Binance vs KuCoin

Binance or KuCoin: which to use

Binance vs KuCoin is a comparison of two centralized exchanges with the same maker fee and different taker fees, market counts and leverage ceilings. Binance charges 5 bp taker against KuCoin's 6 bp, lists more perp markets and goes up to 150x against 125x. Both charge 2 bp maker, so the fee gap only shows on market orders. Pick Binance for the lower taker fee, the longer market list and the higher leverage ceiling. Pick KuCoin if 125x and its market list cover what you trade, you mostly place limit orders, or you want $KCS.

How each exchange is built

Binance is a centralized exchange (CEX): you open an account with the company, and the account holds your funds. KuCoin is built the same way. Both match orders on a central limit order book.

For you this means the same thing on both: you trade from an exchange account, not a self-custody wallet. The differences are in the numbers below.

What each exchange charges per trade

Binance's base tier is 2 bp (0.02%) maker and 5 bp (0.05%) taker, per Binance's fee page. KuCoin's base tier is 2 bp maker and 6 bp (0.06%) taker, per KuCoin's fee announcement. One basis point (bp) is 0.01% of the position.

Binance's stock and commodity perps charge regular users 0 maker and 0.04% taker, "until further notice" as of 29 September 2026.

A market order pays the taker fee to open and again to close. That is 10 bp per round trip on Binance's crypto perps and 12 bp on KuCoin. A limit order that rests on the book pays the maker fee instead, 2 bp on both, so for limit orders the two base tiers are equal.

Fees are only part of a trade's cost. Slippage is the price you move by eating through the order book, and it grows with size. The cost table above adds the fee and the measured slippage at each size, and the execution cost page shows the same figures for every exchange.

How many markets and how much leverage

As of 1 October 2026 Binance lists 783 active perpetual markets, 213 of them stocks, commodities, FX or other real-world assets. KuCoin lists 686, of which 159 are real-world assets. If you trade perps on stocks and commodities, Binance has more of them on one exchange.

Binance allows up to 150x on its highest-leverage market and KuCoin up to 125x. Most markets on both allow less. A Binance futures account under 30 days old is capped at 20x, so the 150x ceiling applies after that.

Both exchanges pay funding every 1 hour, 4 hours or 8 hours depending on the market. An hourly market settles 24 times a day and an 8-hour market three times. A position held across many settlements feels a funding rate more often on an hourly market, so check a market's interval before you hold it. The list further down this page shows the markets both exchanges have and each one's funding rate.

What each exchange asks for before you trade

Binance requires verified KYC to deposit or trade. KuCoin requires standard KYC, an ID and face check, for any product, and has done so since August 2023. Both ask for identity before you trade, so neither fits a trader who wants to start without ID.

Tokens

Binance's token is $BNB and KuCoin's is $KCS.

Reading the numbers on this page

Both exchanges publish open interest as one side of open positions. The open interest row and chart above compare like with like, with no doubling on either side.

Neither exchange has a TVL row or chart, because centralized exchanges publish none. The TVL row in the Head to head table stays empty for this pair. Volume, open interest, funding and cost figures are live and refreshed every minute, so read them in the table and charts above rather than from this text. To compare funding between the two on a single coin, use the funding chart on this page, or see funding spreads for every pair.

Which one fits you

• Pick Binance if you trade with market orders: 5 bp taker against KuCoin's 6 bp, which is 10 bp against 12 bp per round trip.
• Pick Binance if you want stocks and commodities next to crypto: 213 real-world asset markets, charged 0 maker and 0.04% taker for regular users.
• Pick Binance if you need more than 125x on a market that allows it, once the account is past its first 30 days.
• Pick KuCoin if you place mostly limit orders: its 2 bp maker rate equals Binance's, so the taker gap does not apply.
• Pick KuCoin if its 125x ceiling and 686 markets, 159 of them real-world assets, cover what you trade.
• Pick KuCoin if you want to hold $KCS.