Official sources
Glossary
Read the full guideLink copied
Kraken vs Bitstamp
A side-by-side comparison of Kraken and Bitstamp across trading fees, trading tools, funding methods, security and more, with results for your country.
At a glance: Kraken vs Bitstamp.
Comparing for United States. 10997 of 14 results are documented from official sources; the rest stay marked as not verified until we have a dated source.
| Evaluation category | KrakenEXCHANGE | BitstampEXCHANGE |
|---|---|---|
| Trading fees | Instant Buy: 1% (up to $2 instead on small trades; 1.5% on custom orders) plus a spread; waived for Kraken+ up to $10,000 a month. Kraken Pro rates for this market not checked yet. Checked 9 Nov 20262 sources Instant Buy: 1% (up to $2 instead on small trades) plus a spread; waived for Kraken+ up to $10,000 a month. Kraken Pro spot, first tier: 0.40% maker / 0.80% taker on the UK fee page; another Kraken page says 0.25% / 0.40%. Checked 9 Nov 20264 sources Instant Buy: 1% (up to $2 instead on small trades; 1.5% on custom orders) plus a spread; waived for Kraken+ up to $10,000 a month. Kraken Pro rates for this market not checked yet. Checked 9 Nov 20262 sources Instant Buy: 1% (up to $2 instead on small trades) plus a spread; waived for Kraken+ up to $10,000 a month. Kraken Pro spot, first tier: 0.40% maker / 0.80% taker on the Brazil fee page; another Kraken page says 0.25% / 0.40%. Checked 9 Nov 20264 sources | Order book: 0.30% maker and 0.40% taker under $10,000 in 30-day volume, falling with volume. Basic Trading: a fixed 1.8% spread on crypto plus up to 0.5% in volatile markets. Checked 12 Nov 20261 source |
| Trading tools | Instant Buy for simple purchases, plus Kraken Pro for order-book spot trading. Checked 9 Nov 20262 sources Instant Buy plus Kraken Pro for order-book spot trading. Retail clients in the UK cannot trade derivatives; new retail accounts wait 24 hours before trading. Checked 9 Nov 20262 sources Instant Buy plus Kraken Pro for order-book spot trading. Canadian residents cannot trade on margin or derivatives. Checked 9 Nov 20262 sources Instant Buy for simple purchases, plus Kraken Pro for order-book spot trading. Checked 9 Nov 20262 sources | An order book with a maker-taker fee table, plus Basic Trading with a quoted price that includes a spread. Checked 12 Nov 20261 source |
| Funding methods | ACH via Plaid for buys; ACH withdrawals to a same-name US account with no Kraken fee (about 2 business days). Not offered to residents of Maine or New York. Checked 9 Nov 20263 sources GBP by Faster Payments through Banking Circle; FPS transfers are free for personal clients. The bank account must be in the UK. Checked 9 Nov 20261 source CAD by Interac e-Transfer: deposits free, withdrawals CAD 10; limits CAD 10,000 a day, 30,000 a week, 100,000 a month. Checked 9 Nov 20261 source Pix is available to eligible users with a verified Brazilian address and matching CPF. Kraken’s Portuguese page says deposits convert to USD (0.5% cost); its English page says they arrive as BRL1, free from Kraken. Checked 9 Nov 20262 sources | ACH deposits and withdrawals free of charge; card purchases 4%. Served by Bitstamp USA, Inc. Checked 12 Nov 20263 sources Faster Payments deposits free, withdrawals 2.00 GBP; card purchases 4%. Served by Bitstamp UK Ltd. Checked 12 Nov 20262 sources Card purchases cost 4%. International wire: 0.05% in, 0.1% out, with minimums. Whether Bitstamp serves this country is not confirmed. Checked 12 Nov 20262 sources Card purchases cost 4%. International wire: 0.05% in, 0.1% out, with minimums. Whether Bitstamp serves this country is not confirmed. Checked 12 Nov 20262 sources |
| Security approach | Passkey (FIDO2) 2FA and an optional Global Settings Lock; cold storage with no share stated. Bug bounty; proof of reserves checked by an accounting firm (2022), a point-in-time check. Checked 9 Nov 20265 sources | Says customer assets are kept separate from corporate funds, with crypto offline and custodian insurance on cold wallets; share and terms not stated. ISO/IEC 27001 and SOC 2 Type 2 (its own statements). Checked 12 Nov 20261 source |
| Ease of use | Onboarding steps, interface clarity and help resources. | Onboarding steps, interface clarity and help resources. |
| Mobile app | Two phone apps on the App Store and Google Play: Kraken for quick buying and Kraken Pro for advanced trading. Kraken Desktop for Windows, macOS and Linux. Checked 12 Nov 20261 source | A Bitstamp app and a separate Bitstamp Pro app on Google Play and the App Store, by Bitstamp’s July 2023 announcement. No newer official page found. Checked 12 Nov 20261 source |
| Best for | Who each platform may suit, published with our verdict. | Who each platform may suit, published with our verdict. |
Not yet verified — we publish each result with a dated source. "Sources conflict" marks where official pages disagree. Results restate the providers' own documentation; they are not hands-on tests. Focus area = a topic this platform's review concentrates on.
Which fits you better?
Start from what matters to you. Each line points to the part of the table that answers it and shows what is documented for your country. We do not pick a winner.
You mostly buy small amounts and want the full cost
- KrakenDocumentedSources conflictDocumentedSources conflict
- BitstampDocumented
Our take on this comes with the editorial review.
See it in the tableYou want limit orders, charts or an order book
- KrakenDocumentedDocumentedDocumentedDocumented
- BitstampDocumented
Our take on this comes with the editorial review.
See it in the tableYou need to pay in and cash out in your own currency
- KrakenDocumentedDocumentedDocumentedSources conflict
- BitstampDocumentedDocumentedNot yet verifiedNot yet verified
Our take on this comes with the editorial review.
See it in the tableAccount protection and custody come first
- KrakenDocumented
- BitstampDocumented
Our take on this comes with the editorial review.
See it in the table
Who each platform may suit
We will say who Kraken and Bitstamp may suit, and who they may not, once our research is complete. Until then, each review shows what we are examining.
Sources
Every documented result in the table comes from these official pages. Each “sources” marker in the table links to pages from this list.
support.kraken.com
- Kraken: FAQs about buying instantly
- Where is Kraken licensed or regulated?
- Kraken: buying crypto with ACH (FAQ)
- Kraken: ACH withdrawals
- Kraken: Banking Circle (GBP Faster Payments)
- Kraken: Interac e-Transfer
- Kraken: método de financiamento Pix (português)
- Kraken: Pix funding method (English)
- How to secure your account with 2FA (Kraken Support, updated 13 Oct 2026)
- What is the Global Settings Lock (GSL)? (Kraken Support, updated 23 Apr 2026)
kraken.com
bitstamp.net
blog.kraken.com
blog.bitstamp.net
Fee estimator
What would this purchase cost in fees?
Type an amount and see what six exchanges publish for it, with the official source and the date we read it. No ranking.
How we compare platforms.
We use a consistent framework: the same categories for every platform, facts checked against official sources with a date, and results shown separately for each market. Promotions never count as comparison criteria.
See the methodologyWhere to go next
Three ways to keep researching from here.