Phemex vs Kucoin | Save Money By Using This Exchange

phemex vs kucoin image
Jack Moreau
Feb 2024
8 min read
Fact checked

Are you searching for the best cryptocurrency exchange and curious how Phemex vs Kucoin stack up? We've done the research for you and compared the features, fees, and overall user experience of these popular exchanges. Whether you're a seasoned trader or just starting out, join us as we dive deep into Phemex vs Kucoin and discover the ultimate winner!

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.
Phemex

250 Cryptos & 0.1% Spot Fees

Spot, Margin, Perps, Bots

Fiat Deposits/Withdrawals

100X Leverage & No KYC

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

Phemex vs Kucoin Comparison

Phemex
Kucoin
OKX
Founded
2019
2017
2017
Registered
British Virgin Islands
Seychelles
Hong Kong
Countries N/A
UK, UK, CA, HK, CH, BM, SC
US, CA, CN
US, CA
Users
5M
30M
20M
Cryptos
250
+700
+350
Spot Fees
0.1%
0.1%-0.3%
0.08%
KYC Required
No
Yes
Yes
Best for
Great All Around
Altcoins & Perps
Spot & Futures trading
Rating
Signup
Phemex
Your Capital is at risk.
Kucoin
Your Capital is at risk.
OKX
Your Capital is at risk

When it comes to cryptocurrency exchanges, Phemex and Kucoin are two platforms that have gained alot of popularity among traders.

While they both have their unique features and strengths, it's important to compare them to see which one is the right fit for your needs.

Phemex was founded in 2019 by Jack Tao and has quickly established itself as one of the fastest-growing exchanges in the market.

Phemex exchange
Phemex exchange

With over 200 employees and available in 200 countries, Phemex offers spot and derivatives trading options including up to 100x leverage for contract trading.

Phemex supports over 350 cryptocurrencies and over 75 perpetual contracts which means plenty of options for traders.

Kucoin was founded in 2017 by Michael Gan and is available in over 200 countries. With a user base of over 20 million, KuCoin offers a range of services including spot and margin trading, futures, staking, and lending.

Kucoin exchange
Kucoin exchange

The platform supports over 700 cryptocurrencies including its native token, KuCoin Shares (KCS), with a lucrative referral program for users.

KuCoin is popular for its user-friendly interface, competitive trading fees, and extensive range of altcoins. When it comes to user experience, both Phemex and Kucoin offer mobile apps on Android and IOS.

Phemex has over 1 million downloads with a 4.5-star rating based on over 10,000 reviews. Kucoin has over 5 million downloads and a solid rating of 4.3 with over 120,000 reviews.

Kucoin app
Kucoin app

Phemex vs Kucoin Signup & KYC

When it comes to signing up and verifying your account on Phemex and Kucoin, there are some key differences to keep in mind.

Phemex is a user-friendly exchange that allows for unlimited crypto deposits and trading without requiring KYC verification.

This means you can sign up and start trading in just 30 seconds. However, if you want access to more advanced features such as higher withdrawal limits, you will need to complete KYC verification by uploading your ID and a photo of yourself.

The verification process can be completed within a few minutes if you provide the necessary documents correctly.

Phemex signup and KYC
Phemex signup and KYC

Kucoin takes a similarly flexible approach to KYC verification. While KYC verification is not mandatory, it's still recommended to complete as it provides access to more trading opportunities and higher withdrawal limits.

Kucoin KYC vs Phemex KYC
Kucoin KYC vs Phemex KYC

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

Basic verification can be approved in minutes while KYC verification can take up to 2-3 business days. Overall, both Phemex and Kucoin offer a smooth signup process without forcing the hand of all their users to complete KYC.

Phemex vs Kucoin Products & Services

Phemex offers a very wide range of trading servives including spot trading, perpetual contracts using USDT, USD, and crypto as collateral and margin trading with up to 5x collateral.

Phemex cryptocurrencies
Phemex cryptocurrencies

The exchange also offers product more tailored to beginners such as copy trading, staking, learn and earn, and a launchpad.

The exchange is known for its high-level user experience, both in terms of the usability of the platform and the competitive set of product features.

Phemex earn
Phemex earn

KYC is not required for basic trading and the experience of using their product is smooth and seamless. The average daily spot volume on Phemex is over $100 million and the exchange offers up to 100x leverage on perpetual contracts.

On the other hand, Kucoin has evolved into a powerhouse in the exchange market matching the likes of Binance in the terms of product offering.

At the heart of its offerings lies the vibrant spot trading platform where a solid range of over 700 cryptocurrencies and altcoins awaits eager traders.

Kucoin Spot Trading
Kucoin Spot Trading

Kucoin is constantly on the move by adding new and often elusive altcoins weekly, making it a great place to be to hunt for those rare digital assets.

Kucoin Crypto Markets
Kucoin Crypto Markets

For the traders who crave more risk and amplified action, Kucoin rolls out the red carpet with margin trading and up to 10X leverage.

Kucoin Margin Trading
Kucoin Margin Trading

This feature is a gateway to potentially magnified profits (or losses), allowing traders to go long or short on a selection of over 100 cryptocurrencies via either cross or isolated margin.

For those that want to long or short but with less risk, Kucoin presents its leveraged tokens where traders can take up to 2-4X leverage, but without the hassles of loans or liquidations.

Kucoin Leveraged Tokens
Kucoin Leveraged Tokens

In the realm of futures trading, Kucoin unleashes an arsenal of over 250 tradable futures contracts which includes USDT and USDC margin contracts, Coin-margin contracts, and even grid bots for the tactically minded.

Kucoin Futures
Kucoin Futures

For those who prefer to gamble with high risk, Kucoin offers a degen friendly 125X leverage across its perpetual contracts.

Kucoin also caters to the automation enthusiasts with a smorgasbord of trading bots including spot grid to the strategic play of futures grid, martingale, smart rebalance, infinity grid, and Dollar-Cost Averaging (DCA).

Kucoin Trading Bots
Kucoin Trading Bots

In terms of cryptocurrency trading volumes, Kucoin makes its mark by ranking in the top 20 for spot trading with a $1 billion in 24-hour volume, and over $2 billion in futures trading.

Kucoin Trading Volumes
Kucoin Trading Volumes

But the allure of Kucoin extends beyond trading. In its Earn section allows users to explore earn savings, staking, and dual investments to turn their digital assets into a passive income stream.

Kucoin Earn
Kucoin Earn

The staking options span across illustrious blockchains like Ethereum, Solana, Cosmos, Polkadot, and Injective, each offering its own rates of rewards.

Kucoin Staking
Kucoin Staking

Kucoin has also stepped into the launchpad arena with Kucoin Spotlight, unlocking doors to exhilarating new investment opportunities like SUI.

Kucoin Launchpad
Kucoin Launchpad

Venturing into the eclectic world of NFTs, Kucoin has its very own NFT marketplace where digital art and collectibles of the KCC blockchain and Polygon are at your fingertips.

Kucoin NFTs
Kucoin NFTs

And for the independent spirits who prefer to steer clear of traditional exchanges, Kucoin has developed the non-custodial Halo Wallet available as a mobile app or a Chrome extension.

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

Phemex vs Kucoin Fees

Let's take a look at the trading fees for Phemex and Kucoin. Phemex offers a competitive 0.1% spot fee for makers and takers which is pretty low when compared to other exchanges. Kucoin also charges a 0.1% maker fee and taker fee for spot trading.

Kucoin spot trading fees
Kucoin spot trading fees

Both exchanges also offer futures trading, with Phemex charging a 0.01% maker fee and a 0.06% taker fee, while Kucoin charges a 0.02% maker fee and a 0.06% taker fee.

Overall, both exchanges offer pretty low fees for trading with a small edge to Phemex with their slightly lower maker fee for futures trading.

Phemex
Kucoin
OKX
Spot (mkr)
0.10%
0.1%-0.3%
0.08%
Spot (tkr)
0.10%
0.1%-0.3%
0.10%
Futures (mkr)
0.01%
0.02%
0.02%
Futures (tkr)
0.06%
0.06%
0.05%
Signup
Phemex
Your Capital is at risk.
Kucoin
Your Capital is at risk.
OKX
Your Capital is at risk

Phemex vs Kucoin Deposit Methods

One key difference between Phemex and Kucoin is that Phemex does not support fiat deposits at all.

Kucoin on the other hand supports the deposit of fiat currencies for a whopping 28 fiat currencies such as EUR, AUD, CHF, GBP, RUB and SEK.

On Kucoin, all fiat deposit options are with Visa and Mastercard but the downside is that they come with a high 3.8% deposit fee.

Users who wish to deposit on Phemex thus have to either deposit cryptocurrencies (free of charge) or buy crypto via credit card or bank transfer.

Whether you are using Phemex or Kucoin, we recommend that you avoid depositing fiat currencies with high fees.

In that case it's best to simply deposit cryptocurrencies and using the respective trading facilities of each exchange.

Phemex
Kucoin
OKX
USD
-
Debit/Credit card
-
EUR
Yes
Debit/Credit card
-
GBP
Yes
Debit/Credit card
-
Signup
Phemex
Your Capital is at risk.
Kucoin
Your Capital is at risk.
OKX
Your Capital is at risk

Phemex vs Kucoin Withdrawal Methods

If you're looking for a cryptocurrency exchange that offers the option of fiat withdrawals, you won't find a lot of option on Phemex or Kucoin. However, both exchanges have withdrawals for plenty of cryptocurrencies with differing fees.

To begin with, Phemex does not offer fiat currency withdrawals at all, only cryptocurrency withdrawal are available.

For example, withdrawing Bitcoin from Phemex will cost you a 0.0004 BTC fee and 0.0001 ETH for Ethereum. If you wish to withdraw your SOL or USDT coins, that will cost you 0.01 SOL and 4 USDT respectively.

On the other hand, Kucoin offers fiat withdrawals only for EUR via SEPA with a 5 EUR withdrawal fee.

When it comes to withdrawing cryptocurrencies, Kucoin charges a 0.001 BTC fee for Bitcoin withdrawals and a 0.01 ETH fee for ETH withdrawals. While Kucoin has the advantage of offering EUR withdrawals, overall, Phemex offers it's customers lower withdrawal fees on cryptocurrencies.

Phemex
Kucoin
OKX
USD
Yes
Debit/Credit card
-
EUR
Yes
SEPA
-
GBP
Yes
SEPA
-
Signup
Phemex
Your Capital is at risk.
Kucoin
Your Capital is at risk.
OKX
Your Capital is at risk
Phemex
Kucoin
OKX
Bitcoin
0.0004 BTC
0.001 BTC
0.0002 BTC
Ethereum
0.001 ETH
0.01 ETH
0.0014 ETH
Solana
0.01 SOL
0.01 SOL
0.008 SOL
USDT (ERC-20)
4 USDT
5 USDT
3.8 USDT
Signup
Phemex
Your Capital is at risk.
Kucoin
Your Capital is at risk.
OKX
Your Capital is at risk

Is Kucoin better than Phemex?

In conclusion, both Phemex and Kucoin are great cryptocurrency exchanges that cater to the needs of both beginners and professionals.

When it comes to choosing which exchange to go with, it ultimately comes down to personal preference and the specific needs of the user.

Phemex is a great exchange for those looking for a high-level user experience, competitive set of product features, and low fees for spot trading.

On the other hand, Kucoin offers a good variety of products and services with an easy-to-navigate interface, and the ability to deposit and withdraw fiat currencies.

Phemex offers more options for professional traders with lower futures fees while Kucoin offers more finance products related to staking and earning.

Overall, whether you're a beginner or a professional trader, Phemex and Kucoin are both great options to consider when it comes to cryptocurrency exchanges.

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.
Phemex

250 Cryptos & 0.1% Spot Fees

Spot, Margin, Perps, Bots

Fiat Deposits/Withdrawals

100X Leverage & No KYC

Visit Phemex
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.

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