Many or all companies we feature compensate us. Compensation and editorial research influence how products appear on a page. Personal Finance Coinbase Review 2025: Huge Crypto Selection But High Fees Updated Apr 04, 2025 11-min read Reviewed by Marc Guberti Reviewed by Marc Guberti Expertise: investing, loans, credit cards, personal finance, banking, business financing Learn more about Marc Guberti Best for Massive Crypto Selection View Site Crypto Exchange Choose from almost 250 cryptocurrencies Earn rewards with the Coinbase card Crypto derivatives are available Commerce payments High fees Lack of transparency on some costs You can’t stake bitcoin on Coinbase Cryptocurrency trading has been hot for a few years, and few companies have capitalized on the trend as much as Coinbase. It’s the largest U.S.-based cryptocurrency exchange that makes bitcoin and other digital currencies more accessible. Coinbase is a regulated firm that offers more options than most cryptocurrency exchanges. However, the trading fees can be quite high. This guide will cover the most crucial details, including the pros and cons. Table of Contents Is Coinbase legitimate? How does Coinbase work? Coinbase One Coinbase Card Coinbase Advanced Crypto Derivatives Fees Pros and cons Coinbase alternatives Coinbase vs. Robinhood Coinbase vs. Gemini Coinbase vs. Kraken How to open an account with Coinbase FAQ Is Coinbase legitimate? Yes, Coinbase is a legitimate company. It’s a regulated U.S.-based financial institution that has been in business for more than a decade. Coinbase fulfills its main promise of letting investors trade cryptocurrencies. The company has millions of customers and plenty of positive reviews. These are some of the average ratings from its customers: PlatformApp StoreGoogle PlayTrustpilotAvg. rating4.7/54.5/53.9/5No. of reviews1.76 million889K16KCollected on March 18, 2025. Most reviewers like the app, but we read several that mention the company’s lackluster customer support. While it’s common for reviewers to share bad customer support experiences, we found that this concern came up more than expected. However, one Trustpilot reviewer mentioned that the company helped when someone stole his crypto. Coinbase investigated the matter, traced the IP address with the stolen crypto, and reimbursed the customer. Coinbase’s status as a publicly traded corporation makes it more legitimate. Investors and customers can get more transparency by reviewing press releases and financial documents. The business produces high profits and is regulated, which helps me feel comfortable advising that it’s a legitimate company. How does Coinbase work? Coinbase is a brokerage firm that makes it easier for people to trade cryptocurrencies. The company offers almost 250 cryptocurrencies and has a separate app if you want help with creating a digital wallet. Digital wallets give you crypto ownership, and Coinbase’s focus on these wallets sets them apart from many brokerage accounts. Other crypto brokerage firms store the crypto on your behalf, but that approach gives you less control over crypto. You don’t need to use a Coinbase Wallet. Crypto investors can also use digital wallets from other platforms, but they must have a Coinbase account to trade cryptos on the account. Coinbase offers many crypto options, but it also has mainstream investments like bitcoin and ethereum. Coinbase One The company offers a monthly subscription plan that offers customers additional perks. Some advantages include elevated staking rewards, 4.5% annual percentage yield (APY) on the first $30,000 in idle cash (4.1% APY on additional cash), and no trading fees up to a certain limit. Tip Staking involves locking up certain cryptocurrencies to help support a blockchain network and, in return, earning rewards—similar to earning interest on a savings account. Coinbase One members receive exclusive prizes, prefilled tax forms, and priority support. The subscription currently costs $29.99 per month. Coinbase Card Coinbase already helps people buy crypto, but the firm also lets you turn every purchase into more crypto. The Coinbase Visa prepaid debit card has industry-leading security features and offers crypto rewards for every purchase. You also won’t need to worry about any hidden fees. Cardholders can decide which cryptos they redeem, and they can modify their crypto rewards at any time. You can fund your card with a bank account and don’t have to undergo a credit check. Coinbase Advanced While some people prefer to buy and hold crypto, you can trade digital currencies to benefit from daily price fluctuations. Coinbase Advanced can help with this, offering advanced trading tools and indicators. You can use Coinbase Advanced to get more information before making every trade. It supports more than 500 spot pairs and has maker fees as low as 0.00%. The company partners with TradingView for advanced charting. Crypto Derivatives Leverage is only suitable for traders with high risk tolerance. If you’re interested in combining leverage with crypto, Coinbase’s crypto derivatives can help. The brokerage firm offers futures contracts for several cryptocurrencies, with bitcoin and ethereum as the spotlight choices. Investors can also trade gold, silver, and crude oil futures. However, this feature is unavailable for customers in the United Kingdom or Spain. Earn while learning If you’re new to crypto, you can get paid to learn more about it. Coinbase has several courses and quizzes that allow you to earn crypto as you learn. The earnings aren’t life-changing. Some courses only pay $3 upon completion, but it’s better to get paid for a little than not to get paid at all—especially if you’re already planning to learn more about crypto! Private client trusts Coinbase offers special services for high-net-worth individuals who want to leave a lasting legacy. The financial firm assists with setting up trusts and family offices. You will receive enhanced security and integrated custody. Coinbase Custody sets up segregated cold storage for your crypto and has the industry’s leading insurance policy. Accept crypto for commerce payments Business owners can invest their money into crypto, but Coinbase can save them a step. The brokerage firm enables companies to accept payments via bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. The funds then arrive in your crypto wallet. Instant settlements, low fees, and broad asset support are some of the perks of using Coinbase for commerce payments. Thousands of merchants use Coinbase to enable commerce payments. Coinbase fees It’s hard to gauge Coinbase’s actual fees. The company mentions that fees vary when you buy, sell, or convert cryptocurrencies on Coinbase. You’ll see a preview of the fees before placing any trade, so you won’t be surprised. Other crypto brokerage firms, including Gemini and Kraken (more about both below), are more transparent regarding fees. Another detail is that Coinbase’s fees are usually based on a percentage of the trade’s total value, so larger trades will have higher fees. The tiered system ranges from 0.05% to 0.60% of the transaction amount. It’s better to find a brokerage firm that charges a flat fee instead of a percentage, especially if you do large transactions. Meanwhile, Coinbase doesn’t charge any fees for staking or unstaking your crypto. The company receives a 35% commission on staking rewards, while Coinbase One members pay only a 26.3% commission. Commissions vary depending on which cryptos you use for staking. Coinbase pros and cons Consider the following before you decide whether Coinbase is the best crypto exchange for your needs. Pros Choose from almost 250 cryptocurrencies Coinbase lets you invest in many cryptocurrencies. Smaller altcoins with significant volatility are available on the platform, which can result in profitable trading opportunities. Earn rewards with the Coinbase card You can receive crypto back from every purchase on top of your regular investments. The Coinbase card is one of the few cards that has crypto rewards. Crypto derivatives are available Investors can get exposure to futures contracts for various cryptocurrencies. Futures contracts for other alternative assets are also available. Commerce payments Business owners can accept crypto payments and build portfolios with every customer’s purchase. Cons High fees Coinbase has higher fees than most crypto brokers. Trades are based on a percentage of the transaction amount, which can lead to some significant fees over time. Lack of transparency on some costs Coinbase doesn’t know the costs for some of the trades until you attempt to place them. That leaves a level of ambiguity that not every investor may like. You cannot stake bitcoin on Coinbase The crypto platform only lets you stake proof-of-stake (PoS) cryptos like ethereum. Bitcoin and other proof-of-work (PoW) cryptos are not eligible for staking on Coinbase. However, you can stake bitcoin and other PoW cryptos on other brokerage accounts. Does Coinbase offer crypto IRAs? While crypto IRAs have been gaining momentum, you won’t find one at Coinbase. The brokerage firm doesn’t let you open a crypto IRA, but it allows employer-sponsored 401(k) plans. Coinbase partners with ForUsAll Inc. to offer 401(k) plans. Qualifying self-employed individuals can open solo 401(k) plans with Coinbase through its partnership with ForUsAll Inc. These accounts allow you to accumulate cryptocurrencies while enjoying tax benefits. You still have options if you want to create a crypto IRA and aren’t self-employed. BitIRA, iTrustCapital, and Alto CryptoIRA are some of the personal finance companies that allow you to open IRAs where you can store bitcoin and other digital currencies. How does Coinbase compare to alternatives? Coinbase isn’t the only option for people who want to trade crypto. Here’s how the brokerage firm compares with other options. Coinbase vs. Robinhood Robinhood also allows you to create a wallet (Robinhood Wallet) for crypto trades, but you can only trade 26 cryptocurrencies. Meanwhile, Coinbase gives investors access to almost 250 digital currencies. While Coinbase has Robinhood beat with its selection, Robinhood crushes Coinbase’s fee schedule. Robinhood does not charge any fees for crypto trades. Coinbase’s fees are some of the highest in the industry. Robinhood also allows investors to trade stocks and other assets. The company has IRAs with generous 3% matches if you have a Robinhood Gold account. However, you can’t buy cryptocurrencies in a Robinhood IRA. Robinhood is better if you want access to stocks and options while scoring commission-free crypto transactions. Coinbase may be better if you want more cryptocurrencies and prefer to work with a broker that doesn’t have a payment-for-order flow model. Coinbase vs. Gemini Gemini is another well-known crypto exchange. There are different fees depending on whether you are buying or selling crypto. Buying crypto will result in a fee that ranges from 0.00% to 0.20% of the transaction’s value. Selling results in a fee that ranges from 0.03% to 0.40% of the order’s value. Those fees are lower than what you will find with Coinbase. However, Coinbase once again edges out a competitor with its crypto selection. Gemini customers can trade more than 100 cryptocurrencies but nowhere near Coinbase’s 250. Gemini has the essentials, though, which include bitcoin and ethereum. Gemini is great for people who want to put crypto in their IRAs. The brokerage firm has partnered with Directed IRA to offer crypto IRAs. That way, you can reduce your tax bill while accumulating more crypto. Coinbase vs. Kraken Kraken has been around longer than Coinbase. The company was founded in 2011 and offers more than 200 cryptocurrencies. Investors can use margin to increase their exposure to cryptocurrencies via Kraken. Kraken has a similar fee structure to Gemini. Buyers, also known as makers, charge a fee that ranges from 0.00% to 0.25% of the transaction’s value. Sellers, also known as takers, end up with fees that range from 0.08% to 0.40%. You can secure a lower fee by making a higher volume of transactions. Kraken looks at your transaction history over the past 30 days when determining your fee. Coinbase has higher fees but offers more cryptos. Investors who want advanced trading tools and margins may want to give Kraken a closer look. How to open an account with Coinbase It’s straightforward to open an account with Coinbase and start trading cryptocurrencies. Just follow these steps. 1. Click the “Sign up” button The Coinbase website has a “Sign up” button you’ll press to start the process. It’s in the top right corner of a desktop browser. 2. Select the type of account Next, Coinbase will ask whether you’re creating an individual or business account. 3. Provide your email address and other details Coinbase will request your email address when you create an account. You also must verify your email address before you can submit additional information. You also have the option to sign up with a Google or Apple account. Coinbase will ask you to create a password and share additional details, and then you can link a bank account. 4. Link a wallet or create one with Coinbase Coinbase lets you connect a digital wallet. You can create one through Coinbase’s separate platform or connect a wallet from a different provider. You can start trading crypto on the platform once you transfer funds from your bank account to your Coinbase wallet. FAQ Is Coinbase FDIC-insured? Coinbase is not FDIC-insured, but it offers FDIC insurance on U.S. dollar deposits held in custodial accounts. If you have USD in your Coinbase account, it is held at partner banks and insured up to $250,000 per depositor in case of a bank failure. However, cryptocurrency holdings are not FDIC-insured and do not have the same protections as traditional bank deposits. Is Coinbase legal? Yes, Coinbase is a legal and regulated cryptocurrency exchange in the U.S. and other countries where it operates. It is registered as a Money Services Business (MSB) with FinCEN (Financial Crimes Enforcement Network) and complies with anti-money laundering (AML) and know-your-customer (KYC) regulations. It trades publicly on the Nasdaq under the ticker COIN, demonstrating its legitimacy and regulatory compliance. Do you pay taxes on Coinbase? Yes, you are required to pay taxes on cryptocurrency transactions made through Coinbase. The IRS considers cryptocurrency property, meaning capital gains taxes apply when you sell, trade, or use crypto at a profit. Coinbase issues Form 1099-MISC to certain users and reports taxable transactions to the IRS. Users should track their crypto transactions for tax reporting, and Coinbase provides tax tools to help users generate reports.