Coinbase vs Crypto.com: fees, licences and which to pick in 2026

Coinbase vs Crypto.com is a fair fight for EU residents, because both hold a MiCA licence and both serve the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium and Ireland. Crypto.com has the lower trading fees: its Exchange starts at 0.25% maker and 0.50% taker against 0.60% and 1.20% on Coinbase Advanced. Coinbase charges nothing to withdraw euros, publishes audited accounts as a listed company and offers futures to Advanced users in 26 European countries.

We checked both platforms’ fee pages, licence pages and the ESMA register on 23 October 2026. We have not opened accounts at either, so this Coinbase vs Crypto.com comparison is built on published facts, not on hands-on testing.

Coinbase vs Crypto.com: the short answer

In the Coinbase vs Crypto.com choice, Crypto.com suits users who want lower fees and are happy to use Crypto.com Exchange, or want a card, staking and tokenised US stocks in one app. Coinbase suits users who move euros in and out often, want a listed company with audited accounts, or are advanced traders who want futures under EU rules.

• Crypto.com’s main upside: cheaper trading, from 0.25% / 0.50% on the Exchange and 0.8% in the app.
• Crypto.com’s main catch: the app spread is unpublished, SEPA withdrawals cost €1.00 with an €80 minimum, and its proof of reserves dates from December 2022.
• Coinbase’s main upside: free SEPA deposits and withdrawals, 400+ coins and quarterly financial statements.
• Coinbase’s main catch: entry fees of 0.60% / 1.20% that are only visible after sign-in, and five regulatory fines since 2023.

Coinbase vs Crypto.com in the EU: licences and availability

Both Coinbase and Crypto.com are licensed under MiCA and passport that licence to every EEA country. Coinbase Luxembourg S.A. was authorised by the Luxembourg regulator, the CSSF, on 20 June 2025, after Coinbase moved its EU hub from Ireland to Luxembourg. Crypto.com’s Foris DAX MT Limited was authorised by the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA), with notification on 27 January 2025.

Both also hold MiFID II licences in Cyprus. Coinbase Financial Services Europe Ltd, formerly BUX’s Cyprus unit, runs Coinbase’s EU futures. Foris Capital CY Limited, obtained in May 2025, issues Crypto.com’s tokenised US stocks and ETFs. Both also run e-money institutions: Coinbase Ireland Limited, and Crypto.com’s Maltese Foris MT Limited, which handles its fiat accounts and Visa card.

MiCA licences and investor protection

A MiCA licence sets regulatory requirements for custody and conduct, but it doesn’t make crypto a protected deposit. Crypto-assets are not covered by the €100,000 deposit guarantee or by investor compensation schemes, and Crypto.com says its Earn and staking products are not regulated under MiCA. You can check both entities in ESMA’s interim MiCA register.

UK customers are served by Coinbase’s FCA-registered CB Payments Ltd and by Crypto.com’s UK entity. In the US, Coinbase, Inc. holds a New York BitLicense and state money transmitter licences, and Crypto.com serves users through US entities. Our focus is the EU.

Coinbase vs Crypto.com: what sets these cryptocurrency exchanges apart?

The biggest difference between these crypto exchanges is how each one makes you pay for convenience. Both Coinbase and Crypto.com run a simple app with a spread-based price and a separate order book with a maker taker fee structure, but Crypto.com publishes a fixed app fee of 0.8% while Coinbase’s simple-buy fee varies by payment method, transaction size and market.

Beyond fees, Coinbase is a Nasdaq-listed company, public since April 2021, that publishes quarterly financial statements. Crypto.com is built around one app that combines crypto, a prepaid Visa card, staking and, in the EU, tokenised US stocks as other investments. Coinbase offers crypto and equity-index futures for Advanced users instead.

Coinbase vs Crypto.com fees: which offers lower fees?

Crypto.com offers lower fees than Coinbase on both of its routes, so for most users who trade cryptocurrency regularly it is the cheaper of the two. Its app charges a 0.8% trading fee plus a possible spread, and Crypto.com Exchange starts at 0.25% maker and 0.50% taker. Coinbase Advanced starts at 0.60% maker and 1.20% taker, and its simple buys carry a spread plus a variable fee.

Simple buys: Coinbase app vs Crypto.com App

Neither app publishes its spread, so the final price in the order preview is what counts. The Crypto.com App charges 0.8% on the EEA schedule, and buying with a debit or credit card costs up to 4%. The Coinbase app adds a fee that varies by payment method, transaction size and market, on top of a quoted price that includes a spread above the market price; both are shown before you confirm. Coinbase’s simple limit orders add a 1% execution fee.

Coinbase Advanced vs Crypto.com Exchange

On the order books, Crypto.com Exchange is cheaper at every published entry rate for cryptocurrency trading. Maker fees are 0.25% at Crypto.com against 0.60% at Coinbase; taker fees, ranging from 0.50% to 1.20% at the entry tier, are less than half as high at Crypto.com.

Both use volume based pricing. Crypto.com Exchange falls to 0.08% / 0.18% from $500,000 of 30-day volume, and a balance of 50,000 CRO or more gives 0% maker fees and 12% off taker fees. Coinbase Advanced tiers fall with 30-day volume or USDC balance, down to 0.00% / 0.02%.

One caveat on Coinbase: its public fee pages no longer list Advanced rates, which you only see after signing in. The 0.60% / 1.20% entry tier comes from NerdWallet’s copy of the in-app table, updated December 2025, and may differ for EU accounts. Coinbase Advanced replaced the old Coinbase Pro, so Coinbase Pro fee tables you find online are out of date.

Worked examples: €100 and €1,000

Here is what each order costs at the entry tier. App spreads are not published, so app rows show the visible fee only.

Order	Coinbase	Crypto.com
€100 app buy	Variable fee plus spread (shown in preview)	€0.80 plus spread
€100 card buy in the app	Not published as a fixed fee	up to €4.00
€100 limit order (maker)	€0.60	€0.25
€100 market order (taker)	€1.20	€0.50
€1,000 limit order (maker)	€6.00	€2.50
€1,000 market order (taker)	€12.00	€5.00

On a €1,000 market order you pay €12.00 at Coinbase Advanced and €5.00 at Crypto.com Exchange, a difference of €7.00. If you buy €100 a month with limit orders for a year, that is 12 × €0.60 = €7.20 at Coinbase against 12 × €0.25 = €3.00 at Crypto.com.

Coinbase claws some of that back on withdrawals. Sell and withdraw €1,000 to your bank and Coinbase charges nothing, while Crypto.com charges €1.00. On a single €1,000 round trip with market orders in and out, the visible transaction fees add up to €12.00 + €12.00 = €24.00 at Coinbase and €5.00 + €5.00 + €1.00 = €11.00 at Crypto.com.

Coinbase One vs Crypto.com Level Up

Both sell subscriptions that remove visible app fees, but not the spread. Coinbase One removes simple-trade fees with limits and lowers the staking commission. Crypto.com’s Level Up starts at €3.99 a month and advertises zero trading fees in the app. At 0.8%, a €3.99 monthly fee equals the app fee on about €500 of buys, so Level Up only pays off if you buy more than that each month; check which tier includes the fee waiver.

Deposits, withdrawals and supported currencies

Both accept free SEPA deposits, but only Coinbase offers free SEPA withdrawals. Coinbase states that SEPA deposits and withdrawals in EUR have no fees and take 1–3 business days. Crypto.com charges nothing for SEPA deposits (minimum €1) and €1.00 for SEPA withdrawals, with an €80 minimum.

Cost	Coinbase	Crypto.com
SEPA deposit	Free	Free (minimum €1)
Card deposit	Not published as a fixed fee	3.99% (card, Apple Pay, Google Pay)
SEPA withdrawal	Free	€1.00 (minimum €80)
Bitcoin withdrawal	Network fee estimated when you send	0.0002 BTC below 0.002 BTC; 0.0004 BTC from 0.002 BTC

Both list 400+ supported assets. Coinbase supports EUR, GBP and USD; Crypto.com supports more currencies: EUR, GBP, USD, AUD, CAD, SGD and AED. Both require identity verification before you deposit, and Coinbase also requires the name on your bank account to match your Coinbase account.

Coinbase vs Crypto.com for crypto trading: beginners and active traders

For buying crypto, beginners can start in either simple app, though that is the most expensive route; for active traders, Crypto.com Exchange is cheaper and Coinbase Advanced adds EU futures. Both offer limit orders and market orders on the order book, and both offer an API for advanced users.

Coinbase launched crypto and equity-index futures for Advanced users in 26 European countries in March 2026, with up to 10x leverage and fees from 0.02% per contract. Coinbase’s Dutch page refers to “professional clients”, so check whether you qualify. Crypto.com Exchange derivatives are geo-restricted in all EEA countries, the UK and the US. Crypto.com lists margin trading among its products, and we could not confirm spot margin for EU users at either platform. Most retail traders lose money with leveraged products, so treat futures as a tool for experienced traders only.

Staking, earn and more rewards

Both let you earn crypto through staking, and both take a share of the staking rewards you earn. Coinbase states a standard commission of 35% of staking rewards for assets such as ETH, SOL and ADA, lower for Coinbase One members. Crypto.com states that its Earn and staking products are not regulated under MiCA. You earn rewards in crypto, and their value can fall, so don’t treat them as interest.

Coinbase Card vs Crypto.com Visa card

Both offer a card for spending crypto. In the EU, the Coinbase Card is issued by Paysafe Payment Solutions Limited. The Crypto.com Visa card is a prepaid card issued through its Maltese e-money institution, Foris MT Limited. Card terms and crypto rewards change often and we have not verified current reward rates, so check the issuer’s terms first.

Security features, cold storage and track record

Coinbase publishes more about its finances, and neither publishes a cold-storage percentage. Coinbase has no Merkle-tree proof of reserves; as a listed company it publishes quarterly financial statements, audited annually, and states that it holds customer assets 1:1. Crypto.com states that all client crypto is held 1:1 in reserve, with access controls on cold and hot wallets, and its proof of reserves, verified by Mazars, is based on a snapshot of 7 December 2022.

Crypto.com’s Account Protection Programme offers up to USD 250,000 cover against unauthorised transactions. The incidents on record:

• Crypto.com, 2022: attackers bypassed two-factor authentication on 483 accounts and withdrew about $34 million. Crypto.com said affected users were reimbursed.
• Crypto.com, 2023: a phishing attack on an employee exposed limited personal data of a small number of users; Crypto.com said regulators were notified and no funds were at risk.
• Coinbase, 2025: criminals bribed offshore support staff to obtain data on about 69,000 customers. Coinbase refused a $20 million ransom and estimated $180 million to $400 million in costs.

On either platform, use app-based two factor authentication rather than SMS, and turn on address whitelisting for withdrawals where offered. Be wary of anyone who calls or messages you claiming to be support.

Regulatory record

Coinbase has the longer list of fines, including two from the Central Bank of Ireland since 2025. Crypto.com’s main European issue is a Dutch fine.

• Coinbase: a $100 million NYDFS settlement in 2023 over AML and KYC failures; a €3.3 million DNB fine in 2023 for serving Dutch customers without registration; a £3.5 million FCA fine in 2024; a €21.46 million Central Bank of Ireland fine in 2025 over more than 30 million unmonitored transactions; and a €3.25 million Central Bank of Ireland fine on 22 October 2026 over customer-fund safeguarding and outsourcing failures. Both Irish fines are subject to High Court confirmation. The SEC dismissed its 2023 lawsuit in 2025.
• Crypto.com: a €2.85 million DNB fine for serving Dutch customers without registration from May 2020 to November 2022, which it appealed; we found no outcome. The US SEC closed its investigation without action in March 2025.

Exchange account or your own wallet?

Crypto on Coinbase or Crypto.com is held for you by the exchange, so Coinbase users and Crypto.com users alike depend on the exchange’s security measures. Moving coins to a digital wallet you control means you hold the private keys yourself, and you alone are responsible for the seed phrase that restores it; our glossary explains what a seed phrase is.

If you plan to withdraw, the fees differ: Crypto.com charges 0.0002 BTC below 0.002 BTC and 0.0004 BTC above it, while Coinbase charges a network fee estimated at the time of sending. Blockchain transfers can’t be reversed, so send a small test amount first.

Customer support and ease of use

Crypto.com lists 24/7 live chat in the app and at chat.crypto.com, plus a help centre. Coinbase offers phone and in-app messaging with a virtual assistant and, depending on hours, live agents. If you only buy and hold, the simple apps are enough, but the cheaper prices on either platform sit in the more advanced interface.

Crypto.com vs Coinbase: which crypto exchange should you choose?

Choose Crypto.com if you want the lower trading fees, will use Crypto.com Exchange, and like having a card, staking and tokenised stocks in one app. The main downside is the unpublished app spread, the €80 minimum on euro withdrawals and a proof of reserves from December 2022.

Choose Coinbase if you move euros in and out often, value audited public accounts, or are an Advanced user who wants futures in the EU. The main downside is cost: Coinbase Advanced’s entry fees are more than double Crypto.com Exchange’s, and its regulatory record is the longer of the two.

If fees decide it, also compare Coinbase vs Kraken and Kraken vs Crypto.com: Kraken Pro charges 0.40% / 0.80%. Coming from Gemini, which closed its EU accounts in April 2026? See Crypto.com vs Gemini. For every cost, see the Coinbase fees and Crypto.com fees pages, and for the full picture read our Coinbase review and Crypto.com review.

How we compared Coinbase and Crypto.com

We used each provider’s official fee schedules and licence pages, the ESMA interim MiCA register and regulator notices, all checked on 23 October 2026. Where a provider does not publish a figure, such as app spreads or Coinbase’s Advanced tiers, we say so instead of estimating, and we have not tested either app ourselves. Crypto prices can swing sharply and you can lose all the money you put in.