Easy Crypto vs Coinbase | Benefits, Downsides & Trading Fees
Jack Moreau
Feb 2024
9 min read
Fact checked
Easy Crypto vs Coinbase: Trying to decide which cryptocurrency exchange to use can be overwhelming. That's why we've done the research for you. We've compared Easy Crypto and Coinbase on various factors such as fees, supported coins, security, and user experience. Keep reading to find out which exchange is the best fit for your needs.
eToro is a multi-asset investment platform. The value of your investments may go up or down. Your capital is at risk.
eToro USA LLC: Investments are subject to market risk. Including the possible loss of principal. Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest.
eToro is a multi-asset investment platform. The value of your investments may go up or down. Your capital is at risk.
eToro USA LLC: Investments are subject to market risk. Including the possible loss of principal. Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest.
Easy Crypto and Coinbase are two cryptocurrency exchanges with different approaches to serving their users.
Easy Crypto is a beginner-friendly platform that aims to provide a simple and easy-to-use interface for novice crypto investors.
Easy crypto exchange
On the other hand, Coinbase is a leading US-based exchange and wallet service known for its user-friendly interface, security, and regulatory compliance.
Easy Crypto was founded in 2018 by siblings Janine and Alan Grainger and is headquartered in New Zealand.
The company has under 50 employees mainly based in Auckland, New Zealand. Easy Crypto is a small exchange with over 100,000 registered users.
Easy Crypto supports a decent range of over 160 cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, Algorand, Cosmos, and other well-known coins. It is available via browser and on mobile on either Android or IOS.
Coinbase is the much older exchange with founding date in 2012 and registered in the District of Columbia with over 5000 employees.
Coinbase exchange
The company was started by Brian Armstrong and Fred Ehrsa and is one of the biggest exchanges in the world known for its user-friendly interface, security, and regulatory compliance.
Coinbase is available in 100 countries with restricted countries including Canada, China, India, Indonesia, New Zealand, Russia, and South Africa. Coinbase is one of the biggest exchanges in the world with over 100 million users mainly based in the US and Europe.
Coinbase offers over 200 cryptocurrencies for it's users to buy, sell or trade and is of course available on both Android and IOS where it has 10 million downloads and a 4.1-star rating with over 750,000 reviews.
Coinbase app
Easy Crypto vs Coinbase Signup & KYC
Creating an account on Easy Crypto is a breeze as users can select to create an account either via gmail, facebook or with a regular email. However, KYC is mandatory on Easy Crypto and no trading can occur without getting approval.
To complete the KYC process takes roughly 5 minutes and users need to provide full name, date of birth, phone number and a valid government ID.
Once all the details have been provided, it can take up to a few hours for the Easy Crypto team to verify the account.
Easy Crypto signup
Meanwhile, the signup process on Coinbase takes about 1 minute to complete as users just need to provide full name, email and password. Similar to Easy Cryoto, KYC is also required by Coinbase for all of it's users.
Coinbase signup
The Coinbase KYC verification process takes a few minutes to submit the required documents and can be verified in a few minutes to a few hours by Coinbase.
While both exchanges require KYC from their users, the big difference is that Easy Crypto is only available to residents in Australia, New Zealand, Brazil and South Africa while Coinbase is a available to users over 100 countries.
Easy Crypto vs Coinbase Products
Coinbase is a globally recognized cryptocurrency exchange that caters predominantly to beginners and institutional clients with a wide product offering.
Coinbase Products
The exchange has been particularly cautious in its approach to offering products due to the stringent regulations in the United States.
Unlike many offshore exchanges that provide high-leverage trading options like 100X leverage, Coinbase has avoided these risky products.
With a simpler range of products, the platform is easier for newcomers to the cryptocurrency world to navigate and understand.
Coinbase Interface
To accommodate the varying needs of its users, Coinbase offers two different user interfaces. The standard version, simply named Coinbase which is designed to be beginner-friendly, and Advanced tailored towards more experienced traders. On Coinbase, users can buy and sell over 240 cryptocurrencies.
Coinbase Cryptocurrencies
These can be traded using either a straightforward buy-and-sell feature, which is great for those new to crypto trading, or through more advanced spot trading methods available in the Advanced section.
Coinbase Spot Trading
For those looking to invest in cryptocurrencies over time, Coinbase offers a feature called recurring buy (DCA) which allows users to invest systematically and mitigate the impact of market volatility.
In its recent product expansion, Coinbase introduced futures trading for Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), along with perpetual contracts BTC, ETH, LTC, SOL, XRP and AVAX with up to 5X leverage.
Coinbase Futures
While Coinbase consistently ranks high in terms of spot trading volumes with a few billion in 24-hour trading, it's less prominent in the futures market.
Coinbase Trading Volumes
For users interested in earning interest on their holdings, Coinbase currently offers a compelling 5% interest rate on USDC by just holding it in the account.
Coinbase Earn
Additionally, users have the opportunity to earn staking rewards by staking various cryptocurrencies including Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), Cosmos (ATOM), Avalanche (AVAX), and many others.
Coinbase Staking
One of Coinbase's most beginner-oriented offerings is its learn-and-earn program. This program allows users to learn about different blockchain projects and earn rewards in the form of tokens.
Coinbase Learn
Expanding into the growing NFT market, Coinbase has also developed its own NFT platform where users can mint, explore, buy, and sell NFTs on various blockchains like Ethereum, Base, and Polygon.
Coinbase NFTs
For those looking to use their crypto for everyday transactions, Coinbase offers a Visa Card that enables its holders to spend either cash (USD) or crypto (USDC) and earn rewards on their purchases.
For users who prefer a more hands-on approach to managing their crypto assets, Coinbase has developed the Web 3 Coinbase Wallet.
Coinbase Wallet
This non-custodial wallet lets users store and manage a vast array of coins and tokens and access DeFi platforms across several blockchains.
Coinbase also recently launched the Coinbase One Membership. Priced at $29.99 per month, this membership provides benefits like zero-fee trades, enhanced staking rewards, and priority customer support.
Being a public company in the U.S., Coinbase adheres to strict regulatory and accountability standards, making it a highly secure platform for trading and custody of a wide range of crypto assets.
Coinbase Prime
This security and reliability have attracted major institutional clients like BlackRock and Grayscale, who use Coinbase for trading and custody services for cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana.
Lastly, Coinbase Prime is a service tailored for high-net-worth individuals and institutional clients, offering advanced trading tools, financing solutions, cold storage options, staking services, and much more.
When it comes to trading fees, Easy Crypto and Coinbase couldn't be more different. Let's start with Coinbase's trading fees which consist of a spot maker fee of 0.40% and a taker fee of 0.60%.
While these fees may seem high, Coinbase does offer discounts for high volume traders, with the threshold to receive lower fees starting at $10,000 per month.
Coinbase spot fees
On the other hand, Easy Crypto charges a swap fee on every transaction that occurs on their platform, with the fee being roughly 1% of the transaction cost for buying or selling cryptocurrencies.
This is a high fee to be paying for a basic service that is limited to buying and selling cryptocurrencies.
While Easy Crypto does offer discounts based on lifetime spends on the exchange, with a minimum threshold of $1,000 resulting in a 5% discount, the starting point is still too high in our opinion.
In conclusion, if you're looking for an exchange with lower fees, Coinbase is the lower cost option than Easy Crypto. And for those that are looking for even lower fees than Coinbase, OKX, Binance and Gate.io offer even lower fees.
Easy Crypto and Coinbase are two cryptocurrency exchanges that offer different deposit methods to their users. Let's take a closer look at their options.
When it comes to fiat deposits, Easy Crypto doesn't offer them like most other exchanges. However, users can buy cryptocurrencies with NZD, AUD, BRL, and ZAR for users from each respective country.
Easy Crypto users can buy cryptocurrencies via Account2Account ($0.50 fee), POLI Pay (1% fee up to $3), Debit/Credit card (2.6% + $0.34) and via bank transfer which is free of charge.
On the other hand, Coinbase offers the possibility to deposit funds with three fiat currencies including USD, EUR, and GBP. Fiat deposits can be made via ACH, Wire (USD), SEPA (EUR), and Swift (GBP). ACH deposit is free, Wire Deposit costs $10 USD, SEPA Deposit costs 0.15 EUR, and Swift deposit is free.
Easy Crypto offers a straightforward process for users who wish to withdraw their funds. All they need to do is create a sell order for the cryptocurrency they want to sell and confirm that the money will be sent to their connected bank account.
If no bank is selected, they will be prompted to provide one. Changing bank account details is also easy to do in the user's account settings.
And when it comes to fees associated with withdrawing cryptocurrencies, Easy Crypto charges a 0.0001 BTC fee for Bitcoin withdrawals, 0.04 ETH fee for Ethereum, 0.03 SOL fee for Solana and a 10 USDT fee for ERC-20 Tether. These fees are on the higher end compared to many other exchanges.
Coinbase offers several fiat withdrawal methods such as ACH, Wire, SEPA and Swift for USD, EUR and GBP. ACH withdrawals are free, while wire withdrawals come with a $25 USD fee. SEPA withdrawals have a very low 0.15 EUR fee while Swift withdrawals are 1GBP.
Coinbase fiat withdrawal
Cryptocurrency withdrawals on Coinbase also have low fees with a 0.0002 BTC fee for Bitcoin withdrawals, 0.000768 ETH fee for Ethereum and a 0.008 SOL fee for those that wish to withdraw their Solana.
In conclusion, Easy Crypto is a beginner-friendly platform that offers a simple and easy-to-use interface, while Coinbase is the much larger exchange in terms of geographical footprint, user base, number of cryptocurrencies and product range.
While Easy Crypto offers a range of over 160 cryptocurrencies, Coinbase tops that with over 200 coins and tokens from a wide variety of blockchains.
In terms of trading fees, Coinbase once more has the edge over Easy Crypto with lower maker and taker fees compared to the high 0.7%-0.9% spreads charged by Easy Crypto.
In terms of deposit and withdrawal methods, Easy Crypto supports 4 fiat currencies for those living in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Brazil. The fees are overall higher than Coinbase that supports the biggest fiat currencies in USD, EUR and GBP.
Ultimately, the choice between Easy Crypto and Coinbase depends on the user's experience level, preferences, and needs.
Easy Crypto is a very basic exchange which may appeal to beginners who are looking for maximum simplicity. For everyone else, Coinbase is the more versatile exchange across the board and with lower trading fees.
eToro is a multi-asset investment platform. The value of your investments may go up or down. Your capital is at risk.
eToro USA LLC: Investments are subject to market risk. Including the possible loss of principal. Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest.
eToro is a multi-asset investment platform. The value of your investments may go up or down. Your capital is at risk.
eToro USA LLC: Investments are subject to market risk. Including the possible loss of principal. Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest.
Author
Jack Moreau
Jack is a crypto writer and reviewer who has been active in the space since he caught the crypto bug in 2017. With a passion for trying out new shiny things, Jack is always eager to try the latest cryptocurrency exchanges, wallets or DeFi applications.
