Binance vs Coinbase: where do your fees go?
Binance vs Coinbase comes down to this: Binance charges far less per trade, 0.10% at base level, while Coinbase Advanced starts at 0.50% maker and 0.90% taker for US customers. Binance.com does not accept US residents, though, so US readers are really comparing Coinbase with Binance.US.
Binance also pleaded guilty to US federal charges in 2023, and says about $6.34 billion in assets were hit by a hot wallet attack on 29 October 2026.
Every figure below comes from company pages and filings or the Justice Department, opened 12 November 2026. This is not investment advice.
Binance and Coinbase trading fees, read from each fee schedule
The Binance fee schedule puts a Regular User, anyone under $1,000,000 of 30-day volume, at 0.100% maker and 0.100% taker on spot. Pay the fee in BNB and both drop to 0.075%.
Coinbase changed its numbers recently. Its 16 September 2026 announcement set the Coinbase Advanced spot entry tier at 0.50% maker and 0.90% taker in the US, 0.25% and 0.50% in the EU and UK, and 0.09% and 0.10% in Brazil, India and other international markets.
A common mistake is reading the wrong Coinbase table. Coinbase Exchange, the institutional platform, lists 0.40% maker and 0.60% taker for trailing 30-day volume of $0 to $10K. The Advanced US entry tier is 0.50% maker and 0.90% taker.
Where the money goes on a Coinbase simple buy
The simple Buy flow costs more than Advanced. The Coinbase pricing and fees disclosures say simple buys and sells carry a spread inside the quoted price, and Coinbase may keep any excess spread. A Coinbase fee, set by payment method, order size, asset and location, comes on top.
Simple limit orders cost more again: a separate 1% limit order execution fee, plus a Coinbase fee the disclosure page says may be 1.875%, varying by payment method.
Coinbase Advanced has no spread, since you trade on the order book.
Withdrawals cost extra on both sides. Coinbase charges an estimated network fee on sends, a 0.2% processing fee on Lightning transfers, and 0.01% on USDT withdrawals, capped at 20 USDT, plus the network fee.
Binance lists its withdrawal fees per coin and network on the Deposit/Withdrawal tab of the same fee page. You can model the totals with our crypto calculators.
Who can open an account on each exchange
Binance's List of Prohibited Countries, updated 5 January 2026, excludes anyone located in, resident of, a citizen of, or operating in the United States. It also excludes residents of Canada and the Netherlands, plus Cuba, North Korea, Iran, Crimea and the so-called Donetsk and Luhansk republics.
Binance launched Binance.US as a separate exchange in 2019, according to the Justice Department. Its fee page lists 0% maker and 0.02% taker on most pairs and 0.01% taker on BNB/USD.
| Platform | Maker / taker at entry level | Discount or extra charge | Who can use it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binance.com (Regular User) | 0.100% / 0.100% | 25% off when fees are paid in BNB (0.075%) | Not US residents or citizens, Canada, the Netherlands or sanctioned regions |
| Binance.US | 0% / 0.02% (0.01% on BNB/USD) | 5% off when fees are paid in BNB | US-based exchange, separate from Binance.com |
| Coinbase Advanced, US | 0.50% / 0.90% | Lower tiers start at $10,000 of qualifying volume | US customers |
| Coinbase Advanced, EU and UK | 0.25% / 0.50% | Same tier rules | EU and UK customers |
| Coinbase simple buy and sell | No maker/taker split | Spread in the quoted price plus a Coinbase fee; simple limit orders add a 1% execution fee | Coinbase customers; fees vary by location and payment method |
Source: Binance fee schedule and List of Prohibited Countries (updated 5 January 2026); Binance.US fee page; Coinbase Advanced fee announcement (16 September 2026); Coinbase pricing and fees disclosures. All opened 12 November 2026.
What each company has admitted and claimed about safety
Binance's record is the heavier one. In November 2023 it pleaded guilty to anti-money laundering, unlicensed money transmitting and sanctions violations, agreeing to a total penalty of $4,316,126,163, the Justice Department said. Founder Changpeng Zhao also pleaded guilty and resigned as CEO.
"Changpeng Zhao made Binance, the company he founded and ran as CEO, into the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the world by targeting U.S. customers, but refused to comply with U.S. law," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri.
Then came 29 October 2026. Binance's initial incident report says attackers reached an internal wallet signing service and initiated transactions from its hot wallets, with about $6.34 billion in assets impacted. One hot wallet alone sent 18,270 BTC to an attacker-controlled address.
Binance describes a multi-stage campaign: a tampered Homebrew installer on one engineer's machine in June, then a fake recruitment interview that led another engineer to download a malicious code repository. Binance says it absorbs the loss, not its users, and that the FBI attributes the attack to North Korea.
Customers still moved money out. Reuters reported on 2 November that customers withdrew a net $4.72 billion after Binance reopened withdrawals following a pause of more than two days, which Binance put at about 3% of the assets on its platform.
Coinbase has its own incident on file. A May 2025 SEC filing says criminals paid support contractors outside the US to copy customer data, including names, addresses, the last four digits of Social Security numbers and government ID images.
Passwords, private keys and funds were not accessed, and Coinbase estimated $180 million to $400 million in costs, including voluntary reimbursement for customers tricked into sending funds.
The data included phone numbers, emails and balance snapshots, so treat any unexpected request to move funds as a scam.
Binance's Proof of Reserves page showed a snapshot dated 4 November 2026 with BTC at 100.03%, ETH at 100.02% and USDT at 101.55% of customer balances. It uses a zk-SNARK Merkle proof, so you can check that your own balance is included.
The limit: a ratio covers one moment and one list of assets, published by the exchange itself.
Coinbase takes a different route. It is a US-listed S&P 500 company that files audited annual statements with the SEC. Coinbase's own 4 November 2026 security post, written in response to the Binance incident, says over 99% of customer assets sit in cold storage, held 1:1 and not lent out unless customers instruct it.
The same post reports $377 billion in assets on the platform at 30 September 2026.
- You live outside every country on Binance's prohibited list.
- You trade often, so a 0.10% rate against 0.50% or more adds up.
- You move coins to your own wallet instead of storing them on the exchange.
- You are fine paying fees in BNB to get the 25% discount.
- You live in the US, where Binance.com is not an option.
- You buy a few times a year and value a simple app over the lowest rate.
- You want a company that files audited statements with the SEC.
- You are willing to learn Coinbase Advanced instead of paying the simple-buy spread.
How to compare both exchanges before you deposit
If you already hold coins on Coinbase and buy twice a year, the spread costs you more than the exchange name does, so moving to Coinbase Advanced may save more than switching platforms.
For custody details, see our Coinbase vs Kraken security comparison. Weighing Binance against another regulated exchange? Read Binance vs Gemini for beginners.
- Check your country against Binance's List of Prohibited Countries.
- Sign in to Coinbase and read your own tier on the Advanced fees tab.
- Price one order on both preview screens, spread included. On simple limit orders, Coinbase says its fee and the 1% execution fee both show in the price details on the preview screen.
- Place limit orders that rest on the book, so you pay the maker rate instead of the taker rate.
Before you deposit, run your order sizes through our crypto calculators.
Questions readers ask about Binance vs Coinbase
Is Binance cheaper than Coinbase?
On published trading fees, yes. Binance charges 0.10% maker and taker at base level, while Coinbase Advanced starts at 0.50% maker and 0.90% taker in the US and 0.25% and 0.50% in the EU and UK. Coinbase simple buys add a spread on top of the Coinbase fee.
Can US residents use Binance?
Not Binance.com. Its List of Prohibited Countries, updated 5 January 2026, names the United States for anyone located, resident, a citizen or operating there. Binance.US is a separate US exchange with its own fee schedule of 0% maker and 0.02% taker.
Did Binance users lose money in the October 2026 hack?
Binance says no user absorbs the loss. Its report of 3 November 2026 says about $6.34 billion was affected, about $2.85 billion was frozen or intercepted, and 98% of the affected assets were replenished by 31 October. The investigation was still open when this was written.
Is 0.40% maker and 0.60% taker the Coinbase Advanced fee?
No. Those are the Coinbase Exchange rates for $0 to $10K of 30-day volume. Exchange is the institutional platform. Coinbase Advanced has its own schedule, and its US entry tier is 0.50% maker and 0.90% taker, per Coinbase's 16 September 2026 announcement.
