Coinbase vs. Coinbase Pro | Side-by-Side Comparison

Coinbase vs. Coinbase Pro Overview

Coinbase and Coinbase Pro are two of the most popular cryptocurrency exchanges. Hundreds of billions of dollars are traded on these platforms daily. Their objective is similar to most other exchanges; buy, sell, and trade cryptocurrency. Although Coinbase Global Inc owns both, Coinbase and Coinbase Pro have their fair share of dissimilarities in features. You can guess from their name that the Coinbase Pro is the pro version of the primary Coinbase platform.

While Coinbase is mainly directed toward users new to cryptocurrency, Coinbase Pro’s target users are professional-level traders. Their user interface is very different from one another.

Coinbase is simple and beginner-friendly; it enables anyone to easily navigate, buy, sell, and trade their cryptocurrency. Coinbase Pro, on the contrary, is a tad bit complicated and gives users advanced trading and charting options. It can be overwhelming for a beginner but is perfect for any advanced trader. While it may seem that the Pro version is a paid version, it is not. Both Coinbase and Coinbase Pro are free to sign up for. Although not yet decided, in 2022, Coinbase Global Inc plans to merge these two platforms and will be rolling both these exchanges into one.

Cryptocurrencies Available

Both these platforms, Coinbase and Coinbase Pro, support the usual fiat currencies, like USD, GBP, and EUR. In addition to BTC and ETH, they offer more than 150+ altcoins on both platforms. But Coinbase pro is the clear winner here, providing a little more variety than Coinbase. However, some cryptocurrencies are still available on Coinbase but not on Coinbase Pro. For instance, you can buy Bitcoin Satoshi Vision (BSV) on Coinbase, but it is not supported in Coinbase Pro. Although Coinbase and Coinbase Pro offer a great variety of cryptos, it still lacks behind some top exchanges such as Binance.

Fees

While there are a lot of similarities between Coinbase and Coinbase Pro, their fee structure differs quite a lot. The Coinbase fee structure is a tad bit complicated and a little more expensive than that of Coinbase Pro. Coinbase Pro, on the other hand, uses the maker-taker approach. For Coinbase, the base rate is 4% in the U.S, but this fee may vary depending on your location and payment method. Coinbase Pro uses a tiered structure – meaning the more you are willing to trade, the lower your cost. For instance:

• If a trader transacts $10,000 pay, a 0.50% taker/maker fee will be applied
• If a trader transacts $10,000 – $50,000 pay, a 0.35% taker/maker fee will be applied
• If a trader transacts $50,000 – $100,000 pay, a 0.25% taker/ 0.15% maker fee will be applied
• If a trader transacts $100,000 – $1 million pay, a 0.20% taker/ 0.10% maker fee will be applied

If the debate is between Coinbase vs. Coinbase Pro fees, Coinbase Pro is certainly the clear winner here. Although the Coinbase fees are pretty similar to other similar exchanges, the charges can add up and make up a hefty fee. For example: If you were spending $200 buying altcoins on both these platforms and paid via a credit card, Coinbase would charge you 2.00% (higher than the flat rate). On the contrary, Coinbase Pro would charge you 0.50% on your $200 trade, i.e., around $1.

Staking and Credit Card Options

While Coinbase Pro has the upper hand on most of the feats, one area where the core service beats the Pro is staking. Coinbase allows its traders to earn rewards through staking for holding cryptocurrency on their platform. While it can be challenging to stake your coins in the beginning, Coinbase makes it easy even for beginners to stake a portion of your held cryptos. On the contrary, Coinbase Pro does not offer such benefits, which is a bummer because staking is a great way to expand your crypto portfolio.

Coinbase Credit Card

Coinbase offers a 4% crypto rewards Visa debit card to its users. You can choose a crypto reward and earn up to 4% back on all your purchases. The card has no annual fees, and no credit check is required.

Security

According to Coinbase Global Inc., they have taken numerous steps to make sure their customer’s assets are safe and secured. They claim that all USD cash balances are protected by the FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation). Additionally, it keeps around 98% of its funds locked up in cold storage. The rest is backed up online. The online vault is protected by their insurance policy which pays for any damage resulting from cyberattacks on the exchanges.

Coinbase and Coinbase Pro provide users with biometric fingerprint logins and two-factor authentication (2FA). The private keys and digital wallets are encrypted with AES-256. In Coinbase pro, you are even given a choice for storing your crypto in a personal offline cold storage.

Ease of Use

Both Coinbase and Coinbase Pro don’t require downloading anything, as you can access them through a web browser. They also come with their dedicated versions of mobile applications, so you can understand that getting started on them is very straightforward. However, Coinbase is a little easier in terms of simplicity as it is mainly directed toward beginners. It only supports buying and selling, so you can instantly sign up and start making your trades. Coinbase Pro might be a little overwhelming in this case because it gives users very advanced information, something that most traders will not need.

How to Decide Between Coinbase and Coinbase Pro

There is no correct answer when it comes to Coinbase vs. Coinbase Pro. They are both great to use. Here are two parameters that can help you choose:

• If you are a beginner who does not need advanced trading options and charting, you should go for Coinbase. That is because it is much simpler and easier for you to use.
• If you have been in the crypto market for some time, you should go for Coinbase Pro. That is because it offers you very advanced level trading options that might be handy for you. Also, the fee will be significantly lower if you trade in large volumes.

Frequently Asked Questions