Crypto exchange fees explained: every fee and a 2026 comparison
Crypto exchange fees explained for EU investors: maker/taker, spreads, deposits, withdrawals and funding, with a fee comparison of 8 MiCA-licensed exchanges.
Crypto exchange fees are everything you pay to buy, hold, move and sell crypto: trading fees (maker and taker), the spread built into simple-buy prices, deposit and withdrawal fees, blockchain network fees, currency conversion, staking commission and, on futures, funding payments. On a €1,000 bitcoin buy at the MiCA-licensed exchanges we checked on 23 October 2026, the trading fee alone ranges from €1.00 to €12.00, and a simple app buy can cost more. This guide explains each fee, compares eight licensed exchanges and shows how to pay less.
Fees are not the only cost. Crypto prices are volatile, and you can lose all the money you put in.
What crypto exchange fees cover
Crypto exchanges charge fees in up to ten places, and most people only look at one of them. The table below shows each fee type, when you pay it and the range we found at EU-licensed exchanges on 23 October 2026.
| Fee | When you pay it | Range at EU-licensed exchanges |
|---|---|---|
| Maker fee | Your limit order waits in the order book | 0.10% (Gate EU) to 0.60% (Coinbase Advanced, entry tier) |
| Taker fee | Your order fills immediately | 0.10% (Gate EU) to 1.20% (Coinbase Advanced, entry tier) |
| Spread or simple-buy markup | You use an app’s buy button | 0.8% plus spread (Crypto.com App), 1% plus spread (Kraken app), 0.99% to 2.49% premium (Bitpanda) |
| Deposit fee | You fund your account | SEPA free at most; cards from 1.00% (Bitvavo) to 3.99% (Crypto.com) |
| Fiat withdrawal fee | You send euros back to your bank | Free to €1.00 by SEPA |
| Network fee | You withdraw crypto | From 0.000015 BTC (Kraken, OKX) to 0.0004 BTC (Crypto.com) |
| Currency conversion | You switch between euros and dollars | For example 0.75% at eToro |
| Staking commission | You stake crypto | 35% of rewards at Coinbase (standard rate) |
| Futures fees and funding | You trade leveraged contracts | From 0.02% maker (OKX X-Perps, Kraken) plus funding |
| Subscription fees | You opt into a monthly plan | From €3.99 a month (Crypto.com Level Up) |
Fee schedules differ because exchanges operate different business models. Order-book exchanges earn mainly from maker and taker fees; app-first platforms earn more from spreads and premiums; and some offer zero fee trading on a few pairs while charging elsewhere. Your payment method, your trading volume and the products allowed in your country change what you pay too.
Maker and taker fees: how crypto exchange trading fees work
Maker and taker fees are the trading fees an order-book exchange charges on every spot trade. A maker fee applies when your order adds liquidity: a limit order that waits in the book until someone trades against it. A taker fee applies when your order removes liquidity: a market order, or a limit order priced to execute immediately.
Most exchanges charge takers more, because market makers keep the order book liquid. At Bitvavo, for example, a €1,000 limit order costs €1,000 × 0.15% = €1.50, and the same amount as a market order costs €1,000 × 0.25% = €2.50. The lower maker fee rewards patience; the higher taker fee is the price of filling now. Our guide to order types explains when each makes sense, and the maker-taker glossary entry has more examples.
Fee tiers and your 30-day trading volume
Most exchanges offer reduced fees through a fee tier based on your 30-day trading volume, and sometimes on your balance. Fees decrease as volume rises, but the higher volume tiers are out of reach for most investors.
- Bitvavo: from 0.10% / 0.20% at €100,000 of 30-day volume, down to 0.00% / 0.02% from €100 million.
- Kraken: a shared ladder for spot volume, futures volume or assets held. Kraken raised its entry tier in July 2026 from 0.25% / 0.40% to 0.40% / 0.80%.
- Bybit EU: since 5 October 2026 a single rate per tier, 0.25% below 100,000 USDC of 30-day volume.
- Crypto.com Exchange: for example 0.08% / 0.18% from $500,000 of volume.
Native token discounts
Some exchanges cut fees when you hold or pay with the platform’s native token, such as BNB at Binance (25% off spot fees), BGB at Bitget (20% off) or CRO at Crypto.com (50,000+ CRO for 0% maker fees on the Exchange). Binance and Bitget have no MiCA licence, and OKX’s EEA fee table shows no OKB discount at all. A token discount means holding a volatile coin: €500 of a token that falls 10% loses €50, more than a 25% discount saves on €100,000 of trades at 0.10% (€25).
Spreads and simple-buy markups: the fee you don’t see
The spread is the gap between the price you pay and the market price. Simple-buy buttons in exchange apps usually build a spread into the quote, so a trade can cost more than its advertised fee, and several exchanges don’t publish the size of that spread.
Here is how simple buys are priced at the licensed exchanges we track:
| Exchange | Simple-buy pricing (checked 23 October 2026) |
|---|---|
| Crypto.com App | 0.8% trading fee plus a possible spread; card purchases up to 4% |
| Kraken app | 1% fee on direct and recurring buys (1.5% for custom orders), plus a variable spread |
| Coinbase | Spread built into the price plus a Coinbase fee, both shown in the order preview; simple limit orders add a 1% execution fee |
| Bitpanda | Premium included in the price: 0.99% for bitcoin and stablecoins, 1.49% for other crypto, 2.49% for assets under €100 million market cap |
| Bitvavo | Market orders pay the taker fee; the optional Price Guarantee includes a spread (size not published) |
| OKX Europe and Gate EU | Convert advertised with zero trading fees, but the spread is not published |
“Zero trading fees” doesn’t mean zero cost. The difference shows in a simple net-cost check: €100 of bitcoin in the Crypto.com App costs €0.80 plus the spread, while the same €100 as a market order on the Crypto.com Exchange costs €0.50 at the order book price. Compare the quote with the live order book price before you confirm.
Deposit fees: SEPA, iDEAL and card payments
Deposit fees depend mostly on the payment method. A SEPA bank transfer in euros is free at most EU-licensed exchanges, while card payments cost between 1% and 4%.
| Exchange | SEPA deposit | Card or wallet payments |
|---|---|---|
| Bitvavo | Free (iDEAL/Wero and Bancontact also free) | 1.00% (credit card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal) |
| Kraken | Free | Not published in our data |
| Coinbase | Free | Not published as a fixed figure |
| Bybit EU | No Bybit EU fee (payment providers may charge) | Not published in our data |
| OKX Europe | Free | 1.99% (Visa/Mastercard) |
| Gate EU | Not published | Not published |
| Crypto.com | Free (minimum deposit €1) | 3.99% |
| Bitpanda | Free (minimum deposit €10) | PayPal 1.49% |
On a €100 purchase, depositing fiat currency by card instead of SEPA adds €1.00 at Bitvavo, €1.99 at OKX and €3.99 at Crypto.com. Your own bank may charge for transfers, separately from the exchange.
Deposit and withdrawal fees for euros and crypto
Withdrawal fees come in two kinds: fiat withdrawals back to your bank, and crypto withdrawals to another wallet. Fiat withdrawal costs are fixed and small; crypto withdrawals pay a network fee that varies by coin, network and how busy the blockchain is.
| Exchange | SEPA withdrawal | BTC withdrawal |
|---|---|---|
| Bitvavo | Free | 0.000018 BTC |
| Kraken | €1 (€0.90 via SEPA Instant) | 0.000015 BTC |
| Coinbase | Free | Network fee estimated when you send |
| Bybit EU | Shown only when logged in | Shown only when logged in |
| OKX Europe | Free | From 0.000015 BTC |
| Gate EU | Not published | Not published |
| Crypto.com | €1.00 (minimum €80) | 0.0002 BTC below 0.002 BTC; 0.0004 BTC from 0.002 BTC |
| Bitpanda | Free | Network fees apply |
How network fees work
Network fees pay the miners or validators who process a transaction on the blockchain, and most exchanges pass them on to you as a crypto withdrawal fee. They rise when the network is congested, and they differ a lot between networks: the same stablecoin can cost far less to send on one network than another. Always check which network the receiving wallet supports, read the fee on the confirmation screen, and send a small test amount first. A fixed fee weighs heavily on small crypto withdrawals: 0.0002 BTC on a 0.001 BTC withdrawal at Crypto.com is a fifth of the amount.
Currency conversion (FX) fees
Currency conversion fees apply when your money changes currency on the way, for example from euros to US dollars. eToro, for instance, charges 0.75% to convert between a EUR balance and USD.
You can usually avoid FX fees by depositing euros and trading on euro pairs. Watch out for markets quoted in USDC or USDT: they can carry their own rates, such as 0.05% / 0.05% on Bitvavo’s USDC markets or 0.20% / 0.20% on Kraken’s stablecoin and FX pairs, but you first have to swap euros into the stablecoin. If you pay by card in a currency other than euros, your card issuer may add its own foreign exchange charge.
Staking commission
Exchanges that stake crypto for you keep a share of the rewards as commission. At Coinbase, the standard staking commission is 35% of rewards for assets such as ETH, SOL and ADA (lower for Coinbase One members).
A hypothetical example: if your staked coins earn €10 of rewards, a 35% commission keeps €3.50 and you receive €6.50. Commission isn’t the only point to check. Bitvavo and Crypto.com both state that their staking and Earn products are not regulated under MiCA, so those products sit outside the licence that covers the rest of your account.
Futures fees and funding rates
Crypto futures carry maker and taker fees charged on the full position value, plus funding payments on perpetual contracts. Most retail traders lose money with leveraged products, and at 10x leverage a 10% price move against you can wipe out your margin.
| Exchange | Futures maker / taker (entry tier) | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| OKX Europe (X-Perps) | 0.02% / 0.05% | MiFID-regulated futures, up to 10x |
| Kraken | 0.02% / 0.05% (tier 1, under $5 million volume) | CySEC entity; MiFID II appropriateness test |
| Coinbase | From 0.02% per contract | EU futures launched March 2026; retail eligibility not confirmed |
Because the fee applies to the whole position, leverage multiplies it. €200 of margin at 10x controls a €2,000 position, so a taker trade at 0.05% costs €1.00 to open and €1.00 to close: 1% of your margin before the price moves.
Funding rates and borrowing fees
Perpetual futures also charge a funding rate, a payment between long and short traders at set intervals. With a hypothetical rate of 0.01%, a €2,000 position pays or receives €0.20 each interval, and over weeks those payments can exceed the trading fees. Margin trading on spot markets adds borrowing costs instead: Bitvavo charges 0.0023% an hour on borrowed funds plus a 2% liquidation fee, which is €16.56 on €1,000 borrowed for 30 days (€1,000 × 0.0023% × 24 × 30). Bitpanda’s crypto margin trading charges 0.18% a day and a 0.3% closing fee. Read our introduction to derivatives before you try any of this.
Subscription fees
Some platforms sell a monthly subscription that removes or cuts trading fees in their app. Coinbase One removes simple-trade fees within limits, Kraken+ waives the app trading fee on up to $10,000 a month, and Crypto.com Level Up starts at €3.99 a month and advertises zero app trading fees. In all three cases the spread still applies.
A monthly subscription only pays off above a certain amount. At Crypto.com, €3.99 a month divided by the 0.8% app fee means you need to buy about €500 a month in the app before Level Up saves money. At €100 a month, a SEPA deposit and a market order on a low-fee exchange costs far less.
Crypto exchange fees comparison: 8 MiCA-licensed exchanges
This crypto exchange fees comparison covers entry-tier spot fees and SEPA deposit fees at eight exchanges with a MiCA licence, using each exchange’s official fee page as recorded in our data on 23 October 2026. Entry tier means the rate you pay below the first volume threshold, which is the rate most investors pay.
| Exchange | MiCA licence (regulator) | Spot maker fee | Spot taker fee | SEPA deposit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bitvavo | AFM, Netherlands | 0.15% | 0.25% | Free |
| Kraken | Central Bank of Ireland | 0.40% | 0.80% | Free |
| Coinbase (Advanced) | CSSF, Luxembourg | 0.60%* | 1.20%* | Free |
| Bybit EU | FMA, Austria | 0.25% | 0.25% | No Bybit EU fee |
| OKX Europe | MFSA, Malta | 0.20% (0.08% with X-Perps) | 0.35% (0.10% with X-Perps) | Free |
| Gate EU | MFSA, Malta | 0.10% | 0.10% | Not published |
| Crypto.com (Exchange) | MFSA, Malta | 0.25% | 0.50% | Free (minimum €1) |
| Bitpanda | FMA, Austria and BaFin, Germany | No maker/taker in the main app | Premium in price: 0.99% bitcoin, 1.49% other crypto | Free |
*Coinbase no longer shows Advanced rates on its public fee pages; 0.60% / 1.20% for the lowest tier comes from NerdWallet’s copy of the in-app table and may differ for EU accounts. Bitpanda Fusion, a separate order-book interface, has volume-based fees whose base tier we haven’t verified.
What the comparison shows
Gate EU has the lowest fees on paper, but it doesn’t publish its SEPA, card or withdrawal fees. Bitvavo is the cheapest exchange that publishes every euro fee, and OKX Europe matches Gate’s taker fee only for users with an X-Perps account. Kraken and Coinbase, two of the major exchanges, charge higher fees at the entry tier: their lower trading fees are reserved for higher volume tiers. Bitpanda works differently: its price includes a premium rather than a separate fee.
What €1,000 costs at each exchange
Here is the fee on a €1,000 bitcoin purchase at each exchange, funded by a free SEPA deposit and before any price movement.
| Exchange | Market order (taker) | Limit order (maker) | Simple buy in the app |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gate EU | €1.00 | €1.00 | Convert: no fee advertised, spread not published |
| OKX Europe | €3.50 (€1.00 with X-Perps) | €2.00 (€0.80 with X-Perps) | Convert: zero trading fees advertised, spread not published |
| Bitvavo | €2.50 | €1.50 | Price Guarantee: spread not published |
| Bybit EU | €2.50 | €2.50 | Not published |
| Crypto.com | €5.00 (Exchange) | €2.50 (Exchange) | App: €8.00 plus spread |
| Kraken | €8.00 | €4.00 | App: €10.00 plus spread |
| Coinbase | €12.00 (Advanced, entry tier) | €6.00 | Spread plus a fee shown in the preview |
| Bitpanda | No order book in the main app | No order book in the main app | €9.90 for bitcoin (0.99% premium) |
The gap between the cheapest and the most expensive route on a €1,000 trade is €11.00 on the order book (€1.00 against €12.00), and wider in some apps.
How to calculate your total cost
Your total cost is the sum of every fee on the way in and out: deposit fee + trading fee (or spread) on the buy + trading fee on the sell + withdrawal fee + any network or FX fee. Price changes come on top.
Here is a €1,000 round trip, with euros in by SEPA, a market buy, a later market sale at the same price, and euros out by SEPA:
| Exchange | Deposit | Buy | Sell | SEPA withdrawal | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gate EU | Not published | €1.00 | €1.00 | Not published | €2.00 plus unpublished fiat fees |
| OKX Europe | €0 | €3.50 | €3.50 | €0 | €7.00 (€2.00 with X-Perps) |
| Bitvavo | €0 | €2.50 | €2.50 | €0 | €5.00 |
| Crypto.com Exchange | €0 | €5.00 | €5.00 | €1.00 | €11.00 |
| Kraken | €0 | €8.00 | €8.00 | €1.00 | €17.00 |
| Coinbase Advanced | €0 | €12.00 | €12.00 | €0 | €24.00 |
If you withdraw your bitcoin to your own wallet instead of selling, swap the sale and SEPA withdrawal for the crypto withdrawal fee in the earlier table.
How to pay lower fees on crypto exchanges
The cheapest way to buy crypto on any licensed exchange is to deposit euros by SEPA, use the advanced platform with a limit order, and withdraw rarely.
- Fund by SEPA or iDEAL, not by card. Card payments cost 1% to 4%; SEPA is free at most exchanges.
- Skip the simple-buy button. Use the order book (Kraken Pro, Coinbase Advanced, the Crypto.com Exchange) instead of the app’s quote with a spread.
- Use limit orders. The lower maker fee is often half the taker fee.
- Trade euro pairs. You avoid fiat conversion fees and an extra swap into a stablecoin.
- Bundle crypto withdrawals. One larger withdrawal pays one network fee.
- Check the final amount. Compare what you receive with the market price before you confirm.
For a monthly plan, these steps matter more than the headline fee. Our guide to dollar-cost averaging shows how small fees add up over years, and our list of low-fee crypto exchanges ranks the licensed options.
Decentralised exchanges: different fees, different risks
Decentralised exchanges (DEXs) let you swap tokens straight from a self-custody wallet, without an account. Instead of maker and taker fees, you pay a swap fee that goes to liquidity providers, plus a blockchain network fee for every transaction.
That changes the maths. On a small swap the network fee can cost more than the swap fee itself, and pools with fewer tokens can move the price against you. There is also no company holding your money and no support desk: a mistaken transaction can’t be reversed, and smart contracts can have bugs. For euro purchases, a licensed exchange with a SEPA deposit is usually the simpler first step.
Crypto exchange fees and your tax records
Fees can matter for your tax bill, but the tax treatment depends on your country. In some systems fees are added to your cost basis or deducted from a capital gain; in the Netherlands, box 3 taxes a fixed notional return on your assets on 1 January rather than each trade.
Whatever the rules, save your full transaction history, including every fee, and download it before you close an account. For anything complex, such as frequent trading, staking or futures, ask a tax professional in your country.
Choosing a cryptocurrency exchange by how you invest
The cheapest cryptocurrency exchange depends on how you trade. Match the fee that matters most to your pattern.
- €50 to €100 a month: look for free SEPA deposits and a low taker fee, and avoid card payments and app markups. Bitvavo’s 0.25% taker fee costs €3.00 a year on €100 a month.
- A one-off €1,000 or more: use a limit order on the order book; the gap between exchanges is largest here.
- Active traders: maker fees and volume tiers matter most. OKX Europe with X-Perps (0.08% / 0.10%) and Gate EU (0.10% / 0.10%) have the lowest entry rates.
- Regular withdrawals to your own wallet: compare BTC withdrawal fees: 0.000015 BTC at Kraken and OKX, 0.000018 BTC at Bitvavo.
Whichever you choose, check that it holds a MiCA licence that covers your country. Exchanges without one are not an option for EU residents, however low their fees.
Fee pages for every exchange we cover
We publish a fee page for each exchange we review, with worked euro examples and the licence status for EU residents. All of them are listed on our fees overview.
- Binance fees: no MiCA licence; not for EU residents.
- Bitget fees: MiCA licence only applied for; barred in Germany and France.
- Bybit fees: Bybit EU, MiCA-licensed in Austria.
- Coinbase fees: MiCA-licensed in Luxembourg.
- Crypto.com fees: MiCA-licensed in Malta; app and Exchange priced differently.
- Gate.io fees: Gate EU, MiCA-licensed in Malta; fiat fees not published.
- Gemini fees: closed all EEA and UK accounts in April 2026.
- Kraken fees: MiCA-licensed in Ireland.
- KuCoin fees: MiCA-authorised in Austria, but the FMA still prohibits it from starting business operations.
- MEXC fees: no MiCA licence; the Dutch AFM has warned against it.
- OKX fees: OKX Europe, MiCA-licensed in Malta; lowest fees need X-Perps.
How we compare crypto exchange fees
We take every figure from the exchange’s official fee schedule or help pages, record it in our provider data with the date we checked it, and recheck before we update a page. All fees on this page were checked on 23 October 2026. Where an exchange doesn’t publish a fee, we say “not published” rather than estimate it.
Fees don’t decide our rankings on their own: licence status, track record and what you can buy matter too. Read our methodology for how we score exchanges and how we make money for how this site is funded.
Questions people ask
Which crypto exchange has the lowest fees?
Among the MiCA-licensed exchanges we checked on 23 October 2026, Gate EU has the lowest base trading fee at 0.10% maker and taker, but it doesn't publish its SEPA or withdrawal fees. Bitvavo (0.15% maker, 0.25% taker) is the cheapest that publishes every euro fee, with free SEPA deposits and withdrawals.
How much does it cost to buy €1,000 of crypto?
As a market order, a €1,000 buy costs €1.00 at Gate EU, €2.50 at Bitvavo or Bybit EU, €3.50 at OKX Europe, €5.00 on the Crypto.com Exchange, €8.00 at Kraken and €12.00 at Coinbase Advanced (entry tiers). Simple app buys usually cost more because a spread or premium is added.
What is the difference between maker and taker fees?
A maker fee applies when your order waits in the order book and adds liquidity, usually a limit order. A taker fee applies when your order fills immediately against existing orders, usually a market order, and it is normally the higher of the two.
Do all crypto exchanges charge fees?
Yes, in one form or another. An exchange that advertises zero trading fees still earns from the spread built into its price, from deposit or withdrawal fees, or from subscriptions.
Are crypto exchange fees tax deductible?
That depends on where you pay tax. Keep a record of every fee alongside your trades, check your country's rules or ask a tax professional; in the Netherlands, for example, box 3 taxes a fixed notional return on your assets rather than each individual trade.
What is a spread in crypto?
The spread is the gap between the price you pay and the market price, or between the best buy and sell prices in the order book. Simple-buy buttons often build a spread into the quote, which makes a trade cost more than its advertised fee.