Kraken vs Zebpay: Fees, Security, Features & Which to Choose (2025)

Trying to choose between Kraken and Zebpay This side-by-side comparison reveals total cost (fees + spreads), security & licenses, coins/derivatives, deposits/withdrawals, and app quality. In 2 minutes you’ll see who wins for beginners, active traders, and long-term holders. Clear pros/cons, a quick verdict, and safe links to get started.

Last updated on August 16, 2025

Kraken

Zebpay

⚠️ We look for what’s best for you.

₿ Getting into crypto? With eToro you can start in minutes: buy/sell top coins, set recurring buys, track markets, and use Social/CopyTrader features.

👉 Start here and explore the crypto offer.

Available Countries

United States

Yes

Europe

Yes

Latin America

Yes

India

Yes

China

Canada

Yes

United Kingdom

Yes

United States

Yes

Europe

Yes

Latin America

Yes

India

Yes

China

Canada

Yes

United Kingdom

Thinking about starting with crypto? This is for you.

In select regions, eToro offers a $10 welcome bonus when you open an account today.*

🎯 An account built to help you start with crypto—without the hassle.

➕ Buy and sell top cryptocurrencies in minutes

➕ Recurring buys, price alerts, and advanced charts

➕ Social/CopyTrader™ to follow experienced investors

➕ One of the largest and most trusted platforms worldwide

Limited-time promotion — still available.

*Offer subject to terms, eligibility and regional availability. Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest.

Kraken is ideal if:

Built for both simplicity and sophistication: Kraken’s intuitive interface makes it approachable for newcomers, while Kraken Pro delivers advanced trading tools, analytics, and charting for serious traders.
Security-first, regulation-backed platform: With an unbroken crypto protection record, proof-of-reserves audits, cold storage, and licenses across major markets—including new MiCA approval for EU operations—Kraken prioritizes trust and compliance.
More than a crypto exchange: Beyond trading, Kraken now offers a peer-to-peer payments app (Krak), commission-free U.S. stock and ETF trades, and staking options—making it an all-in-one digital finance hub.

Zebpay is ideal if:

Beginner-Friendly with Smart Tools – Offers intuitive tools like curated CryptoPacks and performance analytics, so newcomers can diversify and follow asset trends easily.
Robust Security & Trust – Maintains rigorous protection with multi-sig cold storage, bug bounty programs, and encryption, building confidence in safeguarding your assets.
Convenient Global Access – Supports fiat-to-crypto transactions across device types in many regions, making it a flexible choice for users worldwide.

Kraken isn’t ideal if:

Overwhelming for total beginners: The interface and tiered platforms (Lite vs Pro) may feel complex without a solid understanding of trading, tools, and order types.
Limited access and features in some regions: Certain U.S. states and geographies have restrictions on staking, derivatives, or account creation—potentially blocking full platform use.
Support and platform bottlenecks: Account verification or support processes can be slow, and mobile app performance or customer assistance (no phone line) may frustrate users in need of swift help.

Zebpay isn’t ideal if:

Limited crypto diversity for global users – Outside core markets, the exchange offers a narrower selection of coins compared to larger global platforms.
No margin, leverage, or passive income flexibility – Advanced traders won’t find features like margin trading or extensive staking/investment options.
Mixed customer feedback quality – While some users report responsive support, others cite unresolved disputes or slow resolutions, impacting reliability perception.

Fees & Total Costs

Spot Maker/Take

Kraken uses a tiered maker-taker structure where both maker and taker fees decrease as your 30-day trading volume grows, and higher activity triggers reduced costs—even reaching zero for makers—though the schedule excludes transactions via instant buy tools.

ZebPay’s spot trading fees often follow a tiered structure—beginners may be charged around 0.15% maker and 0.25% taker, while high-volume users can benefit from reduced rates (e.g., 0.06% maker, 0.10% taker)—but there is no public mention of discounts via native token holdings.

Futures/Derivatives

Futures follow a volume-based tiers system—lowering maker and taker rates as volume increases—paired with periodic funding payments (every eight hours) that depend on contract premiums versus spot prices.

Futures trading on ZebPay is available mainly to KYC-verified Indian users via perpetual contracts (e.g., BTC-INR, ETH-INR), though fee and funding specifics aren’t openly disclosed on the main help pages.

Average Spreads on Liquid Pairs

While Kraken doesn’t publish fixed spreads, its instant-buy feature embeds variable spreads that widen or narrow depending on market volatility, order size, and asset type.

ZebPay’s publicly shared data doesn’t specify average spreads for pairs like BTC/USDT or ETH/USDT, suggesting this detail isn’t prominently published or may vary by region and market conditions.

Fiat Deposits & Withdrawals

Kraken supports methods like ACH, SWIFT, PayPal, SEPA, domestic transfers, etc., with low or no deposit fees; but deposits may trigger temporary withdrawal holds (e.g. 72-hour for cards, 7-day for ACH).

ZebPay typically offers fee-free fiat deposits and withdrawals via bank transfers, though in some regions instant deposit methods (like UPI or net banking) may carry small flat fees—processing time varies based on the local payment network.

On-chain Withdrawals

Cryptocurrency withdrawal fees vary per network—e.g. BTC, ETH, TRX have different fixed minimums depending on blockchain and congestion, not necessarily dynamic or network-based.

Withdrawal fees depend on the specific cryptocurrency and location—e.g., India-based users pay around 0.0006 BTC for a Bitcoin withdrawal, while international users may enjoy free withdrawals; fees for other assets like ETH or TRX aren’t clearly listed.

Hidden Costs

Be aware of currency conversion premiums (from asset swaps), inactivity terms, and express KYC fees—these can add extras atop headline trading charges.

ZebPay applies a monthly inactivity fee (e.g., 0.0001 BTC plus GST) if there’s no trading or lending activity in the prior month, representing a cost that may be overlooked by inactive users.

Real-World Cost Example: “€500 BTC

Suppose you convert €500 to BTC and withdraw it—your total cost would include the instant-buy embedded spread, then a network withdrawal fee during transfer, and possible fiat hold timing—resulting in slightly less BTC and slower access.

For a €500 BTC purchase, you’d incur the current trading fee percentage plus any spread (not publicly quoted), and if you were an Indian user withdrawing BTC, a fixed network fee (e.g., 0.0006 BTC) would apply—resulting in combined but approximated costs based on standard spot fees and withdrawal charge.

Crypto Offering & Trading Features

Number of Coins & Pairs

Kraken supports over 1,000 spot, margin, and futures markets overall, and its top 20 trading pairs by volume typically include high-cap assets like BTC/USD-variant, ETH/USD-variant, and other popular tokens.

ZebPay supports over 300 different cryptocurrencies, with the top 20 by volume typically including major names like Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, Litecoin, and others among the largest market-cap assets.

Product Range

You’ll find a full suite including spot, margin (up to 10× leverage), futures/perpetuals, staking (recently reenabled in the U.S.), with access to ETFs and options still pending—plus no native copy-trading, grid bots, DCA autos yet.

The platform offers spot trading, perpetual futures (for KYC-verified Indian users), fixed-term crypto lending via a “Lend” feature, and curated CryptoPacks—however, there are no margin trading, options, ETFs, copy-trading, grid bots, or automated DCA tools.

Liquidity

Kraken ranks among the world’s most liquid venues—especially for BTC-EUR and ETH-EUR—and sees substantial 24-hour volumes with deep order-book depth, enabling tight execution even for large trades.

While precise liquidity figures aren’t publicly indicated, ZebPay handles large trading volumes (billions in trade volume reported) implying sufficient depth particularly in BTC/ETH pairs—though order book details remain undisclosed.

Tools

Kraken Pro offers advanced tools—limit, stop, OCO orders, real-time alerts, native TradingView-style charts, downloadable historical OHLCVT data, plus full REST and WebSocket API access.

Users can place basic Market and Limit orders, utilize tools like Take Profit/Stop Loss, and benefit from a single-window interface—advanced features like OCO, native TradingView charts, real-time alerts, or full API/WebSocket support aren’t clearly emphasized.

Geographic Restrictions by Product

Certain products, like margin, futures, or staking, are restricted by jurisdiction—eligibility varies and some features may be blocked in specific countries due to regulatory constraints.

Futures trading is restricted to KYC-verified Indian users, spurred by regional regulatory choices; other products such as lending or spot trading are available more broadly, subject to country eligibility rules.

Innovation

While traditional launchpad/launchpool programs aren’t yet offered, Kraken distinguishes between flexible vs. locked staking options and continues evolving with new offerings, particularly for institutional clients.

ZebPay offers innovative features like CryptoPacks bundles and fixed-term lending with auto-renewal; however, there’s no launchpad or launchpool activity, nor flexible vs locked earn distinctions publicly highlighted.

Security, Regulation & Custody

Operating Entity & Jurisdiction

Kraken operates under several legal entities depending on region, including Payward, Inc. (U.S.), Payward Europe Solutions (Ireland, EEA), and Payward Ltd. (UK), all founded around 2011, headquartered in the U.S. with significant European presence.

ZebPay is operated by Awlencan Innovations India Limited, founded in 2014 and headquartered in India (with ties to Singapore), functioning under Indian jurisdiction for its core operations.

Licenses/Registration

Kraken holds multiple regulatory approvals, including VASP licenses in EU countries like the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, and Ireland, and FCA registrations in the UK, in addition to its SPDI charter in Wyoming and MSB registration in the U.S.

The exchange is registered under India’s Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) and with the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU), reflecting its full compliance with local crypto asset regulations and standards.

Custody

Kraken self-custodies customer assets with a substantial portion held in cold storage; it publishes regular Proof-of-Reserves (PoR) attestations audited by external parties to ensure transparency.

ZebPay partners with trusted third-party custody services to implement multi-chain security and cold storage, with around 98% of assets held offline. It claims to maintain 100% reserves and supports third-party audit protocols like Proof of Reserves using Merkle trees.

Insurance & Protection Funds

Kraken maintains insurance for digital assets held online, though the coverage is limited; there is no formal protected fund for customer losses but additional insurance for certain custodial assets exists.

There is no public mention of specifically insured assets or a dedicated protection fund for users, suggesting that standard insurance or compensation policies are not prominently featured.

Incident History

Kraken has not experienced any major platform hacks; compliance suspensions or asset freezes have been minimal, and the exchange has not faced any public multi-million dollar regulatory fines.

ZebPay maintains a clean incident record, signalling it has not experienced any hacks, outages, or regulatory penalties to date, demonstrating a strong operational track record.

Risk Controls

Kraken enforces robust account security with multiple 2FA options (passkeys, hardware keys, authenticator apps), whitelisting, anti-phishing tools, sub-accounts, and granular API permissions for sophisticated client control.

The platform features robust risk controls including mandatory two-factor authentication (2FA), phishing safeguards, bug bounty programs, and advanced wallet protection measures like MPC/Multi-Sig, IP whitelisting, and transaction-level velocity checks.

Transparency

The platform regularly publishes audit-style reports and Proof-of-Reserves summaries; users can view wallet addresses and Kraken maintains service-level expectations without public SLA guarantees.

While ZebPay emphasizes high compliance and security standards, it does not publish regular transparency reports, public wallets, or specific service-level agreements (SLAs), indicating limited user-facing audit transparency.

Deposits, Withdrawals, KYC & Support

Fiat Deposit Methods

Users can deposit fiat via bank transfers (ACH, SWIFT, SEPA), credit/debit cards, and e-wallets like PayPal; minimums are low (starting around 1 USD/EUR), but maximums depend on your verification level and jurisdiction, with deposit arrival ranging from near-instant to several days depending on the method.

International users can deposit fiat via bank transfer (AUD, EUR, etc.), with minimum/maximum transaction limits visible in the app and typical processing times of up to two business days; Indian users enjoy Instant Deposit via IMPS or UPI and manual NEFT/RTGS options, with region-specific minimums and restricted to registered bank accounts.

Supported Fiat Currencies & Conversion

KYC (Verification Levels)

Kraken offers tiers like Intermediate and Pro (plus Express/Starter in some regions) — Intermediate unlocks full trading and funding access, while Pro raises both deposit and withdrawal limits, with each level subject to rolling daily/monthly caps shown in your dashboard.

The platform applies tiered KYC levels—ranging from basic to advanced—with higher verification unlocking larger withdrawal limits and daily transaction caps; upgrading requires submitting additional documents via support ticket.

Withdrawals

Limits, Timing, Networks

Crypto withdrawal limits scale by KYC level and whether the address is whitelisted, with whitelisted transfers offering much higher daily caps; fiat withdrawals go to registered bank accounts only, processed within up to two business days.

Customer Support

Kraken provides 24/7 live chat and email support in multiple languages (including Spanish), alongside a comprehensive support center; while most issues are resolved quickly, some users report delays during high-traffic periods.

Support is provided via in-app tickets, live chat, and social media channels; response quality varies, with some users praising timely help and others citing unresolved issues—support aims to respond promptly and offers a detailed help base.

Languages & Localization

The platform is available in over a dozen languages, including native Spanish; local currencies and fees are displayed based on your region, ensuring comfortable and compliant user experience.

ZebPay’s interface is natively in English, with fiat values typically displayed in local currencies like €/USD/INR depending on region; the platform tailors its offerings according to local regulations and payment infrastructure.

App Quality & Stability

The Kraken mobile app mirrors most web functionality and supports biometric or PIN access; it generally performs reliably, though user feedback on crashes or app issues is mixed and depends on device and OS.

ZebPay provides mobile apps for iOS and Android that are generally stable and user-friendly; while crash stats aren’t disclosed, the platform regularly updates the app and pushes security improvements to enhance reliability.

Experience, Performance & Ecosystem

UX/UI

Kraken offers two distinct experiences—“Lite” is streamlined for instant buys and basic navigation, while “Pro” and “Desktop” are modular and customizable, designed to support advanced traders executing complex strategies across flexible layouts and in-depth tools.

ZebPay delivers an approachable interface with a sleek, dark-themed design that guides users—from beginners to pros—through intuitive navigation and educational tooltips; it lacks explicit “Lite” or “Pro” modes but offers a tailored experience via its progressive onboarding quiz.

Performance

Kraken Pro is built on institutional-grade infrastructure to minimize order latency and handle peak demand efficiently, although during market surges user-reported delays in KYC verification and performance pops may still arise.

The platform maintains solid responsiveness and fast performance under normal conditions, though some mobile users report occasional lag during high volatility; overall, system stability holds up even when many users are onboarded simultaneously due to phased KYC processing.

Education

Kraken’s Learn Center delivers comprehensive articles, videos, and webinars (including futures tutorials), complemented by a derivatives demo environment for live practice—but it doesn’t currently offer a dedicated DCA simulator or localized Spanish academy; some content is translated.

ZebPay features a rich learning hub with a beginner-focused crypto education series (CryptoKiPathshala) and blog content, yet it lacks a hands-on demo or simulator, and Spanish-language materials are limited or absent.

Community

Kraken publishes user reviews and interactive feedback across its site, but does not maintain official public discussion forums, Discord, or Telegram communities—though it does offer a referral program to reward users bringing in new clients.

While ZebPay fosters community via its blog and social channels (like Telegram and Twitter), it currently offers no dedicated forums or Discord, but does include a referral program to encourage user growth and engagement.

Integrations

Kraken Pro integrates with TradingView-style charting and pattern tools, fully supports third-party trading bots via REST/WebSocket/FIX APIs, and connects seamlessly to tax/accounting platforms like Koinly, Crypto Tax Calculator, and others.

ZebPay provides robust REST APIs for developers and is exploring visual strategy-building tied to TradingView, though it does not yet support external tax tools or accounting integrations natively.

Who Each One Is Best For

“Lite” suits beginners, offering simplicity and straightforward buying; “Pro” and “Desktop” excel for active, technical traders needing granular control, advanced order forms, analytics, and deep customization.

ZebPay is best suited for users seeking a secure, beginner-friendly platform with mobile-first design and API capability, while active traders needing community forums, multi-language education, or deep third-party integrations might find it less tailored to their needs.