CoinSpot vs KuCoin Fees

There are various fees charged on both these crypto exchanges. Let's have a closer look at both in detail. 

Deposit Fees

CoinSpot charges ZERO fees on AUD deposits using POLi, PayID, or Direct Deposit (via OSKO). If you want to deposit using BPAY, the fee is 0.9% fee, and for cash deposit, it costs 2.5%.

KuCoin doesn't support fiat deposits. To buy crypto using fiat, you can pay for it directly at the time of purchase, without pre-funding your account. The transaction cost varies from 3% - 5%, depending on payment method selected. Click here to learn more.

Trading Fees

CoinSpot charges a fee of 1% when you buy and sell crypto instantly from the exchange. You can opt to trade on the market instead, where the trading fees are only 0.1%, but there are only 14 coins supported. To purchase the entire range of 430+ cryptocurrencies, you have to use the instant buy function. 

KuCoin has trading fees starting from only 0.1%, with a 20% discount if you pay fees using KCS coin (Kucoin's token). This means the trading fee equates to just 0.08%. If you trade large amounts of crypto, or you own a substantial amount of KCS, you can reduce your fees even further, based on a tiered structure.

KuCoin's market doesn't allow trading with fiat currency, so you cannot purchase crypto for 0.1%. Instead, you have to buy crypto directly from KuCoin, with a fee ranging from 3% - 5% based on your payment method. So even though KuCoin's trading fee is very low, if you do not already own cryptocurrency that you can trade on the market, you need to pay a steep fee to receive your initial coins. 

Withdrawal Fees

CoinSpot charges ZERO fees for AUD withdrawals to Australian bank accounts. Withdrawing cryptocurrency from CoinSpot will incur a standard transaction (mining) fee. This varies based on each coin and how busy the network is. The current fee will be displayed on the wallet page in your account. 

KuCoin does NOT allow fiat withdrawals which is definitely the biggest downside of the exchange. You can only withdraw cryptocurrency, with a flat fee depending on which coin you are withdrawing. To view the entire range of KuCoin's cryptocurrencies and their corresponding withdrawal fees, click here.

CoinSpot vs KuCoin Deposit Methods

CoinSpot accepts several deposit methods, including Direct Deposit, PayID, POLi and cryptocurrency, which are all free of charge. Users can also deposit using BPAY (0.9% fee) or cash at a newsagent (2.5% fee). 

On KuCoin, you do not actually deposit fiat into your account, but you can use fiat to purchase crypto directly. The payment methods accepted are debit cards, credit cards and Apple Pay (which incur fees of 3% - 5%). You can deposit cryptocurrency into your KuCoin account with no fee.

CoinSpot vs KuCoin Features 

CoinSpot and KuCoin both have great features, but KuCoin has more advanced tools that are perfect for experienced traders. I'm only going to cover a few standout features that each exchange has, but if you would like to read in-depth about every service offered, read my Coinspot review and KuCoin review.

CoinSpot has designed their exchange to place the customer's needs first. The interface on the desktop site and the mobile app is incredibly user-friendly and easy to navigate. They have a dedicated customer service support team, with Live Chat available. I have tested CoinSpot's Live Chat feature on several occasions, and each time I am talking to a live person (not a bot) within a few minutes. The support staff are always polite, professional, and knowledgeable when assisting me. On the other hand, KuCoin does not have Live Chat, which is something they should invest in.

CoinSpot has a unique feature called CoinSpot Bundles, where you can diversify your crypto investment portfolio in a few easy clicks. CoinSpot Bundles are several different coins that you buy together in one go, spreading out your risk, lowering your fees and averaging the cost over a few cryptocurrencies.

I like to use 'Top Ten Market Cap', which is as it sounds - the ten biggest cryptocurrencies based on market capitalisation. Many investors plan to hold these coins anyway, which include BTC, ETH, BNB, XRP and ADA, and it reduces risk due to lower volatility. These are the CoinSpot Bundles currently available on CoinSpot.

KuCoin has free trading bots available on their platform that can assist you with your trading plans. You set the rules that your bot will follow, to automatically trade when certain parameters are met. You can even mimic the most successful bots by using their settings. The bots will run even when you are sleeping, and you don't need your computer or your phone operating for them to work, since they run on a cloud. 

On KuCoin, you can earn interest on your crypto to continually grow your investment while you leave it on the exchange. One way to do this is buying and holding KuCoin's token (KCS). If you own more than 6 KCS, you will automatically earn interest daily, with an estimated APR of 22%. 

You can also lend your crypto to other users. KuCoin's Crypto Lend supports over 160 cryptocurrencies, and you select the loan term of 7, 14 or 28 days. You can choose the daily interest that you want to receive from a borrower. With a higher rate, you receive higher returns, but you may not get a borrower willing to pay your rate, if everyone else is offering a more reasonable rate.

With the ability to lend also come the opportunity to borrow. If you want to borrow crypto for whatever reason, you can easily find someone on KuCoin.

CoinSpot vs KuCoin Security

Security is of utmost importance on any top cryptocurrency exchange, and CoinSpot and KuCoin are no different. CoinSpot has multi-layered security, featuring Two-Factor Authentication (2FA), custom withdrawal restrictions, anti-phishing phrases, geo-lock logins, session timeout settings and offline cold storage of the vast majority of its digital assets. CoinSpot has registration with AUSTRAC, meeting strict AML/KYC obligations, and is a certified member of Blockchain Australia, fully compliant with the Australian Digital Currency Industry Code of Conduct. CoinSpot is the most secure and audited Australian crypto exchange, the only one awarded the ISO 27001 certification. 

KuCoin also utilises various security measures to keep their customers' funds protected, such as micro-withdrawal wallets, industry-level multilayer encryption and dynamic multi-factor authentication. KuCoin has dedicated internal risk control departments that oversee all transactions daily. KuCoin was hacked in 2020 and $150 million was stolen, but they responded in a commendable manner. They acted quickly and managed to recover a large portion of the stolen funds, with their insurance covering the remaining amount. Their customers did not suffer any losses as a result of this cybersecurity breach.

Verdict - CoinSpot

CoinSpot is one of the best crypto exchanges found in Australia, and KuCoin is one of the most popular across the globe. CoinSpot has a simple, user-friendly interface, with Live Chat support, and excellent features such as CoinSpot Bundles. It has low 0.1% trading fees on popular cryptocurrencies on the market, but to access most of the coins it will cost 1% as you need to buy direct from the exchange.

KuCoin has low trading fees of 0.1% across all 700+ coins, which can be easily reduced to 0.08%, but unfortunately you cannot buy crypto using fiat at this price. To buy crypto using fiat you will incur a fee of 3% - 5%, which is much higher than CoinSpot's 1% fee. KuCoin also has no Live Chat customer support, and you are unable to withdraw fiat currencies from your KuCoin account. These major downfalls mean that CoinSpot is the winner.

CoinSpot is the better choice for most Aussie cryptocurrency investors, especially if you are a beginner. If you are planning to trade a lot, or you want advanced features, such as margin trading, futures, and a P2P marketplace, then KuCoin has got you covered. However, to avoid the steep fiat-to-crypto fees, you could buy your crypto on another exchange (for example, CoinSpot), and then send your crypto to your KuCoin wallet to use for trading. When you want to sell your crypto, you could send it back to CoinSpot, where you can convert it to fiat, and withdraw AUD to your bank account. Note that there will be a fee charged each time you send crypto from one exchange to another. You need to work out which is the best option for you, based on the amount you are buying or trading.

Still Researching?

To learn more about CoinSpot and KuCoin follow the links to my in-depth breakdowns: CoinSpot review and KuCoin review. If you want some Australian alternatives to CoinSpot and KuCoin, read my article on the best Australian crypto exchanges, and take a look at the comparison table.