Kraken Review
Volume-based pricing with no token requirement
of 10
Kraken Pro charges 0.40% maker and 0.80% taker at its entry tier, falling with 30-day volume. Discounts depend on how much you trade rather than on holding a house token, which is the cleaner arrangement even though the starting rate is high.
No money changes hands. This is a non-commercial project: no advertising, no sponsored placements, and no affiliate or referral links. Links to the services below earn us nothing. Every overall score is the plain average of the criteria shown on the page, so you can check the arithmetic yourself — see our rating methodology and how the site is funded.
Maker fee
0.40% (entry tier)
Taker fee
0.80% (entry tier)
Tier basis
30-day trading volume
Token requirement
None
Applies from
$0 of 30-day volume
Scores
Each criterion carries equal weight. The overall score is the average of these 4 scores — (9.0 + 5.0 + 8.0 + 7.0) ÷ 4 = 7.3.
Pros
- Discounts depend on trading volume alone — no token holding required
- Full tier schedule published
- Maker and taker are clearly distinguished at every tier
Cons
- 0.40% maker and 0.80% taker at the entry tier is well above Binance and Bitfinex
- Reaching competitive rates requires substantial monthly volume
- This ranking does not assess custody, reserves or licensing
Expensive at the bottom, honest about why
Kraken Pro's entry tier is 0.40% maker and 0.80% taker, applying from zero 30-day volume. For someone trading occasionally that is four to eight times what Binance charges, and the gap is real rather than presentational.
No token in the mechanism
What Kraken does not do is tie its discounts to holding an exchange token. Rates fall with volume and nothing else, so the advertised path to a lower fee does not require taking a position in anything. Among venues that charge fees at all, that is the more straightforward arrangement, and it is why the fee-conditions score sits well above the entry-cost one.
Scope
Trading costs only. Custody, reserves and licensing are not assessed in this ranking.
How it compares
Sources
Scored from published primary sources rather than hands-on use. Every figure above comes from one of the pages below, on the date shown. Manufacturers change prices and specifications without notice — if something here no longer matches the source, tell us and we will correct it.
- 1.Kraken — official fee schedule — checked
Frequently asked questions
What are Kraken's trading fees?
The official schedule states 0.40% maker and 0.80% taker at the entry tier, decreasing with 30-day trading volume.
Does Kraken require a token for fee discounts?
No. The published schedule bases discounts on 30-day trading volume.
Nothing here is financial advice. Editorial policy · How we score · How we're funded.