Phemex vs Gate.io | Lowest Fees & Best Product Range
Jack Moreau
Feb 2024
10 min read
Fact checked
Phemex vs Gate.io: Which is the better exchange? To answer that, our team has conducted a comprehensive comparison by looking at their KYC requirements, country availability, product range, trading fees and much more! Let's dive in and see which exchange comes out on top!
eToro is a multi-asset investment platform. The value of your investments may go up or down. Your capital is at risk.
eToro USA LLC: Investments are subject to market risk. Including the possible loss of principal. Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest.
eToro is a multi-asset investment platform. The value of your investments may go up or down. Your capital is at risk.
eToro USA LLC: Investments are subject to market risk. Including the possible loss of principal. Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest.
Phemex and Gate.io are both two cryptocurrency exchanges that offer a range of trading options and support for numerous cryptocurrencies.
Phemex is a relative young exchanges which was founded in 2019 by Jack Tao. The exchange is headquartered in Singapore and is serving 200 countries with an employee base of 200 people.
Countries that are excluded from using the services of Phemex includes the United States, Canada, Hong Kong and China. Phemex offers it's 5 million users the ability to buy, sell and trade over 250 cryptocurrencies and 150 perpetual contracts.
Phemex exchange
On the other hand, Gate.io was founded in 2013 by Lin Han and is registered in the Cayman Islands. The exchange has over 350 employees and is available in 184 countries where it serves 12 million users.
Gate.io is restricted in certain countries like the United States and Canada with product limitations for users in the UK, France, Netherlands, Germany, and Italy. Gate.io is an altcoin heaven with an offering of over 1500 cryptocurrencies and numerous trading pairs.
Gate.io exchange
Both Phemex and Gate.io offer spot trading, futures trading, and margin trading options. Phemex specializes in derivatives trading, providing access to over 140 contract trading pairs that are margined in USDT with leverage of up to 100X.
In contrast, Gate.io provides access to spot trading, margin trading, futures, and options trading with up to 100x leverage for various cryptocurrencies.
Phemex has an Android app that has been downloaded over 1 million times and sports a great 4.5 star rating based on over 10,000 reviews.
Phemex app
Similarly, Gate.io is also available on Android and IOS with over 1 million downloads but with a lower rating overall.
Gate.io app
Phemex vs Gate.Io Signup & KYC
When it comes to signing up for cryptocurrency exchanges, it's important to consider the KYC (Know Your Customer) requirements. Let's see how Phemex and Gate.io compares in this category.
Phemex offers unlimited crypto deposits and trading without KYC verification. Signing up for Phemex is quick and easy and takes 30 seconds.
Users can then deposit cryptocurrencies and start trading right away. For those that want to increase their crypto withdrawal limits or access more features, they will need to upload their ID, a selfie and provide some additional information.
The verification process can take a few minutes to complete and is generally verified on the same day.
The signup process is also quick and takes less than a minute to complete. However, to begin trading on the exchange, users will need to pass basic verification which means providing some basic personal information.
The processing time for the basic verification takes a few minutes while the advanced verification can take up to 24 hours to process.
Gate.io KYC
So while both Phemex and Gate.io offer easy signup processes, if you're looking for unlimited crypto deposits and trading without KYC, Phemex is the way to go.
Phemex vs Gate.Io Products & Services
Phemex is an exchange that offers a range of products such as spot trading for over 250 cryptocurrencies, and 150 perpetual contracts using USDT, USD and cryptocurrencies as collateral.
Trade futures on Phemex
Phemex also offers margin trading with up to 5X in collateral, copy trading, earn products, learn and earn and a launchpad.
Phemex Copy Trading
Phemex has a great high-level user experience both in terms of the usability of the platform but also by offering a competitive set of product features.
KYC is not required for basic crypto-to-crypto trading and the experience of using their product is smooth and seamless. For those that wish to earn interest on their digital assets, they will however have to complete KYC.
Phemex Earn
The average daily spot volume on Phemex is over $100 million. They also offer up to 100X leverage on perpetual contracts and up to 5X leverage on margin trading.
Phemex Markets
Phemex has also recently introduced proof of reserves to provide transparency about their users assets being backed 1 to 1.
Phemex proof of reserves
Gate.io which has been around for a while has seen considerable growth and enhancement in its services in the last few years.
Known for its extensive range of products, Gate.io has particularly gained popularity for its spot trading feature that allows users to buy and sell 1700 cryptocurrencies.
Gate.io Spot Trading
One standout aspect of Gate.io is its continuos cryptocurrency expansion which has made it a popular destination for beginners eager to invest in the next big thing.
Gate.io Crypto Markets
For traders looking to amplify their positions, Gate.io offers margin trading with up to 10X leverage on hundreds of cryptocurrencies.
This feature allows users to take larger positions than their account balances would normally permit, offering the potential for higher gains while also increasing risk.
In addition to traditional margin trading, Gate.io provides ETF leveraged tokens. These tokens enable users to go long or short with up to 5X leverage, but without the usual risk of liquidation.
Gate.io Leveraged Tokens
Instead of standard margin requirements, users incur a 0.1% daily fee which covers all costs associated with the ETF leveraged tokens product.
Gate.io also includes futures trading where traders have access to hundreds of perpetual contracts, which can be traded with either isolated or cross margin mode, and leverage of up to 125X.
Gate.io Perpetual Trading
For options traders, Gate.io offers European-style Vanilla Options for popular cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH), and Dogecoin (DOGE).
Gate.io also provides copy trading so that less experienced users can replicate the trades of professional traders.
Gate.io Copy Trading
Additionally, the platform offers a range of trading bots, including strategies like spot and futures grid, infinity and margin grid, martingale, and rebalancing.
Gate.io Trading Bots
In terms of trading volume, Gate.io stands out by ranking in the top 3 for 24-hour spot trading with almost $8 billion in trading volumes, and in the top 30 for derivatives volumes with $3 billion.
Gate.io Trading Volumes
Beyond trading, Gate.io's Finance section offers various opportunities to earn yield on digital assets. Products available include lend & earn, hodl & earn, dual investments, and staking, each with flexible terms depending on the asset.
Gate.io Earn
The hodl & earn feature allows users to lock assets like BTC, ETH, and USDT, earning attractive Annual Percentage Rates (APRs) over different periods. Users also have the option to stake their ETH and earn up to 4.4% in ETH rewards APR.
Gate.io Staking
For those looking to use their cryptocurrencies for everyday transactions, Gate.io offers the Gate.io Visa card, which provides up to 1% cashback on spending.
Gate.io Card
In line with the evolving crypto market, Gate.io has entered the Web 3 space by launching its own Web 3 Wallet that currently supports 29 blockchains, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana, and others.
Gate.io Wallet
For wealthier individuals and institutional clients, Gate.io offers tailored services such as custody solutions, Over-The-Counter (OTC) trading, VIP loans, and broker programs with low fees.
So, what are the trading fees like on each of these platforms? Let's start with Phemex.
Phemex has very competitive trading fees with a spot maker and taker fee of just 0.1%. For futures trading, Phemex charges a maker fee of 0.01% and a taker fee of 0.06%.
Phemex Spot Fees
Not bad at all! Plus, if you're a high-volume trader, you'll be pleased to know that trading fees on Phemex can be further reduced if your monthly trade volumes exceed $1,000,000.
Phemex Futures Fees
Now, let's take a look at what Gate.io has to offer. Unfortunately, the fee structure isn't quite as impressive as Phemex's.
Gate.io charges a higher spot maker fee of 0.20% and an equivalent spot taker fee. For futures trading, the maker fee is 0.02% while the taker fee is higher at 0.05%. This is just slightly higher than Phemex.
Gate.io spot fees
Gate.io also offers a way to lower trading fees if a users monthly trade volumes exceed $60,000, or if they hold enough GT tokens. But even with these discounts, Gate.io's fees don't quite match up to the competitive fees offered by Phemex.
When it comes to deposit options, Phemex and Gate.io have taken different approaches. Phemex allows for both fiat and crypto deposits while Gate.io only offers the option to deposit cryptocurrencies but not fiat currencies.
Phemex allows fee-free deposits in six fiat denominations: EUR, GBP, CHF, JPY, CAD, and AUD, exclusively through Wire Transfer.
Phemex Fiat Deposits
The time for these deposits to reflect varies, with GBP being the most expedient (from 10 minutes to a day) and JPY taking the longest at up to two days.
Users can also opt to buy cryptocurrencies using their Visa or Mastercard, facilitated by third-party entities like Simplex and Banxa. This method of purchasing, however, tends to be more expensive than the direct fiat deposit option.
Buy crypto with card on Phemex
On the other hand, Gate.io does not have any support for fiat currencies and fiat deposits. Users can however buy crypto with instant purchases with credit or debit cards through MoonPay, Banxa, Advacash, and Simplex.
Buy crypto with card on Gate.io
However, this comes at a cost with credit card fees ranging from 2-5%. As a general rule, we advise our readers to deposit fiat currencies when possible as is in the case with Phemex.
This is in most cases the lowest cost method to buy cryptocurrencies as credit/debit card purchases are more expensive.
When it comes to withdrawing your funds from a cryptocurrency exchange, it's important to consider the various options available to you.
Phemex supports withdrawals in a range of fiat currencies like EUR, GBP, JPY, CAD, AUD, and CHF. These transactions are exclusively carried out via Wire Transfer and take about 1-2 working days to process into your bank account.
Phemex Fiat Withdrawal
Users on Phemex can also withdraw their cryptocurrencies with low fees. Withdrawing Bitcoin comes with a low fee of 0.0001 BTC while withdrawing Ethereum comes with a fee of 0.001 ETH. For Solana, the fee is 0.01 SOL and for Tether USD, it's 4 USDT.
Phemex Crypto Withdrawal Fees
Similar to Phemex, Gate.io does not offer fiat withdrawals at all, so users can only withdraw their cryptocurrencies.
Withdrawing Bitcoin from Gate.io comes with a fee of 0.001 BTC whereas withdrawing Ethereum has a fee of 0.0019 ETH. For Solana, the fee is 0.003 SOL and for Tether USD, it's 3 USDT.
Phemex and Gate.IO offer varying options for cryptocurrency trading, with each exchange having its unique pros and cons.
Phemex offers over 350 cryptocurrencies and over 75 perpetual contracts for trading with competitive trading fees, an easy signup process, and the ability to buy and sell cryptocurrencies without any KYC verification needed.
This is not available on Gate.io where KYC is obligatory before any trading can occur.
On the other hand, Gate.IO offers over 1000 cryptocurrencies and numerous trading pairs with a wide range of products such as staking, lending, and borrowing, and an NFT marketplace.
However, the exchange has higher trading fees than Phemex for both spot and futures trading.
Both exchanges provide spot trading, futures trading, and margin trading options, with Phemex specializing in derivatives trading and Gate.io providing access to options trading.
Neither Phemex or Gate.io provides support for fiat deposits and withdrawals and instead, users will either have to deposit cryptocurrencies onto the exchanges or buy via third-party providers at higher fees.
Overall, we like Phemex more than Gate.io because of the better user experience and lower trading fees.
From time to time however, we also use Gate.io to access their very wide range of altcoins that can't be found on other exchanges.
eToro is a multi-asset investment platform. The value of your investments may go up or down. Your capital is at risk.
eToro USA LLC: Investments are subject to market risk. Including the possible loss of principal. Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest.
eToro is a multi-asset investment platform. The value of your investments may go up or down. Your capital is at risk.
eToro USA LLC: Investments are subject to market risk. Including the possible loss of principal. Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest.
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.
