OKX vs Kucoin | Which Exchange Has The Edge?

okx vs kucoin image
Jack Moreau
Feb 2024
3 min to read
Fact checked

OKX vs Kucoin: With the overwhelming number of exchanges sprouting up, it can be tricky to find the best one. That's why we've compared OKX vs Kucoin to discover who offers more products and cryptocurrencies, lower trading fees, better deposit and withdrawal methods and much more!

Kucoin

+700 Cryptocurrencies

Spot, Margin, Perps, Bots

125X Leverage & Copy Trade

0.1%-0.3% Spot Trading Fees

Visit Kucoin
eToro is a multi-asset investment platform. The value of your investments may go up or down. Your capital is at risk.
OKX

+350 cryptos & 100X Leverage

Spot, Margin, Perps, Options

0.8% spot trading fee

Great UX & Easy To Use

Visit OKX
eToro is a multi-asset investment platform. The value of your investments may go up or down. Your capital is at risk.

OKX vs Kucoin: Overview

OKX
Kucoin
Uphold
Founded
2017
2017
2013
Registered
Hong Kong
Seychelles
London
Countries N/A
US, CA
US, CA, CN
DE, NL, RU, TR, IN
Users
20M
30M
10M
Cryptos
+350
+700
+300
Spot Fees
0.08%
0.1%-0.3%
0.9-1.2%
KYC Required
Yes
Yes
Yes
Best for
Spot & Futures trading
Altcoins & Perps
Beginner Crypto Investors
Rating
Signup
OKX
Your Capital is at risk.
Kucoin
Your Capital is at risk.
Uphold
Your Capital is at risk

Founded in 2017 by Star Xu, OKX exchange is a prominent global cryptocurrency exchange platform. The exchange is registered in Seychelles and headquartered in Hong Kong with a total workforce over 1000 employees.

OKX exchange
OKX exchange

The platform provides services in 180 countries, though its availability is currently restricted in the United States, UK, and Canada due to regulatory limitations.

OKX has developed into a multifaceted exchange that offers a comprehensive assortment of trading services, including spot trading, margin trading, perpetual contracts (perps), futures, and options.

These core services are complemented by a host of additional features such as trading bots, demo and copy trading, earn products, a launchpad for new token projects, and a web 3 wallet for decentralized applications.

OKX is recognized for supporting a broad range of cryptocurrencies, with over 350 digital assets available on the platform.

The platform's user-friendly design, combined with its wide range of services, has fostered a large user base of 20 million. The OKX mobile app has also been well-received, with over 1 million downloads and a robust 4 star rating.

OKX app
OKX app

Kucoin exchange was founded in 2017 by Michael Gan and is a leading global cryptocurrency exchange under the subsidiary of Seychelles-registered MEK Global Limited.

With a robust global workforce of over 600 employees, KuCoin has made its services accessible in over 200 countries, with the exception of the United States and China due to regulatory constraints.

Kucoin exchange
Kucoin exchange

The platform offers a comprehensive suite of services, catering to various trading needs and preferences. These services include spot trading, margin trading, futures trading, staking, and lending.

With a particularly wide range of cryptocurrencies, KuCoin supports over 700 digital assets including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana and a plethora of altcoins, inclusive of its native token, KuCoin Shares (KCS).

KuCoin's user-friendly interface, competitive trading fees, and diverse cryptocurrency selection have driven substantial user adoption, resulting in an impressive user base of over 20 million.

Kucoin app
Kucoin app

Additionally, the KuCoin mobile app, well-rated at 4.3 stars and boasting over 120,000 reviews, has been downloaded more than 5 million times.

OKX vs Kucoin: Signup & KYC

Users can sign up to OKX with just an email or phone and once users have verified their email or phone, their account will be created. KYC is required for users who want to trade on OKX.

OKX level 1 verification
OKX level 1 verification

OKX has two types of verification, Basic (level 1) and Advanced (level 2). Basic involves providing personal information such as full name and country of residence and gives acess to deposits and trading.

The OKX verification process normally takes 10 minutes but can take up to 3 days for level 2 verification.

Signing up only takes less than a minute on Kucoin as only basic email signup is required.

Kucoin KYC
Kucoin KYC

KYC verification is also mandatory on Kucoin and Basic verification can be approved in hours and KYC verification can take up to 1 business day in some cases.

OKX vs Kucoin: Products & Services

OKX has rapidly grown to become one of the most versatile and well-respected cryptocurrency exchanges in the market in just a few years.

The platform offers a diverse range of trading options, starting with spot trading, which is a fundamental feature of most crypto exchanges.

OKX Spot Trading
OKX Spot Trading

On OKX, users can trade in over 300 cryptocurrencies, including widely known ones like Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), Solana (SOL), Cosmos (ATOM), and Tether (USDT).

OKX Crypto Markets
OKX Crypto Markets

Although OKX may not have as extensive a selection of altcoins as some platforms like Kucoin, it supports most of the large-cap coins making it a solid choice for mainstream users.

For those interested in margin trading, OKX enables users to take long or short positions on over 100 digital assets with leverage up to 10X.

OKX Margin Trading
OKX Margin Trading

This feature allows traders to increase their potential earnings by borrowing funds to increase their trading position.

The exchange also offers a wide array of futures and perpetual contracts, both USD and crypto-margined, with the option to choose between isolated or cross margin support.

OKX Perpetual Contracts
OKX Perpetual Contracts

These contracts allow for trading on the future price of cryptocurrencies while allowing risk takers to take up to 100X leverage.

Additionally, the platform provides options trading for BTC and ETH in the form of European call or put options, which are financial contracts that give the buyer the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell an underlying asset at a set price.

OKX Options Trading
OKX Options Trading

For beginners who prefer a more guided approach to investing, OKX has a copy trading feature. This allows less experienced users to replicate the trades of professional traders.

OKX Copy Trading
OKX Copy Trading

More experienced traders can take advantage of over 10 different trading bots offered by OKX, including spot grid, futures grid, and various Dollar-Cost Averaging (DCA) bots.

OKX Trading Bots
OKX Trading Bots

OKX also looks after the needs of absolute beginners by supporting demo trading where newbies can practice trading with virtual funds, providing a risk-free environment to learn.

In terms of trading volume, OKX is among the most popular exchanges globally, with over $3 billion in 24-hour spot trading volume and over $28 billion in derivatives trading volume.

OKX Trading Volume
OKX Trading Volume

Beyond trading, OKX has developed a range of products for users to earn interest on their digital assets. These include simple earn products, staking rewards, and dual investments, available in both flexible and fixed terms with varying APRs depending on the asset.

OKX Earn
OKX Earn

OKX’s launchpad, Jumpstart, offers users early-stage investment opportunities in newly launched tokens such as SUI, RAY, and WOO, among others. This feature is ideal for those looking to invest in emerging projects at an early stage.

OKX Jumpstart
OKX Jumpstart

For users who want more privacy and control over their assets, OKX has developed its own Web3 wallet. This non-custodial wallet provides access to over 70 blockchains and private management of cryptocurrencies.

OKX Web 3 Wallet
OKX Web 3 Wallet

Institutional clients or high-net-worth individuals who wish to trade large sums privately can use OKX’s Over-The-Counter (OTC) marketplace.

OKX OTC Market
OKX OTC Market

This service enables significant trades to be executed without impacting the market and is available to traders with a minimum of $10,000 in their accounts.

The user experience on OKX is designed to be user-friendly, featuring a modern interface that is easy to navigate for both beginners and professional traders.

Similar to OKX, Kucoin has rapidly evolved into a powerhouse matching the product range of the biggest exchanges in the world like Binance.

At its heart, Kucoin offers a versatile spot trading platform where users can buy and sell a solid range of over 700 cryptocurrencies and altcoins.

Kucoin Spot Trading
Kucoin Spot Trading

Kucoin coin and tokens selection is greater than OKX's and its also growing week on week with new additions of hard to find gems.

Kucoin Crypto Markets
Kucoin Crypto Markets

For those that are comfortable taking on more risk, Kucoin offers margin trading with up to 10X leverage where users can long or short 100s of cryptos using either cross or isolated margin.

Kucoin Margin Trading
Kucoin Margin Trading

Kucoin also offers leveraged tokens which are perfect for those wanting to long or short with less leverage (2-4X) but without the complications of loans and risk of liquidations.

Kucoin Leveraged Tokens
Kucoin Leveraged Tokens

For those that wish to trade futures and perpetual contracts, Kucoin has launched over 250 tradable futures contracts.

Kucoin Futures
Kucoin Futures

This includes everything from USDT and USDC margin contracts to Coin-margin contracts and innovative grid bots with up to 125X leverage for the proper degens.

Kucoin Perpetual Contracts
Kucoin Perpetual Contracts

Automation in trading has its own allure and Kucoin invites tech-savvy traders with a suite of trading bots like spot grid, futures grid, martingale, smart rebalance, infinity grid, and Dollar-Cost Averaging (DCA).

Kucoin Trading Bots
Kucoin Trading Bots

Kucoin is ranking in the top 20 for spot trading with an impressive $1 billion in 24-hour volume, and an equally competitive $2 billion in futures trading volume.

Kucoin Trading Volumes
Kucoin Trading Volumes

Kucoin's Earn section is a great place for those seeking to harvest yield from their digital assets with options like earn savings, staking, and dual investments.

Kucoin Earn
Kucoin Earn

The staking feature is a banquet, serving up rewarding opportunities on popular blockchains such as Ethereum, Solana, Cosmos, Polkadot, and Injective.

Kucoin Staking
Kucoin Staking

Kucoin Spotlight is another popular feature where beginners have the opportunity to be first in line to invest in new token launches like SUI.

Kucoin Launchpad
Kucoin Launchpad

Kucoin has also entered the NFT world with Wonderland which is a marketplace where users can buy and sell NFTs on the KCC blockchain and Polygon, with blockchains like ETH, BSC, and SLP arriving shortly.

Kucoin NFTs
Kucoin NFTs

And for those  who prefer to sidestep traditional exchanges, Kucoin presents the non-custodial Halo Wallet which is available as a mobile app or a Chrome extension.

Kucoin Wallet
Kucoin Wallet
OKX
Kucoin
Uphold
Spot Trading
Yes
Yes
Yes
Futures
Yes
Yes
-
Perps
Yes
Yes
-
Margin
Yes
Yes
-
Options
Yes
-
-
OTC Desk
Yes
-
-
Copy Trading
Yes
Yes
-
Trading Bots
Yes
Yes
-
Staking
Yes
Yes
Yes
Lend & Borrow
Yes
Yes
-
NFTs
Yes
Yes
-
Web 3 Wallet
Yes
Yes
-
Debit Card
-
-
-
Signup
OKX
Your Capital is at risk.
Kucoin
Your Capital is at risk.
Uphold
Your Capital is at risk

OKX Fees vs Kucoin

When it comes to trading fees, OKX and Kucoin both offer competitive rates for spot and futures trading.

For spot trading, OKX charges a maker fee of 0.08% and a taker fee of 0.10%, while Kucoin charges a maker fee of 0.10% and a taker fee of 0.10%.

OKX spot fees
OKX spot fees

For futures trading, OKX offers a Maker fee of 0.02% and a Taker fee of 0.05%, while Kucoin charges a Maker fee of 0.02% and a Taker fee of 0.06%. OKX offers the lowest fees compared to Kucoin but the difference is obviously quite small.

Kucoin spot fees
Kucoin spot fees

OKX
Kucoin
Uphold
Spot (mkr)
0.08%
0.1%-0.3%
0.9-1.2%
Spot (tkr)
0.10%
0.1%-0.3%
0.9-1.2%
Futures (mkr)
0.02%
0.02%
-
Futures (tkr)
0.05%
0.06%
-
Signup
OKX
Your Capital is at risk.
Kucoin
Your Capital is at risk.
Uphold
Your Capital is at risk

OKX vs Kucoin: Deposit Methods

If you're looking for an exchange to buy cryptocurrencies, you'll need to know about the deposit options available. OKX and Kucoin both offer various deposit methods, but with some significant differences.

If you opt for OKX, bear in mind that this exchange doesn't support any fiat deposits. You can buy crypto with a credit/debit card or a third-party payment provider, with a 1-2% fee.

OKX buy crypto with credit card
OKX buy crypto with credit card

Kucoin, on the other hand, offers more deposit options with 28 fiat currencies available for deposit.

You can also use Visa and Mastercard for deposits, but be aware that there is a 3.8% fee. Fortunately, crypto deposits on both exchanges are free.

Kucoin fiat deposits
Kucoin fiat deposits
OKX
Kucoin
Uphold
USD
-
Debit/Credit card
ACH, Wire, Debit/Credit Card
EUR
-
Debit/Credit card
SEPA
GBP
-
Debit/Credit card
Faster Payments (FSP)
Signup
OKX
Your Capital is at risk.
Kucoin
Your Capital is at risk.
Uphold
Your Capital is at risk

OKX vs Kucoin: Withdrawal Methods

Unfortunately, OKX doesn't support any fiat withdrawals at all, which means you'll need to look elsewhere to withdraw your funds in fiat currency.

Kucoin, on the other hand, supports EUR withdrawals via SEPA, and charges a 5 EUR fee for the transaction.

Kucoin Fiat Withdrawal
Kucoin Fiat Withdrawal

This might be good news for those who prefer to withdraw their funds in fiat currency, as it gives them a way to get their money out of the exchange.

Overall, both OKX and Kucoin are providing quite lackluster support when it comes to fiat currency withdrawals.

OKX
Kucoin
Uphold
USD
-
Debit/Credit card
ACH, Wire, Debit/Credit Card
EUR
-
SEPA
SEPA
GBP
-
SEPA
Faster Payments (FSP)
Signup
OKX
Your Capital is at risk.
Kucoin
Your Capital is at risk.
Uphold
Your Capital is at risk
OKX
Kucoin
Uphold
Bitcoin
0.0002 BTC
0.001 BTC
$2.99
Ethereum
0.0014 ETH
0.01 ETH
$2.99
Solana
0.008 SOL
0.01 SOL
$2.99
USDT (ERC-20)
3.8 USDT
5 USDT
$2.99
Signup
OKX
Your Capital is at risk.
Kucoin
Your Capital is at risk.
Uphold
Your Capital is at risk

Is OKX better than Kucoin?

You should go with OKX if:

  • You want to access over 350 cryptocurrencies
  • You want access low cost trading (0.08% fee)
  • You want to trade spot without providing KYC

You should go with Kucoin if:

  • You want access over 700 cryptocurrencies
  • You want to trade in a liquid exchange with over 20M users
  • You want to trade spot without providing KYC
Kucoin

+700 Cryptocurrencies

Spot, Margin, Perps, Bots

125X Leverage & Copy Trade

0.1%-0.3% Spot Trading Fees

Visit Kucoin
eToro is a multi-asset investment platform. The value of your investments may go up or down. Your capital is at risk.
OKX

+350 cryptos & 100X Leverage

Spot, Margin, Perps, Options

0.8% spot trading fee

Great UX & Easy To Use

Visit OKX
eToro is a multi-asset investment platform. The value of your investments may go up or down. Your capital is at risk.
Author
Jack Moreau
Jack is a crypto writer and reviewer who has been active in the space since he caught the crypto bug in 2017. With a passion for trying out new shiny things, Jack is always eager to try the latest cryptocurrency exchanges, wallets or DeFi applications.

More Exchange Comparisons