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

Trying to choose between Robinhood 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 25, 2025

Robinhood

Zebpay

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Available Countries

United States

Yes

Europe

Yes

Latin America

India

China

Canada

United Kingdom

Yes

United States

Yes

Europe

Yes

Latin America

Yes

India

Yes

China

Canada

Yes

United Kingdom

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Robinhood is ideal if:

Ideal for multitasking investors. Seamlessly combine stock, ETF, and crypto trading in one app—great if you want everything under one roof without jumping between platforms.
Perfect for beginners seeking simplicity. Offers a clean, intuitive interface, low entry with fractional investing, and no commission distractions—ideal if you're starting your crypto journey.
Less suitable for advanced crypto users. Lacks sophisticated tools and deep crypto selection compared to dedicated exchanges—so if you’re into in-depth analysis or niche tokens, it may feel limiting.

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.

Robinhood isn’t ideal if:

You want full self-custody of your crypto. You can't withdraw or transfer crypto to your own wallet in the main app, restricting flexibility and personal control.
You need wide crypto variety or advanced trading tools. Supported coins are limited and tools are basic—less compelling if you're seeking diverse assets or deep trading features like derivatives, margin, or complex orders.
You prioritize seamless withdrawals and regulatory clarity. Past issues with withdrawal restrictions and regulatory settlements suggest cautiousness—especially if access to assets and transparency are top priorities.

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

Robinhood uses a simplified fee model based on a sliding scale of monthly trading volume rather than explicit maker/taker tiers—starting around 0.85% for lower volumes and decreasing as volume grows, with no native token discounts.

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

Robinhood recently introduced futures trading, with futures contracts priced per contract rather than via maker/taker percentages—futures access comes with a fixed per-contract cost depending on your account tier, and there’s no ongoing funding rate as seen in perpetuals.

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

Spreads on major pairs like BTC and ETH typically fall between 0.5% and 1%, reflecting the small markup embedded in Robinhood’s “commission-free” model.

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

You can deposit via bank transfer or debit card with fees of up to 1.5%, depending on method and instant options; standard bank transfers are often free or low-cost, and processing times are comparable to other digital brokerages.

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

Crypto withdrawals to external wallets don’t carry Robinhood fees—which means you only pay the usual network (gas) fees, which fluctuate based on blockchain congestion.

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

There are no inactivity or conversion fees, but indirect costs can arise from spreads, payment-for-order-flow execution, and instant funding options that bundle in surcharges beyond visible pricing.

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

buying €500 of BTC—You’d pay Robinhood’s embedded spread (typically ~0.5–1%) plus any small fee based on your volume tier; if you then withdrew BTC on-chain, you’d pay the network (gas) fee on that transfer.

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

About 28 cryptos in the U.S.; over 40 in Europe, covering top-volume names like BTC, ETH, SOL and popular altcoins. Limited pairing structure compared to full exchanges.

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

Offers spot trading, newly launched crypto perpetual futures (Europe only), staking for ETH & SOL, and tokenized U.S. stocks & ETFs (Europe). No margin, options, lending, copy trading, grid bots, or automated DCA.

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

Exact 24h volume and order book depth not published—but leading pairs (BTC, ETH) benefit from Robinhood’s broader user base, though liquidity may be thinner than deep-tier centralized exchanges.

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

Basic order types (limit, market); lacks OCO or complex conditional orders. Charting tools are simple, and there’s no native TradingView or public API/WS support yet—advanced traders may find features limited.

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

Derivatives like perpetual futures and tokenized stocks/ETFs available only to European users; U.S. users can stake crypto but don’t yet access tokenized or futures products.

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

Strong push into tokenization and self-custody—rolling out its own Layer-2 blockchain and Robinhood Chain, along with flexible staking options (unstake anytime), positioning itself as a crypto-native super-app.

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

Robinhood Crypto services are operated under Robinhood Crypto, LLC, a U.S.-based company founded in 2013, headquartered in Menlo Park, California.

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

The platform holds a New York BitLicense and operates under U.S. financial regulations, with additional compliance under EU frameworks like MiCA for its European crypto services.

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

Robinhood uses internally managed custodial storage, asserting ownership remains with the user; public proof-of-reserves or third-party audit details aren’t disclosed, and cold storage allocation is not specified.

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

There’s no public insurance covering crypto holdings, and accounts are not SIPC- or FDIC-protected when it comes to digital assets.

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

The platform has dealt with several notable issues—including a past SEC and California settlement over withdrawal restrictions, a 2021 data breach of personal information, and regulatory fines—though the SEC crypto investigation has since been closed.

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

Basic safeguards like two-factor authentication are implemented, but features like IP/email whitelisting, sub-accounts, or granular API permissions aren’t prominently offered for crypto accounts.

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

Robinhood does not provide periodic proof-of-reserves, public wallets, or formal service-level agreements (SLA), and overall transparency around custody operations remains minimal.

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

You can deposit via standard bank (ACH) transfers or debit cards; amounts and limits vary by account history, with bank transfers typically taking 2–5 business days and debit cards offering faster access subject to processing speeds and internal checks.

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)

Identity verification is mandatory to start trading crypto—Robinhood maintains a single-tier KYC process rather than clear “Basic” or “Advanced” tiers, and withdrawal/trading limits adjust automatically based on verification completeness and account activity.

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

Withdrawals are capped (e.g., up to ~$5,000 in crypto or 10 transfers per 24 hours in the U.S.), subject to settlement hold times of up to a few business days, and only standard network formats are supported—some tokens or non-standard formats may be restricted.

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

Support is via email and in-app forms with variable response times; there’s no dedicated 24/7 chat team, but users have access to a help center and FAQ base for self-service.

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 operates primarily in English, with pricing shown in local fiat (USD or EUR); regulatory adherence is aligned to U.S. and EU standards depending on your region.

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 app is generally stable and user-friendly, though occasional delays or outages have occurred during peaks—overall, Robinhood pushes frequent updates to improve reliability and functionality.

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

The app shines with a minimalist, approachable design—big tappable cards, clean layouts, and subtle motion cues make navigation intuitive even for newcomers, though there’s no separate “Lite” or “Pro” mode to shift complexity.

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

While generally responsive, Robinhood has historically faced latency and system strain during periods of extreme trading volume; backend upgrades have since improved stability, but occasional delays or access queues may still occur in peak volatility.

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

Robinhood offers educational content via its in-app help sections and “Learn” modules—but lacks advanced tools like a demo environment, simulator, or content in languages beyond English, limiting onboarding for non-English speakers.

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

There’s no native forum or official Telegram/Discord community, but Robinhood includes referral incentives and relies on user groups external to its platform; community interaction happens mostly off-app.

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

Robinhood does not support third-party integrations like TradingView, external trading bots, tax tools, or accounting software—traders work within the native platform without plug-in flexibility.

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

Robinhood Crypto suits casual or mobile-first investors who value simplicity and convenience in U.S. or European markets; advanced traders or those seeking deep tools and community interaction may find it too basic.

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.