For more information, check out my Coinbase review.
Coinbase and Coinbase Pro are two of the most popular places for trading crypto.
But while both platforms are run by the same company, they offer unique features for different kinds of traders.
With Coinbase, investors get a user-friendly way to quickly buy or sell crypto without the need for extensive trading knowledge. Coinbase Pro, on the other hand, gives experienced traders access to advanced features & charting tools.
But which trading platform should you use? Is Coinbase Pro actually better than Coinbase?
In this Coinbase vs Coinbase Pro head-to-head match-up, I’ll answer these questions and more. I’ll discuss the features, pros, cons, similarities, and differences of each platform so you can determine which option is right for you.
Let’s get started.
Quick Comparison
| Coinbase | Coinbase Pro | |
|---|---|---|
| Best For | New investors who want to buy crypto quickly and with minimal hassle. | Experienced crypto traders that want advanced trading features and charting tools. |
| Supported Cryptocurrencies | 50+ | 50+ |
| Payment Methods | UK bank transfer (via FPS) SWIFT bank transfer SEPA bank transfer Debit and credit card Crypto deposit PayPal | UK bank transfer (via FPS) SEPA bank transfer Crypto deposit |
| Trading Fees | Under £200: 0.50% spread + £0.99–£2.99 trading fee Over £200: 0.50% spread + 1.49% trading fee | 0.50% or less |
| Deposit Fees | UK bank transfer (via FPS): Free SWIFT bank transfer: Free SEPA bank transfer: €0.15 Debit and credit card: 3.99% Crypto deposit: Free PayPal: Not Available | UK bank transfer (via FPS): Free SEPA bank transfer: €0.15 Crypto deposit: Free |
| Withdrawal Fees | UK bank transfer (via FPS): Free SWIFT bank transfer: £1 SEPA bank transfer: €0.15 Debit and credit card: 2% Crypto deposit: Free PayPal: 2% | UK bank transfer (via FPS): Free SEPA bank transfer: €0.15 Crypto deposit: Free |
| Account Limits | Trading: No Limit (Verification Level 3) Withdrawal: £100,000 Deposit: £250,000 (via FPS) | Trading: No Limit Withdrawal: $50,000 Deposit: £250,000 (via FPS) |
| Security Features | Two-factor authentication Crypto cold storage | Two-factor authentication Crypto cold storage Address whitelisting |
Overview: Coinbase vs Coinbase Pro
Coinbase and Coinbase Pro are crypto trading platforms managed by Coinbase Global, Inc., one of the world’s largest cryptoasset firms.
Coinbase Global, Inc. was founded in 2012 by Fred Ehrsam and Brian Armstrong. It was initially headquartered in San Francisco, but as of 2021, Coinbase is a remote-first company with no central headquarters.
Anyone who has a Coinbase account will have access to both Coinbase and Coinbase Pro. But many investors choose to use just one of these trading terminals for the bulk of their crypto transactions.
That said, each of the company’s trading platforms offers unique features for different kinds of crypto investors. Here are the basics of what you can expect from both Coinbase and Coinbase Pro.
What is Coinbase?
The regular Coinbase trading platform is a convenient brokerage service offered by Coinbase Global, Inc. that executes trades on your behalf on the Coinbase Pro exchange. It is significantly easier to use for new investors and it provides extra crypto-related features for users to enjoy too.
However, Coinbase’s user-friendliness comes at a cost, namely higher transaction fees. What you get in convenience with the platform, you lose in cost-effectiveness, especially when making smaller purchases.
But if you’re looking for a straightforward way to buy crypto, Coinbase is worth considering.
Coinbase WebsiteCoinbase Review
What is Coinbase Pro?
Unlike the regular Coinbase platform, Coinbase Pro provides a more complex trading terminal with features that are best for investors that are comfortable with the ins and outs of trading digital assets.
Additionally, trading fees on Coinbase Pro are substantially lower than on Coinbase.
But what you gain in cost savings with Coinbase Pro, you lose in convenience. In fact, for many new crypto traders, the customizable charts and additional order types found on the platform are a bit overwhelming.
That said, many crypto-enthusiasts and experienced traders find that Coinbase Pro offers plenty of great features for spot trading on major cryptocurrencies.
Coinbase WebsiteCoinbase Pro Review
Key Features
Both Coinbase and Coinbase Pro are cryptocurrency trading platforms.
With Coinbase, you’re limited to instant buy-type transactions where you simply choose a payment method, enter how much you want to spend, select a cryptocurrency, and confirm your purchase. This type of transaction is best for new crypto investors who want to keep things simple, but it’s not ideal if you want to keep fees at a minimum.
With Coinbase Pro, investors have access to a dedicated advanced trading terminal with lower fees. This trading terminal lets you view the exchange’s real-time charts as well as its order book for specified trading pairs. It also provides you with advanced order types including limit and stop-loss orders.
When it comes to additional features, Coinbase takes the cake.
Coinbase provides a slew of extra services for investors, including:
- Coinbase Earn: One of Coinbase’s more unique features, Coinbase Earn lets you earn free crypto just for watching short educational videos about different crypto projects.
- Coinbase Card: The Coinbase Card is a crypto-backed Visa debit card that lets you pay for daily purchases using certain cryptoassets in your account. It comes with some fees, so check out my Coinbase Card review for more information.
- Coinbase Pay: Coinbase lets you send or request crypto from any other Coinbase account holder.
- Coinbase Staking: Investors with Coinbase can stake a handful of supported coins directly from their account’s hosted wallet. Note that Coinbase takes a 25% commission on your staking rewards (this is built into the advertised rate).
I’ve covered these features in-detail in my review of Coinbase, so head over to that to learn more.
Investors that use Coinbase Pro don’t have access to many other extra features outside of the platform’s trading exchange.
However, you can always easily (and instantly) transfer your assets to and from Coinbase Pro and Coinbase if you want to take advantage of the regular Coinbase platform’s many features.
Supported Cryptocurrencies
There are more than 50 cryptocurrencies available on both Coinbase and Coinbase Pro to UK investors. This includes major coins like Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Polkadot (DOT), and Cardano (ADA).
However, not all cryptocurrencies available on Coinbase are available on Coinbase Pro in the UK.
For example, AMP tokens are available for trading on Coinbase Pro but not on Coinbase for UK-based investors. You’ll also find that Yearn.Finance (YFI) is available on Coinbase but not Coinbase Pro.
Both Coinbase and Coinbase Pro have extensive lists of supported cryptocurrencies and one isn’t necessarily better than the other in this regard. Each platform tends to add new supported assets fairly regularly, too.
Check out the company’s full list of supported cryptocurrencies for more detailed information.
Payment Options
With Coinbase, UK-based investors can use the following payment methods:
- UK bank transfer (via FPS)
- SWIFT bank transfer
- SEPA bank transfer
- Debit and credit card
- PayPal (withdrawal only)
On Coinbase Pro, only the following payment options are available in the UK:
- UK bank transfer (via FPS)
- SEPA bank transfer
The primary difference between Coinbase and Coinbase Pro is that Coinbase supports credit and debit card purchases. But if you only want to fund your account with bank transfers, both platforms offer a good range of payment options for investors to choose from.
Fees
The biggest differences between Coinbase and Coinbase Pro are the fees that each platform charges.
All trades placed on Coinbase are subject to a 0.50% spread fee, plus the following transaction fees:
| Trade Value | Fees |
|---|---|
| < £10 | £0.99 |
| £10 to £25 | £1.49 |
| £25 to £50 | £1.99 |
| £50 to £200 | £2.99 |
| > £200 | 1.49% |
This means that Coinbase trades have an effective transaction fee of 1.99% for trades over £200.
Smaller transactions on Coinbase can have a much higher fee. The fee for a £9 trade ends up being about £1.04, or nearly 12% of your trade value. Ouch!
Fees on Coinbase Pro are decided based on a maker-taker fee schedule, which is as follows:
| Monthly Trading Volume | Maker Fee | Taker Fee |
|---|---|---|
| $10,000 or less | 0.40% | 0.60% |
| $10,000 to $50,000 | 0.25% | 0.40% |
| $50,000 to $100,000 | 0.15% | 0.25% |
| $100,000 to $1 million | 0.10% | 0.20% |
| $1 million to $15 million | 0.08% | 0.18% |
| $15 million to $75 million | 0.06% | 0.16% |
| $75 million to $250 million | 0.03% | 0.12% |
| $250 million to $400 million | Free | 0.08% |
| $400 million or more | Free | 0.05% |
As you can see, fees are much lower on Coinbase Pro – even if you’re not buying or selling much.
Both Coinbase and Coinbase Pro have fiat deposit and withdrawal fees on certain payment methods. But UK bank deposits and withdrawals via FPS are free on both platforms and most payment methods have very small fees (£1 or less).
The most important deposit-related fee to keep in mind is the 3.99% fee associated with all credit and debit card purchases on Coinbase. You can’t buy crypto using a credit or debit card on Coinbase Pro, so this hefty extra fee is a big additional cost to consider before you start typing in your card digits on Coinbase.
Keep in mind that neither Coinbase nor Coinbase Pro charges extra fees for withdrawing or depositing crypto. But you will need to cover the cost of any network fees associated with your transaction on both platforms.
Limits
Compared to other major brokers and exchanges, Coinbase and Coinbase Pro have relatively few account limits.
For Coinbase, UK-based traders are subject to different account limitations depending on your verification level. There are no trading or crypto transfer limits on the platform. If you complete photo ID verification, the only major limits of note are a £100,000 daily fiat withdrawal limit and a £250,000 daily deposit limit via UK bank transfer (FPS).
On Coinbase Pro, traders are initially limited to $50,000 in deposits each day (you can request a limit increase), which is less than what you get from Coinbase. Besides this, the only notable limit is the £250,000 deposit and withdrawal limit on FPS transfers (which is actually set by Faster Payments, not Coinbase Pro).
Security
Since Coinbase and Coinbase Pro are two platforms managed by the same company, accounts on both platforms are backed by the same security protections.
Both platforms use high-level encryption, two-factor authentication, and cold storage to prevent unauthorised access by hackers. Coinbase also states that it has an insurance policy to protect client assets in the event of a security breach, but it doesn’t provide details on how much is covered.
Security-wise, the major difference between the two platforms is that Coinbase Pro offers address whitelisting while Coinbase doesn’t. This may seem like a minor feature, but it can reduce the likelihood that someone is able to run away with your money if they gain access to your account.
The Bottom Line
Coinbase and Coinbase Pro are popular crypto trading platforms, but they’re both designed for very different types of investors.
Use Coinbase if you are:
- New to crypto trading or want to keep things simple.
- Willing to pay higher fees in exchange for convenience.
- Interested in additional features beyond crypto trading.
- Looking to buy crypto using a credit or debit card.
Alternatively, use Coinbase Pro if you are:
- An experienced crypto trader.
- Looking for more advanced order types and charting tools.
- Primarily interested in buying crypto using bank transfers.
- Keen to keep costs low as low as possible when buying or selling.
Ultimately, Coinbase and Coinbase Pro are both solid places to buy and sell crypto and neither one is necessarily better than the other. What’s important is that you determine which platform offers the best features for your unique crypto trading needs.
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