Pancakeswap vs Coins.Ph: Fees, Security, Features & Which to Choose (2025)

Trying to choose between Pancakeswap and Coins.Ph 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 September 7, 2025

Pancakeswap

Coins.Ph

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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

India

China

Canada

United Kingdom

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Pancakeswap is ideal if:

Low-cost, high-speed Swaps – PancakeSwap runs on BNB (formerly Binance Smart Chain), offering fast token swaps with notably lower gas fees—perfect if you prioritize efficiency over cost.
Secure, non-custodial control – Trades occur directly from your own wallet, so you retain full custody of your crypto at all times—a strong choice if self-sovereignty matters to you.
Rich DeFi features with a playful vibe – Beyond swapping, you can explore yield farming, staking, lotteries, and gamified tools—great if you enjoy a dynamic, engaging DeFi experience.

Coins.Ph is ideal if:

Beginners & Everyday Users: Ideal for users seeking a safe, intuitive mobile wallet that integrates crypto trading with daily tasks like bill payments and mobile top-ups.
Philippines-Based Users: Perfect if you're operating primarily in the Philippines and want a regulated, locally compliant hub for both crypto and fiat transactions.
Casual to Moderate Traders: Great for casual or moderate trading needs with straightforward tools—Coins Pro adds more control, but advanced features remain limited.

Pancakeswap isn’t ideal if:

If you prefer regulated, fiat-onramps – PancakeSwap lacks fiat support and formal oversight, making it unsuitable if you rely on traditional trading channels.
If mobile convenience matters most – There’s no dedicated mobile app, so seamless mobile access isn’t available.
If you’re new to DeFi security risks – The open nature of BSC can expose you to scam tokens, and smart-contract risks like impermanent loss or protocol vulnerabilities require careful navigation.

Coins.Ph isn’t ideal if:

Global Traders & Non-Regional Users: Limited availability—primarily restricted to the Philippines and Thailand—so it's not a fit if you're outside those markets.
Advanced Traders: Lacks advanced tools like margin trading, passive income options, or demo features, which may limit strategic trading capabilities.
Users Needing High Trust: Some users report frequent negative feedback and unresolved support issues, potentially affecting reliability.

Fees & Total Costs

Spot Maker/Take

PancakeSwap applies a flat 0.25% fee for both maker and taker swaps across all volume tiers, with no tiered discount structure or fee reduction tied to holding its native token. The fee remains consistent regardless of trade size or loyalty incentives.

Coins.ph uses a tiered maker-taker model where fees decrease as your 30-day trading volume grows, and there is no native token to grant additional fee discounts—just volume-based VIP tier reductions.

Futures/Derivatives

On PancakeSwap’s perpetual futures, the maker fee is 0.02% and the taker fee is 0.07% of the trade value; funding rates apply periodically to maintain contract price alignment, though those rates fluctuate based on market conditions.

At present, Coins.ph does not offer any futures or derivatives trading, so there are no maker/taker or funding fees associated with these instruments.

Average Spreads on Liquid Pairs

While PancakeSwap doesn’t display traditional order-book spreads, its AMM-based design delivers tight effective spreads on highly liquid BEP-20 token pairs like BTCB/USDT and ETH/USDT—typically minimal when routed through smart liquidity pools.

While you can use the “Convert” feature for zero headline fees, spreads still apply and reflect global market conditions, and such spreads may be wider on liquid pairs like BTC/USDT or ETH/USDT.

Fiat Deposits & Withdrawals

PancakeSwap supports fiat on-ramps through partners like MoonPay, Mercuryo, and Transak, allowing credit card, debit card, or bank transfer purchases; fees vary per provider (usually with a modest minimum), and timing depends on each provider’s onboarding and processing standards.

You can deposit and withdraw Philippine Pesos using methods like InstaPay, PESONet, or over-the-counter remittance centers, each with its own handling fee structure and typical processing times ranging from near-instant for e-wallets to same-day or next-day for cash pickups.

On-chain Withdrawals

There are no withdrawal fees charged by PancakeSwap itself—you only pay the network (miner) fees, which are dynamic and vary by blockchain (e.g. BNB Chain, Ethereum, Tron) depending on congestion and supply.

Cryptocurrency withdrawals are subject to network fees that are dynamic per blockchain—displayed clearly before you confirm a withdrawal—and these vary by coin (e.g., BTC, ETH, TRX) and network congestion, rather than being fixed by the platform.

Hidden Costs

PancakeSwap doesn’t impose inactivity, express-KYC, or platform-specific hidden fees, but third-party on-ramp providers may charge markup or conversion fees, so true costs can vary based on the provider you choose.

There are minimal hidden costs—currency conversions happen at market-informed rates, there’s no explicit inactivity fee or premium for faster KYC, but conversion spreads may still subtly affect your effective rate.

Real-World Cost Example: “€500 BTC

If you input €500 via an on-ramp, you’ll likely pay a provider fee (often a few percent or a fixed minimum), receive slightly less BTC due to the quoted rate, and later pay only the on-chain network fee when withdrawing—PancakeSwap itself adds no extra fees beyond the AMM swap and network cost.

If you were to buy around €500 worth of BTC using the Convert tool, you’d see no trading fee but an implicit spread in the exchange rate, and when withdrawing on-chain you’d pay the network fee displayed—so your total cost would be the combined effect of that spread plus the network fee on top of your purchase.

Crypto Offering & Trading Features

Number of Coins & Pairs

The total number of assets on PancakeSwap fluctuates frequently, but there are roughly 2,400+ cryptocurrencies and nearly 3,800 trading pairs; the top-20 pairs dominate most daily trading volume.

Coins.ph offers support for over 50 cryptocurrencies in its basic offering, alongside more than 90 spot trading pairs on Coins Pro, including the top 20 by liquidity in leading crypto-to-PHP and USDT combinations.

Product Range

PancakeSwap enables spot swaps, perpetual futures (including crypto and new stock perps), staking via Syrup Pools and farms, plus gamified features like lottery and NFTs—no margin, options, ETFs, copy trading, grid bots, or auto-DCA are supported.

The platform provides straightforward spot trading and “Convert” functionality, and includes features like crypto-leveraged lending; however, it does not support margin, perpetuals, options, crypto ETFs, copy-trading, grid bots, automatic DCA, or staking/earn products.

Liquidity

Daily trading volume sits in the tens of millions; for liquid pairs like BTCB/BNB or WETH, AMM pool depth ensures smooth swaps with tight effective liquidity rather than traditional order-book depth.

While exact 24-hour volume and order book depth figures are not publicly shared, the platform handles robust local trading activity in key pairs like BTC and ETH, supported by competitive pricing, though it is not designed as a deep-liquidity venue like major global exchanges.

Tools

The platform supports limit orders and simple advanced modes for perpetuals, though lacks native alerts, full-fledged charting, or built-in TradingView; developers can leverage API/WS integrations instead.

Coins Pro offers essential tools including limit, market, stop-limit, and stop-market order types, and integrates TradingView charts; it also provides REST/FIX APIs, although alerting, OCO orders, or more advanced charting remain limited.

Geographic Restrictions by Product

As a decentralized protocol, PancakeSwap generally offers all features everywhere, though it may be geo-blocked in select regions (e.g., Belarus, Syria, Cuba), limiting access to certain products in those areas.

Several advanced trading features such as derivatives or earning products are unavailable outside the Philippines and Thailand, as the platform’s expanded offerings are geo-restricted based on regulatory boundaries.

Innovation

PancakeSwap showcases ongoing innovation through features like launchpool/launchpad style farms, native-token liquidity pools, and both auto-reinvesting farms and flexible Syrup Pool staking options.

Coins.ph includes features like Launchpool for new token projects and supports flexible or locked crypto-leveraged lending, but currently does not offer formal staking launchpads or earn-program variations commonly found on global platforms.

Security, Regulation & Custody

Operating Entity & Jurisdiction

PancakeSwap was launched in 2020 by an anonymous development team, operates as a decentralized protocol, but a corporate entity named PancakeSwap Inc was incorporated in New York in June 2021; the protocol itself is often associated with Japan (Hiroshima) as its development hub.

The platform is operated by Betur Inc., also associated with DCPay Philippines Inc., legally registered and headquartered in the Philippines, with operations dating back to its virtual asset and e-money licensing between 2016 and 2017 under BSP oversight.

Licenses/Registration

PancakeSwap does not hold any formal licenses or registrations such as VASP or MiCA, reflecting its nature as a permissionless DeFi protocol without centralized licensing oversight.

Coins.ph holds multiple licenses under Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas—including remittance agent, electronic money issuer (EMI), and virtual asset service provider (VASP)—and complies with the Anti-Money Laundering Act, ensuring full regulatory alignment.

Custody

PancakeSwap uses a non-custodial AMM model—users retain control of their funds; it does not publish proof of reserves or reserve percentages, but its smart contracts have undergone multiple third-party audits covering various modules.

Custody of fiat-backing assets, particularly for its PHPC stablecoin, is handled via segregated local bank accounts, supported by internal audit-based proof of reserves attestations showing assets meet or exceed liabilities.

Insurance & Protection Funds

PancakeSwap does not have built-in insurance or protection funds for user losses—security depends on its audited contract code and user vigilance.

There is no formal insurance protection or deposit insurance for cryptocurrency holdings—virtual assets are not covered by the Philippine Deposit Insurance Corporation, underscoring the importance of regulatory compliance but no insured guarantee.

Incident History

The protocol itself hasn’t been hacked, but in March 2021 it faced a phishing-based DNS hijack that exposed users to risk; operational services remained intact but highlighted importance of user-side safeguards.

The exchange faced a notable incident in late 2023 when a hack led to an XRP shortfall, which was flagged in their audited financial statements as a “going concern,” though recovery efforts are underway and capital solutions are being pursued by management.

Risk Controls

PancakeSwap lacks centralized account-level controls like 2FA, whitelists, or sub-accounts; users are advised to rely on external wallet-level security and phishing awareness.

The platform implements standard security measures such as SSL encryption and AES-256 data protection, along with user-controlled risk mechanisms including two-factor authentication and biometric logins, though advanced features like API permissions or sub-account segregation are limited.

Transparency

While PancakeSwap is open-source and auditable, it does not publish monthly transparency reports, make reserve wallets public, or offer formal service-level agreements—it relies on community trust and on-chain visibility.

Coins.ph is subject to regular BSP audits, especially for proof of reserves and operational security, but does not publish public monthly financial reports or provide transparent SLA details—suggesting strong regulatory visibility but modest public reporting.

Deposits, Withdrawals, KYC & Support

Fiat Deposit Methods

PancakeSwap doesn’t accept direct fiat deposits—it relies on partner platforms like MoonPay or Transak for credit card, bank transfer, or e-wallet purchases, which typically enforce minimums (around $30-50) and maximums (up to ~$10,000), with funds arriving in a few minutes to an hour depending on provider speed.

Coins.ph lets users cash in via bank transfers (InstaPay, PESONet) or over-the-counter outlets; minimums and maximums vary by method and verification level, with near-instant timing for e-wallets and same- or next-day processing for banks or OTC.

Supported Fiat Currencies & Conversion

KYC (Verification Levels)

The exchange itself doesn’t manage KYC; any verification requirements are imposed by the fiat partners, with basic KYC often sufficient for smaller limits and advanced verification required for higher-tier purchases.

There are tiered verification levels—Basic (limited access, small buy/sell only), Identity Verified (ID + selfie), and Enhanced (adds income proof)—each unlocking progressively higher deposit and withdrawal limits based entirely on your verification status.

Withdrawals

Withdrawals from PancakeSwap refer to token swaps to your wallet—there are no platform limits, and timing is near-instant (subject to blockchain confirmation). Supported networks depend on the token (e.g. BEP-20 for BNB Smart Chain, ERC-20 via bridging, etc.), and ONLY network transaction fees apply.

Withdrawals are available once Identity Verified, subject to daily/monthly caps; timing and network options vary by method (e.g. blockchain networks for crypto or bank/OTC for fiat), and network choice must match to avoid loss.

Customer Support

PancakeSwap does not offer dedicated customer support like live chat or email; instead, users rely on its extensive FAQs, official documentation, and community support via Telegram or Discord.

Support is offered via in-app chat (around 7 AM–9 PM daily), email/contact forms, and phone lines, alongside a robust help center—response times are typically same-day, supported by a detailed knowledge base for self-service.

Languages & Localization

The platform interface supports multiple languages—including Spanish—and while fees are shown in crypto units (not currencies like €), regional regulatory compliance depends on the user’s location and the fiat partner’s policies.

The interface is primarily in English, with fees and balances displayed in Philippine Peso (₱)—users won’t see €/USD unless using external conversion tools; the platform is tailored for local regulatory and user context.

App Quality & Stability

The PancakeSwap web app is lightweight, highly stable, regularly updated, and suffers minimal downtime; there’s no public data on crash rates but user reports suggest smooth performance in recent months.

The mobile app receives regular updates and improvements, with stable performance and few reported crashes, ensuring users enjoy a smooth experience on both iOS and Android.

Experience, Performance & Ecosystem

UX/UI

PancakeSwap offers an approachable interface inspired by familiar DEX designs, making it simple for new users to grasp—there’s no Lite or Pro toggle, but the interface balances clarity and functionality through structured menus and intuitive labeling.

The app offers a clean, intuitive interface that’s ideal for beginners, with a seamless transition into a more advanced Coins Pro mode offering richer trading tools once you’re ready to level up.

Performance

Its AMM model ensures almost instant swaps, keeping performance strong even during volatile periods; there are rare reports of brief latency or congestion spikes, but there’s no central KYC queue to slow trades.

Order execution is smooth in most conditions, though during high-volatility or promotional periods slight delays or temporary spikes in KYC processing may occur, though system stability remains largely consistent.

Education

PancakeSwap maintains a well-organized how-to guide section in multiple languages—including Spanish—with deep walkthroughs of features, but it lacks a formal demo or simulator for practice trading.

Coins.ph features an in-house “Academy” with clear educational materials and crypto basics, but it lacks live demo trading or simulators and does not currently provide Spanish-language content.

Community

A lively ecosystem thrives through its official Telegram, Discord, and forums in various languages—including Spanish—and while there’s no formal referral scheme, community engagement and peer support are strong.

The platform supports an active community via its official Telegram channels and social media, and it also runs a referral program that rewards users for inviting friends, though it does not host independent public forums.

Integrations

The platform doesn’t include native charting like TradingView or integrated tax/accounting tools, though it supports external API access, making it possible to connect third-party bots or portfolio tools with some technical know-how.

Coins.ph integrates TradingView-style charts, but lacks support for external trading bots, tax reporting tools, or formal accounting integrations—making it lightweight but less extensible for advanced workflows.dates

Who Each One Is Best For

PancakeSwap works best for users seeking fast, wallet-controlled swaps and those interested in DeFi yield opportunities—beginners get straightforward guides, while more advanced users benefit from deeper functionality and developer flexibility.

Coins.ph is best suited for newcomers, casual users, and Filipino-based everyday users who want a user-friendly ecosystem combining crypto, payments, and digital finance in one app.