Coinbase Fees: Cheapest Exchange in the USA?

Coinbase is one of the most popular cryptocurrency trading platforms in the USA. Therefore, this article will go through all the Coinbase Fees charges.

Summary

• Coinbase is one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world.
• In addition, the platform provides a free wallet service. 
• A flat fee of 0.50% is applied when you are buying crypto from the exchange directly.
• If you want to take your funds out of the Blockchain network in exchange for fiat currency, Coinbase will charge you a 1.49% commission.
• On Coinbase, users can do crypto-to-crypto conversions. For this, Coinbase charges a spread margin of up to 2%. 
• Coinbase applies a network fee when you are withdrawing your funds from the platform.
• You can avoid paying certain fees by using Coinbase Pro or Binance. 

What is Coinbase?

Coinbase was launched in San Francisco in 2012. It has now become one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world. It has over 43 million users. Coinbase is unique as it allows users to buy crypto using fiat currency. Users can also do crypto-to-crypto conversions very easily on Coinbase. The ease of use of Coinbase is the reason for its popularity among users.

Coinbase also has a professional trading platform known as Coinbase Pro (formerly known as GMAX). It works independently from Coinbase.

To learn more, read the Coinbase review. The platform also provides an option of earning passive income on your crypto holdings through Coinbase Staking. The platform also offers its own crypto card, read Coinbase card review to learn more.

Wallet Service

Coinbase offers a free cryptocurrency wallet service that stores all the cryptocurrencies supported by the exchange.

Coinbase Trading Fee

The platform charges a Taker and Maker fee based on your tiered trading volume. Refer to the below table for the tiered price structure:

Coinbase Buying Fee

A flat fee of 0.50% is applied when you purchase cryptocurrency directly from Coinbase. In addition to this, you will also have to pay some extra fees known as ‘Coinbase fee.’ Furthermore, it is greater than either the flat fee or the variable fee. The variable is determined by your region, product feature, and payment type. 

The variable fee for the USA is:

Payment Method for Purchase/Payout Method for Sale	Effective Rate of Conversion Fee (after waiver)
US Bank Account	1.49%
Coinbase USD Wallet	1.49%
Debit Card or PayPal	3.99%***
Instant Card Withdrawal	up to 1.5% of any transaction and a minimum fee of $0.55

USD Deposit Method	Effective Rate of Deposit (after waiver)
ACH Transfer	Free
Wire Transfer	$10 ($25 outgoing)
PayPal	2.5%

Selling Fee

If you want to take your funds out of the Blockchain network in exchange for fiat, Coinbase will charge you a commission of 1.49%.

Coinbase Crypto-to-Crypto Conversion Fees

Coinbase allows you to convert crypto-to-crypto directly. For this service, Coinbase charges a spread margin of up to 2%. The actual spread margin will depend upon market fluctuations.

Note: (For US users) Conversions beginning or ending with USD Coin will be treated as buying or selling crypto. The platform will apply a flat fee and a ‘Coinbase fee.’

Coinbase Withdrawal Fees

Coinbase applies a network fee when you are withdrawing your funds from the platform. Furthermore, the network fee varies depending on the amount of traffic the network is experiencing at that time. Moreover, this fee is to cover the cost of adding your transaction to the Blockchain. 

How to avoid Coinbase fees?

Coinbase’s fees are relatively higher than other exchanges. Moreover, the platform charges a fee for almost all the services it provides. For regular traders, these fees start adding up quickly. Hence, it is crucial to learn about ways of avoiding the excessive fee they charge.

How to avoid Fees using Coinbase Pro?

Coinbase and Coinbase Pro are both owned by the same company. You can avoid paying certain fees by using Coinbase Pro. Coinbase Pro particularly exists for professional traders. The website provides you a lot more data than Coinbase, so the platform may look intimidating at first. 

Avoid paying withdrawal fees with Coinbase Pro

The Coinbase withdrawal fee is very high. When you withdraw your funds from the platform, you are charged a fee based on the estimated network fee Coinbase will have to pay. However, the platform does not charge any fee for moving funds from one Coinbase wallet to another. Because the same company owns Coinbase and Coinbase Pro, you can send your funds from Coinbase to Coinbase Pro for free. This will be considered as moving funds from one Coinbase wallet to another. 

Avoid paying Coinbase fees with Binance

Binance doesn’t charge any fees for deposits. This is because Binance only offers crypto-to-crypto trades. Unlike Coinbase, Binance does not provide fiat-to-crypto trading. Handling crypto-to-crypto trades is a lot cheaper than handling fiat-to-crypto trades. Binance only charges a 0.1% fee on all trades.

Binance also offers a 50% discount on fees for trades that are made using Binance Coin. Binance’s fees are a lot cheaper than Coinbase’s fees. If you trade crypto regularly, you should consider switching to an exchange like Binance, which charges minimal fees. 

To learn more about Binance, head over to Binance review. The platform also offers crypto cards; to learn more, head over to Binance card review.

If you think Coinbase charges very high fees and you’re looking for an alternative, then head over to the top 5 Coinbase alternatives.

Is Coinbase Safe?

Yes, Coinbase is a safe exchange and stores 98% of user funds in cold storage that is not accessible to hackers. The rest of the user funds are available online in ‘hot storage’ to serve the liquidity needs of the platform. Furthermore, these funds are also insured. In case there is a breach, and you lose your funds, you will be reimbursed. 

Coinbase is set up in the United States and is legally required to comply with all the US rules and laws. This forces Coinbase to be responsible and accountable.

On a personal level, all users have to go through KYC (Know your customer) before using the platform. Here, users must submit a government-issued ID, enter their phone number and home address. This minimizes the risk of financial frauds and scams. 

The platform allows users to set up Two-factor authentication via Google authenticator. This gives users’ accounts an extra layer of protection.

Coinbase Fees: Conclusion

Coinbase is an easy-to-use and safe exchange. Moreover, there are a lot of unique features that make Coinbase stand apart from other exchanges. Coinbase is excellent for beginners. However, if you trade crypto regularly, the Coinbase fees will start adding up quickly. If you want to utilize your crypto investments properly, you need to minimize the number of fees you are paying. You can choose to use Coinbase Pro or other crypto exchanges like Binance to avoid paying high fees. 

Frequently Asked Questions