Kraken vs Gemini: Fees, Coins, Safety Comparison

Kraken vs. Gemini (Gemini US): A Brief Introduction

Kraken is one of the top US-based crypto exchanges serving clients from 200+ territories. It was established in 2011 and has offered various advanced and beginner features and 80+ cryptocurrencies since then.

In addition, it also allows traders to use fiat currencies (USD or EUR) and cryptocurrencies to fund their accounts. Not only that, but it also offers margin accounts, futures trading, and over-the-counter (OTC) trading.

Like Kraken, Gemini is also a US-based crypto exchange founded in 2014. The company struggled a lot to make its place in the crypto industry, and now it serves US traders in all 50 states. Gemini is known for its industry-leading security options, including a hot wallet and responsive customer support.

Kraken and Gemini Pros and Cons

Gemini vs Kraken: Trading Conditions

Comparing trading conditions between two crypto exchanges help traders decide which is more versatile and comprehensive. Some important aspects of trading conditions include minimum deposit, leverage, number of markets, trading platforms, trading accounts, coin base, etc.

Gemini’s minimum deposit is impressively way lower than Kraken's. The former charges only $1, while the latter has only $10.

Apart from that, Gemini and Kraken also support mobile and web trading platforms. Kraken takes the lead with its additional Mobile Pro app. Regarding leverage, Kraken offers 1:5, while Gemini doesn’t offer any leverage at all.

The most distinctive feature between Gemini vs Kraken is the number of markets. Kraken offers 374 markets, while Gemini has less than half of Kraken’s. Both platforms also offer 90+ cryptocurrencies, base account currencies, and one trading account.

Kraken Fees vs Gemini Fees

Beginner traders usually watch out for trading and non-trading fees while making their decision. Of course, no trader would want to invest a significant amount of money in the early stages.

Non-trading fees include conversion, account, deposit, and withdrawal charges. This fee is charged on your traded currency and transaction volume.

Trading Fees

Trading fees are the certain fee percentage that traders pay in commission for a successful transaction. It is charged on your transacted amount. Gemini’s trading fee is slightly higher than other crypto brokerages as it varies depending on the platform you’ve chosen, making up to 1.49%. If you use a debit card, this trading fee tops out at 3.49% and other charges.

Gemini also charges a flat convenience fee of 0.5% above the current trading price. In addition, it also charges a transaction fee based on the amount of money traded, which is $200 flat. If you trade more than $200, it charges 1.49%.

On the other hand, Kraken has relatively lower trading fees. The maker fees for Kraken start from 0% to 0.16%, and taker fees are 0.1% to 0.26%. Kraken also allows debit card transfers at a rate of 3.75% + $0.25.

Non-Trading Fees

When it comes to non-trading fees, Gemini is a cheaper option than Kraken. It charges absolutely nothing for the bank transfer withdrawal fee compared to Kraken’s US $4-$35. Other than that, both platforms charge no account fee and an inactivity fee.

Kraken may also charge a deposit fee of up to $10. As for the Bitcoin withdrawal fee, Kraken charges a network fee as a Bitcoin withdrawal fee, and Gemini requires 0.001 BTC for the same parameter.

Kraken charges a debit/credit card withdrawal fee of 3.75% + $0.25, while Gemini charges 3.49%.

Kraken vs Gemini: Margin Rates

Margin rates play a major role in providing coverage to traders in the times of distress. It is a specific percentage of money applied to a position’s total value that a trader must have to open it. Several top crypto exchanges have a tiered margin rate, ranging with the margin loan.

Traders fear losing their money anytime since crypto is quite a risky bet. As soon as a trader identifies that the price of an asset is diverting away from their position, they are more likely to face a sudden decline in the position’s value. In such a situation, the platform may close the trader’s position if they don’t have enough money in their account to cover the loss.

While the margin rates for BTC and USDT are the same on Kraken, Gemini doesn’t support margin rates at all.

Best Trading Platform: Kraken or Gemini

Almost all top-tier crypto exchanges ensure to offer the three most-common trading platforms: mobile, web, and desktop. This helps traders continue performing the transaction or checking out the prices of an asset regardless of its location.

Kraken and Gemini both have web and mobile apps (Android and iOS), but both lack the desktop version. Kraken also has a third, separate app for futures trading, “Mobile Pro.”

Trading Platforms Features

Technical Analysis/Charting Tools

Technical analysis and charting tools are other features that allow traders to predict trends and prices without much effort. These tools can be drawing tools, indicators, historical trades, and live 2 quotes. They help traders yield better results from their trades.

You’ll find all of these tools at Kraken and Gemini. Both platforms have 50+ indicators and 16+ drawing tools, along with historical trades and live 2 quotes.

Mobile Trading

The mobile trading platform for both crypto exchanges is efficient. They support iOS and Android devices and are non-compatible with Touch ID, Face ID, and the Apple Watch app.

Types of Orders

The types of orders a crypto exchange offers make it an attractive choice in the market. When it comes to supporting different order types, Gemini has an upper hand over Kraken.

Although both platforms offer market, limit, stop loss, and stop limit order, Gemini also provides the users with trailing stop orders that Kraken doesn’t.

Gemini vs Kraken: Research

Research features help traders keep a check on their progress and trades. Top crypto exchanges offer a comprehensive set of research features, including fundamental data, newsfeed, chart analysis, trading ideas, and email reports.

Unfortunately, Gemini and Kraken don’t support many research tools. They are only compatible with news feed and email reports features.

Kraken vs Gemini: Support

Customer support is an essential part of a crypto exchange. With so many confused traders finding answers to their questions here and there, having a responsive customer support team can give a crypto exchange a leading edge over its competitors.

Gemini and Kraken both realize this, so they offer 24/7 customer support services. Moreover, they have email, phone, and online chat support as well.

Kraken or Gemini: Which is Better in 2024?

Kraken and Gemini are similar in many aspects. Both have similar trading assets, commissions, charting tools, trading platforms, conditions, regulations, etc. However, they differ in the fee structure considerably.

Gemini has quite a complicated fee structure as compared to Kraken. It charges a 0.5% convenience fee on mobile and app users. It also has a transaction fee based on the amount of money you traded, amounting to a flat rate of $200. If you made a successful trade of more than $200, the platform would charge you 1.49%.

Meanwhile, Kraken has an easy-to-use platform, making it a better choice for professionals and beginners alike. It has a relatively lower fee, more markets and cryptocurrencies, and safety measures than its counterpart.

Overall, Kraken is a little better option in 2023.

Gemini vs Kraken: Safety

Both Gemini and Kraken have strict safety features. Kraken allows users to hold 95% of their deposits in cold storage for an additional layer of protection. To offer you more protection, the crypto exchange also performs regular bug bounty programs, third-party security audits, and penetration testing.

Gemini also offers several industry-standard safety features, such as wallet address whitelisting and a review and approval option for devices to log in. In addition, it requires traders to complete their know-your-customer (KYC) verification procedure if they want to access the platform’s full list of features. This includes providing the crypto platform with your government-issued photo ID.

Gemini also got certified with SOC 2 recently. It also offers FDIC insurance for U.S. dollar deposits of a maximum of $250,000, along with a digital asset insurance policy for funds stored in the platform’s hot wallet.

Moreover, Kraken and Gemini both have a stable two-factor authentication (2FA) feature for enhanced protection.

Gemini vs Kraken - Available Assets

Gemini generally offers fewer cryptocurrencies than its competitors, but you’ll get around 100+ available assets on the platform. So, traders can easily buy, sell, or exchange the popular assets on Gemini.

This crypto exchange also offers less popular coins, such as 0x (ZRX), Balancer (BAL), Aave (AAVE), Chainlink (LINK), Amp (AMP), and Compound (COMP).

On the other hand, Kraken has 50+ cryptocurrencies and 250+ trading pairs. These include crypto-fiat, crypto-crypto, and forex pairs. This is something that most crypto exchanges don’t offer.

In addition, Kraken also offers seven fiat currencies to traders, including US Dollar (USD), Canadian Dollar (CAD), Euro (EUR), Swiss Franc (CHF), Pound Sterling (GBP), Australian Dollar (AUD), and Japanese Yen (JPY). The platform just listed three new digital assets for advance spot and futures trading: SAND, ENJ, and LPT.

Top 5 Reviews on Kraken

• 
  Kraken

  Bandula

  20.02.2024

  Comment

  Kraken offers a wide range of cryptocurrencies and has a solid reputation in the industry, but serious issues with usability, customer support, and reliability detract from its appeal as a crypto exchange option.

• 
  Kraken

  Tuwasdync

  02.11.2022

  Comment

  I have to say they are scammers. He believed in Kraken, held coins on their crypto exchange. I recently found out that they deducted 50% of the balance from my trading account because I had not logged into my account for a long time. Who does this! And this without warning, of course!

• 
  Kraken

  HectorMot

  30.08.2022

  Comment

  It used to be not bad here, but every year the Kraken exchange dies down, as its turnover falls. Now it cannot be said that this is a large exchange, which it once was ...

• 
  Kraken

  meagandehamel1310949

  12.03.2022

  Comment

  I tried different exchanges, eventually settled on Kraken. Here are the best conditions for me. I have my favorite tools, the platform is understandable, I figured it out quickly and so far (for six months) nothing has lagged. The commission is also adequate, often below the market. Analytical materials are generally informative. But I’ll clarify right away: I was initially interested in a broker for active independent trading. There are no investment programs in Kraken, and that suits me. If you want extra income, then this is not your option, don't waste your time. I won’t say anything about beginners: on the one hand, Kraken provides basic training, but you can’t call the support service, except for a ticket or a chat.

• 
  Kraken

  gumig

  19.09.2021

  Comment

  I see that many people praise the Kraken exchange for its reliability and comfortable conditions for cooperation. I've been using this platform for about a year, and it's really good here. I would also like to note a high-quality trading terminal, it is simple and at the same time functional, even take profit and stop loss are integrated. The Kraken exchange has many advantages, so I will not list all of them. You will see for yourself if you register. I just want to name the cons such as the lack of telephone communication and investment programs. Also, the exchange favors active traders.