Coinbase Vs. Robinhood: Which One Is Better For Cryptocurrency Investing?

Coinbase and Robinhood are two of the most popular platforms used to trade cryptocurrencies, but which one is better for you? The answer depends on your needs, especially on how much crypto trading you intend to do and the costs you’re willing to pay.

Coinbase and Robinhood may appeal to different kinds of traders, though there’s likely some significant overlap. 

• Coinbase is a cryptocurrency exchange that targets traders immersed in the world of digital currencies.
• In contrast, Robinhood is a trading app that allows users to buy and sell stocks, ETFs, options and some types of crypto for no out-of-pocket cost.

Here’s how Coinbase and Robinhood differ along a few other key dimensions.

Coinbase vs. Robinhood

Coinbase vs. Robinhood: Fees

The cost structures at Coinbase and Robinhood are significantly different, and it doesn’t help matters that Coinbase obscures much of its fee structure from potential customers (though it does disclose them right before you actually place a trade). That said, Robinhood is not exactly straightforward about how it makes its money, either.

Robinhood’s crypto trading fees

The fee structure at Robinhood is simple, relative to Coinbase’s. In keeping with the broker’s “no commissions” model for stock and options, you won’t pay any cost directly out of your pocket for buying and selling crypto. 

However, you’ll pay fees for specific products like:

• Smart Exchange Routing, which automatically sends crypto trades to more than one exchange for the best price/execution.
• You’ll also pay network and gas fees for crypto transfers, but using Robinhood Buying Power, which is the amount of money you can use to purchase stocks, options, futures or crypto, is free.
• There’s also Robinhood Connect — a feature you can opt into that lets you trade and transfer crypto directly into self-custody wallets and decentralized apps using your Robinhood account, with a small fee of up to 1.5 percent for debit card or bank transfers. Connect is free if you’re using Robinhood Buying Power.

Here’s an overview of Robinhood’s fees discussed above.

Coinbase’s crypto trading fees

Coinbase’s fee structure is confusing, to say the least. Not only does it charge varying fees based on how much you purchase, but it also has a basic tier of service and an advanced tier, called Coinbase Advanced, each of which has different fees. There’s also Coinbase One, which is a subscription service that lets users trade up to $10,000 per month with no fees. Coinbase seems to obscure the fees for its basic service, making it difficult for prospective customers to see how much they’re paying. (Spoiler alert: Prices are high if you’re buying just a little bit of crypto on the basic tier.) 

Coinbase Advanced trading fees

Coinbase might not make the fees for its basic mode super clear, but it does provide the fee structure for its Advanced trading mode. If you opt to use Coinbase Advanced (simply by toggling a button at the bottom left of your home screen), you’ll be able to score lower overall fees, even if you’re trading with lower amounts. Advanced mode doesn’t cost traders anything to use.

Coinbase Advanced uses a maker-and-taker fee structure, which depends on whether you’re adding liquidity to the market (where the commission ranges from 0 to 0.4 percent of trade value) or taking liquidity from the market (with commissions ranging from 0.05 to 0.6 percent). 

The fees are as follows:

Coinbase funding fees

Advantage: Robinhood, for the simplicity of its fee structure and its no-commission model.

Coinbase vs. Robinhood: Available coins for trading

Coinbase supports trading in more than 240 different cryptocurrencies, including the biggies such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Cardano, Solana, Dogecoin and more. So, you’re likely to find what you’re looking for. Sure, Coinbase doesn’t offer thousands of other much smaller digital currencies, but that won’t matter for almost anyone but niche traders.

In contrast, Robinhood limits users to 28 digital currencies: Aave, Avalanche, Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Chainlink, Compound, Dogecoin, Ethereum, Ethereum Classic, Litecoin, Shiba Inu, Stellar Lumens, Tezos, Uniswap and more. However, the app does give traders access to real-time data on these cryptos and others.

Advantage: Coinbase, for its much broader range of available coins.

Coinbase vs. Robinhood: Cryptocurrency custody

If you’re looking to handle custody of your crypto assets yourself, Coinbase is probably your best bet. The exchange offers its own wallet, but you can also take custody of the assets yourself through your own wallet. So you can pick the solution that fits your needs best, whether you’re looking for a hardware wallet or software wallet, or you just want to leave it with Coinbase for trading.

Robinhood does offer Robinhood Wallet as an app that’s separate from the core Robinhood platform. The app is a self-custody wallet that serves as the portal for storing and managing your crypto on networks such as Ethereum or Bitcoin.

Advantage: Coinbase has the edge here for offering more options, though if you intend to trade infrequently, this matters less.

Coinbase vs. Robinhood: Staking rewards

Coinbase and Robinhood also differ significantly when it comes to cryptocurrency staking, a process through which owners of cryptocurrency receive income on their holdings. Staking is like earning interest on a bank account, though with significant differences and risks.

With Coinbase, users can stake their crypto assets, which are then used to validate transactions on the given currency’s blockchain. Currently, clients can earn staking rewards on eight crypto coins, including Ethereum, Solana, Cardano and more. Coinbase takes care of the technical details behind the scenes, and you earn additional coins for keeping your assets there.

Robinhood only offers staking on Solana and Ethereum as of June 2025. 

Advantage: Coinbase, for offering staking rewards on more coins.

Coinbase vs. Robinhood: Types of securities offered

When it comes to the type of securities being offered, Coinbase is all crypto, all the time. If you want anything else — stocks, ETFs, options — you’ll have to find it elsewhere.

In contrast, Robinhood offers a wider range of securities, including stocks, options, ETFs and cryptocurrencies, though it doesn’t offer bonds or mutual funds. Still, the app will reel in plenty of traders with what it does offer, so it can appeal to a wide audience even with a shallower pool of crypto.

Advantage: Robinhood, for its broader range of offerings.

Legal stumbles

Both companies have faced scrutiny from regulators in recent years. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) sued Coinbase in June 2023, alleging it had illegally operated as an exchange, broker-dealer and clearing agency, in addition to offering and selling unregistered securities. The SEC dismissed the case in February 2025. 

In 2020, Robinhood agreed to pay $65 million to settle SEC charges that it misled customers over the payments it received from trading firms for sending customers’ orders to them. The SEC found that customers received inferior trade prices that cost them $34.1 million as a whole, even after accounting for the fees saved from the lack of commission fees. Robinhood did not admit or deny the SEC’s findings.

Bottom line

Which platform is better for you ultimately depends on your needs, but it’s fair to say that traders seeking a wide variety of crypto will find Coinbase a better fit. On the other hand, those interested in a few popular crypto coins as part of a broader portfolio may prefer Robinhood, and they may even want to check out rival Webull, which also offers cryptocurrency trading.

— Bankrate’s Logan Jacoby contributed to an update of this article.

Editorial Disclaimer: All investors are advised to conduct their own independent research into investment strategies before making an investment decision. In addition, investors are advised that past investment product performance is no guarantee of future price appreciation.