#1. Bybit - Best Overall in New Zealand, Lowest Fees

Bybit is New Zealand's best crypto exchange, due to the reliability and trust that their users have in them. Bybit has more than 10 million users, with over $10 billion trading volume daily. This crypto exchange has deep liquidity and 99.99% system functionality, with rapid trade speed of 100,000 trades per second.

Bybit caters more to those who are interested in trading crypto, however beginners who simply want to buy and hold crypto can also use this with ease. With Bybit, you can purchase crypto directly using Visa/Mastercard, Apple Pay, Google Pay, or bank transfer. Then you can either hold it, or use it to make trades. If you sign up with this link, you also receive FREE $10 BTC when you deposit $100 or more.

Bybit has spot trading with over 280+ coins, as well as derivatives markets (USDT Perpetual contracts, Inverse Perpetual contracts, and Inverse Futures contracts) and even copy trading, so you can mimic the exact trades of successful investors. The fees are 0.1% for spot trading, and if you trade derivatives, the maker fees are only 0.01% and taker fees 0.06%!

Bybit offers advanced trading options such as margin trading, with up to 100x leverage. This means that you can increase the amount you profit with a small investment, however, you must be aware of the risks of margin trading. A small change in price in the opposite direction can liquidate your position quickly. We do not recommend margin trading for beginners.

There is even a testnet (demo) platform on Bybit, which mirrors the main website, and lets users practise their trading strategies using play money, risk-free. Once you get the hang of the platform and you want to start trading for real, you can do so with more confidence.

Bybit offers 24/7 Live Chat support in case you find yourself in any trouble, and also an insurance fund to protect traders from negative equity and being held accountable for excessive loss. With all that this exchange has on offer, serious crypto traders in New Zealand should definitely have a look at Bybit.

Related articles: Best margin trading exchanges

#2. Swyftx Exchange - Best for Beginners

Swyftx is a beautifully-designed, feature-rich platform for cryptocurrency trading, and is my #2 recommendation for New Zealanders. The user-friendly design and overall layout of both the desktop site and mobile app make it perfect for beginners as well as experienced traders. Swyftx offers over 320+ cryptocurrencies to buy and sell, with low transaction fees of only 0.6% per trade. With the generous bonus offer of FREE $20 of BTC for new users, it’s clear how Swyftx has quickly become one of the top cryptocurrency exchanges in New Zealand.

To sign up with Swyftx is extremely quick and easy, along with the short verification process, which does NOT require taking photos of yourself. Once the verification is complete, you will receive $20 FREE BTC in your account, even before you have made a deposit. If you are a beginner to cryptocurrency, you can easily turn on the unique demo setting, where you can navigate the platform with no risk - you can practise buying and selling using free play money. Swyftx focuses on its customers, with an FAQ database, tutorials from the Swyftx team, and Live Chat support team. 

We find Swyftx to be an excellent crypto exchange that is very customer-focused and easy to use, and we've heard lots of positive feedback from new users who remark how easy it is to get started buying their first crypto. If you are looking for a secure trading platform that makes it easy for anyone to get started, we highly recommend you try out Swyftx.

Swyftx charges a flat fee of 0.6% for all trades, with no fees hidden in the spread unlike some competitors. Swyftx has the lowest spreads in the New Zealand crypto market, (only 0.45% on BTC, and averaging 1.7% overall) because they can access large international pools of trading volume, passing on the benefit to their customers. 

The longer you use Swyftx, the more useful tools and features you will discover. For example, we found the Price Alert feature to be particularly useful, as it sends instant notifications when a selected coin reaches a pre-set price, so you can buy or sell at the most opportune time. 

One downside that Swyftx has is their lack of staking. They used to offer it on 20 different coins, but as of early 2023 they have cancelled this option.

Related articles: Swyftx vs Binance, Swyftx vs Coinbase, Swyftx vs Independent Reserve

#3. MEXC Global Trading Platform - Best for huge range of coins

MEXC is the best choice for New Zealanders who want choice when it comes to buying and trading crypto. With over 1,520+ coins across 2,110+ trading pairs, you will have plenty of options, from popular coins, to small altcoins you have never heard of. Maker fees for spot and futures trading are 0%, completely free! Taker fees for spot trading is 0.1% and for futures it is 0.03%, and you can receive 10% off trading fees when you register using this link.

Whether you are a beginner looking to instantly buy crypto, an intermediate trader who wants to do spot trading, or an experienced futures trader, you will find it all at MEXC Global. You can also margin trade (with up to 125x leverage), use the free trading bots, or profit by copying successful traders.

MEXC has extremely high liquidity, much higher than other top crypto exchanges, such as Bybit, Binance, KuCoin, and Huobi. MEXC has more than twice the liquidity of its nearest competitor Bitget, and 10x more than the other trading platforms. If you want to register on MEXC, make sure to use our link, to receive $30 FREE USDT as well as 10% discount on all your trading fees! 

Related articles: Best no KYC crypto exchanges, Best crypto trading bots, Best copy trading platforms, Best anonymous crypto exchanges

#4. KuCoin Cryptocurrency Exchange - Best for Altcoins

KuCoin is well-known around the globe for its huge range of cryptocurrencies (over 700+ altcoins) and low trading fees (from 0.1%). KuCoin has a popular loyalty program that allows investors to earn KCS (KuCoin's own token), as well as receiving discounted fees when paying fees using KCS. 

KuCoin also has excellent FREE trading bots, that you can use to automate your trading strategy. At the time of writing, they offer a Spot Grid bot, Futures Grid bot, Smart Rebalance bot, DCA bot, and Infinity Grid bot. These are excellent ways to take emotion out of trading, and allow crypto trades to happen without any personal input, even when you are offline, or asleep. Some crypto traders pay hundreds of dollars for the crypto trading bots, yet KuCoin is offering it to their users for free!

Besides margin trading, KuCoin offers plenty of other options for crypto enthusiasts, such as spot trading, derivatives trading, crypto lending, crypto borrowing, crypto interest, and even NFTs. There are even instant crypto purchases, swaps, and P2P marketplace if you are more interested in those features. 

Related articles: KuCoin vs Kraken, KuCoin vs Coinbase, KuCoin vs Binance

#5. Binance Exchange - Best for Serious Trading

Binance has created a remarkable platform for serious cryptocurrency traders, and its popularity around the world is testament to that. Binance is the largest crypto exchange in the world based on trading volume, and its low trading fees (starting at only 0.1%) is only one of the reasons why users love the platform. There are a ton of additional services such as staking, futures trading, P2P marketplace, and over 600+ different coins, that make Binance a great place to trade.

If you're keen to trade crypto frequently, then Binance is the platform for you. With extremely competitive fees of 0.1%, option to reduce fees if you own their coin (BNB), and fee reductions based on high trading volume, Binance is the most cost-effective way to trade and maximise your profits. You can even access up to $100 cashback vouchers if you sign up with our link here.

If you like to trade automatically using bots, Binance is compatible with most third-party trading bots so you can profit from market swings even if you are busy, offline, or even asleep. Read our article on the best trading bots to find one that is suitable for you.

Related articles: Binance vs Swyftx, Binance vs KuCoin

#6. Crypto.com App and Exchange - Best for Staking

Crypto.com is an excellent crypto platform for Kiwis that are interested in staking their coins. If you are unfamiliar with the term staking, it is essentially like holding your money in the bank, but instead you are doing it with cryptocurrency. By 'staking' your cryptocurrency, you are locking it up, which helps to validate the transactions on the blockchain, and you receive rewards for doing so. The reward you receive is more of the coin that you have staked, eg: if you stake ADA, you will receive more ADA (Cardano) as a  reward. 

Staking is a great idea if you plan on holding your cryptocurrency long term. You might as well earn some extra crypto while you hold it, and Crypto.com is the best for helping you do this. On Crypto.com's desktop exchange and mobile app, there are over 250+ different cryptocurrencies, and you can stake over 40+ of these coins. Depending on various factors, you can earn up to 12% APR on coins staked on Crypto.com. 

Crypto.com even has their own native coin, called CRO that can be staked, which gives a range of excellent benefits. You will receive up to 12% APR for staking CRO, and you can access lower trading fees, higher APR on other staked coins, and a premium metal Visa debit card. With this Visa debit card, you can receive up to 5% cashback on all purchases (paid in CRO), rebates on subscriptions (Netflix, Spotify) and bookings (Expedia, Airbnb), and better APR in Crypto Credit and Crypto Earn.

Related articles: Crypto.com vs Coinbase

#7. Independent Reserve Exchange - Best for Crypto Insurance

Independent Reserve is another top exchange for New Zealand residents, and it rivals the #2 exchange Swyftx, in respect with a few factors: firstly, Independent Reserve has lower trading fees of only 0.5% compared to Swyftx's 0.6%. In addition, if you are a large-volume trader, you can reduce your fees depending on how much you traded in the last 30 days. Another way Independent Reserve beats Swyftx is that it offers insurance on cryptocurrency up to $5 million.

Independent Reserve is well-suited for SMSFs, family offices, sophisticated investors and businesses that want to trade large amounts over $100,000. They have an excellent OTC desk, and generate tax reports powered by KPMG.

One drawback of Independent Reserve is that only 27 different cryptocurrencies are supported on their platform. Fortunately most of the popular coins and frequently traded coins are found on Independent Reserve.

Related articles: Independent Reserve vs Swyftx

#8. Easy Crypto Exchange - Best for Purchasing Quickly

Easy Crypto NZ is the best exchange for those that want to buy crypto straight away. It works in a different way to most other crypto exchanges, because it does not hold or store any of your fiat or digital funds. When you want to buy a particular coin, you click buy, and you are faced with the purchase screen where you transfer money straight from your bank. You don't need to deposit your fiat currency into the exchange first before you can make your payment. 

After you make your crypto purchase, the coins are immediately sent directly to your personal wallet (either a hot wallet or cold wallet), and is not held on Easy Crypto's platform. This ensures that your cryptocurrency is always in your control and there is no risk of losing your digital assets even if Easy Crypto is hacked. Easy Crypto NZ even offers a 100% funds guarantee on all orders, so you can invest and trade with peace of mind.

#9. BitPrime Exchange - Best for Security

BitPrime is a local Kiwi cryptocurrency platform that operates in a different manner to most other exchanges. BitPrime is a non-custodial platform, which means that your crypto and fiat currencies are never stored on their platform, and are always in your control. This ensures the highest level of security because there is no risk that BitPrime can steal your funds, nor can hackers access your crypto if they hack the platform.

BitPrime does not charge a commission, but instead their fees are included in the spread. The spread starts at 2.9% for retail investors, and larger volume trades will lead to lower spreads.  Credit cards are accepted on BitPrime but the spreads will be higher, at 5%. While the fees may be a little higher than other crypto exchanges, remember that your crypto is sent directly to your personal wallet, so you are bypassing the withdrawal fee that is standard on other platforms. 

You can buy and sell over 150+ different cryptocurrencies using BitPrime, and since it is a local NZ platform, you can invest with peace of mind. It is officially registered and regulated, IRD compliant.

The only thing to keep in mind when using BitPrime is that you need to have an existing cryptocurrency wallet before you can make your crypto purchase. If you are unsure where to start, you can have a look at our article on the best crypto wallets.