Kraken Review 2024: Pros, Cons and How It Compares

Where Kraken shines

Large selection: Kraken lets its customers buy more than 250 different cryptocurrencies, and the service offers hundreds of crypto-to-crypto trading pairs.

Relatively low fees for advanced traders: While Kraken’s rates for entry-level traders can be high, fees on its more advanced Kraken Pro service are among the lowest reviewed by NerdWallet.

Where Kraken falls short

Limited funding options: Kraken has limited options for U.S. customers who want to put money into their account. The platform uses a service called Trustly to allow people to connect their bank accounts, and Kraken says this method works with more than 1,000 financial institutions. But if your bank is not among those institutions, you’ll have to wire money into your account — a process that can involve calling your bank to arrange the transaction. When we tested the service, we found one bank included on the list was unable to connect to Kraken; however, a different regional bank connected without any issues.

Not available everywhere: The exchange is not open to people in New York or Washington state.

Kraken is best for:

• Crypto-to-crypto trading.

• Margin trading.

• Advanced traders.

Kraken at a glance

More details about Kraken's ratings

Trading and transaction fees: 2.5 out of 5 stars

Kraken’s fees become more attractive when you use its more advanced features.

The company’s entry-level service, “Instant Buy,” is convenient, but the fee breakdown is confusing and opaque. Previously, Kraken disclosed its fees as 1.5% for most cryptocurrencies, plus a 0.5% processing fee. Now, all users can see is that Kraken will show a "displayed fee" and potentially a spread at the time of purchase. When we tested purchasing $200 of BTC with USD via a debit card, this displayed fee came out to $9.65, or about 4.8%. Fees do tend to be higher with debit card purchases, but given the issues we experienced with connected bank accounts to Kraken, this likely isn't that uncommon of a scenario.

However, traders on the Kraken Pro service pay no more than 0.40% using a maker-taker model. Those fees gradually fall until they hit 0% for traders whose past 30-day trade volume is over $10 million. Unlike the Instant Buy option, these are among the lowest fees of all crypto platforms we review.

Minimum trade: 5 out of 5 stars

The minimum trade depends on the cryptocurrency being traded. Bitcoin’s minimum, for instance, is $1.

Number of cryptocurrencies: 5 out of 5 stars

Kraken offers more than 250 cryptocurrencies.

Crypto-to-crypto trading pairs: 5 out of 5 stars

Kraken has hundreds of trading pairs thanks to the platform's "convert" function, which can essentially convert your holding in one crypto to another.

Staking and rewards: 1 out of 5 stars

On Feb. 9, 2023, Kraken agreed to pay a $30 million settlement with the SEC over allegations surrounding its staking program. As a part of the settlement, Kraken discontinued the program for U.S. customers.

Customer support options: 5 out of 5 stars

Kraken offers 24/7 live, multi-lingual phone support. It also has a 24-hour web chat option. People who “consistently trade” on Kraken get a personal account representative who “handles your questions and requests, ensuring you can focus on trading, not dealing with headaches.” The company says people who are interested in such services should contact [email protected].

Other features you should know

Kraken offers more complex trading for advanced users. This includes low-fee margin trading on crypto, which is a riskier form of investment that can potentially bring higher returns. It also offers futures trading on certain cryptocurrencies. Margin fees vary by cryptocurrency, but top out at 0.02% to open a position, with a rollover fee of 0.02% charged every four hours the position remains open.

Is Kraken right for you?

While Kraken has tools, products and informational resources for beginning crypto investors, many of its offerings are targeted toward more seasoned investors.

If you’re comfortable with a more advanced interface and are looking for access to a broad range of investment options, Kraken offers a reasonably priced experience.

Methodology