerous types of NFTs from both famous and newly launched collections.

Conclusion

For crypto beginners or average users who aren’t acquainted with advanced trading tools, Coinbase has everything they need to invest in digital currencies and take advantage of some additional services, such as crypto staking or crypto-collateralized loans.

On the other hand, Crypto.com is definitely a more reasonable option for users looking for high-risk trading tools that might yield high profits, such as leveraged margin trading and futures contracts.