KuCoin and Gate.io both charge 0.10% on spot, Gate charges less on perpetuals at 0.05% taker against KuCoin's 0.06%, and Gate is licensed in more places, with a MiCA authorisation, a Japan FSAKuCoin and Gate.io both charge 0.10% on spot, Gate charges less on perpetuals at 0.05% taker against KuCoin's 0.06%, and Gate is licensed in more places, with a MiCA authorisation, a Japan FSA
KuCoin vs Gate.io (2026): 0.06% or 0.05% on Perpetuals, and Which Altcoin Venue Still Serves Your Country?
KuCoin and Gate.io both charge 0.10% on spot, Gate charges less on perpetuals at 0.05% taker against KuCoin's 0.06%, and Gate is licensed in more places, with a MiCA authorisation, a Japan FSA registration and a separate US entity; KuCoin answers with a bigger token discount and built-in bots, and for readers in Japan or the United States the licensing map settles the question before the fee table does.
Key Takeaways
- Both platforms charge 0.1% maker and 0.1% taker on spot at the entry tier; paying fees in KCS cuts KuCoin to 0.08% and paying in GT cuts Gate to 0.090%.
- Perpetual takers pay 0.06% on KuCoin and 0.05% on Gate, with makers at 0.02% on KuCoin and 0.015% to 0.02% on Gate depending on the tracker.
- Gate lists 1,687 coins across 2,205 pairs on CoinGecko against 889 coins across 1,071 pairs on KuCoin, and Gate publishes a 115% reserve ratio with zero-knowledge proofs.
- Gate holds a MiCA authorisation from Malta, a Japan FSA registration and a Dubai VARA licence, while KuCoin holds a MiCA licence in Austria, left the United States under a 2025 plea agreement and is not registered in Japan.
- KuCoin recovered from a $280 million hack in 2020 and made users whole; Gate faced a public dispute over an account theft in July 2026 and committed to full compensation for losses attributable to its own systems.
- MEXC publishes 0% maker and 0.05% taker on spot, so $10,000 of monthly volume costs $2.50 there against $10.00 on either platform here, for readers outside the US, UK and EEA.
Two altcoin exchanges, one shared headline rate, and very different maps
KuCoin and Gate.io have competed for the same trader for a decade: the one who wants tokens that larger exchanges have not listed yet, at a fee that does not punish small orders.
Most comparisons still quote Gate at 0.2% and call KuCoin the cheaper venue, which is wrong on both counts: Gate's fee page puts VIP 0 at 0.100% and its perpetual taker rate at 0.05%, a basis point below KuCoin's 0.06%.
The larger change is regulatory: since 2025 Gate has collected a MiCA authorisation, a Japan FSA registration and a Dubai VARA licence, while KuCoin took a MiCA licence in Austria, pleaded guilty in the United States and agreed to leave that market for at least two years.
This article puts both schedules in one table with a verification date on each, prices the gaps in dollars, sets both platforms' incidents side by side with their outcomes, and ends with a verdict by reader type.
Where MEXC fits, it says so in its own labelled section, with the same numbers and the same dates.
How do KuCoin and Gate.io compare at a glance?
Dimension | KuCoin | Gate.io |
Spot fees, entry tier | LV0: 0.1% maker, 0.1% taker; 0.08% with KCS Pay Fees; maker reaches 0% from VIP 8 | VIP 0: 0.100% maker, 0.100% taker; 0.090% when paying in GT; seventeen VIP levels with 0% spot maker from VIP 15 |
Futures fees, entry tier | LV0: 0.02% maker, 0.06% taker; maker reaches 0% from VIP 9 | VIP 0: 0.015% to 0.02% maker depending on the tracker, 0.05% taker; Points can offset taker fees to 0.0225%; perpetual maker reaches 0% from VIP 11 per Gate's February 2025 announcement |
Coins and pairs (CoinGecko) | 889 coins, 1,071 pairs, Trust Score 9 out of 10 | 1,687 coins, 2,205 pairs, Trust Score 9 out of 10; 671 perpetual pairs |
Derivatives and other products | USDT-margined perpetuals and futures; trading bots | Perpetuals, European-style options, gold and stock CFDs, event contracts; Gate Stocks with 10,000 plus US tickers at zero trading fees since 31 July 2026, per Gate |
Security and regulation | September 2020 hack of about $280 million, 84% recovered and the rest covered from its insurance fund per KuCoin; January 2025 US guilty plea, more than $297 million in penalties and a two-year US exit; MiCA licence via KuCoin EU, per KuCoin | Published 115% reserve ratio with zero-knowledge proofs; MiCA authorisation from Malta's MFSA, Japan FSA registration via Gate Japan K.K., Dubai VARA licence and AUSTRAC registration; July 2026 account-theft dispute, with Gate committing to full compensation for losses attributable to its own systems |
Deposits, withdrawals and KYC | Verification required for deposits, trading and withdrawals; verified daily withdrawal limit 999,999 USDT at the entry level | Full KYC; cards, P2P and regional bank rails through its licensed entities |
Where you can use it | Not the US since the 2025 plea; not open to UK retail customers; EEA via KuCoin EU; Japan not registered, with app downloads suspended at the FSA's request in 2025 | Global platform not offered to US residents, with a separate Gate US entity listing five coins on CoinGecko; not open to UK retail customers; EEA under MiCA; Japan via Gate Japan K.K., FSA registration number 00018 |
Signature feature | Early altcoin listings and built-in trading bots | The widest listing roster among large exchanges, plus stocks and licences in the EEA and Japan |
Data verified as of 21 September 2026 against each platform's official fee schedule, help center and terms, and CoinGecko exchange pages.
A third option worth considering: MEXC
If the fee row above is what brought you here, MEXC publishes 0% maker and 0.05% taker on spot, against 0.10% and 0.10% on both platforms in this comparison.
On $10,000 of monthly spot volume split evenly between maker and taker orders, that is $2.50 a month on MEXC against $10.00 on KuCoin and $10.00 on Gate at their entry tiers, with no token to hold.
On perpetuals MEXC's BTCUSDT contract lists 0.000% maker and 0.020% taker on its web and app schedule, against 0.02% and 0.06% on KuCoin and 0.015% to 0.02% and 0.05% on Gate.
MEXC does not serve residents of the United States or the United Kingdom, is listed on ESMA's non-compliant register for the EEA, and is withdrawing from the Netherlands by 16 November 2026, so check eligibility before funding an account.
Readers outside those regions can see the full breakdown in our MEXC vs Gate.io comparison.
For the KuCoin side of the same question, see how MEXC compares with KuCoin on fees, listings and access.
Which is cheaper, KuCoin or Gate.io?
Tied on spot, KuCoin by a hair with the token discount, and Gate on perpetuals.
KuCoin's LV0 spot rate is 0.1% maker and 0.1% taker, and Gate's VIP 0 rate is 0.100% maker and 0.100% taker, so a $1,000 order costs $1.00 on either platform.
Paying fees in KCS takes 20% off KuCoin's rate, to 0.08%, while paying in GT takes 10% off Gate's, to 0.090%, so the token holder saves slightly more on KuCoin.
Both ladders reach 0% maker on spot only far up: KuCoin from VIP 8 and Gate from VIP 15 of its seventeen levels, which are earned through 30-day volume, GT holdings or account asset value.
On perpetuals Gate is the cheaper venue: 0.05% taker against KuCoin's 0.06%, with Gate's VIP 0 maker rate quoted at 0.015% to 0.02% depending on the tracker and KuCoin's at 0.02%.
Gate also sells Points that offset perpetual taker fees to as low as 0.0225%, and its perpetual maker rate reaches 0% from VIP 11 under the February 2025 schedule it announced.
A $10,000 perpetual taker order therefore costs $6.00 on KuCoin and $5.00 on Gate.
Our quarterly crypto exchange fee index holds both schedules beside ten other platforms and records who publishes fees without an account.
Which is better for derivatives?
Gate on price and product range, KuCoin on automation.
On $100,000 of monthly BTCUSDT perpetual notional split evenly between maker and taker orders, KuCoin costs $40.00 a month at 0.02% and 0.06%, and Gate costs $32.50 to $35.00 at 0.015% to 0.02% and 0.05%.
The same notional costs $10.00 on MEXC's BTCUSDT contract at 0.000% maker and 0.020% taker, which is the gap the box above quantifies for readers outside the US, UK and EEA.
Gate lists 671 perpetual pairs on CoinGecko and adds European-style options, gold and stock CFDs and event contracts, a menu KuCoin does not match.
KuCoin's futures venue lists roughly 600 USDT-margined pairs and pairs them with grid and futures bots that run inside the exchange, which is where its active traders spend their time.
Both apply liquidation rules that a leveraged trader should read before the first position.
Both venues are also scored beside the other major platforms in our derivatives exchange comparison.
Which lists more coins and lists them faster?
Gate lists more, and neither publishes a comparable measure of how early.
Gate lists 1,687 coins across 2,205 pairs on its CoinGecko page, against 889 coins across 1,071 pairs on KuCoin's, with CoinGecko scoring both at 9 out of 10 for trust.
Both built their reputations on listing early-stage tokens before larger exchanges, and both run launch and pre-market products that give early access to new projects.
Neither platform publishes a verified day-one listing share, so speed is a dimension where the evidence is thin on both sides and this article does not rank them on it.
A trader who wants the longest list will find it on Gate, and should expect thinner books at the far end of that list on either platform.
That listing depth is weighed against fees, licences and the incident record in our full Gate.io review.
Do KuCoin and Gate.io require KYC?
Yes, both, and the older answer that either lets you trade unverified is out of date.
KuCoin's verification guide requires identity verification to deposit, trade and withdraw, and sets a verified daily withdrawal limit of 999,999 USDT at the entry level.
Gate requires full verification and serves regulated markets through licensed entities, which carry their own onboarding rules.
The US plea agreement described below turned on the years in which KuCoin did not enforce KYC, which is the clearest sign that the optional-verification era is over on both platforms.
Which is safer and better regulated?
Gate holds the broader set of licences, and each platform carries one incident a careful reader should know about.
In September 2020 attackers with access to KuCoin hot-wallet keys took about $280 million, and KuCoin recovered 84% of the affected assets through on-chain tracking, contract upgrades and legal recovery, as The Block reported, with the remainder covered from its insurance fund per its chief executive's letter.
In January 2025 KuCoin's operating entity pleaded guilty to running an unlicensed money transmitting business, agreed to more than $297 million in penalties, and agreed to leave the US market for at least two years, according to the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, with two founders leaving management.
In July 2026 a dispute over an account theft on Gate drew public attention, and Gate committed to full compensation for losses attributable to its own systems, per its statements at the time.
Gate publishes a 115% reserve ratio with zero-knowledge proofs, and its licence page lists a MiCA authorisation from Malta's MFSA, a Japan FSA registration through Gate Japan K.K., a Dubai VARA licence and an AUSTRAC registration.
KuCoin EU holds a MiCA licence issued in Austria, per KuCoin's own announcements, and KuCoin's reserve data is published on CoinGecko.
Neither incident cost customers their balances on the record as it stands, and both platforms disclose more about reserves and controls today than they did before.
How that record sits beside KuCoin's fees, listings and licensing is covered in our full KuCoin review.
Which is easier to fund and withdraw from?
Gate, for anyone in the EEA or Japan, because its licensed entities carry local rails that KuCoin's Austrian entity matches only in Europe.
Both fund accounts through cards, P2P markets and local bank rails wherever they hold a licence, and both require verification first.
KuCoin's verified daily withdrawal limit starts at 999,999 USDT and rises with VIP level, and Gate's limits scale with its VIP ladder.
Neither platform serves the United States through its global platform, so neither offers US bank rails to a global account.
Where can you actually use KuCoin and Gate.io?
Gate is open in more of the regions that matter to English-language readers.
In the United States, KuCoin left under its plea agreement, and Gate's global platform is not offered to US residents, with a separate Gate US entity that lists five coins on CoinGecko.
In the United Kingdom, neither is open to retail customers.
In the European Economic Area, both operate through MiCA-licensed entities, Gate through Malta and KuCoin through Austria.
In Japan, Gate serves residents through Gate Japan K.K., registered with the FSA under number 00018, while KuCoin is not registered and its app downloads were suspended at the FSA's request in 2025.
For a Japanese reader the choice is Gate or nothing; for an EEA reader it is a real choice; for a US or UK reader it is neither.
Readers who want a wider field can start with our full guide to crypto exchange alternatives.
What does a year on KuCoin vs Gate.io really cost?
Price the same activity on each platform at entry rates, split evenly between maker and taker orders.
A trader with $10,000 of monthly spot volume pays about $120 a year on either platform, or $96 on KuCoin with KCS and $108 on Gate with GT.
A trader with $100,000 of monthly BTCUSDT perpetual notional pays about $480 a year on KuCoin and $390 to $420 on Gate at entry rates.
The same two profiles cost about $30 and $120 a year on MEXC at its published 0% maker and 0.05% taker spot schedule and 0.000% maker and 0.020% taker BTCUSDT contract.
Between KuCoin and Gate the annual difference is $12 on discounted spot in KuCoin's favour and $60 to $90 on perpetuals in Gate's, so listings, tools and above all licensing should decide the choice.
Who should choose KuCoin, and who should choose Gate.io?
Choose Gate if you live in Japan, because it is the one of the two that is registered to serve you.
Choose Gate if you trade perpetuals, want options, stock CFDs or Gate Stocks in the same account, or want the longest listing roster available.
Choose KuCoin if you run bots on spot or futures, hold KCS for the larger token discount, and trade a focused list of altcoins rather than the whole market.
Choose KuCoin if you are in the EEA and prefer its interface, since both are licensed there.
Do not open either global platform from the United States or the United Kingdom, and read each platform's terms for your country before funding.
Readers leaving Gate can follow our guide to transferring crypto from Gate in six steps, and readers weighing Gate against other platforms can use our Gate alternatives comparison.
Readers weighing KuCoin against other altcoin venues can use our KuCoin alternatives ranking.
Both platforms are also scored against the wider market in our guide to the best crypto exchanges overall.
The MEXC View: where we stand on KuCoin vs Gate.io
MEXC Learn is published by MEXC, an exchange that competes with both platforms, so read this section as an interested party's opinion.
We think Gate has done more than any exchange of its size to collect licences since 2025, and that its MiCA authorisation, Japan registration and published reserve ratio are real advantages that a fee table cannot capture.
We think KuCoin deserves credit for making its users whole after a $280 million theft and for its bot tooling, and that its 20% KCS discount is the better token deal of the two.
We also think the honest reading of this comparison is that Gate lists more than we do and holds licences we do not, so our own case rests on price and day-one listings rather than breadth.
Where MEXC fits is on price for readers outside the US, UK and EEA: 0% maker and 0.05% taker on spot, 0.000% maker and 0.020% taker on the BTCUSDT contract, and a measured day-one listing share, with every figure carrying a verification date.
Our review methodology explains how we score exchanges we compete with.
Frequently asked questions
Is KuCoin better than Gate.io?
KuCoin is better for bots and the KCS discount, while Gate is better for perpetual fees, product range and licences in the EEA and Japan.
Neither serves the US or UK retail customers.
Is Gate.io cheaper than KuCoin?
On perpetuals, yes: 0.05% taker against 0.06%.
Spot fees are identical at 0.10%, discounted to 0.08% with KCS or 0.090% with GT.
Which has more coins, KuCoin or Gate.io?
Gate, with 1,687 coins across 2,205 pairs on CoinGecko against 889 coins across 1,071 pairs on KuCoin.
Both hold a Trust Score of 9 out of 10.
Does Gate.io require KYC?
Yes, Gate requires full verification, and KuCoin's verification guide requires identity checks to deposit, trade and withdraw.
Neither offers unverified trading.
Can I use KuCoin or Gate.io in the US, EU or Japan?
In the EEA, both, through MiCA-licensed entities; in Japan, only Gate, through Gate Japan K.K.
Neither global platform serves US residents.
Is Gate.io safe?
Gate publishes a 115% reserve ratio with zero-knowledge proofs and holds licences in Malta, Japan, Dubai and Australia.
It committed to full compensation for platform-attributable losses after a July 2026 dispute.
KuCoin vs Gate.io futures fees: which is lower?
Gate, at 0.015% to 0.02% maker and 0.05% taker against 0.02% and 0.06% on KuCoin.
Gate's Points can lower its taker rate to 0.0225%.
Can I transfer crypto from Gate.io to KuCoin?
Yes, by withdrawing from Gate to your KuCoin deposit address on the same network, with a small test amount first.
Our Gate transfer guide covers network selection and memos.
Risk and compliance disclosure
Crypto assets are volatile and you can lose your entire deposit; derivatives, leverage and small-cap tokens add liquidation and liquidity risk on top of price risk.
Fees, listings and regional availability change; every figure above carries its verification date and should be re-checked before you act on it.
Neither MEXC nor KuCoin nor Gate's global platform serves United States residents; US readers should compare the platforms licensed in their state.
MEXC does not accept United Kingdom residents, is listed on ESMA's register of non-compliant entities for the EEA, and is offboarding Netherlands users by 16 November 2026, so the MEXC sections above are informational for readers in those regions.
MEXC appears on Japan's FSA list of unregistered operators; the web platform is reachable but the app is not offered in Japanese app stores.
Nothing here is investment, legal or tax advice.
Read More
- KuCoin Fees 2026: Is Your Altcoin Trade Paying 0.30% Instead of the Advertised 0.10%?
- Gate.io Fees Explained 2026: Every Tier, Every Discount, Every Trap
- KuCoin KYC Requirements 2026: What Can You Still Do Unverified, and Where Can You Not Verify at All?
- Gate.io KYC Requirements in 2026: Three Official Pages, Three Different Review Times
- KuCoin Withdrawal Limit 2026: Your Ceiling Is Not a Number, It Is Your VIP Level
- Gate.io Withdrawal Limits in 2026: Your Limit Depends on Two Numbers, and No Page Shows Both
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This article is provided by Sarah Chen for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or investment advice. Cryptocurrency markets involve significant risk. Please conduct independent research or consult a qualified professional before making any investment decisions. The views expressed do not necessarily represent those of MEXC or its affiliates.
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