CoinSpot and Coinbase are two big (and confusingly similar) names in the crypto world. CoinSpot is one of the best Australian exchanges, and Coinbase is the largest in the USA. Which one should you use?
The short answer is CoinSpot, with much lower fees, 24/7 Live Chat support, NFT marketplace and the ability to sell crypto and withdraw AUD to your bank. Our readers can also claim $20 FREE Bitcoin when you sign up here.
Coinbase is not made specifically for the Australian market, and because of that, they fall behind, and don't even offer the basic feature of selling cryptocurrency and withdrawing Australian Dollars.
Keep reading to find out how we compared the two platforms and see if you agree with our decision. Your personal needs may differ from others, so you may find Coinbase more suited to you.
Comparison Table
Header |  |  |
|---|---|---|
Coins | 410+ | 160+ |
Trading Fee | Market: 0.1%, Instant buy: 1% | 4.49% |
Deposit Fee | Bank transfer, POLi, PayID, OSKO: Free; BPAY: 0.9%, Cash: 2.5% | Included in trading fee |
Withdraw Fee | Free | Cannot withdraw |
Payment Methods | Bank transfer, OSKO, BPAY, POLi, PayID, Cash Deposit | Debit card |
Features | - Live Chat support - Most secure and trusted exchange in Australia - NFT marketplace | - Insurance cover in case exchange is hacked - Earn free coins by watching short educational videos |
Cell |
Header | | |
|---|---|---|
Coins | 410+ | 160+ |
Trading Fee | Market: 0.1%, Instant buy: 1% | 4.49% |
Deposit Fee | Bank transfer, POLi, PayID, OSKO: Free; BPAY: 0.9%, Cash: 2.5% | Included in trading fee |
Withdraw Fee | Free | Cannot withdraw |
Payment Methods | Bank transfer, OSKO, BPAY, POLi, PayID, Cash Deposit | Debit card |
Features | - Live Chat support - Most secure and trusted exchange in Australia - NFT marketplace | - Insurance cover in case exchange is hacked - Earn free coins by watching short educational videos |
Cell |
Pros & Cons: CoinSpot
Pros & Cons: Coinbase
Fees
CoinSpot has no fees for withdrawals, and has free deposits using Bank transfer, POLi, PayID and OSKO. Depositing with BPAY will cost 0.9% and using Cash is 2.5%. The fee for instant buy and sell is 1%. If you buy on the market, the fee is only 0.1% but there is a limited number of coins you can access on the market.
Coinbase charges 4.49% to purchase crypto using a debit card, which is the only method supported in Australia. There is no way to sell crypto or withdraw AUD from Coinbase in Australia.
Fees Winner: CoinSpot
Much lower fees make CoinSpot the obvious winner in terms of fees.
Number of Coins
CoinSpot offers over 410+ different cryptocurrencies, and they are continually adding new coins to their platform.
Coinbase offers 160+ different coins, which is a lot fewer than CoinSpot.
Number of Coins Winner: CoinSpot
CoinSpot offers more than 4x the number of coins as Coinbase, and has the largest range of any Australian cryptocurrency exchange.
Features
CoinSpot is a user-friendly platform built for the everyday Australian. It has an easy-to-use instant buy and instant sell feature, as well as a market to trade coins with other users for only 0.1%. There is a Live Chat support team that is readily available to assist when you have any issues, and this is such a valuable feature for newcomers to cryptocurrency. If you want to swap between coins, that is simple to do, and you can access CoinSpot easily on both your desktop or mobile device, with the intuitive app.
Coinbase is also easy to use, but lacks some basic functionality in Australia, as it was built for the US market. With Coinbase, you cannot sell your cryptocurrency, nor can you withdraw any fiat currency from the exchange, which is a major downfall for them. It does have a unique feature called Coinbase Earn where you can earn free cryptocurrency by watching short 3 minute videos that teach you about crypto.
Features Winner: CoinSpot
CoinSpot is very easy to use, and allows the sale of crypto and withdrawal of fiat, which is not supported by Coinbase. Live Chat is also a coveted feature that is available on CoinSpot.
Security
CoinSpot is the most secure and audited cryptocurrency exchange in Australia, with ISO 27001 certification, and membership with Blockchain Australia. CoinSpot has multi-layered security including 2FA (Two-Factor Authentication), custom withdrawal restrictions, anti-phishing phrases, geo-lock logins, session timeout settings as well as secure cold storage of the majority of their crypto assets.
Coinbase is also a very secure exchange, with 2FA, biometric logins, and 98% of their cryptocurrency stored offline in cold storage. Coinbase even has crime insurance, which covers any losses from theft, including cybersecurity breaches.
Security Winner: CoinSpot
CoinSpot and Coinbase are both very secure, but CoinSpot wins as it is the most secure and audited Australian crypto exchange, and the only one awarded ISO 27001 certification.
Overall Winner
CoinSpot wins hands down in this comparison, as it breezed through as the winner for each section. Coinbase is simply not suited for the Australian crypto market, with the lack of fiat withdrawals and crypto sales.
Don't forget to claim your $20 FREE Bitcoin when you sign up to CoinSpot with this unique link.
If you want to have a look at some other options, see the comparison table below which show the best crypto exchanges in Australia.
