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There is no single best cryptocurrency exchange for everyone. The right choice depends on three things: whether the platform’s legal entity can lawfully serve you in your country, what you plan to trade, and what the trade costs once spreads and deposit and withdrawal charges are added. A ranked list of five would need verified, comparable facts for each platform, and the sources behind this guide do not supply them for five. This guide therefore compares three platforms: Coinbase, Binance and Kraken. Coinbase appears because a UK survey reports it with the higher usage share of the two platforms it names, but the sources here give no fee or legal-scope detail for it.
Every figure below carries its source and date. Fees and availability change, so confirm them on each platform’s official pages before you open an account.
What UK users say they weigh when choosing an exchange
The most useful independent data available here comes from the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Its 2025 cryptoasset consumer survey (wave 6) asked exchange users: “Thinking about the exchange you use the most, what did you consider when making a decision to use the exchange?” The answers are self-reported, limited to the UK, and describe what people say mattered to them. They do not rate how any exchange performs.
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| Consideration cited | Share of respondents who cited it |
|---|---|
| Ease of use | 50% |
| Exchange reputation | 39% |
| Safety and security | 34% |
| Cost of transacting | 30% |
Base: 1,044 respondents in the 2025 survey who had used a centralized or decentralized exchange, as reported by the FCA in its 2025 wave 6 publication. None of these percentages describes a specific platform.
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Which exchanges UK users report using
The same survey asked which exchanges UK cryptoasset users had used. Among respondents who had used an exchange (same 1,044 base), 61% reported Coinbase and 44% reported Binance. These are usage shares within one survey sample. They are not global market share, and they say nothing about which platform is safest, cheapest or best suited to you.
Confirm the platform can legally serve you
A license belongs to a specific legal entity and a specific service, not to a brand. One exchange name can refer to different companies in different countries, and a platform may be authorized in one market, registered in another and restricted in a third. Before you compare anything else, find out which entity would hold your account and whether it covers the product you want.
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- Open the platform’s license or legal disclosure page for your country. Kraken publishes “Where is Kraken licensed or regulated?” in its support center, and Binance publishes a page titled “Licences, Registrations and Other Legal Matters.”
- Note the legal entity name listed for your country, and whether it covers spot trading, derivatives or other services.
- Check the entity against your national financial regulator’s public register, if your regulator maintains one.
- Confirm the specific service you want is available to residents of your country. Brand availability and service availability can differ.
Kraken: an authorization tied to one market
Kraken’s support article, updated August 17, 2026, lists among its examples an Irish authorization as a crypto-asset service provider (CASP) under the EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) regulation. The same page notes service restrictions that apply in the UK. An EU authorization does not by itself settle what a UK resident can do on the platform, and a UK restriction does not describe access elsewhere. Read the page for your own country: Kraken’s licensing article.
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Binance’s legal page, accessed October 7, 2026, lists entity status country by country. For New Zealand, it states that the Binance New Zealand registration does not mean the business is actively regulated or overseen by a New Zealand regulator. Read a registration as a legal status with its own limited scope, not as a regulator’s endorsement. The page is at Binance’s legal disclosures.
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- Tap once to manage your entire crypto wallet across 90 blockchains - no USB cables or Bluetooth, no batteries, no setup. Access 14,100+ coins & tokens, DeFi, NFTs, and staking instantly from your phone
- Smart backup: Use your second Tangem Wallet as your Backup keys with end‑to‑end encryption; no more papers, pictures. If one card is lost, the remaining can still restore full access, with an optional seed phrase available for advanced users.
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Compare the full cost of a trade, not the headline rate
A maker fee applies when an order adds liquidity to the order book, such as a limit order that does not fill immediately. A taker fee applies when an order fills against existing orders. Fee schedules are tiered, so the rate you pay depends on the tier that applies to your account. The table below uses starting rates from Kraken’s June 2026 comparison page, Best Crypto Exchanges in 2026. Kraken wrote that page, so treat its figures as operator-reported and check each live schedule.
| Platform | Starting maker fee | Starting taker fee | Source and date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kraken | 0.25% | 0.40% | Kraken’s own comparison, June 2026 |
| Binance | 0.10% | 0.10% | Reported in Kraken’s comparison, June 2026 |
| Coinbase | Not stated in the cited sources | Not stated in the cited sources | No Coinbase fee source cited |
Worked illustration, using only the starting taker rates above: buying $1,000 of an asset as a taker and selling the same amount as a taker. At Kraken’s 0.40%, each leg costs $4, or $8 for the round trip. At Binance’s 0.10%, each leg costs $1, or $2 for the round trip. The $6 difference covers only those starting trading fees. It excludes spreads, deposit and withdrawal charges, currency conversion and any tier above the starting level. A larger account may pay less on either platform, and a different order type can change the result.
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Costs outside the trading fee
- Spread: the gap between the best buy and best sell price. It is paid through price, not as a line item.
- Deposit method: bank transfer, card and crypto deposits can carry different charges on the same platform.
- Withdrawal fees: usually set per asset and per network, so check the asset and network you plan to use.
- Funding costs: relevant only if you use leveraged or margin products.
- Conversion costs: relevant when your local currency differs from the trading pair you use.
Kraken’s comparison says deposit, withdrawal and asset counts differ between the platforms it covers. Use each platform’s current listing rather than a count taken from a comparison page. The sources cited here do not give deposit or withdrawal charges for these three platforms.
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Proof of reserves (PoR) is a published check intended to show that an exchange holds assets at least equal to what it owes customers. Kraken’s explainer “How Kraken is regulated,” published July 9, 2026 under its India-region learning pages, states: “Kraken publishes a Proof of Reserves twice per year — a cryptographically verifiable audit that confirms Kraken holds sufficient assets to cover 100% of all client balances.” That is Kraken’s own account of its audit process. The same page says an independent third-party auditor conducts it. The explainer is at Kraken Learn: How Kraken is regulated.
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The statement has clear limits:
- It does not establish that a proof of reserves is a full balance-sheet audit.
- It does not address custody practices, internal operations or whether withdrawals would be processed during a stress event.
- It does not make PoR results comparable across firms. Scope, frequency and auditor can differ.
- The sources cited here do not show that Coinbase or Binance publish equivalent evidence. Check their own disclosures rather than assuming either way.
Account security and support checks
Security controls differ by platform and account type. Before funding an account, check these on each platform’s official help and security pages:
Quick Recap
- Two-factor authentication options, and whether app-based or hardware security keys are supported.
- Withdrawal address allowlists or confirmation steps for new addresses.
- The account recovery process, including whether it requires identity documents.
- Support channels available for your country and language, and any response times the platform publishes.
Matching the choice to your situation
- If you are a UK resident weighing popularity: the 61% and 44% usage figures tell you what other users reported, not whether a platform fits you. Confirm the entity and the service you need first.
- If you trade frequently: the starting rate is the least useful number. Model the tier you would reach at your own monthly volume, on each platform’s live schedule.
- If you are in the EU: check whether Kraken’s Irish MiCA authorization covers the specific service you want, and confirm the same for any other platform you consider.
- If custody transparency is your main concern: Kraken is the only one of these three platforms whose PoR approach the sources here describe. Ask the other platforms for their own published evidence and read its scope.
- If you need support in a specific language: the sources cited here do not rate support quality. Test the help channels before you deposit.
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
