Bybit and KuCoin charge the same 0.10% on spot, Bybit charges half a basis point less on perpetual takers, 0.0550% against 0.06%, and KuCoin lists twice as many coins; both hold MiCA licences inBybit and KuCoin charge the same 0.10% on spot, Bybit charges half a basis point less on perpetual takers, 0.0550% against 0.06%, and KuCoin lists twice as many coins; both hold MiCA licences in
Bybit vs KuCoin (2026): 0.055% or 0.06% on Perpetuals, 447 or 889 Coins, and Which One Serves Your Country?
Bybit and KuCoin charge the same 0.10% on spot, Bybit charges half a basis point less on perpetual takers, 0.0550% against 0.06%, and KuCoin lists twice as many coins; both hold MiCA licences in Europe and neither serves the United States, but only Bybit is open in the United Kingdom, so Bybit is the derivatives trader's pick and KuCoin the altcoin hunter's, with the map deciding for readers in the US and the UK.
Key Takeaways
- Both platforms charge 0.10% maker and 0.10% taker on spot at the entry tier; paying fees in MNT cuts Bybit to 0.075% and paying in KCS cuts KuCoin to 0.08%, not the 0.05% some comparison pages claim.
- Perpetual takers pay 0.0550% on Bybit and 0.06% on KuCoin, with makers at 0.02% on both.
- KuCoin lists 889 coins across 1,071 pairs on CoinGecko against 447 coins across 604 pairs on Bybit.
- Both have recovered from a major theft: Bybit lost about $1.5 billion in February 2025 and restored full backing, and KuCoin lost about $280 million in September 2020 and made users whole.
- Both serve the EEA under MiCA licences and neither serves the US; Bybit is open in the UK and KuCoin is not, and both are closed to Japanese residents.
- MEXC publishes 0% maker and 0.05% taker on spot, so $10,000 of monthly volume costs $2.50 there against $10.00 on either platform here, for readers outside the US, UK and EEA.
Two numbers most comparisons get wrong before they start
Search for Bybit vs KuCoin and the top results include a page that says Bybit has never suffered a major security breach and another that says KuCoin's KCS discount takes its fee to 0.05%.
Neither is true: Bybit lost about $1.5 billion in February 2025 in the largest theft in crypto history, and KuCoin's 20% KCS discount takes a 0.1% fee to 0.08%.
What the pages get right is the shape of the choice, a derivatives-first exchange against an altcoin-first exchange, and what they miss is how much the two platforms' maps have moved since 2025.
This article puts both schedules in one table with a verification date on each, sets the two recoveries side by side with their outcomes, maps the four regions that matter most, and ends with a verdict by reader type.
Where MEXC fits, it says so in its own labelled section, with the same numbers and the same dates.
How do Bybit and KuCoin compare at a glance?
Dimension | Bybit | KuCoin |
Spot fees, entry tier | VIP 0: 0.1000% maker, 0.1000% taker; 0.0750% with MNT fee payment; fiat pairs 0.1500% maker, 0.2000% taker; xStocks 0.2000% both sides | LV0: 0.1% maker, 0.1% taker; 0.08% with KCS Pay Fees; maker reaches 0% from VIP 8 |
Futures fees, entry tier | Perpetuals and futures: 0.0200% maker, 0.0550% taker; 0.0180% and 0.0495% with MNT; options 0.0200% maker, 0.0300% taker | LV0: 0.02% maker, 0.06% taker; maker reaches 0% from VIP 9; no options |
Coins and pairs (CoinGecko) | 447 coins, 604 spot pairs, Trust Score 8 out of 10 | 889 coins, 1,071 pairs, Trust Score 9 out of 10 |
Derivatives | USDT, USDC and inverse perpetuals, futures, options; unified trading account; copy trading built around derivatives | USDT-margined perpetuals and futures with roughly 600 pairs; trading bots |
Security and regulation | February 2025 theft of about $1.5 billion attributed by the FBI to North Korea, full backing restored and withdrawals honoured; monthly proof of reserves; MiCA licence for Bybit EU | September 2020 hack of about $280 million, 84% recovered and the rest covered from its insurance fund per KuCoin; January 2025 US guilty plea, more than $297 million in penalties and a two-year US exit; MiCA licence via KuCoin EU, per KuCoin |
Deposits, withdrawals and KYC | Full KYC since 2023; default daily withdrawal limit 1,000,000 USDT at Standard verification and 2,000,000 USDT at Advanced | Verification required for deposits, trading and withdrawals; verified daily withdrawal limit 999,999 USDT at the entry level |
Where you can use it | Not the US; UK via a spot and P2P platform relaunched in late 2025; EEA via Bybit EU; Japan closed to residents from 2026 | Not the US since the 2025 plea; not open to UK retail customers; EEA via KuCoin EU under MiCA; Japan not registered, with app downloads suspended at the FSA's request in 2025 |
Signature feature | Copy trading, options and xStocks tokenized equities | Early altcoin listings and built-in trading bots |
Data verified as of 18 September 2026 against each platform's official fee schedule, help center and terms, and CoinGecko exchange pages.
A third option worth considering: MEXC
If the fee row above is what brought you here, MEXC publishes 0% maker and 0.05% taker on spot, against 0.10% and 0.10% on both platforms in this comparison.
On $10,000 of monthly spot volume split evenly between maker and taker orders, that is $2.50 a month on MEXC against $10.00 on Bybit and $10.00 on KuCoin at their entry tiers, with no token to hold.
On perpetuals MEXC's BTCUSDT contract lists 0.000% maker and 0.020% taker on its web and app schedule, against 0.0200% and 0.0550% on Bybit and 0.02% and 0.06% on KuCoin, and MEXC listed 1,633 coins on CoinGecko at our last verification against 889 on KuCoin.
MEXC does not serve residents of the United States or the United Kingdom, is listed on ESMA's non-compliant register for the EEA, and is withdrawing from the Netherlands by 16 November 2026, so check eligibility before funding an account.
Readers outside those regions can see how MEXC compares with six derivatives venues in our Bybit alternatives ranking.
Which is cheaper, Bybit or KuCoin?
Tied on spot, and Bybit by half a basis point on perpetuals and by a fifth on the token discount.
Bybit's VIP 0 spot rate is 0.1000% maker and 0.1000% taker, and KuCoin's LV0 rate is 0.1% maker and 0.1% taker, so a $1,000 order costs $1.00 on either platform.
Paying fees in MNT takes 25% off Bybit's spot rate, to 0.075%, while KuCoin's Pay Fees with KCS option takes 20% off, to 0.08%.
KuCoin's maker rate falls to 0% only from VIP 8 on spot and VIP 9 on futures, tiers that require substantial 30-day volume or KCS holdings.
Bybit's fiat pairs carry a higher schedule of 0.1500% maker and 0.2000% taker, and its xStocks and Adventure Zone markets charge 0.2000% on both sides, so a reader trading USD or EUR pairs directly pays more than the headline rate.
On perpetuals Bybit charges 0.0200% maker and 0.0550% taker, falling to 0.0180% and 0.0495% with MNT, while KuCoin charges 0.02% maker and 0.06% taker.
A $10,000 perpetual taker order therefore costs $5.50 on Bybit and $6.00 on KuCoin, and $4.95 on Bybit with MNT.
Our quarterly crypto exchange fee index holds both schedules beside ten other platforms and records who publishes fees without an account.
Which is better for derivatives?
Bybit, on product range, price and account structure.
On $100,000 of monthly BTCUSDT perpetual notional split evenly between maker and taker orders, Bybit costs $37.50 a month at 0.0200% and 0.0550%, or $33.75 with MNT, and KuCoin costs $40.00 at 0.02% and 0.06%.
The same notional costs $10.00 on MEXC's BTCUSDT contract at 0.000% maker and 0.020% taker, which is the gap the box above quantifies for readers outside the US, UK and EEA.
Bybit adds options at 0.0200% maker and 0.0300% taker, inverse perpetuals, a unified trading account that nets margin across products, and a copy-trading marketplace built around derivatives.
KuCoin's futures venue lists roughly 600 USDT-margined pairs on CoinGecko and pairs them with grid and futures bots that run inside the exchange.
For a trader whose core activity is perpetuals, Bybit is the more complete venue; for a trader who runs bots on futures, KuCoin's tooling is the draw.
Which lists more coins and lists them faster?
KuCoin, by roughly two to one.
KuCoin lists 889 coins across 1,071 pairs on its CoinGecko page, against 447 coins across 604 spot pairs on Bybit, and CoinGecko scores KuCoin at 9 out of 10 for trust and Bybit at 8 out of 10.
KuCoin's reputation was built on listing early-stage altcoins before larger exchanges, and its coin count still reflects that policy.
Bybit's list is shorter and more concentrated in USDT and USDC pairs, and its listing pipeline favours tokens with enough depth to support perpetuals.
A trader who wants the long tail will find more of it on KuCoin, and should expect thinner books at the far end of that tail.
What do the two security incidents actually mean?
Both platforms lost customer-facing funds to attackers and both made their users whole, which is the fact that matters most.
On 21 February 2025 about $1.5 billion in ETH and staked ETH was taken from a Bybit cold wallet during a routine transfer, and the FBI attributed the theft to North Korea's TraderTraitor actors five days later.
Bybit kept withdrawals open throughout, restored full one-to-one backing of client assets within days according to its own statements, and now publishes monthly proof-of-reserves reports verified by a third-party auditor, per Bybit.
In September 2020 attackers with access to KuCoin hot-wallet keys took about $280 million, and KuCoin recovered 84% of the affected assets through on-chain tracking, contract upgrades and legal recovery, as The Block reported, with the remainder covered from its insurance fund per its chief executive's letter.
The difference is age and scale: KuCoin's incident is six years old and was recovered largely on-chain, while Bybit's is eighteen months old, five times larger, and was absorbed from the platform's own reserves, per Bybit.
A reader weighing the two should read both incidents as evidence of how each platform behaves under pressure rather than as a reason to avoid either.
Which is safer and better regulated?
Both hold MiCA licences and both have one further regulatory fact a careful reader should know.
In January 2025 KuCoin's operating entity pleaded guilty to running an unlicensed money transmitting business, agreed to more than $297 million in penalties, and agreed to leave the US market for at least two years, according to the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, with two founders leaving management.
Bybit has never served US residents and carries no US enforcement action of that kind, but it stopped serving Japanese residents in 2026 after repeated warnings from Japan's Financial Services Agency, as DL News reported.
In Europe, Bybit EU and KuCoin EU each hold a MiCA licence issued in Austria, per the platforms' own announcements.
On reserves, Bybit publishes monthly audited proof-of-reserves reports, and KuCoin's reserve data is published on CoinGecko.
Both require full identity verification, and the older idea that KuCoin lets you trade without it is out of date: its verification guide requires identity checks to deposit, trade and withdraw.
Which is easier to fund and withdraw from?
Both fund accounts through cards, P2P markets and local bank rails wherever they hold a licence, and both require verification first.
Bybit's default daily withdrawal limit is 1,000,000 USDT at Standard verification and 2,000,000 USDT at Advanced, and its MNT discount does not apply to API trading.
KuCoin's verified daily withdrawal limit starts at 999,999 USDT and rises with VIP level.
For European readers both platforms keep SEPA rails open through their MiCA entities; for UK readers only Bybit's spot and P2P platform is open.
Where can you actually use Bybit and KuCoin?
Neither platform serves United States residents: Bybit never has, and KuCoin left under its plea agreement.
In the United Kingdom, Bybit returned in late 2025 with a spot and P2P platform under the FCA's promotions regime, while KuCoin is not open to UK retail customers.
In the European Economic Area, both operate through MiCA-licensed entities.
In Japan, Bybit is closed to residents and KuCoin is not registered, with app downloads suspended at the Financial Services Agency's request in 2025.
For a UK reader the choice is Bybit or nothing; for an EEA reader it is a real choice; for a US or Japanese reader it is neither.
What does a year on Bybit vs KuCoin really cost?
Price the same activity on each platform at entry rates, split evenly between maker and taker orders.
A trader with $10,000 of monthly spot volume pays about $120 a year on either platform, or $90 on Bybit with MNT and $96 on KuCoin with KCS.
A trader with $100,000 of monthly BTCUSDT perpetual notional pays about $450 a year on Bybit and about $480 on KuCoin at entry rates.
The same two profiles cost about $30 and $120 a year on MEXC at its published 0% maker and 0.05% taker spot schedule and 0.000% maker and 0.020% taker BTCUSDT contract.
Between Bybit and KuCoin the annual difference is $30 on perpetuals and $6 on discounted spot, so coin breadth, derivatives tooling and above all availability should decide the choice.
Who should choose Bybit, and who should choose KuCoin?
Choose Bybit if you live in the United Kingdom, because it is the one of the two that is open to you.
Choose Bybit if perpetuals, options or copy trading are the core of how you trade, or if you want tokenized equities inside the same account.
Choose KuCoin if early-stage altcoins are the point and you accept thinner books on the long tail.
Choose KuCoin if you run bots on spot or futures and want them inside the exchange.
Do not open either platform from the United States or Japan, and read each platform's terms for your country before funding.
Readers weighing KuCoin against other altcoin venues can use our KuCoin alternatives ranking, and readers weighing Bybit can use our Bybit alternatives ranking.
The MEXC View: where we stand on Bybit vs KuCoin
MEXC Learn is published by MEXC, an exchange that competes with both platforms, so read this section as an interested party's opinion.
We think both platforms deserve credit for making their users whole after major thefts, and that the way each did it tells you more about it than any fee table.
We think Bybit is the more complete derivatives venue and KuCoin the wider altcoin venue, and that the pages calling the fees a tie are right on spot and wrong on perpetuals.
We also think the honest reading of this comparison is that a UK reader has one option and a US reader has none, which matters more than the half basis point.
Where MEXC fits is on price and listings for readers outside the US, UK and EEA: 0% maker and 0.05% taker on spot, 0.000% maker and 0.020% taker on the BTCUSDT contract, and 1,633 coins on CoinGecko at our last verification, with every figure carrying a date.
Our review methodology explains how we score exchanges we compete with.
Frequently asked questions
Is Bybit better than KuCoin?
Bybit is better for perpetuals, options, copy trading and UK access, while KuCoin is better for early altcoins and bots.
Both hold MiCA licences and neither serves the US.
Is Bybit cheaper than KuCoin?
Slightly, on perpetuals: 0.0550% taker against 0.06%, with makers at 0.02% on both.
Spot fees are identical at 0.10%, discounted to 0.075% with MNT or 0.08% with KCS.
Is Bybit safer than KuCoin?
Both recovered from major thefts, Bybit's $1.5 billion in 2025 and KuCoin's $280 million in 2020, with users made whole each time.
Bybit publishes monthly audited proof of reserves.
Which has more coins, Bybit or KuCoin?
KuCoin, with 889 coins across 1,071 pairs on CoinGecko against 447 coins across 604 pairs on Bybit.
Bybit's list is concentrated in USDT and USDC pairs.
Can I use Bybit or KuCoin in the US or the EU?
Neither serves US residents; KuCoin left under its 2025 plea agreement.
In the EEA, both operate through MiCA-licensed entities.
Does KuCoin require KYC?
Yes, KuCoin's verification guide requires identity verification to deposit, trade and withdraw.
Bybit has required full verification since 2023.
Bybit vs KuCoin futures fees: which is lower?
Bybit, at 0.0200% maker and 0.0550% taker against 0.02% and 0.06% on KuCoin.
Bybit's MNT discount lowers its taker rate to 0.0495%.
Can I transfer crypto from KuCoin to Bybit?
Yes, by withdrawing from KuCoin to your Bybit deposit address on the same network.
Check the network and any memo first, and send a small test amount before the full transfer.
Risk and compliance disclosure
Crypto assets are volatile and you can lose your entire deposit; derivatives, leverage, copy trading and small-cap tokens add liquidation and liquidity risk on top of price risk.
Fees, listings and regional availability change; every figure above carries its verification date and should be re-checked before you act on it.
Neither MEXC nor Bybit nor KuCoin serves United States residents; US readers should compare the platforms licensed in their state.
MEXC does not accept United Kingdom residents, is listed on ESMA's register of non-compliant entities for the EEA, and is offboarding Netherlands users by 16 November 2026, so the MEXC sections above are informational for readers in those regions.
MEXC appears on Japan's FSA list of unregistered operators; the web platform is reachable but the app is not offered in Japanese app stores.
Nothing here is investment, legal or tax advice.
Market Opportunity
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This article is provided by Sarah Chen for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. Cryptocurrency markets involve significant risk. Please conduct independent research or consult a qualified professional before making any investment decisions. The views expressed do not necessarily represent those of MEXC or its affiliates.
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