Gate vs KuCoin

Gate or KuCoin: which to use

Gate vs KuCoin is a close match on structure: both are centralized exchanges that hold your funds in an account, match on a central limit order book, and require KYC. The differences that decide it are the fee, the market count and the leverage ceiling. Gate charges 2 bp maker and 5 bp taker, lists 1022 perps and allows up to 200x. KuCoin charges 2 bp maker and 6 bp taker, lists 686 perps and allows up to 125x. Pick on whether those numbers matter to you.

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. KuCoin is built the same way: an account at a company, with a central limit order book behind it. For the trader the custody model is identical, so the choice rests on fees, markets, leverage and access rules.

Fees and what they mean

Gate's base tier is 2 bp maker and 5 bp taker, per Gate's fee announcement. KuCoin's base tier is 2 bp maker and 6 bp taker, per KuCoin's fee page.

The maker rate is the same on both. A limit order that rests on the book pays 2 bp on either exchange. A market order pays the taker fee to open and again to close: 10 bp per round trip on Gate and 12 bp on KuCoin. One basis point is 0.01% of the position.

Fees are 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 both at each size from $1k to $5M, and every exchange's trading cost is compared on one page.

Markets and leverage

As of 1 October 2026 Gate lists 1022 active perps, 301 of them stocks, commodities, FX or other real-world assets. KuCoin lists 686, 159 of them real-world assets. Gate therefore has more markets in total and more real-world asset markets.

Gate allows up to 200x on its highest-leverage market and KuCoin up to 125x. Most markets on both allow less, so check the limit on 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, an 8-hour market three times, so a position held across several days feels the interval. 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: an unverified account can only withdraw and close positions. KuCoin requires standard KYC, an ID and face check, for any product, and has done so since August 2023.

Tokens

Gate's token is $GT. KuCoin's token is $KCS.

Reading the numbers on this page

The two exchanges count open interest differently. Gate publishes longs plus shorts, both sides of every position. KuCoin 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. Volume, depth and funding in the Head to head table are live, so use them for today's comparison rather than any figure in this article.

Which one fits you

• Pick Gate if you trade crypto perps with market orders: 5 bp taker against 6 bp.
• Pick Gate if you want more markets: 1022 against 686.
• Pick Gate if you want stocks, commodities and FX on the same exchange as crypto: 301 real-world asset markets against 159.
• Pick Gate if you need leverage above 125x, up to 200x on its highest market.
• Pick KuCoin if you trade mostly with limit orders: its 2 bp maker rate matches Gate's, so the taker gap does not apply.
• Pick KuCoin if you want a 125x ceiling, with 686 perp markets to choose from.