If you are already a crypto trader, potential trader or just a crypto follower, certainly you are more than aware of the Coinbase Pro vs. Binance debate—as they’re two of the biggest cryptocurrency exchanges in the world. Presently, the global crypto market is worth over $250 billion, and quite a large part of the market is covered by these two platforms, which shows their significance in the crypto industry.

The two platforms exist to serve crypto traders both experienced and those who are new to the craft as they take their first steps into the crypto trading world.

In this article, we’ll compare both exchanges using many factors, namely, currencies accepted, fees charged, customer support, security, etc. But before that, let’s have a brief overview of both platforms.

Coinbase Pro vs. Binance: Overview

Binance exchange was founded in 2017 by Zhao Changpeng and Yi He. The company is headquartered in Malta, and also, it has offices in Taiwan, Japan, and China. Both founders started their crypto careers at the OKCoin exchange.

The exchange is a crypto-to-crypto exchange, meaning that it connects buyers with sellers for crypto trading. It also has its own cryptocurrency called Binance Coin (BNB). The platform managed to raise $15 million through an ICO in July 2017.

It’s well known for giving away cool prizes to its top traders. In the past, prices have included MacBooks, iPhones, and a Mercedes-Benz. At present, the team at Binance is looking for partners to form a billion dollar investment fund together.

Trading cryptocurrencies as a beginner can be scary—that’s the main reason why Coinbase was established. The platform is user-friendly and straightforward. Most traders use this platform when trading digital currencies as beginners, but it charges a fee for the same.

Founded in 2012 by Brian Armstrong and Fred Ehrsam, the company’s headquarter is based in San Francisco, California.

In 2017, Coinbase became a unicorn making it the first crypto exchange to achieve a $1 billion valuation.

Additionally, Brian Armstrong has been ranked number 10 on the Forbes list of the most influential young people in the business.

Coinbase Pro was launched in 2015, by Coinbase, and it is mainly meant for experienced traders. This is a fantastic alternative for more experienced traders. Transactions on the platform are instant and less costly. However, if you learn this trick, you don’t have to pay any transaction fee on the platform.

Coinbase Pro vs. Binance: How They Compare

Fee Structure

There are three types of fees paid while trading on exchange platforms; withdrawal fee, trading fee, and deposit fee.

Binance offers its services at a very low rate of fees. Interestingly, for all trades, it charges only a 0.1% fee on the exchange. Moreover, Binance doesn’t charge any fee for deposits or withdrawals.

In contrast, Coinbase Pro also offers low fees even though they can be a little bit high, they range between 0.1% and 0.25%, for take traders, and it offers zero fees for maker traders. However, you don’t have to pay the trading fees as long as you understand what you are doing. The platform allows its traders to place different orders, namely, limit orders, a stop-limit order, and a market order.

Currency Services

Binance does not offer fiat trading. Nonetheless, it provides a vast array of cryptocurrencies that can be traded against each other compared to Coinbase Pro. Some of the crypto coins supported on the exchange include EOS, Cardano, NEO, Lisk, Steem, Gifto, Bitcoin, USDT, Ethereum, Binance Coin, and many more.

On the other hand, Coinbase Pro offers a wide range of fiat and crypto pairs for Bitcoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, Bitcoin Cash, XRP, ZRX, ETC, BAT, MANA, LOOM, DNT, and CVC. Even though the exchange is well known for its small currency portfolio, there are plans to expand its altcoin pool in the future. Interestingly, the exchange added eight new coins in 2018.

Security

Both exchanges use two-factor authentication to protect user accounts. This is a system where each account has two kinds of passwords. , and the second is sent to the user’s mobile phone or created by an App like Google Authenticator.

It’s not clear how Binance manages its customer’s money, and this worries many customers. As recently as June 2018, the platform’s users reported missing funds following a planned system upgrade. Binance was forced to apologize and offered 70% discounts on trading fees for the trouble the update caused.

In March last year, hackers stole user login details and tried to rob the exchange. The system detected the hack and stopped it. No users lost funds, and the hackers’ funds were donated to charity.

However, on May 7, 2019, the exchange was targeted again and this time lost 7,074 Bitcoin currently worth around $54 million.

In exception of the latest breach, the platform’s security team has been praised for protecting its users’ money from hackers.

Coinbase Pro is a regulated firm where customer’s funds are insured by FDCI, while 98% of crypto funds are stored in cold storage.

The platform has not been hacked or in any way endangered by a malicious outside player.

All in all, both platforms have better security records than most other exchanges, but Coinbase Pro is better as it is more open and honest about where it stores user funds.

Customer Support

Many exchanges have been criticized for having poor customer service. Unfortunately, Coinbase Pro and Binance need to improve in this area too. Neither platform has a live-chat support option on its home site. Both exchanges prefer communication with their customers by email. Although they offer “SupportBot” services for general inquiries.

Binance customer support service can be slow when the exchange is busy, but it’s available in four different languages (English, Japanese, Korean, and Chinese), so at least they’re trying.

Coinbase Pro takes 2-3 days to reply to email queries from customers. The exchange has a detailed FAQs section, which many traders find useful. Additionally, it has a telephone helpline, but it’s only based in the U.S., thus difficult for international users to access.

User Friendliness

Coinbase Pro offers a somewhat more compact interface, which groups the price chart, buy/sell buttons, order books, and order, and trade history all in one page.

This allows users to analyze data quickly without having to switch away to another screen. The support section does show users how to make almost instant wire transfers. You can transfer funds from a Coinbase account for free. As for withdrawals, there’s a limit of $10,000 per day on those.

Binance has two user settings: basic and advanced. Basic is more advanced for beginners. However, it offers more experienced traders all the information and features they need in a simple, clear way.

Final Verdict

Trading digital currencies for beginners can be scary, frustrating, and expensive. As such, it is vital to pick the right exchange.

Binance and Coinbase Pro are both excellent choices for more experienced traders, but we recommend you start with Coinbase Pro then move to Binance.

All in all, both exchanges are great, and they are among the best in the industry. In the Coinbase Pro vs. Binance debate, both can be winners!