NerdWallet writers and editors have reviewed the top crypto exchanges, both pure-play platforms and online brokers that offer cryptocurrency. We've compared these products across dozens of factors, including fees, cryptocurrency selection, advanced trading options and customer service offerings. We then narrowed down the list to the best overall crypto platforms and apps. Among those, these three stood out above the rest as the best exchanges right now:
However, there may be other crypto exchanges below that appeal to certain types of investors, such as more advanced crypto traders or those who already have an account with an online broker and want to house all their investments under one roof.
Best for: Overall best crypto exchange; beginner crypto trading; hassle-free and secure crypto storage.
Why we picked it: Coinbase has been at the forefront of cryptocurrency trading since it was founded in 2012, paving the way for beginners who had previously been skeptical of decentralized wallets and how to use them. And that ethos continues to this day — Coinbase is consistently one of the most user-friendly crypto apps we review, even when using its more advanced trading features. This makes it a strong choice for beginners looking for an onramp into the world of crypto.
Good to know: Coinbase’s fee structure can sometimes be quite confusing, though you’ll see all fees displayed clearly before placing any order. And though Coinbase says it provides 24-hour customer service by phone, chat and email, in our testing it was very difficult to contact a human.
Coinbase’s app reviews: Two of the most prominent themes among positive reviews of Coinbase are the app’s ease of use and its learning rewards program. The learn-to-earn program lets users earn cryptocurrency by watching videos and completing quizzes about them, and receives very high marks. In fact, over half the reviews mention this feature as a plus. However, users also pointed out Coinbase’s relatively high fees, and many expressed issues with customer service and noted it was very difficult to resolve issues and contact the company. This is in line with NerdWallet’s testing; we had a very hard time reaching the company and found the process confusing.
Staking or rewards program: Yes, on Solana (SOL) and Ether (ETH).
Best for: Easily buying and selling crypto with USD; best crypto exchange among traditional online brokers.
Why we picked it: When Robinhood initially launched its crypto trading product, it was barebones and lacked many features central to crypto trading, such as the ability to send and receive coins. But over time, Robinhood has improved the offering, bringing its incredibly easy stock user interface to crypto markets. While it still can’t compete with the pure-play crypto platforms on this list, Robinhood Crypto is a solid choice for those looking for an app that features crypto and stocks all in one.
Good to know: The crypto offering available in the Robinhood brokerage app has limitations. For example, you can’t trade crypto-to-crypto directly. For that, you’ll need to set up a separate Robinhood Wallet.
Robinhood Crypto’s app reviews: In evaluating this, we looked only at reviews that mentioned cryptocurrency, and we found the sentiment is very similar to reviews of the investment platform as a whole. There’s a large swath who appreciate how easy the app is to use and how great it is for getting started with investing, yet complaints about the app freezing or crashing as people try to make trades are also common. We should note we have not experienced this in our testing of the crypto portion of the app. Many users also expressed frustration around poor customer support for crypto-related inquiries.
Staking or rewards program: On Polygon (MATIC), Ether (ETH) and Solana (SOL).
Best for: Advanced and active crypto trading; crypto-to-crypto trading.
Why we picked it: Gemini offers products for all levels of crypto trading, but its ActiveTrader product is especially suited for advanced crypto traders. The platform provides access to crypto derivatives, boasts an execution speed of microseconds and offers a selection of some of the most popular crypto-to-crypto trading pairs, even if it the selection isn’t as expansive as some other platforms.
Good to know: Gemini’s original staking and rewards program, Gemini Earn, had to freeze customer assets in November 2022 amid the fallout from the collapse of crypto exchange FTX. However, by June 2024, Gemini announced that it had returned 100% of the assets that it owed back to customers[1].
Gemini’s app reviews: Positive reviews of Gemini mention the simplicity of the app and how easy it is to use, and many users noted the wide selection of quality crypto assets. We found this to be a noteworthy distinction: Gemini does not offer the most cryptocurrencies, but for users who aren’t interested in getting access to the latest meme coin, that may not matter.
However, the app did get low marks for its high fees, and many users complained about problems withdrawing funds and verifying their account through Gemini’s 2FA process. In our testing, weren’t able to recreate any of these access or withdrawal issues; however, we did find that for anyone remotely new to cryptocurrency, the withdrawal and verification processes could be confusing and frustrating. We should also note reviews have skewed negatively over the course of the last 12 months, and that while some users praised Gemini’s customer service, there’s been an increase in the number of negative reviews that mention poor customer service in the last year.
Staking or rewards program: 25 assets, including ETH, SOL, DOT and ADA, via Kraken Pro.
Best for: Low fees for advanced trading; large selection of cryptocurrencies; crypto-to-crypto trading pairs.
Why we picked it: Kraken offers a huge selection of cryptocurrencies and crypto-to-crypto trading pairs, and dozens more crypto-to-cash markets in various fiat currencies. And if you’re trading on Kraken Pro, fees fall to some of the lowest of any crypto exchange we review. We also found Kraken’s 24-hour customer support to be straightforward and were able to easily contact a human by phone.
Good to know: The exchange is not available for users in New York, Maine or Washington state.
Kraken’s app reviews: App users tend to mention how intuitive Kraken’s app is, and many also spotlighted how fast transactions take place. Users also noted Kraken’s wide selection of cryptocurrencies as a plus, and praised the app’s strong security protocols and customer service. Interestingly, Kraken appears to have a very divided audience: around three-quarters of the reviews are 5-stars, while around one-quarter are 1-star reviews. Only 6% of reviews in the last year were 2, 3 or 4 star ratings. Still, despite this polarization, positive reviews far exceed negative reviews. And in our exercise of combing through user reviews of other platforms, the praise we saw for Kraken’s customer service is very rare.
Staking or rewards program: Yes, on 29+ assets, including ETH, DOT and ADA.
Best for: Overall experience; cryptocurrency selection.
Why we picked it: Crypto.com rose to the top of the ranks thanks to its huge selection of digital assets, low fees, DeFi companion app and slick user experience. For more advanced traders, the platform offers trading in crypto derivatives, as well as customizable alerts and watchlists. Beginners will find plenty of explanations and tooltips along the way.
Good to know: The fees and minimum to withdrawal cryptocurrency can be high.
Crypto.com’s app reviews: Users like how easy it is to use the app, and many noted they liked Crypto.com’s added security features and 2FA. This tracks with our experience, as we found that the additional security features (such as using a pin to complete transactions) weren’t inconvenient, and added to security. However, there were several users who were annoyed about how frequently the app requires updates, which can take a long time to complete. More notable, in our opinion, were the negative reviews based on withdrawal issues and long processing times. We also experienced this when testing these users’ claims; after what at first appeared to be an error, we learned Crypto.com’s BTC withdrawal minimum was .0008 BTC at the time of testing, or around $75, and we were unable to get our BTC off the platform without hitting that threshold.
Best for: Investors who want basic exposure to cryptocurrency within a traditional brokerage
Why we picked it: Investors who already use Fidelity and want to gain some exposure to three cryptocurrencies — Bitcoin, Ethereum and Litecoin — can now do so from within the brokerage. Functionality is limited, and you won’t find any advanced crypto trading bells and whistles, but for many using this product, such offerings aren’t necessary.
Good to know: Despite operating through one of the largest brokerages in the U.S., Fidelity Crypto is still only available in 38 states.
Fidelity Crypto’s app reviews: There are so few Fidelity reviews that mention its crypto product, there isn’t a way to appropriately determine sentiment among users.
Why we picked it: InteractiveBrokers has long been one of the best brokers for advanced trading in equities, and now it offers a similar platform for cryptocurrency. Similar to Fidelity’s crypto offering, existing users of InteractiveBrokers will appreciate the ability to gain exposure to cryptocurrencies within the platform.
Good to know: InteractiveBrokers is still primarily an advanced stock trading platform, so you won’t be able to trade crypto-to-crypto like you can on a pure-play crypto trading platform, such as Coinbase, Gemini, Crypto.com or Kraken.
Interactive Brokers’ app reviews: Interactive Brokers is internationally known for its robust trading platform built for advanced stock traders. So it wasn’t a surprise to learn reviews of the platform scarcely mention crypto trading. Those that do mention cryptocurrency appear to be from regions where IBKR limits crypto trading access. However, this should not be an issue for U.S.-based traders.
Staking or rewards program: Around 20 coins, including DOT, ATOM, ADA and ETH.
Best for: Crypto pair traders and stakers.
Why we picked it: For seasoned crypto investors, Uphold offers hundreds of cryptocurrencies, tens of thousands of crypto trading pairs and dozens of coins for staking. It also offers three different hot wallet options, and allows users to transfer crypto to a cold wallet of their choice. For beginners, there’s also a library of educational content and low trading minimums.
Good to know: Uphold’s transaction fee for Bitcoin could be lower. Also, like many other crypto platforms, it only offers email customer service and a chatbot; there’s no live human support option if you run into a technical issue.
Uphold’s app reviews: Uphold app reviews are largely positive, with many users pointing out that the interface is easy to use and that transactions on the platform are fast and reliable. Users also tend to comment on the wide selection of cryptocurrencies. Negative views typically reference poor customer service and slow response times, which is fairly common among reviews of crypto apps whose customer service is primarily (or entirely) offered through email and chat.
