Kraken vs Pionex: fees compared
Every fee that costs you money on Kraken and Pionex, side by side — trading fees at each VIP tier, withdrawal fees coin by coin, deposits and fiat. Sourced from each exchange’s own fee pages.
KrakenRank #14 · founded 2011
PionexRank #25 · founded 2019The short answer
- Kraken charges 0.01–0.8% on spot taker orders versus 0.05–0.1% on Pionex.
- Futures taker fees are identical at 0.05%.
- Kraken has the cheaper withdrawal fee on 67 of the 114 coins both exchanges list.
- Kraken publishes the deeper VIP ladder (17 tiers), so high-volume traders can push fees lower there.
Head-to-head
| Fee | Kraken | Pionex |
|---|---|---|
| Trading fees | ||
| Spot maker | 0–0.4%cheaper | 0.05–0.1% |
| Spot taker | 0.01–0.8%cheaper | 0.05–0.1% |
| Futures maker | 0.02% | 0.02% |
| Futures taker | 0.05% | 0.05% |
| Lowest spot taker (top VIP tier) | 0.05%Pro 5 | 0.05%Regular User |
| Fee tiers published | 17moreSpot trading | 11Spot trading |
| Fee discount with exchange token | — | — |
| Withdrawals & deposits | ||
| Coins you can withdraw | 697moresynced 2026-08-29 00:53 UTC | 206synced 2026-08-29 00:53 UTC |
| Median withdrawal fee (coins on both) | $0.6819cheaperacross 114 coins | $1.27across 114 coins |
| Cheaper withdrawal on… | 67 coinsmore | 47 coins |
| Crypto deposit fee | — | — |
| Exchange profile | ||
| Volume 24h (spot + derivatives) | $2.85BOI $438.85M | $16.89BmoreOI $271.01M |
| Markets | Spot, Derivativesfounded 2011 | Spot, Derivativesfounded 2019 |
| Fiat currencies | 7 currenciesUSD, EUR, GBP, CAD, JPY, CHF… | 18 currenciesmoreEUR, GBP, MYR, IDR, CAD, RUB… |
“Cheaper” marks the better number on that row only. A dash means we have not verified that fee for the exchange yet — it is not a claim that the fee is zero.
What would you actually pay?
- Trading (Tier 9 · 0.06% / 0.18%)
- $1,200.00
- Withdrawals (4× BTC · Ethereum (ERC20) · $0.00 each)
- $0.00
- Trading (VIP 10 · 0.01% / 0.05%)
- $300.00
- Withdrawals (4× BTC · BNB Smart Chain (BEP20) · $0.5879 each)
- $2.35
At $1M of monthly spot volume (50% maker) plus 4 BTC withdrawals, Pionex costs $897.65 less per month — $10,771.78 a year.
Estimate only: it applies each exchange’s published VIP ladder for the market you picked, ignores token-payment discounts, referral rebates and promotional zero-fee pairs, and assumes every withdrawal uses the cheapest network above. Negative fees are maker rebates.
Spot fee tiers side by side
KrakenSpot trading
| Tier | 30d volume ≥ | Maker | Taker |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 | — | 0.4% | 0.8% |
| Tier 2 | $2.50K | 0.3% | 0.6% |
| Tier 3 | $10.00K | 0.22% | 0.38% |
| Tier 4 | $25.00K | 0.2% | 0.35% |
| Tier 5 | $50.00K | 0.15% | 0.3% |
| Tier 6 | $100.00K | 0.12% | 0.25% |
| Tier 7 | $250.00K | 0.1% | 0.22% |
| Tier 8 | $500.00K | 0.08% | 0.2% |
| Tier 9 | $1.00M | 0.06% | 0.18% |
| Tier 10 | $2.50M | 0.04% | 0.15% |
| Tier 11 | $5.00M | 0.02% | 0.12% |
| Tier 12 | $10.00M | 0% | 0.1% |
| Pro 1 | $50.00M | 0% | 0.09% |
| Pro 2 | $100.00M | 0% | 0.08% |
| Pro 3 | $250.00M | 0% | 0.07% |
| Pro 4 | $400.00M | 0% | 0.06% |
| Pro 5 | $500.00M | 0% | 0.05% |
Source: Kraken fee schedule ↗ · verified 2026-08-28
PionexSpot trading
| Tier | 30d volume ≥ | Maker | Taker |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regular User | — | 0.05% | 0.05% |
| VIP 1 | — | 0.048% | 0.05% |
| VIP 2 | — | 0.045% | 0.05% |
| VIP 3 | — | 0.04% | 0.05% |
| VIP 4 | — | 0.035% | 0.05% |
| VIP 5 | — | 0.03% | 0.05% |
| VIP 6 | — | 0.025% | 0.05% |
| VIP 7 | — | 0.02% | 0.05% |
| VIP 8 | — | 0.015% | 0.05% |
| VIP 9 | — | 0.01% | 0.05% |
| VIP 10 | — | 0.01% | 0.05% |
Source: Pionex fee schedule ↗ · verified 2026-08-28
Futures fee tiers side by side
KrakenFutures trading
| Tier | 30d volume ≥ | Maker | Taker |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 | — | 0.02% | 0.05% |
| Tier 2 | $5.00M | 0.0175% | 0.045% |
| Tier 3 | $10.00M | 0.015% | 0.04% |
| Tier 4 | $15.00M | 0.0125% | 0.035% |
| Tier 5 | $25.00M | 0.01% | 0.03% |
| Tier 6 | $40.00M | 0.0075% | 0.0275% |
| Tier 7 | $50.00M | 0.005% | 0.025% |
| Tier 8 | $75.00M | 0.005% | 0.0225% |
| Tier 9 | $100.00M | 0% | 0.02% |
| Tier 10 | $150.00M | 0% | 0.018% |
| Tier 11 | $250.00M | -0.003%rebate | 0.0175% |
| Tier 12 | $300.00M | -0.003%rebate | 0.017% |
| Pro 1 | $400.00M | -0.003%rebate | 0.016% |
| Pro 2 | $500.00M | -0.005%rebate | 0.015% |
| Pro 3 | $1.00B | -0.006%rebate | 0.0135% |
| Pro 4 | $2.00B | -0.006%rebate | 0.013% |
| Pro 5 | $5.00B | -0.006%rebate | 0.0125% |
Source: Kraken fee schedule ↗ · verified 2026-08-28
PionexFutures trading
| Tier | 30d volume ≥ | Maker | Taker |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regular User | — | 0.02% | 0.05% |
| VIP 1 | — | 0.019% | 0.048% |
| VIP 2 | — | 0.018% | 0.045% |
| VIP 3 | — | 0.016% | 0.04% |
| VIP 4 | — | 0.014% | 0.04% |
| VIP 5 | — | 0.012% | 0.035% |
| VIP 6 | — | 0.01% | 0.03% |
| VIP 7 | — | 0.008% | 0.03% |
| VIP 8 | — | 0.006% | 0.025% |
| VIP 9 | — | 0.004% | 0.025% |
| VIP 10 | — | 0.001% | 0.02% |
Source: Pionex fee schedule ↗ · verified 2026-08-28
Withdrawal fees, coin by coin114 coins on both
| Coin | Kraken | Pionex | Cheaper |
|---|---|---|---|
 BTCBitcoin | Free$0.00 · Ethereum (ERC20) +5 | 0.0₅7000 BTC$0.5879 · BNB Smart Chain (BEP20) +1 | Krakensaves $0.5879 |
 ETHEthereum | Free$0.00 · Ink +8 | 0.0₄2000 ETH$0.05375 · Optimism +4 | Krakensaves $0.05375 |
 USDTTether USDt | Free$0.00 · Ink (USDT0) +17 | 0.01100 USDT$0.01100 · Plasma +7 | Krakensaves $0.01100 |
 BNBBNB | 0.001000 BNB$0.7739 · BNB Smart Chain (BEP20) | 0.0002000 BNB$0.1548 · BNB Smart Chain (BEP20) | Pionexsaves $0.6192 |
 XRPXRP | 0.05000 XRP$0.07727 · XRP Ledger | 0.2000 XRP$0.3091 · XRP Ledger | Krakensaves $0.2318 |
 USDCUSDC | Free$0.00 · Ink +17 | 0.02500 USDC$0.02499 · Optimism +5 | Krakensaves $0.02499 |
 SOLSolana | 0.005000 SOL$0.6046 · Solana | 0.002700 SOL$0.3265 · Solana +1 | Pionexsaves $0.2781 |
 TRXTRON | 3 TRX$1.01 · Tron (TRC20) | 1 TRX$0.3361 · Tron (TRC20) | Pionexsaves $0.6721 |
 HYPEHyperliquid | 0.05000 HYPE$4.62 · HyperEVM | 0.01000 HYPE$0.9241 · HyperEVM | Pionexsaves $3.70 |
 DOGEDogecoin | 4 DOGE$0.3898 · Dogecoin | 3.91 DOGE$0.3810 · BNB Smart Chain (BEP20) +1 | Pionexsaves $0.008771 |
 LINKChainlink | 0.03438 LINK$0.4964 · Ethereum (ERC20) | 0.1604 LINK$2.32 · Ethereum (ERC20) | Krakensaves $1.82 |
 ADACardano | 1 ADA$0.2565 · Cardano | 0.8000 ADA$0.2052 · Cardano | Pionexsaves $0.05130 |
 XLMStellar | 0.001000 XLM$0.0002183 · Stellar | 0.02000 XLM$0.004365 · Stellar | Krakensaves $0.004147 |
 BCHBitcoin Cash | 0.0003000 BCH$0.1003 · Bitcoin Cash | 0.0002500 BCH$0.08354 · Bitcoin Cash | Pionexsaves $0.01671 |
 NEARNEAR Protocol | 0.01000 NEAR$0.04839 · NEAR | 0.01800 NEAR$0.08710 · NEAR | Krakensaves $0.03871 |
 UNIUniswap | 0.1452 UNI$1.40 · Ethereum (ERC20) | 0.3054 UNI$2.94 · Ethereum (ERC20) | Krakensaves $1.54 |
 LTCLitecoin | 0.002000 LTC$0.1453 · Litecoin | 0.0001000 LTC$0.007266 · Litecoin | Pionexsaves $0.1381 |
 AVAXAvalanche | 0.05000 AVAX$0.5522 · Avalanche C-Chain | 0.004000 AVAX$0.04418 · Avalanche C-Chain | Pionexsaves $0.5080 |
 SUISui | 0.2500 SUI$0.2939 · Sui | 0.06000 SUI$0.07054 · Sui | Pionexsaves $0.2234 |
 TAOBittensor | 0.002000 TAO$0.6541 · Bittensor | 0.0005000 TAO$0.1635 · Bittensor | Pionexsaves $0.4906 |
 SHIBShiba Inu | 112,689 SHIB$0.6688 · Ethereum (ERC20) | 30,067 SHIB$0.1785 · BNB Smart Chain (BEP20) +1 | Pionexsaves $0.4904 |
 XAUtTether Gold | 0.0001328 XAUt$0.5684 · Ethereum (ERC20) | 0.0003000 XAUt$1.28 · Ethereum (ERC20) | Krakensaves $0.7156 |
 ENAEthena | 3.57 ENA$1.00 · Ethereum (ERC20) | 7.64 ENA$2.14 · Ethereum (ERC20) | Krakensaves $1.14 |
 ONDOOndo | 1.976 ONDO$1.08 · Ethereum (ERC20) | 3.83 ONDO$2.10 · Ethereum (ERC20) | Krakensaves $1.02 |
 AAVEAave | 0.005750 AAVE$0.8889 · Ethereum (ERC20) | 0.01120 AAVE$1.73 · Ethereum (ERC20) | Krakensaves $0.8431 |
Showing 1–25 of 114 coins
Kraken vs Pionex — FAQ
Is Kraken or Pionex cheaper?
Kraken charges 0.01–0.8% on spot taker orders versus 0.05–0.1% on Pionex. Futures taker fees are identical at 0.05%. Kraken has the cheaper withdrawal fee on 67 of the 114 coins both exchanges list. Kraken publishes the deeper VIP ladder (17 tiers), so high-volume traders can push fees lower there.
Which has lower trading fees, Kraken or Pionex?
Kraken charges 0.01–0.8% taker / 0–0.4% maker on spot and 0.05% taker on futures at the entry tier. Pionex charges 0.05–0.1% taker / 0.05–0.1% maker on spot and 0.05% taker on futures. Across the metrics we compare, Kraken wins more of them. Both drop as your 30-day volume grows — use the calculator above to price your own volume.
Which is cheaper for withdrawals, Kraken or Pionex?
Of the 114 coins both exchanges let you withdraw, Kraken is cheaper on 67, Pionex on 47. The median withdrawal fee on that shared basket is $0.6819 on Kraken versus $1.27 on Pionex. Kraken is the cheaper default, but the winner changes coin by coin — check the coin you actually withdraw.
How can I pay lower fees on Kraken or Pionex?
Both exchanges also cut maker/taker rates as your 30-day volume rises — Kraken publishes 17 tiers and Pionex publishes 11 tiers. Choosing the cheapest withdrawal network matters just as much: on many coins the gap between networks is larger than the gap between exchanges.
Are these Kraken and Pionex fees up to date?
Trading fees are hand-curated from each exchange's official fee schedule and carry the date we last verified them (2026-08-28 for Kraken, 2026-08-28 for Pionex). Withdrawal fees are synced from each exchange's own API or fee page (last sync 2026-08-29 00:53 UTC for Kraken, 2026-08-29 00:53 UTC for Pionex). USD amounts are recomputed at the live coin price.
Other comparisons
Trading and other fee numbers are hand-curated from each exchange’s official fee pages (linked next to every tier table) and carry the date we last verified them. Withdrawal fees are synced from each exchange’s own API or fee page; USD amounts are computed at the current live coin price, so they move with the market. Rates exclude referral rebates, promotional zero-fee pairs and regional pricing. Full detail per exchange: Kraken fees · Pionex fees.