MEXC is our pick here: more than 800 MEXC markets cost 0.0000% on both sides, against Bullish's lowest published rate of 0.5 basis points.
On those markets MEXC is not close to Bullish on price, it is below it, because a zero is lower than any basis point.
Key Takeaways
The 0 Fees filter on MEXC's official fee page returns more than 380 spot pairs and more than 420 USDT-M perpetuals at 0.0000% on both sides.
Bullish charges the lower published taker rate outside that list, at 0.5 basis points against MEXC's 0.0500%.
That gap is 45 cents on a 1,000 USD trade and roughly 2,700 USD a year only at 500,000 USD of monthly taker volume.
Our count of Bullish's published withdrawal-fee table returns 67 assets against 1,627 that CoinGecko tracked on MEXC.
Clause 13.11 of Bullish's Gibraltar terms classifies its clients as professional, which explains the short asset list and the 7x cap.
Bullish Europe GmbH holds a BaFin MiCA authorisation that MEXC does not, so EEA readers should not treat MEXC as a replacement.
Bullish is one of the least expensive places on earth to execute a spot trade.
That is a real achievement and this page is not going to talk around it.
It is also a claim with a boundary, and the boundary is where this comparison lives.
People go looking for a Bullish alternative for a consistent reason.
They searched for a mid-capitalisation token and it was not listed.
Then every alternative they checked seemed to fix the asset list by multiplying the fee bill.
The premise of that trade-off is what MEXC breaks.
This article is published by MEXC and it recommends MEXC, so the method behind that recommendation should be visible rather than assumed.
We compared on published rates only, and where a platform declines to publish a number we said so instead of estimating one.
CoinDesk is owned by Bullish, so we did not use it as a neutral source for any factual claim about Bullish in this article.
That is a statement about our sourcing rule rather than about CoinDesk's journalism, and the rule cuts against us in exactly the same way.
This page is published by an exchange comparing itself to a competitor, which is why every figure carries a source and a retrieval date you can open yourself.
The Bullish facts below come from its own terms of service and fee schedule, from regulator registers, and from mainstream financial reporting with no ownership relationship to either platform.
The official MEXC fee page carries a 0 Fees filter on both its spot and futures tabs, and it is a published category rather than a marketing line. Filtering the spot tab returns 39 pages of pairs at ten rows a page, and filtering the USDT-M futures tab returns 43 pages.
That is more than 380 spot pairs and more than 420 USDT-M perpetual contracts priced at 0.0000% maker and 0.0000% taker.
We counted pages rather than individual rows, so treat both figures as floors, and note that the futures count excludes coin-M contracts because the filter was set to USDT-M.
The list is not padded with dead tickers.
On spot it includes XRP, USDC, EUR, USDE and USD1 pairs alongside tokenised equity pairs such as TSLAX, NVDAX and CRCLX.
On perpetuals it includes XRP, SOL and SUI, silver contracts, and tokenised stock perpetuals including TSLA, NVDA and SPCX.
We did not find an equivalent zero-fee category on Bullish's published individual fee schedule, where the lowest standard-market taker rate we located is 0.5 basis points.
On any market in that list, the fee comparison does not go to Bullish.
Both platforms charge 0.0000% to post a limit order that rests in the book.
That single fact removes most of the fee argument before it starts.
If you trade with limit orders, which is how anyone cost-sensitive should be trading, your execution cost on MEXC is identical to the cost on the cheapest venue in this comparison.
You are not paying a premium for the wider catalogue.
You are getting it at the same headline price.
Outside the 0 Fees list, Bullish charges 0.5 basis points to take liquidity and MEXC charges 0.0500%, which is a tenfold difference expressed as a ratio.
Expressed as money on a 1,000 USD market order, it is 5 cents against 50 cents.
Forty-five cents.
Run the same rates at 500,000 USD of monthly taker volume and the gap becomes 25.00 USD against 250.00 USD a month, or roughly 2,700 USD a year, which is real money.
That is also the volume profile of a professional trading desk rather than a retail account, and Bullish is built for exactly that client.
The ratio is Bullish's headline and the absolute number is the reader's reality, and for most people reading this page the two point in different directions.
Our count of Bullish's published withdrawal-fee table returns 67 withdrawable assets, against 1,627 that CoinGecko tracked on MEXC on 4 September 2026.
The two figures are counted differently, so read the gap as an order of magnitude rather than an exact multiple.
The 67 also shrinks on inspection.
On our reading of that list, about 16 entries are stablecoins or fiat-pegged tokens and about 6 are wrapped, staked or commodity tokens.
That leaves roughly 45 ordinary crypto assets, which is what a trader is actually choosing from.
Now put the two facts together, because separately they understate the case.
For any token outside those 45, Bullish's 0.5 basis point rate is not a saving of 225 USD a month.
The trade cannot be placed at all.
A fee you never pay on a position you never open is not a discount, and no fee schedule in the world prices an asset that is not listed.
This is the dimension where the distance is widest and it gets the least attention.
CoinGecko tracked 1,214 perpetual contracts on MEXC on 4 September 2026, against a Bullish derivatives book that its own terms describe as perpetual and dated futures settled exclusively in USDC.
MEXC futures price at 0.010% maker and 0.040% taker on standard pairs, with a BTCUSDT Special Rate of 0.000% maker and 0.020% taker.
Around those markets sit Earn products, copy trading, Launchpad and Launchpool, and RealStocks tokenised equity exposure.
Bullish's published product pages list none of those five.
For a trader whose strategy involves anything beyond a spot order book in a handful of majors, the comparison is not close on either breadth or product surface.
Dimension | MEXC | Bullish |
Spot and futures fees | More than 380 spot pairs and more than 420 USDT-M perpetuals at 0.0000% on both sides under the 0 Fees filter; standard spot 0.0000% maker and 0.0500% taker, 0.0400% with MX; ETHUSDT and GOLD(XAU)USDT perpetuals at 0.000% and 0.010% | 0 basis points maker and 0.5 basis points taker on standard spot markets for individual accounts; token markets carry a 1.5 basis point maker rebate against a 2 basis point taker fee |
Tradable assets | 1,627 coins and 2,019 pairs tracked by CoinGecko on 4 September 2026 | 67 withdrawable assets named on its official fee schedule, of which roughly 16 are stablecoins and 6 are wrapped or commodity tokens |
Derivatives depth and leverage | 1,214 perpetual contracts tracked by CoinGecko; tiered BTCUSDT risk limits from 500x at the smallest position size down to 10x at the largest | Perpetual and dated futures to 7x, USDC-settled, plus BTC options |
Retail product surface | Earn, copy trading, Launchpad, Launchpool and RealStocks tokenised equity exposure | None of the five; automated market making instructions restricted to institutional customers |
Client classification and reserve proof | Retail clients; monthly Merkle-tree proof of reserves audited by Hacken since February 2023; Guardian Fund of 100 million USD | Professional Clients and Eligible Counterparties per clause 13.11, so no client is currently eligible under the Gibraltar Investor Compensation Scheme; NYSE-listed parent filing with the SEC |
Regional availability | Prohibited in the US, Canada, the UK, Singapore, Hong Kong, mainland China, Malaysia and Kazakhstan; no MiCA authorisation in the EEA | Ten named US states for BTC and ETH spot only; UK access limited to professional and high-net-worth investors; BaFin MiCA authorisation through Bullish Europe GmbH |
Data verified as of 4 September 2026 against each platform's official fee schedule, help centre and terms of service, and against CoinGecko's exchange data of the same date. Bullish figures taken from its published fee schedule and its Gibraltar terms of service dated 23 June 2026.
This is the comparison that decides the question, and we could not find it on any page currently ranking for this query.
Clause 13.11 of the Bullish (GI) Limited exchange terms of service, last updated 23 June 2026, explains that compensation under the Gibraltar Investor Compensation Scheme is available only to retail or private investors.
It then states that because the entity serves exclusively Professional Clients and Eligible Counterparties, no client is currently eligible to claim under that scheme.
Read that twice if you hold an individual account there.
It does not say individuals cannot open accounts, because they plainly can, and Bullish publishes a separate individual fee schedule for them.
It says the venue's client classification is professional.
Everything a departing user complains about is downstream of that one line.
The asset list is short, in the pattern of an order book built for depth in a handful of markets rather than breadth across a thousand.
The leverage ceiling sits at 7x.
There is no staking, no copy trading and no launchpad.
None of this is a defect on Bullish's own terms, because it is a design decision for a client type it names in its contract.
It is a mismatch if you are not that client type.
MEXC classifies its users as retail clients, which sounds like the better answer and is not automatically one.
Retail classification in an offshore structure does not create a compensation scheme, and MEXC users have no statutory protection either.
Leverage is the second most common reason people look for a Bullish alternative, and it is where the honest answer runs against our own product.
Bullish caps perpetual and dated futures at 7x, settled in USDC.
Read as a limitation, that is restrictive.
Read as a risk control, it is doing something for the user.
At 7x a position survives roughly a 14% adverse move before margin is exhausted, before maintenance margin, funding and fees bring the real level closer.
MEXC does not publish a single leverage number, and the tiered structure matters more than any headline figure.
On BTCUSDT the risk-limit table starts at 500x for notional up to 316,730 USDT and steps down through 200x, 100x, 50x and 20x to 10x as position size rises.
At 100x the distance to liquidation is about 1%, and at 500x it is about 0.2%, which is inside the daily range of most crypto assets.
Anyone treating the top tier as a target rather than an option has misread that chart, and our futures risk guide works through what each tier costs in liquidation distance.
A comparison that cannot name the other side's strengths is an advertisement, so here are Bullish's, stated the way its own users would state them.
The published taker rate is the lowest here.
At 0.5 basis points on standard spot markets, and with a 1.5 basis point maker rebate on token markets, a desk running a market-making strategy is paid to provide liquidity rather than charged for it.
Above roughly 500,000 USD of monthly taker volume that advantage stops being cosmetic.
The corporate disclosure is stronger than ours.
MEXC is privately held and publishes no equivalent filings, which is a genuine information asymmetry in Bullish's favour.
Two products we do not offer at all.
Dated futures and BTC options exist on Bullish and do not exist on MEXC, and no amount of asset breadth substitutes for a product line that is absent.
The EEA licence is decisive where it applies.
Bullish Europe GmbH holds a MiCA crypto-asset service provider authorisation granted by Germany's BaFin, and MEXC holds nothing equivalent.
Availability is where this comparison stops being about preference.
United States.
The Bullish Gibraltar terms define ten eligible US states, and state that customers there may access BTC and ETH spot trading services only.
That is ten states and two assets, with no derivatives and no wider token list.
MEXC does not serve US residents at all, so nothing in this article is a recommendation to move US assets to MEXC.
If Bullish's two-asset window is too narrow for you, the licensed shortlist is the platforms registered in your state, and you should verify state-level availability directly before funding anything.
United Kingdom.
Bullish access in the UK is limited to professional and high-net-worth investors rather than general retail.
The United Kingdom is a Prohibited Jurisdiction under the MEXC User Agreement, so UK readers should treat this page as background and use an FCA-registered platform. European Economic Area.
This section will cost us readers, and it should.
Bullish Europe holds MiCAR authorisation as a crypto-asset service provider and MEXC does not.
For a reader in the EEA, moving from Bullish Europe to MEXC would be a move from an authorised provider to one that is not authorised.
We are not going to recommend that, and no version of the fee arithmetic makes it a good idea.
The full MEXC list is in the Prohibited Jurisdictions clause of the User Agreement, summarised in our restricted regions guide.
If you are | Pick | Because |
Trading anything on the 0 Fees list, including XRP, SOL, SUI or tokenised equities | MEXC | 0.0000% on both sides is below Bullish's best published rate, not merely close to it |
A retail trader outside restricted markets using limit orders | MEXC | 0.0000% maker matches Bullish exactly, on 1,627 assets instead of 67 |
Trading anything outside the roughly 45 ordinary crypto assets Bullish lists | MEXC | A lower rate on an unlisted asset is not a saving, because the order cannot be placed |
A derivatives trader, or anyone wanting Earn, copy trading or a launchpad | MEXC | 1,214 perpetual contracts and five product lines Bullish does not offer |
A desk running above roughly 500,000 USD of monthly taker volume in majors | Bullish | 0.5 basis points is worth about 2,700 USD a year at that volume |
Trading dated futures or BTC options | Bullish | MEXC does not offer either product |
A reader in the EEA, the US or the UK | A locally authorised platform | Bullish Europe holds a BaFin authorisation, and MEXC serves none of those three markets |
Is MEXC or Bullish cheaper?
MEXC is cheaper on the 800-plus markets carrying its 0 Fees tag, where both sides cost 0.0000%.
Outside that list Bullish's taker rate is lower, by 45 cents on a 1,000 USD trade.
Which MEXC markets are free to trade?
The 0 Fees filter on the official fee page returns more than 380 spot pairs and more than 420 USDT-M perpetuals at 0.0000% on both sides.
Coverage is set by MEXC and can change, so check the filter before you trade.
How many coins can you trade on Bullish?
Its own fee schedule names 67 withdrawable assets, of which roughly 16 are stablecoins and 6 are wrapped or commodity tokens.
CoinGecko tracked 1,627 on MEXC on 4 September 2026.
Can retail traders use Bullish?
Individuals can open accounts and Bullish publishes a separate individual fee schedule.
Its Gibraltar terms classify clients as professional, so no client currently qualifies for Gibraltar Investor Compensation Scheme protection.
What is the maximum leverage on Bullish?
Seven times, on perpetual and dated futures settled in USDC.
MEXC uses tiered risk limits that start higher and fall as position size rises.
Does Bullish offer staking or copy trading?
No, and it has no launchpad either.
MEXC offers Earn products, copy trading, Launchpad and Launchpool.
Can US residents use Bullish or MEXC?
Bullish serves ten named states for BTC and ETH spot trading only.
MEXC does not serve US residents at all, so US readers should use a locally licensed platform.
Is Bullish a public company?
Yes, it trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker BLSH and files with the SEC.
MEXC is privately held and publishes no equivalent filings.
Crypto assets are volatile and you can lose the money you trade with, so never commit funds you cannot afford to lose.
Leveraged futures magnify losses as well as gains, and a position at the highest MEXC risk-limit tier is liquidated by a price move roughly seventy times smaller than the same position at 7x.
Higher available leverage is a capital-efficiency feature and a risk multiplier at the same time, and it should be sized accordingly.
Neither platform in this comparison places its users inside a statutory investor compensation scheme.
MEXC does not hold MiCA authorisation and appears on ESMA's register of non-compliant entities, so readers in the EEA should choose a provider listed as authorised in that register.
MEXC does not serve residents of the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Singapore, Hong Kong, mainland China, Malaysia or Kazakhstan, and the User Agreement is the authoritative list.
Zero-fee market coverage is set by MEXC and shown on the official fee page, and markets can move on or off that list without notice.
Fee schedules, asset lists and jurisdictional availability change without notice, and every figure here carries a retrieval date of 4 September 2026.
This article is for information only and is not financial, legal or tax advice.
If the pair you trade is on the 0 Fees list, MEXC is not matching Bullish on price, it is beating it, and it lists the asset you were looking for.
If you are a high-volume taker in BTC, ETH and stablecoins, Bullish is the cheaper venue and nothing written here changes that.