Digital Surge vs KuCoin: Which crypto exchange is better?

Digital Surge is the leading crypto exchange in Australia, while KuCoin boasts over 11 million users worldwide. If you are an avid trader, you have likely heard people talking about both of these cryptocurrency exchanges. But which one should you be using for your trading in Australia?

Ultimately, it comes down to how much experience you have in trading cryptocurrency. If you are new to trading and want a platform that is easy to understand and move around, you certainly want to sign up to Digital Surge and download their app. 

It is far easier to use than KuCoin, with a simple-to-understand interface and basic functionality. Not to mention the fact that Digital Surge provides you with live chat support if you ever get stuck, and you have over 300+ crypto coins to choose from.

Suppose you are a more experienced trader. You are willing to sacrifice customer service and user-friendliness to access more functionality and more crypto coins to choose from. In that case, the KuCoin exchange is not a bad option.

Read on to see how Digital Surge and KuCoin compare across different areas to help you make the right choice for your needs.

Digital Surge vs KuCoin:
Comparison Table

Digital Surge Pros & Cons

KuCoin Pros & Cons

Digital Surge vs KuCoin Features

Digital Surge was created with the sole purpose of making buying and selling cryptocurrency simple for complete beginners. All too often, crypto exchanges are full of confusing dashboards and charts, making it almost impossible for new investors to get started.

Digital Surge is designed so that anyone can use it, even if you have no investing background. It takes a couple of minutes to sign up and start buying crypto straight away, and there is excellent customer service in place, with a dedicated live chat available if you get stuck.

With over 300+ crypto coins to choose from, you have more than enough options to pick from. There are always new assets getting added, so expect that number to continue to grow.

KuCoin, on the other hand, is an entirely different customer experience, as it is more suited for frequent traders. There are over 700+ coins to pick from and numerous markets to delve into. Besides spot trading, you can access margin trading, futures trading, P2P marketplace and even lending crypto. Advanced users will love everything on offer at KuCoin.

Because of all the features, it can be quite confusing for newcomers, so it is recommended more for experienced users. Unfortunately, no customer service support is available on the KuCoin site, making it even less appealing to new investors.

Digital Surge vs KuCoin Fees

Digital Surge offers free fiat deposits if you pay via PayID. However, if you use POLi, expect to pay anywhere between $2 - $3.30, depending on the amount.

Digital Surge also provides its users with free withdrawals to their bank account. If you are selling or buying cryptocurrency, each transaction costs 0.5%.

KuCoin also charges different fees for trading, withdrawing, and depositing on its site.

If you want to deposit cryptocurrency into KuCoin, you're in luck! KuCoin has no fees on any cryptocurrency deposits.

It is extremely difficult to determine how much KuCoin charges for buying crypto, with a concerning lack of information on the company website. Instead, I created an account and purchased USDT from the site. As USDT has the same value as the U.S. Dollar, how much USDT I receive will highlight the fee taken.

Fees seem to vary from payment method to payment method, with the best value option being SEPA, at about a 3.1% charge. However, if you used Mastercard/Visa or Apple pay via the Simplex payment option, fees could be as much as 12.3%.

KuCoin charges a flat fee for withdrawals that differs depending on the coin. Here is a full breakdown of the fees.

KuCoin offers low trading fees at as little as 0.1%.

Number of Cryptocurrencies

Digital Surge has over 300+ different cryptocurrencies.

KuCoin has more than 700+ cryptocurrencies.

Deposit Methods

Digital Surge offers PayID and POLi.

KuCoin accepts SEPA, Skrill, PayPal, Apple Pay, Debit card, Credit card.

Digital Surge vs KuCoin Security

You will find it near impossible to find a more secure cryptocurrency exchange than Digital Surge. The site is registered with AUSTRAC and ASIC and follows the AML and KYC requirements as a crypto exchange.

Digital Surge prides itself on keeping up to date with its security to ensure customers are well-protected. They do this by storing most of their digital assets offline. At the time of writing this article, Digital Surge has never gotten hacked, which is the most obvious way to establish a company's security.

KuCoin is also a highly secure exchange, boasting bank-level asset security. The exchange has many different security measures in place, such as industry-level multilayer encryption, micro-withdrawal wallets, and dynamic multi-factor authentication.

However, KuCoin was hacked in 2020, and they could not recover all of the funds. However, the remaining funds were covered by insurance, so their users didn't lose out.

Digital Surge vs KuCoin Summary

To summarise, Digital Surge and KuCoin are both brilliant cryptocurrency exchanges in their own right.

KuCoin has more features and lower trading fees than Digital Surge, but Digital Surge is much more user-friendly for beginners, which is one of the reasons why Digital Surge is a better crypto exchange than KuCoin right now.

The basics should never be undervalued, and Digital Surge does them exceptionally well. The site and mobile app are easy to navigate, there is expert customer service, where KuCoin offers no customer service, and it is much easier to set up an account and get started.

Another significant reason Digital Surge is the superior option is security. All funds deposited into Digital Surge remain within Australia, covered by Australian law.

If you are a serious and experienced day trader, you might consider KuCoin a viable option. But for everybody else, Digital Surge is the better choice.

If you are still considering other options, read our article on the best crypto exchanges in Australia which can help you decide.