Binance vs Bybit (2026)

What sets it apart A volume-independent 25% fee discount for paying trading fees in its native BNB token, accessible to any user without climbing VIP volume tiers

Best for Active retail and institutional crypto traders outside the United States who want broad token coverage and low spot and derivatives fees on a custodial exchange · Pricing model Free to open and hold an account; the exchange earns from trading fees. Standard spot fee is 0.1% maker / 0.1% taker, reduced 25% to 0.075% when fees are paid in BNB. Futures start at 0.02% maker / 0.05% taker. A 10-tier VIP schedule lowers fees further based on 30-day volume and BNB held.

Binance is a centralized, custodial cryptocurrency exchange founded in July 2017 by Changpeng Zhao and Yi He, offering spot and derivatives trading across a large catalog of tokens and trading pairs. It is described as the largest exchange by daily trading volume. Standard spot trades cost 0.1% for both maker and taker, dropping 25% to 0.075% for users who pay fees in the platform's own BNB token, a discount available at any volume tier. The main binance.com platform is not open to United States residents, who are directed to the separate Binance.US entity, and the company runs on jurisdiction-specific licenses that include a regulatory base in Abu Dhabi's ADGM.

Sources Binance fee schedule (vendor) · Binance - Wikipedia · Binance restricted and supported countries 2026 (Datawallet) · Binance licenses and legal registrations (vendor)

What sets it apart Derivatives are the core of the business rather than an add-on to spot, paired with a Merkle-tree proof-of-reserves that lets each user cryptographically check their own funds are recorded in the exchange's reserves

Best for Active spot and derivatives traders in supported regions who want perpetuals, futures, and options on one custodial platform with self-verifiable reserves · Pricing model No subscription; revenue is trading fees. Base (VIP 0) rates are about 0.1% maker / 0.1% taker on spot and 0.02% maker / 0.055% taker on perpetual futures, with volume- or balance-based VIP tiers lowering both.

Bybit is a centralized crypto exchange founded in 2018 and now headquartered in Dubai, built primarily around derivatives such as perpetuals, futures, and options, with spot markets alongside. Account holders can verify their balances against the exchange's holdings through a Merkle-tree proof-of-reserves attestation checked by Hacken. It operates across many markets but is restricted from the United States and, since 2021, the United Kingdom. In February 2025 Bybit disclosed a wallet breach in which roughly $1.4 billion in Ethereum was stolen, which independent analysts attributed to North Korea's Lazarus Group; the exchange said it restored 1:1 reserves within days.

Sources Bybit - Wikipedia · Bybit Trading Fee Structure - Help Center · Bybit Trading Fees (fee-rate schedule) · Assets Verified: Hacken's Ongoing Proof of Reserves for Bybit - Hacken