CoinSpot is Australia's largest crypto exchange, with over 2 million users, and Coinbase is the largest in the USA. Everyone has heard of these two crypto exchanges, so which is better to use in Australia? Long story short, CoinSpot is the winner, as it is built for Aussies, and therefore suits the market well. Coinbase is very popular in the US, but it is missing some important functionality in Australia. The biggest problem is that you cannot sell cryptocurrency on Coinbase in Australia, and therefore you cannot withdraw any AUD from the exchange. This is a basic feature that is not supported for Australian Coinbase users, and therefore we cannot recommend it.

Continue reading through our head-to-head comparison article to see how CoinSpot and Coinbase stack up in the various areas, and you can make up your own mind about which to choose. If you also want to read our article on the best crypto exchanges in Australia, you can do so by clicking here.

CoinSpot vs Coinbase: 
Comparison Table

Header

Coins

410+

160+

Trading Fee

Market: 0.1%; Instant buy: 1%

4.49%

Deposit Fee

Bank transfer, POLi, PayID, OSKO: Free; BPAY: 0.9%, Cash: 2.5%

Included in trading fee

Withdraw Fee

Free

No withdrawals in Australia

Payment Options

Bank transfer, POLi, PayID, OSKO, BPAY, Cash deposit

Debit card

Pros

- Most secure and audited exchange in Australia

- Live chat support

- Huge range of 410+ coins

- Earn crypto simply by watching short videos

- Insurance cover for peace of mind

Cons

- Only available in Australia

- Cannot sell crypto in Aust

- Cannot withdraw AUD

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(Swipe across screen to see full table)

Header

Coins

410+

160+

Trading Fee

Market: 0.1%; Instant buy: 1%

4.49%

Deposit Fee

Bank transfer, POLi, PayID, OSKO: Free; BPAY: 0.9%, Cash: 2.5%

Included in trading fee

Withdraw Fee

Free

No withdrawals in Australia

Payment Options

Bank transfer, POLi, PayID, OSKO, BPAY, Cash deposit

Debit card

Pros

- Most secure and audited exchange in Australia

- Live chat support

- Huge range of 410+ coins

- Earn crypto simply by watching short videos

- Insurance cover for peace of mind

Cons

- Only available in Australia

- Cannot sell crypto in Australia

- Cannot withdraw AUD

Cell

CoinSpot Pros & Cons

Pros

  • Most secure and audited exchange in Australia
  • Over 410+ coins available
  • Easy-to-use platform that is perfect for beginners
  • Lower trading fees than Coinbase
  • Can withdraw AUD which is not possible on Coinbase

Cons

  • Only available in Australia

Coinbase Pros & Cons

Pros

  • Largest cryptocurrency exchange in the USA
  • Over 160+ coins available
  • Simple interface that is great for newcomers to crypto
  • Very secure exchange, using cold storage of 98% of crypto assets
  • Crime insurance cover for additional user protection

Cons

  • Cannot sell your cryptocurrency in Australia
  • Not possible to withdraw AUD to your bank account
  • Fees to purchase crypto are too high (4.49%) compared to CoinSpot

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CoinSpot vs Coinbase Features

CoinSpot is a longstanding crypto exchange in Australia, having been around since 2013. Since then, they have attracted over 2 million users to their platform, mainly due to the simplicity of the exchange. There is an instant buy and sell functionality, which means that even a complete beginner to crypto can get their hands on crypto, with no experience. For those that prefer to trade, you can access a small range of coins on the market, with lower fees of just 0.1%. There is also excellent customer support through 24/7 Live Chat, which is so helpful when you are new to the cryptocurrency game. Over 410+ cryptocurrencies are offered, making it the widest selection in Australia, and they are continually adding more coins. You are sure to find the coin you want on CoinSpot. You can even earn interest on 21 coins.

Coinbase is also a user-friendly crypto exchange, that is immensely popular in the USA. Coinbase has a cool feature known as Coinbase Earn, where you can receive free crypto just for watching a short video about cryptocurrency. You are getting paid to educate yourself, a win-win situation! Unfortunately, Coinbase lacks one of the most basic features of a crypto exchange for their Australian users. There is no ability to sell cryptocurrency, and therefore you cannot withdraw AUD from the exchange. If you have bought crypto, you cannot sell it on Coinbase. If you want to convert it to AUD, you will need to transfer the crypto to a different exchange and then sell it there.

Features: CoinSpot wins when it comes to features, and this is mainly because it has the basic functionality expected from a crypto exchange, that Coinbase cannot provide. With CoinSpot you can sell your crypto and withdraw AUD, which is not possible on Coinbase for Aussie users. 

CoinSpot vs Coinbase Fees

CoinSpot has some fee-free deposit methods: Bank transfer, POLi, PayID and OSKO. If you choose to deposit with BPAY the fee is 0.9%, and cash deposit fee is 2.5%. 

When buying or selling crypto instantly, the fee is 1%. Trading on the market is only 0.1%, but you can only trade about 15 different coins in this manner.

Withdrawing AUD from CoinSpot is free of charge.

Coinbase only accepts payment of crypto directly using debit card, with a total fee of 4.49%.

There is no way to sell your crypto on Coinbase, and you also cannot withdraw AUD from the account.

Fees: CoinSpot has much lower fees to purchase cryptocurrency, with free deposits and withdrawals of AUD as well. It is the clear winner when it comes to fees.

Number of Cryptocurrencies

CoinSpot has a huge selection of over 410+ different cryptocurrencies.

Coinbase only has 160+ different coins.

Number of cryptocurrencies: CoinSpot has over 410+ coins, which is a ton more than Coinbase's offering of 160+ cryptocurrencies.

Payment Methods

CoinSpot offers Bank transfer, POLi, PayID, OSKO, BPAY and Cash deposit.

Coinbase only accepts Debit cards.

Payment methods: CoinSpot has several deposit options, while Coinbase only accepts payment by debit card.

CoinSpot vs Coinbase Security

CoinSpot is known as the most secure and trusted crypto exchange in Australia, and it can claim this due to its ISO 27001 certification. It is also a certified member of Blockchain Australia. CoinSpot uses industry-leading security measures such as 2FA, custom withdrawal restrictions, geo-lock logins, anti-phishing phrases and session timeout settings. They also store most of their cryptocurrency in secure offline cold storage, to prevent theft and hacking.

Coinbase is also extremely secure, holding 98% of their digital assets in cold storage offline. Coinbase's security measures consist of 2FA, data encryption, biometric logins, and storage of USB drives and paper backups distributed in safes around the world. Coinbase also has crime insurance to cover their users in any unfortunate event such as a hack. You can read about their insurance cover here.

Security: CoinSpot is the most secure and trusted exchange in Australia with ISO 27001 certification, so it wins this section.

CoinSpot vs Coinbase Summary

CoinSpot easily won this comparison, as it excelled in every area. Coinbase isn't a bad crypto exchange, it's just not suited to the Australian market at all. If you are still undecided on a crypto exchange, you can also have a look at our list of the best crypto exchanges for Australians where you can find our top picks.

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About the Author Andy Carter

Andy Carter is the CEO of Freedom Dividend, where he teaches you about dividend income that can change your life for the better. As a financial expert, Andy explores securities investing (stocks & shares) with an aim to provide a steady flow of income, enough to sustain you in your life.

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