Which is better: Coinbase or Gemini?
Coinbase is a solid choice for anyone that wants a simplified crypto trading experience, the ability to buy crypto with a credit card, and access to a handful of nifty features. On the other hand, Gemini is best for traders that want a highly regulated trading platform, slightly lower fees, and access to a wider range of supported cryptocurrencies.
In this Coinbase vs Gemini comparison, I’ll walk you through the differences between both companies. I’ll compare all the main things – including their features, fees, pros, cons, and more.
Let’s get started.
Quick Comparison
| Coinbase | Gemini | |
|---|---|---|
| Best For | Traders that want access to extra features and the ability to buy crypto with a credit card. | Security-focused investors that want slightly lower fees. |
| Supported Cryptocurrencies | 250+ | 90+ |
| Payment Methods | UK bank transfer (via FPS) SWIFT bank transfer SEPA bank transfer Debit and credit card Crypto deposit PayPal | UK bank transfers (via FPS) CHAPS bank transfer SWIFT bank transfer Debit card Crypto deposit |
| Instant Buy Trading Fees | Under £200: 0.50% spread + £0.99–£2.99 trading fee Over £200: 0.50% spread + 1.49% trading fee | Under £150: 0.50% spread + £0.75 to £2.25 trading fee Over £150: 0.50% spread + 1.49% trading fee |
| Exchange Trading Fees | 0.60% or less | 0.35% 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 transfers (via FPS & CHAPS): Free SWIFT bank transfer: Free Debit card: 3.49% 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 withdrawal: Varies PayPal: 2% | UK bank transfer (via FPS & CHAPS): Free SWIFT bank transfer: Free Crypto: Free for first 10 each month, varies after |
| Account Limits | Trading: No Limit (Verification Level 2) Withdrawal: £100,000 Deposit: £250,000 (via FPS) | Trading: No Limit Withdrawal: No Limit Deposit: No Limit |
| Security Features | Two-factor authentication Address whitelisting Cold storage Cryptoasset insurance | Two-factor authentication Address whitelisting Cold storage Cryptoasset insurance Fully registered FCA cryptoasset firm New York BitLicense |
Overview: Coinbase vs Gemini
Gemini and Coinbase are two of the best-known crypto trading platforms. Here’s a quick look at each firm to kick off our comparison.
What is Coinbase?
Founded in 2012, Coinbase is one of the largest cryptoasset trading companies on the planet. It was originally headquartered in San Francisco, but it’s now a fully remote company. The firm claims to have more than 110 million traders in more than 100 countries.
With Coinbase, traders can buy and sell crypto using the firm’s instant buy platform or its exchange (Coinbase Advanced). The company also offers many additional crypto-related features, such as its crypto-backed debit card.
What is Gemini?
Gemini is a New York-based crypto trading platform that was founded in 2015 by the Winklevoss twins. The company is also a fully registered cryptoasset firm with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK.
As is the case with Coinbase, Gemini also has an Instant Buy platform and an advanced exchange (ActiveTrader). Gemini doesn’t have as many extra features as Coinbase, but its key benefit is that it’s one of the most security-focused crypto trading firms in the world.
Key Features
Most people initially come to Coinbase or Gemini to buy and sell crypto. But both companies offer more than just a simple trading terminals.
Coinbase supports both instant buy-type purchases through its broker service and trading capability on its exchange, Coinbase Advanced.
Investors with Coinbase can also access a slew of other features, including:
- Coinbase Earn: A fun way to earn free crypto just by watching short educational videos.
- Coinbase Staking: Lets you stake certain cryptocurrencies right from your Coinbase account.
- Coinbase Pay: Send or receive crypto from anyone with a Coinbase account.
- Coinbase Card: A Visa debit card that lets you spend crypto in your account on daily purchases. Head to my Coinbase Card review for more information.
- Coinbase Wallet: A non-custodial software wallet. It’s available as a mobile app and browser extension. Check out my Coinbase Wallet review for more on that.
You can learn more about these features in my Coinbase review.
Like Coinbase, Gemini also has an instant buy-type trading terminal and an advanced crypto exchange, ActiveTrader.
In addition to crypto trading, Gemini also offers the following features:
- Gemini Earn: Lets you accrue interest on more than a dozen cryptocurrencies.
- Gemini Pay: Allows you to use your crypto balance to pay for goods and services at dozens of major retailers.
- Gemini Credit Card: A Mastercard that lets you earn crypto rewards on all purchases. It’s not currently available in the UK.
Learn more about all these great features in my Gemini review.
When it comes to their crypto trading platforms, Coinbase and Gemini are neck and neck in terms of functionality. But as far as extra features go, Coinbase has the clear advantage.
Supported Cryptocurrencies
UK investors can trade more than 250 cryptocurrencies on Coinbase. However, some of the coins and tokens available for trading on Coinbase aren’t available on Coinbase Advanced and vice versa. You can head over to their full list of supported cryptocurrencies to learn more.
Gemini currently supports trades of more than 90 cryptocurrencies. But you can only trade Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) with GBP on ActiveTrader. Check out the full list of Gemini’s supported cryptocurrencies for more information.
Payment Options
Coinbase supports the following payment methods for UK-based investors:
- UK bank transfer (via FPS)
- SEPA bank transfer
- SWIFT bank transfer
- Debit and credit card
- PayPal (withdrawal only)
- Crypto deposit
But traders using Coinbase Advanced can only fund their accounts with UK bank transfers (via FPS) and SEPA bank transfers.
With Gemini, you can use the following payment methods in the UK:
- UK bank transfers (via FPS)
- CHAPS bank transfer
- SWIFT bank transfer
- Debit card
- Crypto deposit
The main difference is that Coinbase supports SEPA bank transfers and PayPal withdrawals while Gemini doesn’t. Plus, I’ve personally found that it takes longer for UK bank transfers to credit to a Gemini account than it does with Coinbase.
Fees
Coinbase and Gemini have equally complex fee schedules.
Let’s go through it.
Instant Buy & Sell Fees
When you trade using Coinbase’s instant buy service, you’ll pay a 0.50% spread fee plus a transaction fee. These transaction fees are:
| Trade Value | Fees |
|---|---|
| < £30 | £0.99 |
| £10 to £25 | £1.49 |
| £25 to £50 | £1.99 |
| £50 to £200 | £2.99 |
| > £200 | 1.49% |
With Gemini, you’re also charged a 0.50% ‘convenience fee’ plus one of the following transaction fees for instant buys:
| Trade Value | Fees |
|---|---|
| < £7.50 | £0.75 |
| £7.50 to £20 | £1.25 |
| £20 to £50 | £2.00 |
| £50 to £150 | £2.25 |
| > £150 | 1.49% |
The Instant Buy fees for Coinbase and Gemini are very similar. But you’ll get a slightly better deal with Gemini on most of your fees – especially for smaller transactions.
Exchange Fees
Gemini and Coinbase both use maker/taker fee schedules for trades placed on their respective exchanges.
With Coinbase Advanced, the fee schedule is:
| Monthly Trading Volume | Taker Fee | Maker Fee |
|---|---|---|
| $10,000 or less | 0.60% | 0.40% |
| $10,000 to $50,000 | 0.40% | 0.25% |
| $50,000 to $100,000 | 0.25% | 0.15% |
| $100,000 to $1 million | 0.20% | 0.10% |
| $1 million to $15 million | 0.18% | 0.08% |
| $15 million to $75 million | 0.16% | 0.06% |
| $75 million to $250 million | 0.12% | 0.03% |
| $250 million to $400 million | 0.08% | Free |
| $400 million or more | 0.05% | Free |
With Gemini’s ActiveTrader, the fee schedule is:
| 30-Day Trading Volume | Taker Fee | Maker Fee | Auction Fee |
|---|---|---|---|
| < $500,000 | 0.35% | 0.25% | 0.25% |
| ≥ $500,000 | 0.25% | 0.15% | 0.20% |
| ≥ $2,500,000 | 0.25% | 0.15% | 0.10% |
| ≥ $5,000,000 | ≤ 0.15% | ≤ 0.10% | ≤ 0.10% |
For traders with less than $50,000 in monthly trading volume, Gemini’s ActiveTrader offers the best deal on fees. But if you trade more than $50,000 worth of crypto each month, you’ll generally get a better deal with Coinbase (though the difference in fees is quite small).
Deposit & Withdrawal Fees
Investors with both Gemini and Coinbase are subject to certain deposit and withdrawal fees. These fees include:
| Coinbase | Gemini | |
|---|---|---|
| UK Bank Transfer | Free | Free |
| Credit & Debit Card | 3.99% | 3.49% |
| Crypto Deposits | Free | Free |
| SWIFT Bank Transfer | Free (Deposit) £1 (Withdrawal) | Free |
| SEPA Bank Transfer | €0.15 | NA |
| PayPal | 2% | NA |
When it comes to fiat and crypto deposits, both Coinbase and Gemini are fairly evenly matched. The one difference is that Gemini has slightly lower fees for debit card purchases.
As far as crypto withdrawals go, Gemini is a clear leader.
Both companies charge fees for crypto withdrawals that vary depending on the coin in question.
Limits
With Coinbase, UK-based traders are limited by their verification level.
If you complete photo ID verification with Coinbase, you’ll get a £250,000 daily deposit limit and a £100,000 daily fiat withdrawal limit via UK bank transfer (FPS). On Coinbase Pro, your daily deposit limit is $50,000 – but you can request a limit increase. There are no trading or crypto transfer limits with Coinbase.
Gemini has no limits on how much you can deposit from a UK bank account at once. If you send less than £250,000 your funds will be sent via FPS. Larger transactions are sent via CHAPS. There are no crypto deposit or withdrawal limits either, but you can only buy $500 worth of crypto using a debit card each day.
Security
Gemini and Coinbase both take a lot of steps to protect you from hacking attempts.
Coinbase protects its platform using high-level encryption, cold storage, address whitelisting, and two-factor authentication. The firm also states that it has an insurance policy to protect client assets after a security breach, but it doesn’t provide much information about the policy terms.
Gemini takes similar steps to protect client assets. It uses offline, air-gapped cold storage for most client assets, two-factor authentication, address whitelisting, and high-end encryption for its platform. Gemini also has insurance to protect client cryptoassets, though (like Coinbase) it’s not clear how much this policy is worth.
But when compared to Coinbase, Gemini has the edge where security is concerned.
Gemini was also the first crypto exchange to complete both the SOC 1 Type 1 and SOC 2 Type 1 and Type 2 security examinations. On top of that, they’re a fiduciary and a New York Trust company with a New York BitLicense. Finally, Gemini is the only one of these two companies that’s a registered cryptoasset firm with the FCA in the UK.
The Bottom Line
Gemini and Coinbase are two very popular crypto brokers and exchanges, but each one is designed for a specific type of trader.
Here’s what I think is better about Coinbase:
- Lower fees if you’re looking to buy with a credit or debit card.
- Lots of extra features besides crypto trading.
- Great liquidity on Coinbase Advanced, even on GBP trading pairs.
And here’s what I think is better about Gemini:
- Can work out cheaper if you’re funding your account with a UK bank transfer.
- You can trade a wider range of cryptocurrencies.
- As there’s less to get distracted by, it’s a bit more intuitive if you just want to buy/sell cryptocurrencies (and nothing else).
Ultimately, Coinbase and Gemini both offer a lot to love for crypto traders and one isn’t necessarily better than the other. What’s important is that you select the perfect platform for all your crypto investing needs.
Any Questions?
Thanks for checking out this comparison of Coinbase vs Gemini.
Got a question about either of these options?
Let me know in the comments below!