Gate vs Kraken Futures

Gate vs Kraken Futures: which to use

Gate vs Kraken Futures is a choice between two centralized exchanges with identical base fees, 2 bp maker and 5 bp taker, so the difference sits elsewhere. Gate lists 1022 perp markets, 301 of them real-world assets, and offers up to 200x. Kraken Futures lists 278, 19 of them real-world assets, with up to 100x and funding paid every hour on every market. Gate pays funding every 1h, 4h or 8h depending on the market. Pick on market range and leverage (Gate) or on a uniform hourly funding schedule (Kraken Futures), then check your region against the KYC rules below.

How each exchange is built

Gate is a centralized exchange (CEX): you open an account with the company, and the account holds your funds. It matches orders on a central limit order book. Kraken Futures works the same way: an account at the company, and orders matched on a central limit order book. For the trader, neither choice changes custody or how orders are matched. The choice rests on fees, markets, leverage, funding and access.

Fees and what they mean

Gate's base tier is 2 bp maker and 5 bp taker, per Gate's fee announcement. Kraken Futures' base tier is also 2 bp maker and 5 bp taker, per Kraken's fee schedule.

A market order pays the taker fee to open and again to close: 10 bp per round trip on both exchanges. A limit order that rests on the book pays the maker fee instead, 2 bp on both. At base tier the fee rates give you no reason to prefer one exchange.

The fee is only part of a trade's cost. Slippage, the price you move by eating through the order book, grows with size. The cost table above adds the taker fee twice to the measured slippage at each size from $1k to $5M, so read it to see where the two exchanges differ.

Markets and leverage

As of 1 October 2026 Gate lists 1022 active perps, 301 of them stocks, commodities, FX or other real-world assets. Kraken Futures lists 278, of which 19 are real-world assets. If you want stocks, commodities or FX perps next to crypto, Gate has far more of them.

Gate offers up to 200x on its highest-leverage market and Kraken Futures up to 100x. Most markets on both allow less, so check the limit on the market you trade.

Funding is the periodic payment between longs and shorts, and a positive rate means longs pay shorts. Kraken Futures pays it every hour on every market. Gate pays every 1h, 4h or 8h depending on the market. An hourly market settles 24 times a day, a 4-hour market six times and an 8-hour market three times. Check a market's interval on Gate before you hold a position through funding. The list further down this page shows the markets both exchanges have and each one's funding rate.

Who can use them

Both exchanges require KYC. Gate requires it before the futures account opens, and an unverified account can only withdraw and close positions. Kraken Futures requires full verification. It is closed to the US (which has a separate US product), Canada, Australia (wholesale only) and retail UK clients. If you live in one of those places, Kraken Futures is not an option for you. Confirm your own eligibility with each exchange.

Tokens

Gate's token is $GT.

Reading the numbers on this page

Gate publishes open interest as longs plus shorts, both sides of every position. Kraken Futures publishes one side of open positions. For the same positions Gate's figure 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, as is usual for a centralized exchange. Use the volume and open interest charts, with the caveat above, and the execution cost page to compare the two against other exchanges.

Which one fits you

• Pick Gate if you want the widest choice of markets: 1022 perps against 278.
• Pick Gate if you trade stocks, commodities or FX perps: 301 real-world asset markets against 19.
• Pick Gate if you need more than 100x: it offers up to 200x.
• Pick Kraken Futures if you want funding on a fixed hourly schedule: every market pays every 1h.
• Pick Kraken Futures if you prefer one funding clock across all markets, which makes holding costs on a position easier to compare.
• Pick Kraken Futures if you keep leverage at 100x or below and trade a smaller list of markets.