Crypto Exchange Comparison Guide
Introduction
This guide provides a side-by-side comparison of crypto exchanges integrated with Altrady. It's designed to help traders with questions related to exchange behaviors, fee structures, and common issues. For connection instructions, please refer to the individual support articles for each exchange.
Contents
- Key Exchange Characteristics
- Fee Currencies and Discounts
- Troubleshooting
Exchange-specific Notes - Coinbase Advanced Trade (GDAX)
- Kraken
- KuCoin Futures
- MEXC
Glossary
Related links
Exchange Comparison Tables
Key Exchange Characteristics
Exchange | KYC Required | Specialized Features |
|---|---|---|
Binance | Yes | Spot Trading only |
Binance US | Yes | US-based with fewer trading pairs than global Binance; Spot Trading only |
Binance Futures | Yes | USDx Perpetual Futures; Hedge or One-way mode |
BingX | Yes | Spot Trading only |
BingX Futures | Yes | USDx Perpetual Futures; Hedge or One-way mode |
Bitvavo | Yes | Euro trading pairs, Spot Trading only |
ByBit | Yes | Unified Trading Accounts |
ByBit Futures | Yes | USDx Perpetual Futures; Hedge or One-way mode |
Yes | Spot Trading only | |
Coinbase (Advanced Trade) | Yes | Previously known as GDAX; Spot Trading only. See also exchange-specific notes |
Yes | Spot Trading only | |
Huobi | Yes | Spot Trading only |
HitBTC | Yes | Spot Trading only |
Kraken | Yes | Spot Trading only. See also exchange-specific notes |
KuCoin | Yes | Spot Trading only |
KuCoin Futures | Yes | USDx Perpetual Futures; One-way mode. See also exchange-specific notes |
MEXC | No (for basic tier) | Spot Trading only (MEXC does not offer Futures trading by API). See also exchange-specific notes |
OKEx | Yes | Spot Trading only |
Poloniex | Yes | Spot Trading only |
WOOx | Yes | Spot Trading only |
Fee Currencies and Discounts
Exchange | Standard Fee Structure | Discounted Fees Available | Discount Method | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Binance | Fees charged in the currency you receive (1) | Yes | Use BNB token | |
Binance US | Fees charged in the currency you receive (1) | Yes | Use BNB token | Similar fee structure to global Binance. Current fees |
Binance Futures | Fees charged in quote currency | Yes | BNB discounts available | |
BingX | Fees charged in the currency you receive (1) | Limited | N/A | |
ByBit | Fees charged in the currency you receive (1) | Limited | N/A | |
ByBit Futures | Fees charged in quote currency | Limited | N/A | Current fees (see "Perpetuals and Futures") |
Coinbase | Fees charged in quote currency (2) | Limited | N/A | Current fees (Log in to view fee tiers.) At May 2025, Tier 1 is 0.6%/1.2% (maker/taker) on non-stable coin pairs. |
Fees charged in the currency you receive (1) | Yes | Use CRO token | Hold CRO for fee reductions. Current fees | |
Fees charged in the currency you receive (1) | Yes | Use GT token | Enable GT for fee payment. Current fees | |
Huobi | Fees charged in the currency you receive (1) | Yes | Use HTX or TRX token | Enable HTX or TRX to reduce fees. Current fees |
HitBTC | Fees charged in quote currency (2) | Limited | Use HIT token | Holding HIT token. Current fees |
Kraken | Fees charged in quote currency (2) | Limited | Based on 30-day volume | Volume-based discounts only. Current fees See also specific notes for Kraken fees here |
KuCoin | Fees charged in quote currency (2) | Yes | Use KCS token | Enable KCS to reduce fees--initially fees are paid in quote currency, then refunded and charged to KCS. Kucoin has three fee tiers for spot tokens. Current fees |
KuCoin Futures | Fees charged in the currency you receive (1) | Yes | KCS holdings | |
MEXC | Fees charged in quote currency (2) | Yes | MX token | Enable MX for discounts. Current fees |
OKX | Fees charged in the currency you receive (1) | Yes | OKB token | Enable OKB to reduce fees. Current fees |
Poloniex | Fees charged in the currency you receive (1) | Limited | Use HTX or TRX token | Enable TRX or HTX for paying discounted fees. Current fees |
WOO | Fees charged in the currency you receive (1) | Yes | Stake WOO tokens | Higher stakes = lower fees. Current fees |
(1) For buy orders, base currency is bought and fees are charged in base currency. For sell orders, base currency is sold and quote currency is received; fees are charged in quote currency.
(2) For both buy and sell orders, fees are charged in quote currency.
Troubleshooting
Issue | Affected Exchanges | Solution | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
Missing trades | All | Check API permissions | Ensure trading permission is enabled. For a newly added API key, limited trades will be imported, the exact timeframe depending on the exchange. With a paid subscription, missing trades can be imported. |
Orders not executing | All | Verify price is realistic | Market may have moved away from order price |
Fee currency issues | Binance, Bitvavo, MEXC | Ensure sufficient balance in fee currency | See fee structure table for each exchange |
Spot Shorts: Insufficient balance on TPs | all spot exchanges where fees are paid in quote currency | Always keep some quote currency in the account | Also see notes on Kraken |
Discounted fees not applied | Binance, Gate.io, Huobi, KuCoin, MEXC, OKEx, WOO | Enable discount token on exchange, and check your balance of the token | This setting must be configured on the exchange, not our platform |
Rate limits exceeded | All | Kraken, Coinbase, Huobi: link extra API keys to the main Trading account (see specific exchange API key articles). Other exchanges: Reduce request frequency (fewer orders per position) | Some exchanges increase Rate Limit thresholds with extra KYC (Kucoin). |
Few trading pairs | Binance US, Bitvavo | Regional restrictions | Some exchanges have geographic limitations |
Untradable pairs (general) | MEXC | No solution. MEXC limits which pairs can be traded by API | |
Untradeable pairs due to location | Some tokens or pairs | Due to local laws, and agreements between governments and exchanges, some tokens cannot be traded by residents of specific countries or locations | Restrictions are based on the trader's location as confirmed during KYC. Altrady has no control over these limitations |
KYC requirements | Most exchanges | Complete verification on exchange | Required for full functionality |
Missing order types in the Trading widget | Some exchanges | If the order type is not shown in the Trading widget, it is not available on the exchange, or using API | e.g. OCO, Stop Limit, Market/Stop Market. For MEXC limitations, see Exchange-specific Notes below. |
Missing order options in the Trading widget | Some exchanges | If the order option is not shown in the Trading widget, it is not available on the exchange, or using API | Applies to market orders: some exchanges only offer market orders using Buy amount or Spend amount (Buy orders); Sell Amount or Receive amount (Sell orders). However, a few exchanges allow both options. |
Exchange-specific Notes
Coinbase Advanced Trade (GDAX)
Can take 2 days to approve a new API key before it can be used.
Kraken
- Usually charges fees in quote currency, but if there is not enough quote currency in the account to pay fees, will take part of the fees in base currency instead (from the filled order). This can result in Insufficient balance errors when buying or selling 100% of the account balance. In the exchange Trade History, fees are always reported in quote currency even if paid partially or fully in base currency.
Always leave some quote currency in the account (e.g. buy or sell a maximum of 99.5% balance). - Kraken chooses to use different symbols via API than on the exchange, e.g. DOGE is XDG while BTC is XBT.
Kucoin Futures
Kucoin adjusts leverage on open Futures automatically, depending on the open position's PnL. Therefore, the leverage applied to a Kucoin Futures position is subject to change, depending on the position's profit and loss percentage.
If the open position's leverage is x10 or higher, no edits can be made to the position via API. All edits to the position need to be performed on the exchange in that case.
MEXC
MEXC offers less functionality when trading via API than directly on the exchange.
- Some pairs are not available for trading (including some high volume pairs such as BTC/USDT and ETH/USDT).
- Some pairs do not allow market orders, only limit.
For more details, see: Trading with an API key on MEXC
Glossary
Term | Definition |
|---|---|
API Key | Authentication credentials required to connect to an exchange programmatically |
Base Currency | The first currency in a trading pair (e.g., BTC in BTC/USDT). Base currency is bought or sold and paid for using the quote currency. |
Futures Trading | Trading contracts that represent agreements to buy or sell an asset; usually used with leverage |
KYC | Know Your Customer - Identity verification process required by many exchanges |
Maker Fee | Fee paid when adding liquidity to the order book (placing limit orders) |
Quote Currency | The second currency in a trading pair (e.g., USDT in BTC/USDT). The pair is priced (quoted) in this currency. |
Rate Limit | Restriction on the number of API requests that can be made in a given time period |
Spot Trading | Direct buying and selling of assets |
Taker Fee | Fee paid when removing liquidity from the order book (market orders or matching limit orders) |
TPs (Take Profit orders) | The exit orders for a position. For a long position, the entry orders will be buys and the Take Profit orders are Sells |
Related links
Which exchanges are supported?
Trading with an API key on MEXC
Updated on: 20/05/2025
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