Koinly review
Our verdict
Koinly is a crypto tax management platform with a free tier and 4 paid levels, offering wide coverage of exchanges.
Koinly is pricy, but if you need a platform with support, it’s worth considering. It’s a shame that HMRC doesn’t accept Koinly reports, but that may change in the future.
Pros
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Broad coverage. Koinly covers 6,000+ blockchains, 380+ exchanges and 50+ wallets, so even power users outside the mainstream are likely to find what they need.
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14 blockchains are supported with automated data capture, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, NEO and EOS.
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Available in more than 20 countries, including the US, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and most European countries.
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Automated import of transaction data via API.
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Auto-generation of capital gains summary.
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Price records going back 5 years, and the option of integrating all your activity in this period.
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Authentication via Google or Coinbase reduces the chances of a data breach.
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Free membership tier.
Cons
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Pricier than some of its rivals.
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The range of options could overwhelm beginners.
Details
Features
| Starting price | £0 |
| Transaction limit | 10,000+ |
| Free trial | |
| Supported exchanges | 380 |
| Auto-generated tax forms | |
| Payment options | BTC, ETH, DAI, USDC, Credit card, Debit card |
| Go to site More Info |
Estimated reading time: 2 min
Due to the potential for losses, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) considers this investment to be high risk.
What are the key risks?
1. You could lose all the money you invest
- The performance of most cryptoassets can be highly volatile, with their value dropping as quickly as it can rise. You should be prepared to lose all the money you invest in cryptoassets.
- The cryptoasset market is largely unregulated. There is a risk of losing money or any cryptoassets you purchase due to risks such as cyber-attacks, financial crime and firm failure.
2. You should not expect to be protected if something goes wrong
- The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) doesn't protect this type of investment because it's not a 'specified investment' under the UK regulatory regime – in other words, this type of investment isn't recognised as the sort of investment that the FSCS can protect. Learn more by using the FSCS investment protection checker.
- The Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) will not be able to consider complaints related to this firm or Protection from the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) does not cover poor investment performance. If you have a complaint against an FCA regulated firm, FOS may be able to consider it. Learn more about FOS protection here.
3. You may not be able to sell your investment when you want to
- There is no guarantee that investments in cryptoassets can be easily sold at any given time. The ability to sell a cryptoasset depends on various factors, including the supply and demand in the market at that time.
- Operational failings such as technology outages, cyber-attacks and comingling of funds could cause unwanted delay and you may be unable to sell your cryptoassets at the time you want.
4. Cryptoasset investments can be complex
- Investments in cryptoassets can be complex, making it difficult to understand the risks associated with the investment.
- You should do your own research before investing. If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
5. Don't put all your eggs in one basket
- Putting all your money into a single type of investment is risky. Spreading your money across different investments makes you less dependent on any one to do well.
- A good rule of thumb is not to invest more than 10% of your money in high-risk investments.
If you are interested in learning more about how to protect yourself, visit the FCA's website here.
For further information about cryptoassets, visit the FCA's website here.
How does Koinly work?
Koinly’s integrated tax tracking platform is designed to help you pay the correct amount of tax resulting from your crypto transactions. Tax on crypto is evolving in most developed markets. The UK treats gains from selling crypto the same as if you sold gold or property – you can be liable for capital gains tax (CGT). CGT is a tax on the profit you make when you sell an asset that has increased in value. Learn more about it in our crypto tax guide.
Koinly shows you your crypto activity, consolidates it into useful reports and then determines what tax is due. Here’s a brief list of its key functions.
- Cost basis. The platform defaults to the primary method in your jurisdiction. In the UK, HMRC uses “share pooling rules” to calculate your CGT. These are complex and are designed to stop crypto investors from manipulating their gains by selling and rebuying crypto assets to create an artificial loss.
- Transfer matching. An AI solution will detect and filter out transfers between your own wallets, which usually don’t need to be taxed.
- Overall tax reporting. A consolidated report displays all your taxable gains in crypto.
- Gifts, donations and losses. A separate report displays the transactions you have tagged in these categories, which HMRC treats differently.
- Income reporting. A single statement shows your income from airdrops, forks, staking, DeFi activities and other transactions that have netted you income.
If you select the UK as your home country during set-up, Koinly is configured to calculate crypto tax in line with HMRC guidance. But it also admits that HMRC does not audit crypto tax software currently, meaning that HMRC will not accept Koinly reports.
Which exchanges does Koinly support in the UK?
Koinly supports around over 400 exchanges, including the following:
- Coinjar
- Crypto.com
- eToro
- Gemini
- Kraken
- Revolut
Using Koinly to log crypto income and gains
If Koinly has highlighted that you’ve achieved either gains beyond your tax-free allowance when selling your crypto or income from crypto at any point in the tax year, then you should report this to HMRC by submitting a self-assessment return as you’ll need to pay tax.
As part of your self-assessment, you need to submit a CGT summary supplement.
How experienced do you need to be with crypto to use Koinly?
One of Koinly’s strengths is that it broadly caters to every experience level. Its various tiers offer a wide range of functionality, segmented by budget and, more relevantly, the range of services you need.
If you need a sophisticated tax solution, you likely have some level of crypto experience, but there are extensive support resources to support newcomers, and the interface is user-friendly.
What cryptocurrencies can I use with Koinly?
Koinly says it supports more than 23,000 cryptocurrencies. It covers every coin listed on CoinMarketCap and every token based on the Ethereum, BSC and Polygon chains.
This means coverage of some obscure coins and tokens is variable. New tokens are automatically added once they start trading on exchanges. You can confirm this on the “Prices” tab on the app, which will have the most up-to-date information.
Is Koinly safe?
Koinly doesn’t need your private key and never asks for direct access to your funds.
It operates via API connections, so if you’re particularly security-conscious and technically-minded, you may want to disable withdrawal and trading functions when you are setting your API configurations.
All connections with the platform are encrypted, and Koinly uses Amazon Web Services (AWS), which has a strong record for security.
How to sign up for Koinly
Registering for Koinly is simple:
- Click the “Sign up” button on the Koinly homepage.
- Register with your email or link your Google account. You can also register using a Coinbase account.
- Choose your location for tax tracking.
- Access the central dashboard and link your exchange accounts and wallets.
And that’s it. You can adjust your jurisdiction down the line if you move to another country.
How much does Koinly cost?
Koinly offers 4 plans, including a free one. Prices are for a year.
- Free. Track your trades, get a tax report preview and get support from the Koinly team. You can’t generate a capital gains summary with the free tier, but you can preview your total profit/loss and capital gains.
- Newbie, £39. This tier generates capital gains summary reports, audit report and integrates with third-party accounting platforms (maximum 100 transactions).
- Hodler account, £79. This is similar to the Newbie plan but with a limit of 1,000 transactions.
- Trader account, £139. The limit is 3,000 transactions and there’s email support included.
Customer service information for Koinly
| Email support | |
|---|---|
| Telephone support | |
| In-app or live chat | |
| Contact form | |
| Branch support |
Koinly customer reviews
On the third-party reviews platform Trustpilot, Koinly scored 4.8 out of 5 stars and receieved a rating of “Excellent” from more than 1,300 people. Customers highlighted Koinly’s great customer service and competitive rates. Those who encountered problems cited slowness during syncing, wrong prices and bugs in the system (updated August 2023).
*Cryptocurrencies aren't regulated in the UK and there's no protection from the Financial Ombudsman or the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. Your capital is at risk. Capital gains tax on profits may apply.
Cryptocurrencies are speculative and investing in them involves significant risks - they're highly volatile, vulnerable to hacking and sensitive to secondary activity. The value of investments can fall as well as rise and you may get back less than you invested. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. This content shouldn't be interpreted as a recommendation to invest. Before you invest, you should get advice and decide whether the potential return outweighs the risks. Finder, or the author, may have holdings in the cryptocurrencies discussed.
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