KuCoin vs Pionex

KuCoin vs Pionex

Robert McDougall 

January 8, 2024

Cryptocurrency

Investing in cryptocurrency can be a great way to generate passive income. However, in order to be successful, you need to choose the right exchange. KuCoin and Pionex are two strong contenders, but which one is best for you?

KuCoin is a Hong Kong-based cryptocurrency exchange that launched in September 2017. It offers a wide range of 700+ altcoins, including some lesser-known coins that you may not be able to find on other exchanges, making it an excellent choice for experienced investors who are looking for a wide selection of coins. The exchange is popular for its low fees, advanced features, and bank-level security.

Pionex, on the other hand, is a good choice for beginners who want to get started with crypto trading. The exchange offers a streamlined interface that is easy to use. Pionex is popular for its trading bots that allow users to automate their trading. This makes it a great choice for those who want to earn passive income without having to actively trade. Pionex only fewer coins than KuCoin, but for the novice trader, the selection of 120+ coins is decent.

So which exchange is best for you? Let's find out.

Cell

Fiat Currencies

USD, EUR, GBP, RUB, CNY, AUD & 40+ more

USD, TWD, EUR, GBP, CAD, AUD, CZK, IDR, MYR, KRW & 13 more

Number of Coins

700+

120+

Trading Fees

0.1%

0.05%

Deposit Methods

Cell
Cell

Bank Transfer

Google Pay

Fedwire

PayPal

Credit Card

Debit Card

Apple Pay

SWIFT

Skrill

SOFORT/iDEAL

Cryptocurrency

Features

Cell
Cell

User-friendly

Mobile app

Live Chat

Security

Cell
Cell

2FA

Biometric security

ISO 27001 certified

Offline cold storage

Website

Cell

Fiat Currencies

USD, EUR, GBP, RUB, CNY, AUD & 40+ more

USD, TWD, EUR, GBP, CAD, AUD, CZK, IDR, MYR, KRW & 13 more

Number of Coins

700+

120+

Trading Fees

0.1%

0.05%

Deposit Methods

Cell
Cell

Bank Transfer

Google Pay

Fedwire

PayPal

Credit Card

Debit Card

Apple Pay

SWIFT

Skrill

SOFORT/iDEAL

Cryptocurrency

Features

Cell
Cell

User-friendly

Mobile app

Live Chat

Security

Cell
Cell

2FA

Biometric security

ISO 27001 certified

Offline cold storage

Website

Pros
  • Supports 700+ coins
  • P2P marketplace where users can trade crypto for free
  • Traders can automate their trades by using trading bots
  • Offers staking to earn interest on several coins
  • Advanced trading markets: futures, spot, margin, and NFT trading
Cons
  • Higher trading fees than Pionex
  • Not available in the US
Pros
  • Supports 120+ coins
  • Offers 16+ free trading bots.
  • Email and live chat customer support
  • Extremely low trading fees of 0.05%
Cons
  • Fewer features than KuCoin
  • Limited range of 120+ cryptocurrencies

KuCoin vs Pionex: Fees

Deposit Fees

Depositing cryptocurrency onto either KuCoin or Pionex is free. However, neither platform supports fiat currency deposits or withdrawals. This means that if you want to buy cryptocurrency on either platform, you'll need to use your credit/debit card or third-party payment processor. Fees incurred while buying cryptocurrency will depend on the payment processor you use.

KuCoin crypto purchases cost between 3.5%- 5.5% depending on the merchant. If you want to avoid transaction fees, you can buy crypto from the P2P marketplace with no extra charges. The only drawback is there are limited options on the P2P marketplace, so you may not find the crypto you're looking for.

Pionex only supports credit card purchases, with the fees being 3.5% for European cards and 4.5% for non-European cards.

Trading Fees

When it comes to trading fees, KuCoin and Pionex offer different models. KuCoin uses a tiered fee structure with a base rate of 0.1%. However, if you use KCS to pay your fees, you'll receive a 20% discount. On the other hand, Pionex charges a flat fee of only 0.05%, which is much lower than KuCoin.

Winner - Pionex

Pionex wins with lower trading fees and crypto purchase fees compared to KuCoin.

KuCoin vs Pionex: Deposit Methods

KuCoin supports a wide range of payment methods, including Giropay, IDEAL, EPS, Visa/Mastercard, Apple Pay, SOFORT Banking, and Bankcontact, 

Pionex only offers cryptocurrency deposits, and credit card payments.

Winner - KuCoin

KuCoin has many more payment options compared to Pionex, which only accepts credit card and cryptocurrency deposits.

KuCoin vs Pionex: Features

Now that we’ve looked at the pros and cons of each exchange, let’s dive into some of the key features that set them apart.

KuCoin Features:

One of the things I like about KuCoin is its commitment to keeping up with the trends and improvements. The exchange regularly adds new features to improve user experience and help users make the most of their trades.

Here is a breakdown of some of the features you expect to find on KuCoin;

Spot trading

Spot trading is the most popular form of cryptocurrency trading. It involves exchanging one cryptocurrency for another, usually to take advantage of price differences between the two assets. 

KuCoin is a leading spot trading platform that offers a wide range of cryptocurrencies and trading pairs. With over 700 different cryptocurrencies, KuCoin provides investors with a great way to diversify their portfolios and take advantage of market movements. 

Futures trading

The futures market is one of the most popular among traders as it offers leveraged positions and the opportunity to trade short-term assets. KuCoin offers 60+ perpetual contracts with a high leverage of 20x. The platform also offers two separate interfaces for futures trading: Futures Lite and Futures Classic. Futures Lite is for beginner traders who want to trade with a simplified interface, while Futures Classic is designed for more experienced traders.

Margin trading

The KuCoin margin trading feature is also quite popular among users. The exchange offers both isolated and cross-margin trading. An isolated margin means that each position is independent of your other positions and has its own set of collateral. This can be useful if you want to limit your risk on any particular trade. Cross-margin, on the other hand, uses your entire account balance as collateral for all of your open positions. This allows you to use leverage, but it also means that a single losing trade could put your entire account at risk.

KuCoin offers up to 10x leverage for isolated margin trades and up to 5x leverage for cross-margin trades. Currently, there are 14 margin trading pairs available. Since margin trading involves using borrowed funds to trade an asset, KuCoin offers a crypto borrowing service to help users get the funds they need to trade on margin. Lenders also make passive income by lending their crypto to margin traders.

KuCoin also offers a variety of tools and resources to help traders make informed decisions, including real-time market data, order books, and charting tools. 

NFT Marketplace

NFTs, or non-fungible tokens, have been getting a lot of attention lately as the new hot thing in crypto. Now, KuCoin has jumped on the NFT bandwagon with its own marketplace featuring three new projects: Windvane, Fractionalize FTT, and Wonderland. With Windvane, you can buy, sell and swap NFTs instantly. Fractionalize FTT lets you trade blue-chip, and with Wonderland, you can launch your own NFTs and games.

KuCoin Earn

Traders looking to boost the value of their cryptocurrency holdings will love KuCoin Earn. With this platform, users can take advantage of various financial products to earn a higher yield on their investments. Products available include Flexible Savings, Staking, Polkadot, and ETH2.0, all of which offer different terms (either flexible or fixed). 

The interest on fixed-term products is higher than that of flexible-term products, making it an excellent choice for users who want to maximize their earnings. 

KuCoin Wallet

If you're looking for a way to securely store, send, and receive all your favorite cryptos and NFTs, then the KuCoin Wallet is an excellent option. With over 10 million global users, the KuCoin Wallet is one of the most popular wallets on the market. And for a good reason – it's incredibly easy to use and provides users with a gateway to Web3World.

Whether you want to trade, lend, play games, publish content, or buy NFTs, the KuCoin Wallet has you covered. Plus, it features world-leading security with a pentesting audit by Hacken. To encourage adoption, the KuCoin Wallet is offering users a 50,000 USDT giveaway. To qualify, users must download the wallet and have at least 1,000 USDT in their account.

KCS

If you're looking for a new cryptocurrency to add to your portfolio, you may want to consider KuCoin's native token, KCS. Like other cryptocurrencies, KCS tokens can be traded and staked on the exchange. However, KCS holders also enjoy several benefits, such as daily bonuses and discounted trading fees. 

Trading Bots

If you're serious about cryptocurrency trading, then you need to be using a bot. Bots are simply automated software programs that can place trades on your behalf. They execute trades quickly and more accurately than humans, and they can also make decisions based on complex market analysis. KuCoin is one of the leading exchanges for crypto trading bots.

The platform offers several different bots that you can use, and it also allows you to create your own custom bots. And you don't need to be an experienced programmer for this; simply enter your limits and strategies, and the bot will do the rest. You can also copy the configurations of other users who have already created successful bots.

Pionex Features:

Trading Bots

Pionex is known for its focus on trade automation. The platform offers 16 trading bots that are ready to use, each with its own unique features and benefits.

Bot trading can be an extremely effective way to trade cryptocurrencies, as it allows users to take advantage of market opportunities 24/7. Bots can also help to take emotions out of trading, as they can be programmed to follow a strict set of rules.

Pionex Earn

Pionex Earn offers a unique opportunity to earn regardless of market conditions. With 18 major cryptocurrencies to choose from, you can invest in the assets you're most confident in. You will earn a high yield if the market price is above the target price at maturity. If the market price is below the target price at maturity, you will still earn high yield and successfully buy BTC. With up to 300% APY available, Pionex Earn is a great way to grow your investment portfolio.

Responsive Customer Support

Cryptocurrency exchanges can be a bit daunting for newcomers. That's why it's important to have good customer support in place to help users get started and answer any questions they may have. Pionex takes pride in its responsive customer support. Whether you need help with setting up your account or have a question about a trade, the team is always ready to assist via email or live chat. In addition, there's a comprehensive FAQ section on the website, as well as detailed tutorials that cover all the basics of using the exchange.

Spot and ETF trading

While Pionex's major focus is on automated trading, the exchange still allows users to trade manually on the spot and in leveraged markets. You can trade over 120+ cryptocurrencies on the spot market. With leveraged trading, you can trade over 180 ETFs.

Both types of trading have their own benefits and risks, so it's important to understand both before you start trading. With spot trading, you can trade a wider range of assets but you cannot access leverage. With leveraged trading, you have less flexibility but can use leverage to potentially make more profit.

Pionex also allows you to trade 30 pairs per bot for those who want to automate their trading, making it a versatile option for traders.

Winner - KuCoin

KuCoin offers a ton of markets such as spot, margin, futures, ETF, and NFT trading. The features that KuCoin has are too many to list, and are unmatched by Pionex.

KuCoin vs Pionex: Security

Pionex is a valued crypto exchange and one of the few that is allowed to operate in the USA. They offer unparalleled security features for their users, including mandatory KYC verification before depositing or trading, two-factor authentication (via Google Authenticator or SMS), and account freezing when suspicious activity is detected. Withdrawal confirmations are sent via email to ensure that funds are only released to authorized users. Pionex is also regulated in the USA and Singapore, which provides additional reassurance to users. Lastly, aggregated liquidity means that there is always enough trading volume to execute trades quickly and efficiently.

As of the time of writing, Pionex has not had any known hacks or security breaches. This can be attributed to their robust security protocol as well as the fact that they are a relatively new exchange. KuCoin, on the other hand, has been in operation since 2017 and has been a victim of a major hack that saw $150 million worth of crypto stolen. While they have since reimbursed all affected users and implemented new security measures, the hack is still a black mark on their record.

Despite this history, KuCoin is known for its bank-level security measures. One key feature is the Anti-phishing Safety Phrase, which helps to protect against fraudulent emails and login attempts. KuCoin also offers Login IP Restriction, which allows you to limit access to your account from specific IP addresses, and Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) for an extra layer of security. The exchange insists on a KYC verification process for higher daily withdrawal limits for even more security. And finally, the Address Book feature allows you to limit the wallet addresses used with your account.

Winner - Draw

It's a tie! Both exchanges have comparable security measures like 2FA and KYC verification, and while they may have individually unique features, they are both committed to keeping your assets safe.

KuCoin vs Pionex: Cryptocurrencies

KuCoin offers a huge variety of coins - over 700 at the time of writing. This means that you're likely to find any coin you want to trade on their platform. 

Pionex, on the other hand, has a more limited selection of 120+ coins.

WinnerKuCoin

KuCoin easily wins this comparison, with its massive range of 700+ coins compared to Pionex's 120.

KuCoin vs Pionex: Summary

Having compared both exchanges in different aspects, KuCoin is the winner of this article. With over 700+ coins available, plenty of features and markets, and low trading fees, KuCoin is an excellent choice for any crypto trader or investor. However, if you are interested in automated trading, Pionex is the better choice for you, with 16 free trading bots included.

Overall Winner - KuCoin

KuCoin wins this comparison with a wider range of features, cryptocurrencies, and markets.

Still Researching?

To learn more before you make up your mind, you can read our in-depth reviews of KuCoin (here) and Pionex (here). If you are from the US, you may be interested to read this article on the best cryptocurrency exchanges for US residents. We also included a quick comparison table below that summarizes some key information.

Comparison Table of the Best Crypto Exchanges in the USA

MEXC
eToro
Uphold
Coinmama
Crypto.com
Crypto Exchange
Crypto Exchange
MEXC
eToro
Uphold
Coinmama
Crypto.com
Fiat Currencies
Fiat Currencies
USD, TWD, AED, PHP, AUD, JPY, CAD, EUR & more
USD
USD, GBP, EUR, CHF, AUD, JPY & 21 more
USD, EUR, AUD, CAD, GBP, JPY
USD, AUD, CAD, CHF, EUR, GBP, NZD, SGD, JPY & 10+ more
Cryptocurrencies
Cryptocurrencies
MEXC, BTC, ETH, EOS, BCH, LTC & 1,520+ more
BTC, ETH, BCH, DASH, LTC, ETC & 75 more
BTC, ETH, ADA, DOGE, COMP, DOT & 125+ more
BTC, ETH, ETC, UNI, LINK, LTC, BCH, DOGE, MATIC, EOS, AAVE, COMP, OMG, YFI, WBTC
BTC, ETH, LTC, XRP, CRO, ADA, DOT, SOL, DOGE & 250+ more
Deposit Methods
Deposit Methods
Visa/Mastercard, Bank Cards, Bank Transfer, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Cryptocurrency
PayPal, Debit card, Wire transfer
Bank Transfer (ACH), Bank Transfer (SEPA), Debit/Credit Card, Wire Transfer, Faster Payments Service, SWIFT, Cryptocurrency
Credit card, Debit card, Fedwire, Apple Pay, Google Pay
Bank Transfer (ACH), BPAY, SEPA, Credit/Debit card, PayPal, TransferWise, Fedwire, SWIFT, Cryptocurrency
Trading Fees
Trading Fees
0% for spot, 0.0%/0.01% for futures
1%
Fees included in the spread
2.93% - 3.90% (depending on loyalty level)
Included in spread

Cryptocurrency is offered by eToro USA LLC (“the MSB”) (NMLS: 1769299) and is not FDIC or SIPC insured. Investing involves risk.

Marketplacefairness.org provides all its content for informational purposes only, and this should not be taken as financial advice to buy, trade or sell cryptocurrency or use any specific exchange. Please do not use this website as investment advice, financial advice or legal advice, and each individual's needs may vary from that of the author. This post includes affiliate links with our partners who may compensate us. 

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