Gemini and Coinbase are two cryptocurrency exchanges that each have something unique to offer their customer base. Both exchanges are user-friendly, especially for beginners.
Coinbase has a learning portal where users can watch videos and earn a little bit of cryptocurrency. Gemini has its own cryptopedia wherein users can browse many articles to learn about various cryptocurrency and blockchain concepts.
Both exchanges are good choices for cryptocurrency beginners, but who wins in a competition between Gemini vs. Coinbase?
Disclaimer: This page is not financial advice or an endorsement of digital assets, providers or services. Digital assets are volatile and risky, and past performance is no guarantee of future results. Potential regulations or policies can affect their availability and services provided. Talk with a financial professional before making a decision. Finder or the author may own cryptocurrency discussed on this page.
Both exchanges are approved and licensed to operate in the US, including New York, as they both have obtained a license. Gemini does have a wider range of ways for its users to earn on their cryptocurrency, whereas Coinbase has sufficient, but limited options.
From a vital statistics point of view, Gemini has a slight edge over Coinbase and wins this round.
Coinbase offers quite a few more coins than Gemini, but that’s not all that counts in this section.
Gemini gives its users the ability to trade XRP, which is a popular cryptocurrency. Coinbase has opted to remove XRP from its platform due to legal concerns.
From a beginner’s point of view, Gemini is the choice if they’re looking to buy XRP. For quantity though, the choice is Coinbase.
From a vital statistics point of view, Gemini has a slight edge over Coinbase and wins this round.
Coinbase has extended its services to more countries than Gemini and thus offers more fiat currencies.
With that being said, the ease in which new users can get funds onto the platforms matters as well. Both exchanges do a good job of integrating various fiat payment options, and neither one stands out against the other.
Coinbase wins this round because it offers the ability to deposit and withdraw a larger number of fiat currencies.
Winner: Coinbase
Round 4: Fees and costs
Minimum deposits
$0
Deposit Fees
ACH transfer: none Wire transfer (USD): determined by your bank +$25 PayPal: 2.50% Cubix: none
ACH: $0 Wire (USD): $10
Trading Fee
Trading: Dependant on transaction size: $10 or less: $0.99 $10–$25: $1.49 $25–$50: $1.99 $50–$200: $2.99 More than $200: 1.49% of order value
Spread: 0.5% convenience fee on all transactions
Trading: Maker: 0.40% - 0.00% Taker: 0.60% - 0.05% Spread: Average of 0.5%
Withdrawal Fees
ACH transfer: none USD wire transfer: $25
ACH: $0 Wire: $25
Deposit methods
Bank transfer (ACH), PayPal, Wire transfer (USD), Bank transfer (EUR and GBP), FAST transfer (SGD), Cubix, Plaid Direct Payments (UK)
Bank transfer (ACH), Debit card, PayPal, Wire transfer, Apple Pay, Google Pay
Gemini and Coinbase have relatively simple fee structures that are helpful for cryptocurrency beginners.
With that being said, Gemini’s fee structure is arguably more complicated as it involves charging different fees on trades above and below the threshold of US$200. Coinbase on the other hand has a tiered structure that grants discounts based on monthly trade volume. The more the volume, the larger the discount.
In terms of absolute rates, Coinbase and Gemini are comparable with neither company offering exceptionally cheap rates.
Coinbase wins this round as its fee structure is simpler for cryptocurrency beginners.
Winner: Coinbase
Round 5: Wallets
Coinbase has its own noncustodial wallet, where Gemini doesn’t. However, Gemini does recommend its users take advantage of the security features of third-party noncustodial wallets.
Winner: Coinbase
Round 6: Ease of use
Both exchanges provide learning portals to walk new users through the basics of buying and selling cryptocurrency.
However, using Gemini for the first time can leave an uninitiated user feeling lost or confused in the interface. Coinbase has poured a lot of time, money and research into refining its app’s user experience (UX) and user interface (UI), and arguably has one of the easiest-to-use cryptocurrency exchanges in the industry.
Since Coinbase has high standards for effective UI and UX, it wins the round on ease of use.
Winner: Coinbase
Round 7: Security
Coinbase has crime insurance for covering losses incurred from system-wide hacks. The insurance is for an undisclosed amount.
Gemini has insurance for assets stored within Gemini Custody, its signature cold-storage solution for storing cryptocurrencies. It has obtained $200 million worth of insurance for these funds.
Both exchanges have a clean track record of never being the victims of system-wide hacks.
Gemini wins this round because of its adherence to user security, and its sizeable insurance pool for user funds.
Winner: Gemini
Coinbase vs. Gemini winner: Coinbase
Coinbase is the better exchange for beginners as it won five of the seven rounds against Gemini.
There are several reasons that set Coinbase apart and make it a better choice for cryptocurrency newcomers. For starters, it’s simply one of the easiest cryptocurrency exchanges to use in the world from a UI and UX perspective.
Next, it supports new users from all over the world and gives them the ability to start their cryptocurrency journey by watching videos and claiming free cryptocurrency.
Lastly, Coinbase offers its own wallet that seamlessly integrates with its other platforms — a huge boon for the user-friendliness of Coinbase.
Disclaimer: This page is not financial advice or an endorsement of digital assets, providers or services. Digital assets are volatile and risky, and past performance is no guarantee of future results. Potential regulations or policies can affect their availability and services provided. Talk with a financial professional before making a decision. Finder or the author may own cryptocurrency discussed on this page.
Whether products shown are available to you is subject to individual provider sole approval and discretion in accordance with the eligibility criteria and T&Cs on the provider website.
Keegan Francis was a cryptocurrency writer for Finder. He has been invested in cryptocurrencies since 2013 and writing about them since 2018. He has written and edited for CryptoVantage. In 2020 he and his wife Mrugakshee Palwe opted entirely out of the world of traditional finance and went "full crypto", covering their experience in the Go Full Crypto podcast and via a Substack newsletter. Keegan holds a Bachelor of Computer Science from Acadia University, and has attained graduate certificates from Ivan On Tech's lightning network course and the Consensys Academy Ethereum bootcamp. When Keegan is not working on cryptocurrency, he enjoys travelling, rock climbing and playing piano. See full bio
Coinbase is easy to use with diverse features, but high fees and limited transparency may deter traders.
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