Bybit vs KuCoin

Bybit vs KuCoin: which to use

Bybit vs KuCoin is a choice between two centralized exchanges with the same maker fee and different taker fees, market counts and leverage caps. Bybit charges 2 bp maker and 5.5 bp taker, lists 857 perp markets (237 of them real-world assets) and allows up to 150x. KuCoin charges 2 bp maker and 6 bp taker, lists 686 markets (159 real-world assets) and allows up to 125x. Both require KYC. Bybit suits traders who use market orders, want more markets or need higher leverage. KuCoin suits traders who want its $KCS token.

How each exchange is built

Bybit and KuCoin are both centralized exchanges (CEX): you open an account with the company, and the account holds your funds. Both match orders on a central limit order book.

Fees and what they mean

Bybit's base tier is 2 bp maker and 5.5 bp taker, per Bybit's fee page. KuCoin's is 2 bp maker and 6 bp taker, per KuCoin's fee page. Fees are in basis points (bp): 1 bp is 0.01% of the position.

The maker fee is the same on both, so a limit order that rests on the book and fills later pays 2 bp on either exchange. The taker fee is paid when an order takes liquidity, which is what a market order does. A market round trip pays it twice: 11 bp on Bybit and 12 bp on KuCoin.

The round trip in the cost table above also includes slippage, the price you move by eating through the order book. The fee alone does not show it, and it grows with size. For a comparison across more exchanges, see trading cost on every exchange.

Markets and leverage

As of 1 October 2026 Bybit lists 857 active perp markets and KuCoin lists 686. Of those, 237 on Bybit and 159 on KuCoin are stocks, commodities, FX or other real-world assets. If you want those markets on the same exchange as your crypto perps, Bybit has more of them.

Bybit allows up to 150x on its highest-leverage market and KuCoin up to 125x. Most markets on both allow less, so check the cap of the market you plan to trade.

Both exchanges pay funding every 1 hour, 4 hours or 8 hours depending on the market. Funding is the periodic payment between longs and shorts, and a positive rate means longs pay shorts. An hourly market settles 24 times a day and an 8-hour market three times, so a position held across several days meets many more payments on an hourly market. The list further down this page shows the markets both exchanges have, each one's funding rate and the Net 7d figure for your position size.

Access and KYC

Bybit requires standard verification for every product. KuCoin requires standard KYC, an ID and face check, for any product since August 2023. Neither lets you trade perps without completing it, so plan for identity checks on both before you move funds.

Token

KuCoin's token is $KCS.

Reading the numbers on this page

Open interest is the value of open positions, and the two exchanges publish it differently. Bybit publishes longs plus shorts, both sides of every position, so its figure reads about twice a one-side count. KuCoin publishes one side of open positions. For the same positions Bybit's number reads about twice as large, so the open interest row and chart above are not a like-for-like comparison of size.

Neither exchange has a TVL row or chart, because centralized exchanges publish none. The TVL row in the Head to head table is therefore empty for this pair. The volume chart and the cost table above are the places to compare size and trading cost today.

Which one fits you

• Pick Bybit if you trade with market orders: 5.5 bp taker against 6 bp on KuCoin.
• Pick Bybit if you want more real-world asset perps: 237 markets against 159.
• Pick Bybit if you need the higher leverage cap, 150x against 125x.
• Pick KuCoin if you place mostly limit orders: its 2 bp maker fee matches Bybit's, so the taker gap does not apply.
• Pick KuCoin if you want a token tied to your exchange, $KCS.
• Pick KuCoin if you want a venue with 686 perp markets and up to 125x leverage in the same account.