2025’s best picks: Crypto exchanges with the lowest fees
Sep 23, 2025・7 min read
The decentralized nature of crypto is all about freedom – but ironically, moving it around isn’t free.
When you buy, sell, or transfer crypto on an exchange, it comes with fees. These charges may seem small, but they can add up over time – especially for active traders. But fortunately, you can – to some extent – control how much you pay in fees.
In this guide, we’ll explain cryptocurrency exchange fees, how they differ from gas fees, and the different types of exchange fees that exist. We’ll also share seven popular crypto exchanges with the lowest fees.
How cryptocurrency exchange fees work
Exchange fees are a core revenue stream for crypto exchanges. They help cover the operational costs of running the platform – everything from server maintenance and cybersecurity to customer support, regulatory compliance, and liquidity provider incentives. For centralized exchanges (CEXs) especially, these fees are often a major source of income and key to maintaining the platform’s security, performance, and user support at scale.
On decentralized exchanges (DEXs), exchange fees still apply – but they’re typically lower and are distributed differently. Instead of funding a company, DEX fees are often shared among liquidity providers or redistributed to token holders as part of the platform’s incentive model. Because DEXs run on smart contracts and don’t require centralized infrastructure, their overhead costs are lower – though users still pay network (gas) fees on top of exchange fees.
Exchange fees vs. gas fees
It’s easy to confuse crypto exchange fees with gas fees, but they’re not the same. Here’s how they differ:
Platforms charge exchange fees for services like trading or withdrawing funds and managing your account (more on this below). Each platform sets its own rates, which vary based on your trading volume, transaction type, or account activity.
In contrast, gas fees come from the blockchain network itself. When you send crypto on chains like Ethereum, Solana, or Polygon, the network requires a gas fee to process and confirm the transaction. Exchanges don’t control gas fees, but they often pass those costs to users when they withdraw or transfer assets.
Gas fees fluctuate based on network traffic – the busier the network, the higher the fees. That’s why Ethereum often charges more than lower-cost alternatives like Solana or Avalanche, which typically experience less congestion.
Types of crypto exchange fees
While fee structures vary across trading platforms, three factors generally determine how much users pay: fee schedules, location, and availability.
Crypto exchange fee schedules
Most crypto exchanges use a tiered maker-taker fee model designed to lower costs for active traders. In this structure, the fee level is based on your rolling 30-day trading volume. While each platform’s definition is unique, active traders typically have monthly volumes that exceed a few thousand dollars. Some exchanges begin lowering fees at around $1,000 to $10,000 in volume, while others reserve their best rates for high-volume traders who swap six figures or more each month.
Makers create liquidity by placing buy or sell orders that sit on the order book, while takers remove liquidity by fulfilling those orders. Both parties pay fees, but makers typically pay less.
Exchanges favor this structure because it encourages frequent, high-volume trading. As your cumulative 30-day volume increases, fees generally decrease. For the most active traders, maker fees can drop to 0%. For example, Coinbase offers a 0% maker fee for traders with over $250 million in 30-day volume, while Gemini removes all maker fees once volume exceeds $10 million.
For less active traders, most platforms charge a per-transaction or spot trading fee – a one-time charge to take possession of a digital asset.
Cryptocurrency exchange location
Regulatory standards for cryptocurrencies vary widely across jurisdictions, and until there’s a global framework for digital assets class, location remains an important factor.
In the United States, exchanges must register with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and any relevant state-level regulators where they operate. These governing bodies impose oversight requirements that often limit the range of services U.S.-based crypto exchanges can offer – and may lead to higher fees than platforms in other jurisdictions.
Cryptocurrency availability
With millions of tokens in circulation, no exchange can support them all – at least not yet – or guarantee liquidity for every crypto trading pair. For example, Coinbase, the largest U.S.-based exchange, supports over 250 cryptocurrencies (as of this writing) – a fraction of the market’s total.
Types of fees on crypto exchanges
Cryptocurrency exchanges typically charge four types of fees:
Withdrawal and deposit fees
Transacting on blockchain networks involves network fees, and exchanges often pass these costs onto the user. Most platforms don’t charge for deposits – you simply send your tokens to a wallet address linked to your account. However, withdrawing crypto from an exchange usually incurs a cost, and most exchanges charge either a flat fee or a percentage of the withdrawal amount to cover the transaction.
Spread fees
A spread is the difference between an asset’s buy and sell price. When you buy crypto, you typically pay the higher price (the “ask”), and when you sell, you receive the lower price (the “bid”). This difference is how the exchange earns revenue on the trade – so the price of the asset typically needs to rise above what you paid before you can make a profit.
Some platforms refer to this as a spread fee, even though it’s not always listed as a separate charge. Instead, the price of the trade includes the spread fee, which is why it’s important to factor it in when comparing costs across exchanges.
Trading fees
Whenever you buy, sell, or swap crypto on an exchange, a trading fee also applies. These are typically structured as maker-and-taker fees. Some exchanges use a fixed-rate system for both makers and takers, while others bundle crypto trading fees into the spread instead of listing them separately.
General fees
Along with fees associated with depositing, withdrawing, or trading, some crypto exchanges charge extra service-related fees, including:
- Inactivity fees: Exchanges may charge you to cover the costs associated with your account if you don’t trade for a certain amount of time.
- Margin trading fees: Borrowing funds from an exchange to increase your purchasing power, also known as margin trading, can incur interest on the borrowed amount.
- Account maintenance: Some exchanges charge a monthly or yearly fee to maintain your account.
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7 top crypto exchanges with low fees
Here are seven of the best crypto exchanges based on fees.
Coinbase
Coinbase is the leading crypto exchange by volume in the U.S. market and supports over 250 cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Solana (SOL).
Here’s a breakdown of the fees charged for users who trade less than $1 million in volume on their advanced crypto trading platform over 30 days:
Gemini
Gemini is a leading U.S.-based exchange that supports over 70 cryptocurrencies.
Here’s a breakdown of the fees charged for users who trade less than $1 million in volume on their advanced ActiveTrader platform over 30 days:
Kraken
With a 2011 founding and a 2013 launch, Kraken is one of the oldest U.S.-based CEXs in the crypto industry, and it remains an active platform in terms of average daily trading volume.
For advanced crypto traders, Kraken now offers its Kraken Pro platform with maker/taker fees set at the following percentages over a 30 day period:
Binance.US
Binance.US is the U.S.-based subsidiary of Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange.
One thing that sets Binance.US’s fee structure apart is its tiered system. In Tier 0 trading pairs – all of which include Bitcoin – there are zero trading fees. Binance.US also often incentivizes users to trade with its BNB cryptocurrency with reduced trading fees. Currently, the trading fees for Tier 1 trading pairs are as follows over 30 days:
Blockchain.com
Blockchain.com started its journey as an early pioneer of key infrastructure for the Bitcoin community and has since become a fully regulated exchange.
Here’s a breakdown of the fees charged for users who trade less than $1 million in volume on their advanced crypto trading platform over 30 days:
eToro US
eToro US is the U.S. subsidiary of eToro, a platform that supports trading for digital assets, stocks, ETFs, and options.
When trading crypto on eToro US, the market price of the asset in question includes a 1% fee, which is included in the price shown when you open or close a position to help simplify the process.
Robinhood
Robinhood is a well-known, easy-to-use crypto trading application that supports purchases, stocks, options, and ETFs.
Trading on Robinhood Crypto is commission-free, but the platform charges a spread fee. An order flow fee also varies by trade, which covers the cost of smart exchange routing, whereby Robinhood routes orders to its partner exchanges.
Optimizing your crypto tax strategy with CoinTracker
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With integrations to hundreds of CEXs, DEXs, and crypto wallets, including Coinbase and Gemini, CoinTracker makes it easy to monitor your crypto investments, fees paid, staking activities, and overall gains or losses.
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Disclaimer: This post is informational only and is not intended as tax advice. For tax advice, please consult a tax professional.