OKX vs Kraken Futures

OKX vs Kraken Futures: which to use

OKX vs Kraken Futures is a pairing of two centralized exchanges with identical base fees: 2 bp maker and 5 bp taker on both. Three facts separate them. OKX lists 480 perps, 191 of them real-world assets, against 278 and 19 on Kraken Futures. Kraken Futures pays funding every hour on every market, while OKX pays every 4 or 8 hours. Kraken Futures also closes several regions to its clients. Pick OKX for breadth of markets and real-world assets. Pick Kraken Futures for hourly funding on every market.

How each exchange is built

OKX is a centralized exchange (CEX): you open an account with the company, and the account holds your funds. Kraken Futures is also a CEX with the same account model. Both match orders on a central limit order book.

What each charges per trade

OKX's base tier is 2 bp maker and 5 bp taker, per OKX's fee source. Kraken Futures' base tier is 2 bp maker and 5 bp taker, per Kraken's fee schedule.

The rates match, so the fee does not separate them at the base tier. A market order pays the taker fee to open and again to close: 10 bp per round trip on both. A limit order that rests on the book and is filled later pays the 2 bp maker fee instead.

The round trip in the cost table above also includes slippage, the price you move by eating through the order book. Slippage grows with size, so the fee alone does not show what a trade costs. Execution cost across every exchange is compared on a separate page.

How many markets and how much leverage

As of 1 October 2026 OKX lists 480 active perps, 191 of them stocks, commodities, FX or other real-world assets. Kraken Futures lists 278, of which 19 are real-world assets. If you trade stocks or commodities next to crypto, OKX has more of them on one exchange.

Both offer up to 100x on their highest-leverage market, and most markets on each allow less. 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. OKX pays every 4 hours or every 8 hours depending on the market, so check a market's interval before you hold it.

An hourly market settles 24 times a day, an 8-hour market three times. A position held for a short time meets fewer settlements on a 4 or 8 hour schedule, while an hourly schedule passes a rate change into your payments sooner. The list further down this page shows the markets both exchanges have and each one's funding rate.

Who can use them

OKX requires KYC: advanced verification before trading, deposits or withdrawals. Kraken Futures requires full verification. It is not offered in the US, where a separate US product exists, nor in Canada. It is open to Australia for wholesale clients only, and it is closed to retail UK clients. Check your region before you open an account on Kraken Futures.

Token

OKX has a token, $OKB.

Reading the numbers on this page

Both exchanges publish open interest as one side of open positions, so the open interest row and chart above compare like with like on counting method. Neither exchange publishes TVL, as is usual for a centralized exchange, so the TVL row and chart show no figure for either.

For funding, use the Head to head table for the current BTC rate and the 30-day figure. For a pair on both exchanges, funding spreads ranked by Net 7d show what a spread paid after a round trip.

Which one fits you

• Pick OKX if you want more perps on one exchange: 480 markets against 278 as of 1 October 2026.
• Pick OKX if you trade stocks, commodities or FX perps: 191 real-world asset markets against 19.
• Pick OKX if you want a token to follow: $OKB.
• Pick Kraken Futures if you want hourly funding on every market, not a 4 or 8 hour schedule.
• Pick Kraken Futures if your strategy needs funding to settle 24 times a day and you want one interval across all markets.