18 August 2026
Crypto exchange fees compared: what a $1,000 buy really costs
Coinbase, Kraken, Binance, PayPal and peer to peer, priced on the same $1,000 purchase, with the spreads and hidden charges the headline rates leave out.
The fee you see is not the fee you pay
Every crypto app advertises a headline fee, and almost none of them include the spread. The spread is the gap between the real market price and the price you are shown, and on most consumer apps it is larger than the visible fee. Add card processing, withdrawal charges and network gas, and a simple $1,000 purchase can quietly cost $40 before you own anything.
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What a $1,000 buy actually costs in 2026
| Method | Visible fee | Typical spread | All-in cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coinbase simple buy with card | 3.99% | 0.5% to 1% | $45 to $50 |
| Coinbase Advanced Trade | 0.6% | 0.05% | $6 to $8 plus funding time |
| Kraken instant buy | 1.5% | 0.5% | $18 to $22 |
| PayPal or Venmo in-app crypto | 1.8% | 1% to 2% | $28 to $38, coins often locked |
| Binance card purchase | 2% | 0.5% | $22 to $28 |
| Peer to peer on Proof | 0.5% | seller rate plus service fee | $10 to $22 |
Numbers move around, so treat this as the shape of the market rather than a price list. The pattern holds: instant card buys are the most expensive way to get on-chain, pro order books are cheap but need a funded account and a bank transfer, and peer to peer sits in between on paper while skipping the withdrawal step entirely.
The fees people forget
- Withdrawal fees. Getting coins off an exchange often costs a flat charge per send.
- Bank wire fees. Some accounts charge $10 to $25 in and out.
- Conversion fees. Paying in a currency the exchange does not hold adds 1% or more.
- Network gas. Cheap on Base, painful on Ethereum mainnet at busy times.
- Off-ramp fees. Selling back to cash is a second full round of the same charges.
How to cut the cost
- Never buy with a debit or credit card if you can avoid it. That is the single biggest markup.
- Settle on a cheap network. USDC on Base moves for a fraction of a cent.
- Buy the stablecoin first, then swap on-chain. Two cheap steps beat one expensive one.
- Compare the amount of crypto you receive, not the advertised percentage.
- Count the exit. An on-ramp is only cheap if cashing out is cheap too.
What Proof charges
Proof shows one number before you commit: the crypto you receive. Behind it, a cash buy is roughly 1% to 2.2% all in, made up of the seller's rate, the network service fee and a 0.5% Proof fee. Cashing out is the seller's rate plus a 1% Proof fee. On-chain swaps cost 0.5% to Proof plus 0.25% to the routing network, with gas shown separately. Nothing is hidden in the price you are quoted, and there is no withdrawal fee because the crypto lands in your own wallet from the start.
Ready to try it?
Pay a real person from Venmo, Cash App, Zelle or Revolut. The crypto lands in a wallet only you control, usually inside a couple of minutes.
Frequently asked questions
Which crypto exchange has the lowest fees?
Pro order books like Coinbase Advanced Trade are cheapest per trade at around 0.6%, but they need a funded account, a bank transfer and a withdrawal to your own wallet. Peer to peer buying costs roughly 1% to 2.2% all in and delivers straight to your wallet with no withdrawal fee.
Why is buying crypto with a card so expensive?
Card purchases stack a processing fee, an instant-buy fee and a wide spread. All in, a card buy commonly costs 3% to 5% even when the app advertises less.
What is a crypto spread?
The spread is the gap between the real market price and the price you are quoted. It is a fee that never appears on the receipt, and on consumer apps it is often bigger than the visible fee.
What does Proof Money charge?
0.5% on cash buys, 1% on cash outs, and 0.5% plus a 0.25% routing fee on on-chain swaps. Network costs are shown separately and there are no withdrawal fees.
Keep reading
More questions? The FAQ covers fees, networks and safety in detail.