MoonPay Review: Pros, Cons and How It Compares
Many, or all, of the products featured on this page are from our advertising partners who compensate us when you take certain actions on our website or click to take an action on their website. However, this does not influence our evaluations. Our opinions are our own. Here is a list of our partners and here's how we make money.
The investing information provided on this page is for educational purposes only. NerdWallet, Inc. does not offer advisory or brokerage services, nor does it recommend or advise investors to buy or sell particular stocks, securities or other investments.
Our Take
1.6
The bottom line:
Pros & Cons
Pros
Convenient purchases.
Payment tools for businesses.
Large crypto selection.
Cons
High fees.
Cards only.
Limited trading.
Compare to Similar Brokers
NerdWallet rating 4.8 /5 | NerdWallet rating 3.9 /5 |
Fees 0% - 4% varies by type of transaction; other fees may apply | Fees $0 per trade |
Account minimum $0 | Account minimum $0 |
Promotion Get $200 in crypto when you sign up. Terms Apply. | Promotion None no promotion available at this time |
Learn more on Coinbase's website | Learn more on Robinhood's website |
Get more smart money moves — straight to your inbox
Become a NerdWallet member, and we’ll send you tailored articles we think you’ll love.
Full Review
Where MoonPay shines
Convenient purchases: MoonPay tries to make buying cryptocurrency as simple as possible, a difficult task for a decentralized industry where many competitors have been attempting the same thing. MoonPay has a slick, web-based interface through which you can sign up, verify your identity and carry out a transaction with a credit card from a single screen.
Tools for businesses: MoonPay is seeking to position itself as a key go-between for companies that work in the crypto space and want to do business with people who use cash. For instance, sellers of non-fungible tokens, or NFTs, often can accept only crypto as payment on most other platforms. But by using MoonPay, creators can sell NFTs to people who may not know how to buy crypto.
Crypto selection: MoonPay has about 40 available cryptocurrencies, putting it on a competitive footing even with some full-featured crypto exchanges. However, it's worth noting that among MoonPay's options are versions of popular cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum and USDC that can be used on alternative blockchain networks.
Where MoonPay falls short
High fees: You'll be paying for the convenience you can get by using MoonPay. Fees for transactions are $3.99 or 4.5%, whichever is higher. People who use bank transfers to fund their account can pay less, but that feature isn't available in the United States.
Cards only: In the U.S., you can use MoonPay only with a credit or debit card (or a card linked to Apple Pay or Google Pay). This presents a handful of issues. First, not all credit cards will play nicely with crypto purchases; legitimate transactions are often bounced back or flagged for fraud. Second, using a credit card to borrow money for crypto investing can be risky, as high-interest rates can compound potential losses. Finally, using a debit card to spend money may be more prudent than borrowing to buy crypto.
Limited trading: While MoonPay has a decent selection of cryptocurrencies to buy, it doesn't make it easy to trade one crypto for another. Currently, MoonPay allows you to sell a handful of cryptocurrencies for cash, but it doesn't feature any options for crypto-to-crypto exchanges. However, MoonPay integrates with some crypto wallets, which may have swaps available on their platforms.
MoonPay is best for:
Crypto businesses.
Integrations with crypto apps.
MoonPay at a glance
Minimum trade | $30. |
Trading and transaction fees | You'll pay $3.99 or 4.5% to buy crypto, whichever is higher. Selling crypto costs $3.99 or 1%. |
Number of cryptocurrencies | About 40. |
Crypto-to-crypto trading pairs | None. |
Website transparency | On MoonPay's website, you can easily find important information, including investment minimums, supported assets and how to close an account. |
Storage offering | There is no storage on MoonPay. You'll need your own wallet to transact. |
Staking offering | MoonPay does not offer staking. |
Mobile app | MoonPay doesn't offer mobile apps, though it may be integrated into the apps of other products such as wallets. |
Customer service | MoonPay uses a support ticket system for customer issues. |
More details about MoonPay
Minimum trade: 2 out of 5 stars
The minimum purchase of cryptocurrency is $30, which is higher than many competitors who often offer purchases as low as $1.
Trading and transaction fees: 1 out of 5 stars
MoonPay's purchase fee is 4.5% or $3.99, whichever is higher. That places it among the more expensive options reviewed by NerdWallet.
And beyond the transaction fees, customers are responsible for network fees required by the underlying cryptocurrency networks. While these can vary based on which crypto you're buying and the market conditions at the time, they can easily add another percentage point or more to your costs.
Unlike typical cryptocurrency exchanges, MoonPay doesn't store cryptocurrency for you — you'll need a crypto wallet before you can use it — but that means there's no withdrawal fee, either. Instead, the platform sends the cryptocurrency directly to your crypto wallet upon purchase.
You can also use MoonPay to sell crypto for fiat currency such as U.S. dollars, for a fee of $3.99 or 1%, whichever is higher. Of course, you'll also pay network fees for sales.
Number of cryptocurrencies: 5 out of 5 stars
MoonPay offers about 40 cryptocurrencies. If you're trying to sell crypto, you have five options on MoonPay.
Crypto-to-crypto trading pairs: 1 out of 5 stars
MoonPay doesn't make any crypto-to-crypto trading options available to customers using its basic service.
Storage and Security: 1 out of 5 stars
MoonPay has no storage options, and you'll need to set up your own wallet to use it. This extra step might be a challenge for beginners, but it's generally a good practice to at least understand how a crypto wallet works and how to store your digital assets safely. MoonPay also had one hack reported in 2020.
Staking offering: 1 out of 5 stars
MoonPay does not offer staking services.
Mobile app: 1 out of 5 stars
MoonPay doesn't have a mobile app listed in the app stores of either Android or iOS. So, if you want to use it as a stand-alone product, you'll need a web browser.
However, wallets and other apps that use MoonPay for payments may have their own mobile app that you can use to make purchases using MoonPay's technology.
Customer support options: 1 out of 5 stars
MoonPay encourages users who are having problems to use its support ticket system. There's no readily accessible number for phone support.
Is MoonPay right for you?
MoonPay doesn't check all of the boxes of a traditional cryptocurrency exchange, but it's not trying to be a conventional cryptocurrency exchange. If you're a consumer who wants to interact with a blockchain-based product, you might be willing to pay for the convenience MoonPay offers. If you're planning to trade crypto actively, on the other hand, there may be other options that avoid the fees and other limitations of MoonPay.
How do we review cryptocurrency platforms?
NerdWallet’s comprehensive review process evaluates and ranks platforms and companies that allow U.S. customers to buy and/or sell cryptocurrency. Our aim is to provide an independent assessment of providers to help arm you with information to make sound, informed judgments on which ones will best meet your needs. We adhere to strict guidelines for editorial integrity.
We collect data directly from providers through detailed questionnaires, and conduct first-hand testing and observation through provider demonstrations. The questionnaire answers, combined with demonstrations, interviews of personnel at the providers and our specialists’ hands-on research, fuel our proprietary assessment process that scores each provider’s performance across more than 10 factors. The final output produces star ratings from poor (one star) to excellent (five stars).
For more details about the categories considered when rating brokers and our process, read our full methodology.