Coinbase vs. Coinbase Pro (Comparison)
Coinbase and Coinbase Pro are well-known cryptocurrency exchanges owned by Coinbase Global Inc. Both let you use fiat money (such as U.S. dollars or Euro) to buy various currencies. Beginner investors appreciate the simplicity of Coinbase, whereas seasoned users like the advanced options Coinbase Pro provides. Platforms differ in purchasing options and fees.
In this guide, we examined the platform’s two account options and compared them based on features, fee structures, and supported currencies. Both plans provide excellent security and ease of use. Although Coinbase has higher fees, it’s built for people new to investing in cryptocurrency. Coinbase Pro offers more transaction types with lower fees, perfect for active traders.
Coinbase vs. Coinbase Pro: Features
The platform caters to different user types, with Coinbase providing features ideal for new investors while Coinbase Pro gives investors the rich feature-set required for busy traders. With Coinbase and Coinbase Pro, you’ll get:
1. Mobile apps: Each account type has a highly rated mobile application, offering an experience similar to what you’ll find in the web browser.
2. Digital wallet: The Coinbase platform provides a hot wallet with multi-coin support and ways to earn cryptocurrency. You don’t need to be a Coinbase user to use the digital wallet.
3. Availability: Various functions are available in over 100 countries with limitations. For instance, if you live in Hawaii, you can’t use the platform, while you can’t sell on the platform in Mexico.
4. User education: The platform offers a knowledge base of video tutorials, how-to articles, and guides with market updates.
Coinbase Pro users enjoy advanced features for experienced traders. Its intuitive application offers real-time charting tools with moving averages and exponential moving averages. You can also view your trade history, order book, and price charts.
Transaction types also differ, with Coinbase allowing buy, sell, send, and receive transactions. Coinbase Pro provides advanced options, such as stop order, limit order, and margin orders.
Coinbase vs. Coinbase Pro: Supported Currencies
Both Coinbase and Coinbase Pro support fiat currencies like USD, GBP, and EUR. Plus, you can choose from more than 50 altcoins across both platforms. There are some differences, with Coinbase offering Bitcoin Satoshi Vision (BSV), but it doesn’t support Golem (GNT) or Loom Network (LOOM). You can buy LOOM and GNT on Coinbase Pro but not BSV.
Cryptocurrencies supported by both account types include popular cryptocurrencies such as:
Ethereum (ETH)
Litecoin (LTC)
Cardano (ADA)
Bitcoin Cash (BCH)
Stellar Lumens (XLM)
Chainlink (link)
Uniswap (UNI)
Aave (AAVE)
Coinbase and Coinbase Pro offer a wide variety of cryptocurrencies compared to digital exchange platforms like Gemini. However, Coinbase lags behind some of the best crypto exchanges, such as Binance.
Coinbase vs. Coinbase Pro: Security
The Coinbase platform offers the same high level of security for Coinbase and Coinbase Pro. Moreover, the cryptocurrency exchange had a direct listing on Nasdaq, which differs from an initial public offering (IPO) but still sells stock shares to the general public. Its safety and security standards are as secure, or more secure, than industry standards.
All USD cash balances are protected by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) up to $250,000 per individual.1 The exchange is very forthcoming about its safety features for trading on the site or using the mobile app.
Coinbase keeps 98% of customer funds stored offline in vaults or safe deposit boxes, called cold storage. The remaining 2% is held online backed by Coinbase’s insurance policy, which covers any losses due to cybersecurity breaches of Coinbase’s facilities.
All accounts offer a two-factor authentication (2FA) process and biometric fingerprint logins. The digital wallets and private keys use AES-256 encryption. Of course, you’re responsible for creating a secure and strong password. In addition, with Coinbase Pro, you have the option to store your funds in your personal offline cold storage.
Coinbase vs. Coinbase Pro: Fees
Coinbase and Coinbase Pro differ in fee structures, with Coinbase being more expensive and complicated to understand. Coinbase Pro costs less and uses a maker-taker approach. According to Coinbase, “the base rate for all purchase and sale transactions in the U.S. is 4%.” But, the fees vary based on your location and payment method.
Coinbase charges a higher amount for either a flat rate or variable fee based on the payment method. Coinbase Pro uses tiers, with more or higher dollar transactions coming with lower costs. For example:
Transactions less than $10,000 pay a 0.50% taker fee or 0.50% maker fee
Transactions $10,000 to $50,000 pay a 0.35% taker fee or 0.35% maker fee
Transactions $50,000 to $100,000 pay a 0.25% taker fee or 0.15% maker fee
Transactions $100,000 to $1 million pay a 0.20% taker fee or 0.10% maker fee
The way to avoid access fees is by trading on the Coinbase Pro platform or paying money out of your bank account or digital wallet. Although the Coinbase fees are comparable to other exchanges, the charges can quickly add up.
If you were to spend $200 to buy altcoin on Coinbase, you’d pay the higher amount between Coinbase’s flat-rate fee or the percentage amount based on the payment method. For example, if you paid via credit card, you’d pay 2,00% (higher than the $2.99 flat fee). On Coinbase Pro, you’d pay a fee of 0.50% on your $100 purchase, or 50 cents.
Coinbase vs. Coinbase Pro: Ease of Use
You don’t need to download anything to get started with Coinbase or Coinbase Pro, as all features are available using a web browser. Both versions come with a user-friendly mobile application.
The simplicity of Coinbase makes it the more straightforward option for beginners. It only supports buying and selling, so you can jump right on the app or web browser and start investing. Coinbase Pro can seem imposing at first because it offers a lot more information and advanced reporting.
However, once you play around with the platform, it’s pretty easy to use. The advanced trading features give users many more options, which is why it’s better suited to people familiar with crypto trading.
Conclusion
Coinbase and Coinbase Pro offer user-friendly mobile applications, but Coinbase is designed for people new to investing in cryptocurrency. It keeps your options simple by limiting your transaction types.
If you want more advanced investing options, Coinbase Pro is a great choice. Although it’s easy to use, the various alternatives can be confusing. However, you’ll save a bunch of money on fees and be able to do much more on the Coinbase Pro platform. In most cases, people can take a cryptocurrency trading course then start using Coinbase Pro.
Read More:
Read Also:
