Binance review
By Vetted Exchanges Editorial Team , fact-checked by Vetted Exchanges Review Board
Our verdict
If you want the most liquid market and the widest set of products, Binance is still the default. It is the wrong first exchange for someone who just wants to buy their first $200 of bitcoin.
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- Spot taker
- 0.075%
- Futures taker
- 0.05%
- Assets listed
- 400+
- Founded
- 2017
- Verification
- Full KYC
What works
- The deepest spot and perpetual liquidity in the market, which means less slippage on size
- Widest product range: spot, margin, perps, options, earn, copy trading, P2P
- Publishes proof-of-reserves and maintains the SAFU insurance fund
What does not
- Not available to US retail traders; Binance.US is a different, thinner product
- The interface overwhelms first-time buyers
- A long regulatory history that ended in a US settlement and monitorship
How it scores
Nine criteria, same weights for every exchange. Read the methodology.
- Fees
- 9.0
- Security
- 8.2
- Liquidity
- 9.8
- Features
- 9.6
- Ease of use
- 7.6
- Support
- 7.2
- Country availability
- 8.0
- Deposit options
- 8.8
- Track record
- 8.0
The full review
Binance is the largest crypto exchange by spot and derivatives volume, and that single fact drives most of what makes it good or bad. Deep books mean your market order fills near the price you saw. It also means the platform carries the complexity of an institutional venue into a retail app.
Fees are competitive rather than remarkable. Spot starts at 0.10% both sides, dropping to 0.075% if you pay in BNB — a discount most active traders take. Perpetual futures start at 0.02% maker and 0.05% taker, which is mid-pack: Bybit is cheaper on the maker side for some tiers, MEXC undercuts everyone on promotional rates.
The security picture is genuinely mixed and we score it accordingly. Binance publishes Merkle-tree proof-of-reserves, funds SAFU, and has not lost customer assets since 2019. It also carries the largest compliance settlement in the industry, which is a governance risk rather than a custody risk — but it is a risk, and it is why our security sub-score sits below Kraken and Coinbase.
Country availability is the single biggest filter. US residents cannot use Binance.com. Several European users have moved between local entities as licences changed. Check the availability table below before you plan around it.
How we reviewed Binance
We scored Binance against the same nine criteria we apply to every exchange: fees, security, liquidity, features, ease of use, support, country availability, deposit options and long-term track record. Fee figures come from the exchange’s own published schedule (verified 2026-09-04), availability from its terms and support documentation, and the incident history from primary reporting and the exchange’s own disclosures.
This review was written by Vetted Exchanges Editorial Team and fact-checked by Vetted Exchanges Review Board. It is scheduled for re-verification by 2026-12-04, and sooner if Binance changes its pricing, its country availability, or its security posture. Vetted Exchanges Editorial Team holds no position in Binance or its token, and the affiliate relationship disclosed above played no part in the score.
Frequently asked questions
Is Binance safe?
Binance has 2 significant incidents on its record — see the security section above for what happened and how it was handled. It publishes proof-of-reserves. As with any custodial venue, funds you are not actively trading are safer in self-custody.
How much does Binance charge?
Spot starts at 0.1% maker and 0.1% taker. Paying fees in BNB cuts spot fees by 25% (0.075%). Perpetual futures are 0.02% maker and 0.05% taker.
Who should not use Binance?
Not available to US retail traders; Binance.US is a different, thinner product It is also unavailable to retail traders in US.
Keep researching
Compare Binance
- Binance vs Bybit
Two offshore giants. One is a supermarket, the other is a derivatives desk.
- Binance vs OKX
Liquidity versus disclosure — and whether the built-in wallet changes your workflow.
- Binance vs Coinbase
The cheapest large venue against the most regulated one.
- Binance vs Kraken
Safety record against cost and depth.
Alternatives worth a look
- Best Binance alternatives
Ranked by the reason you are leaving
- Bybit review
A derivatives-first exchange that grew into a full-service platform.
- OKX review
A trading platform and a self-custody wallet in one product.
- Bitget review
The copy-trading specialist with a large protection fund.
- MEXC review
The cheapest fees and the longest listing tail, with the trade-offs that implies.
Rankings that include it
If you want the most liquid market and the widest set of products, Binance is still the default.
Opens Binance’s official signup page. We may earn a commission.
Binance
Opens the official signup page