Investopedia curated a list of the best crypto exchanges by researching 14 companies that provide the tools to buy and sell cryptocurrency. We reviewed each platform based on 27 weighted criteria that include key features like research amenities, available currencies, fees, and much more. In addition, we colle🍸cted information for five unweighted criteria that were used to help inform our reviews. This guide explains the categories and criteria we used to evaluate each company’s offerings and our scor🌱ing process for determining the best crypto exchanges and apps.
Our editors and researchers indepen🥃dently evaluate all recommended products and services to help a wide range of crypto enthusiasts understand which companies are best suited for their style of trading and level of experience. If you click on the links we provide, we may receive compensation. Our advertising partnerships are not a factor in how 🌠we evaluate products, though they may affect the order of products you see listed in our articles.
Warning
Investing in cryptocurrencies, Decentralized Finance (DeFi), and other Initial Coin Offerings (ICOs) is highly risky and speculative, and the markets can be extremely volatile. Consult with a qualified professional before making any financial decisions. This article is not a recommendation by Investopedia or the writer to invest in cryptocurr💝encies nor can the accuracy or timeliness of the information be guaranteed.
How We R🍸esearched the Best C🔯rypto Exchanges and Apps
The Investopedia research and editorial tea🎉ms developed a proprietary scoring methodology to evaluate 💧14 crypto exchanges based on these four major categories that are crucial when providing customers the tools they need to be successful: security, fees, trading features, and transparency.
To find this information, our in-house researchers and staff editors conducted in-depth industry research that included the collection of nearly 450 data points. We recorded this 🥃information in a comprehensive scoring rubric and, to ensure the accuracy of all information that was entered, we linked each input to the corresponding company page𓄧 for verifying its accuracy.
We then compared each company’s respꦐective data to find which exchange is best for low fees, security, experienced traders, beginning traders, mobile trading, Bitcoin, and altcoins. You can trust I♏nvestopedia’s list of the best crypto exchanges because of this proprietary methodology. Our research process took place from Feb. 4, 2025, through Feb. 11, 2025.
Data Collection and Scoring
To populate our proprietary scoring model, Investopedia's in-house staff collected data from company websites. Although the vast majority of the data collected was scored, some were left unweighted. We considered some criteria not used for scoring purposes to help inform our reviews and recommendations.
- Each company was scored using our “Investopedia’s Rating” scale of 0.00 to 1.00.
- Binary criteria were given a score of 0 or 1.
- Continuous criteria were scored so that the minimum data value was re-scaled to 0.00 and the maximum value was re-scaled to 1.00.
- Scaled criteria were scored using values that correspond to its scale, but remain within a 0.00 to 1.00 range. For example a 5-point scale could be re-scaled to 0.00, 0.25, 0.50, 0.75, 1.00.
- Any data point that was not disclosed by a company was given a score of 0.
| Evaluation Categories & Weights | ||
|---|---|---|
| Category | Weighted Percentage | Weighted Criteria |
| Trading Features | 30% | 8 |
| Fees | 28% | 5 |
| Security | 21% | 4 |
| Transparency | 21% | 10 |
Trading Features
Cryptocurrency has evolved into a versatile financial instrument and can be traded much like stꦬocks and derivatives. Traders seeking such services need to know what crypto exchanges offer in terms of trading tools and amenities. Not all exchanges are built the same. Some offer a sophisticated platform specifically designed for trading, while others offer good resources for education or simply a strong selection of altcoins that cannot be found anywh🐲ere else.
To help identify the best crypto exchange, we identified some of the most important trading features, including the number of crypto assets offered, derivative trading, order types, over-the-counter (OTC) services, trading tools, third-party bot tools and 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities, margin trading, and staking rewards. The trading features that we covered account 🐓for 30% of the total weighted score for our list of the best crypto exchanges.
| Trading Features Criteria Weights | |
|---|---|
| Criteria | Weights |
| Number crypto offered | 7.66% |
| Order Types | 3.83% |
| Trading tools | 3.83% |
| Derivative Trading | 3.19% |
| Third-party bot tools and AI capabilities? | 3.19% |
| Margin Trading | 3.19% |
| Staking Rewards | 3.19% |
| OTC Service | 1.91% |
Number of Supported Crypto
While some investors only want to invest in Bitcoin, there are thousands of coins trading in the open market. Some exchanges offer greater access than others. In genera♐l, the more assets available to trade, the greater flexibility an exchange offers to its clients. We scored this category on a continuous scale, where the exchange with the most options was awarded a 1, while the exchange with the fewest was scored a 0. This criterion was weighted at 7.66% of the overall score.
Order Types
Many exchanges offer only a limited selection of order types. While this might not matter for a beginner, a lack of choices can limit a user's investment or trading strategies. Users may want to take steps later to obtain new capabilities. We scored this category on a continuous scale, awarding a 1 to exchanges that offered the greatest variety of tools and a 0 to the exchanges with the fewest options. This criterion was weighted at 3.83% of the overall score.
Trading Tools
Crypto exchanges often offer a variety of tools to help investors make savvy trading decisions. Tools such as screeners can help you narrow down your investment options, while advanced charting tools can♓ help users compare data points on the fly. We scored this category on a continuous scale, awarding a 1 to exchanges that offered the greatest variety of tools and a 0 to the exchanges with the least options. This criterion was weighted at 3.83%𝓡 of the overall score.
Derivative Trading
Derivatives offer users ♑more options in terms of the str🍸ategies they wish to utilize and can help investors find opportunities in a variety of markets. Some derivatives, like futures or options, allow investors to gain crypto exposure without actually needing to own the underlying crypto itself. We scored this category on a binary scale, giving a 1 to exchanges that offered it while giving a 0 to those that did not. This criterion was weighted at 3.19% of the overall score.
Third-Party Bot Tools and AI Capabilities
As AI capabilities continue to grow, more investors have found automated and AI-powered tools useful in their strategies. While the tech is still in🅷 its early phases, those who un⭕derstand how to use AI have benefited greatly from its development, and access to such tools gives platforms that support them an edge. We scored this category on a binary scale, giving a 1 to exchanges that offered it while giving a 0 to those that did not. This criterion was weighted at 3.19% of the overall score.
Margin Trading
Margin trading is a risky investment strategy that can allow a user to leverage small amounts o🍌f capital into large gains. Some exchanges allow users to borrow against their held crypto, while others offer more traditional margin options. However, trading crypto with borrowed money can be very risky. We scored this category on a binary scale, giving a 1 to exchanges that offered it while giving a 0 to those that did not. This criterion wꦺas weighted at 3.19% of the overall score.
Staking Rewards
Staking allows crypto investors to earn passive income on the assets they hold. This capability can be important for users who seek to buy and hold crypto, because it can help you maximize your returns. Platforms that supported staking were therefore awarded a 1, while those that did not were given a 0. This criterion was on a binary scale and was weighted at 3.19% oꦰf the overall score.
OTC Service
In the realm of crypto, OTC refers to transactions between two private parties and is often necessary for larger-volume transactions. While most users never encounter a situation in which they need OTC services to execute large bulk orders of Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies, having the o🧸ption is a nice bonus. We scored this category on a binary scale, giving a 1 to exchanges that offered it while giving a 0 to those that did not. This criterion was weighted at 1.91% of the overall score.🤡
Fees
Consumers should note that buying, selling, and trading cryptocurrency entails an expense in the form of fees. The best crypto exchanges should be transparent about their financial requirements and the fees consumers are charged. To help identify the best crypto exchanges, we evaluated each company based on the following criteria: minimum deposit, maker fee, taker fee, miscellaneous fees, and f𓄧unding methods. The fee category accounts for 28.00% of the total weighted score for our list of the best crypto 🔴exchanges.
| Fees Criteria Weights | |
|---|---|
| Criteria | Weights |
| Maker Fee | 7.50% |
| Taker Fee | 7.50% |
| Miscellaneous fees | 5.50% |
| Minimum Deposit | 5.00% |
| Funding method | 2.50% |
Maker Fee
A maker fee is a fee that traders are charged for buying and selling cryptocurrency at a price of their choosing. We 🙈evaluated maker fees on a continuous scale. The crypto exchange or app with the lowest maker fee earned a score of 1, and the exchange or app with the highest maker fee received a score of 0. This criterion was weighted at 7.50% of the overall score.
Taker Fee
A taker fee is the associated cost ♔for buying and selling cryptocurrency immediately at the current price. We evaluated taker fees o♛n a continuous scale. The crypto exchange or app with the lowest taker fee earned a score of 1, and the exchange or app with the highest taker fee received a score of 0. This criterion was weighted at 7.50% of the overall score.
Miscellaneous Fees
We looked into the number of additional fees for each company. For example, we researched whether or not companies had withdrawal, deposit, or special service fees. We evaluated miscellaneous fees on a continuous scale. The crypto exchange or app with the fewest miscellaneous fees earned a score of 🐷1, and the exchange or app with the most 𝔉miscellaneous fees received a score of 0. This criterion was weighted at 5.50% of the overall score.
Minimum Deposit
We researched each exchange's minimum deposit requirement for users to open an account, and we evaluated minimum deposits on a continuous scale. The crypto exchange or app with the lowest minimum deposit earned a score of 1, and the exchange or app with the highest minimum deposit received a score of 0. This criterion was weighted at 5.00% of the overall score.
Funding Method
The best crypto exchanges and apps make funding your account easy by offering several methods. More methods means greater flexibility. Although many exchanges offer ACH and wire support so that users can fund their accounts with fiat currenꦚcy, others only allow you to fund your account with crypto. We scored this category on a continuous scale, awarding a 1 to exchanges that offered the greatest variety of funding methods and a 0 to exchanges that offered limited methods to fund an account. This criterion was weighted at 2.50% of the overal🐓l score.
Security
Consumers considering actively buying, selling, or trading crypto find that crypto exchanges need a strong security infrastructure to keep their customers” crypto transactions safe. For the security category, we evaluated four criteria, including storage options, the know-your-customer (KYC) process, two-factor authentication (2FA), encryption, regulatory compliance, and insurance. The security category accounts for 21.00% of the total weighted score for 💖our review. To evaluate security, we looked at the following features:
| Security Criteria Weights | |
|---|---|
| Criteria | Weights |
| Storage options | 5.25% |
| Know-Your-Customer | 5.25% |
| 2FA, Encryption, Regulatory Compliance | 5.25% |
| Insurance (FDIC, SIPC, Crypto Insurance) | 5.25% |
Storage Options
Each of the exchanges and apps we researched has different st🧸orage capabilities, which help determine the accessibility of a customer’s assets. Storage options were a scaled criterion. If a company provided access to both hot and cold wallets, it scored a 1, a hot wallet scored a 0.5, a cold wallet scored a 0.5, and anything else scored a 0. This criterion was weighted at 5.25% of the overall score.
Know-Your-Customer
Kn𝔉ow-Your-Customer (KYC) is an important part of verifying the customer’s identity. KYC was scored on a binary scale. If a company has this process in place, it scored a 1. If it does not, it received a score of 0. However, most of the crypto exchanges we reviewed had the KYC process in place. This criterion was weighted at 5.25% of the total score.
2FA, Encryption, Regulatory Compliance
We looked into three important components of security and ꦏwhether a crypto exchange or app offers them. Two-factor authentication (2FA) allows the customer to provide multiple layers of verification. Additionally, we looked into encryption, as well as regulations that each company adheres to. For 2FA, encryption, and regulatory compliance, we scored them on a continuous scale, and the exchange or app with the most types of security features it provides received a score of 1. The company with the fewest protections received a score of 0. This criterion was weighted at 5.25% of the overall score.
Insurance (FDIC, SIPC, Crypto Insurance)
Some crypto exchanges and apps cover customers FDIC, SIPC, an𓄧d/or crypto insurance to help protect and safeguard assets. We looked into the different types of insurance that each company offers, and based on that, we scored them on a continuous scale. The company with the widest range of insurance types received a score of 1, and the company ♐that offered the fewest types of coverage received a score of 0. In the case of our research, there were multiple companies without any insurance coverage. This criterion was weighted at 5.25% of the overall score.
Transparency
Transparency is crucial with any transaction, but the decentralized nature of crypto, pa🍌ired with its relatively chaotic regulatory environment, often means that iღnvestors face difficulty identifying key information that might be readily available for a traditional brokerage. Investors need to be able to identify how an exchange is structured, how security is handled, what fees they might pay, and so forth. This section accounted for 21.00% of our overall rating.
| Transparency Criteria Weights | |
|---|---|
| Criteria | Weights |
| Current SEC/Lawsuits | 3.82% |
| Customer Support | 3.82% |
| Education and research features | 1.91% |
| Country Availability | 1.91% |
| Past SEC/Lawsuits | 1.91% |
| Transparency with regulatory credentials | 1.91% |
| Platform Availability | 1.91% |
| Transparency for security | 1.53% |
| Transparency with fees | 1.53% |
| Interest earned on uninvested cash | 0.76% |
Current SEC/Lawsuits
We scored exchanges on a binary scale relating to whether they had any current Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) or legal action against them, with yes scoring 0 and no scoring 1. This was an important factor in identifying potential problems with both security and transparen♑cy. We weighed this as being more important than past legal action. This criterion was weighted at 3.82% of the overall score.
Customer Support
Customer support options give users more flexibility when issues or quဣestions arise, and it allows them peace of mind when they want to resolve a problem. We scored exchanges on a continuous scale, awarding more points to exchanges that offered more varied customer service options. This criterion was weighted at 3.82% of the overall score.
Education and Research Features
Crypto is newer and less understood by many casual and experienced investors alike. An exchange that offers educational and research features can help new users better understand crypto investing. It can also help experienced users better judge investments. We scored ♚exchanges on a continuous scale, awarding more points to e꧒xchanges that offered the greatest amount of educational resources and research tools. This criterion was weighted at 1.91% of the overall score.
Country Availability
The more countries an exchange is available in, the more flexible it is for its users. This is important not only for people residing in those countries but also for those who travel frequently. We scored exchanges based on the number of countries in which they are accessible on a continuous scale, with the least supported countries💟 receiving a 0 and the most-supported countries being awarded a 1. This criterion was weighted at 1.91% of the overall score.
Past SEC/Lawsuits
We scoreꦐd exchanges on a binary scale based on whether they had any prior SEC or legal action against them within the last three years, with yes scoring 0 and no scoring 1. Because crypto exchanges are less regulated than traditional exchanges, this was an important factor in identifying potential problems with security and transparency. This criterion was weighted at 1.91% of the overall score.
Transparency With Regulatory Credentials
Since regulatory laws differ in various countries, we considered it important for an exchange to list its regulatory credentials clearly and accurately. Exchanges that did this scored 1,🌠 while exchanges that did not scored 0. Transparency with regulatory credentials was based on scaled criteria and was weighted at 1.91% of the overall score.
Platform Availability
We scored exchanges on a continuous scale, awarding more points to exchanges that were available on more platforms such as mobile, desktop softw🃏are, or web. Our view is that the more platforms on which access is offered, the more flexibility that clients have. Many companies offer a full suite of access options for their users. This criterion was weighted at 1.91% of the overall score.
Transparency for Security
Transparency regarding a crypto exchange's security is extremely important. A user should know and understand the security parameters set by the exchange. For this reason, we gave companies with the most transparent security disclosure the highest possible score of 1, while exchanges with the lowest level of transparency were given a 0. Transparency for security was based on scaled criteria and was weighted at 1.53% of the overall score.
Transparency With Fees
Knowing what fees you will and will not incur when making a trade is important for any user. Fees for investing in crypto can be much more complex than for traditional investments. As a result, we awarded any exchange with clear and easy-to-understand disclosure of their fee structure a 1, while any that did not were given a 0. Transparency with fees was ba💧sed on scaled criteria and was weighted at 1.53% of the🅘 overall score.
Interest Earned on Uninvested Cash
Investors often have some uninvested cash, and an exchange that offers interest on these funds has an edge over competitors that lack this feature. We scored exchanges on a binary scale, awarding a 1 to any exchanges that offered interest on uninvested cash and a 0 to exchanges that did not. This criterion was weighted at 0.76% of the overal♛l score.
Criteria Collected but Not Weighted
The following criteria were collected but not weighted. Some were collected ꧑for background or to help inform our reviews.
- Trustpilot Rating
- Better Business Bureau Rating (BBB)
- Type of Exchange
- Regulation
- Overall Transparency
Articles That Use Our Methodology
Meet the Investopedia Research and Reviews Team
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