This guide compares Coinbase vs Robinhood, the most popular crypto exchange in the United States. Choosing between Robinhood and Coinbase can be difficult, and the right choice depends primarily on your needs and investment strategy.
Though both platforms offer cryptocurrency trading, they cater to different types of traders. Coinbase is a crypto-only platform, while Robinhood gives users access to other assets as well.
We will detail the key differences between Coinbase and Robinhood to help you decide the best cryptocurrency exchange for you.
About Robinhood
Robinhood, founded in 2012, is primarily an online brokerage popular among traders for stocks, options, and ETFs. The platform also offers cryptocurrency trading through Robinhood Crypto, which is known for minimal fees and a user-friendly mobile interface.
Though Robinhood offers commission-free trading, it does have ‘spreads’ for cryptocurrencies. The platform has a user-friendly interface and simplifies investment by removing many barriers common with traditional brokerage firms.
Moreover, Robinhood has a flexible business model that allows users to open an account with as little as $1. Though the platform doesn’t support every coin, it lets users trade the most popular types of crypto.
About Coinbase
Coinbase is solely a crypto trading platform popular among users for its user-friendly interface and wide selection of cryptocurrencies. Founded in 2012, it was the first major cryptocurrency platform to go public on the U.S. stock market in April 2021.
Coinbase supports more than 260 different types of cryptocurrencies and is the biggest crypto exchange in the U.S. in terms of volume. The platform makes crypto trading a breeze, making it popular among beginners and experienced traders.
Robinhood vs Coinbase in 2024 – Key facts and figures
| Features | Robinhood | Coinbase |
| Year Founded | 2013 | 2012 |
| Maker Fee/Taker Fee | $0 per trade, spreads apply | Maker/taker up to 0.6% |
| Coins Supported | 35+ | 260+ |
| Margin Trading | Yes | Yes |
| Futures Trading | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile App | Yes | Yes |
| Trading in the US | Yes | Yes |
| TradingView chart | No | Yes |
| Mandatory KYC | Yes | Yes |
| Payment Methods Accepted | 3D Secure Card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Bank Transfer, PayPal, SEPA Transfer | Debit cards issued by a US bank in the Visa and Mastercard networks |
Robinhood vs Coinbase – Head-to-head
Now that you have some idea about both exchanges, let’s look at the differences between Robinhood vs Coinbase in detail:
Regulations
Robinhood is registered with the New York State Department of Financial Services and many other states. According to Robinhood’s website, it is not a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) or the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC).
Additionally, the platform is registered with FinCEN as a money services business. It means Robinhood complies with the requirements of the Bank Secrecy Act and the applicable money transmitter laws for US states.
Coinbase is licensed to transmit money in most US jurisdictions. Most of its licenses allow Dollar cash balances and transfers, while licenses in some states also cover cryptocurrency balances and transfers on the platform.
Moreover, Coinbase is also registered with FinCEN as a Money Services Business. This means that the company complies with several financial services and consumer protection laws, including the Bank Secrecy Act, the USA Patriot Act, money transmission laws, and corresponding regulations in several states.
Coinbase, however, has been subject to a SEC lawsuit alleging that the company was acting as an unregistered broker and exchange. The lawsuit filed in June is still ongoing.
Trading features
Robinhood is known for commission-free and user-friendly trading. The platform offers a straightforward, no-frills experience, making it perfect for users, especially those who are new to investing.
Moreover, the platform offers many features that lower the entry barriers, i.e. allowing users to start with less money. Some of Robinhood’s distinguishing features are:
Fractional shares: Such a feature makes it easy to invest in expensive stocks with as little as $1. Fractional shares are more helpful to new investors who want to diversify their portfolios with little capital.
Cash management: Robinhood moves eligible uninvested cash into FDIC-insured program banks, which pay interest on those deposits. Users can earn about 0.01% Annual Percentage Yield (APY) on uninvested brokerage cash, or 5% for Robinhood Gold members.
Coinbase features
Coinbase, which is among the largest cryptocurrency exchanges by trading volume, has a user-friendly interface and offers many unique features to enrich the user experience. Some of those features are:
Staking: Coinbase allows users to stake their crypto assets, which the exchange then uses to validate transactions on the given currency’s blockchain. The exchange allows staking rewards on many cryptocurrencies, including Ethereum, Tron, and Cardano.
Advanced Trade: Coinbase’s Advanced Trade platform – a replacement for Coinbase Pro – offers advanced trading features suited for more experienced traders. The advanced trading tools include Advanced order types (Market, Limit, Stop Limit, and Auction Mode), Sophisticated trading tools (EMA, MA, MACD, RSI, and Bollinger Bands), and Derivatives trading.
Ecosystem Wallets: Coinbase allows users many ways to store funds, such as an integrated exchange wallet, a semi-custodial dApp wallet, and the fully self-custodial Coinbase wallet. dApp and Coinbase wallet allow users to easily interact with on-chain protocols for DeFi and NFTs.
Coinbase Earn: An educational program that rewards users with cryptocurrency for learning about different digital assets through video lessons and quizzes. Users need to complete e-learning modules covering various crypto projects.
Fees
Robinhood is a zero-fee platform and doesn’t charge users trading commissions. The platform makes money through a system called a payment for order flow (PFOF). The company earns revenue by routing user orders through a market maker who then compensates Robinhood for the business.
Moreover, the platform charges no account management fees, account opening, maintenance, and account inactivity fees.
Robinhood, however, does charge foreign-listed securities trading and broker-assisted trades. Robinhood crypto fee also includes ‘spreads’ for cryptocurrencies. The spreads are higher for lesser-known cryptocurrencies.
Coinbase exchange fees
Coinbase, on the other hand, has a complex fee structure. The trading fees depend on many factors, including trade size, market conditions, payment method, and user location. The fees also vary based on trading platforms, such as Simple Trades and Coinbase Advanced.
Of the two, Coinbase Advanced charges a comparatively lower fee. Simple Trades charges a fixed fee for smaller trades and a percentage-based fee for trades amounting to more than $75. Coinbase Advanced, on the other hand, charges a percentage-based fee depending on order type and users’ 30-day trading volume.
Coinbase doesn’t charge account fees or inactivity fees for non-trading transactions. However, traders will have to pay a fee if they use the Coinbase debit card or Coinbase for staking.
Withdrawal fees on the platform are largely limited to crypto withdrawals. Users need to pay network fees when they withdraw crypto to a self-custody crypto wallet.
Safety
Robinhood and Coinbase are considered safe exchanges as they focus heavily on security. Both platforms have implemented robust security measures to protect customer funds.
For instance, both have adopted two-factor authentication (2FA) and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insurance. Additionally, Coinbase keeps 98% of its digital assets in cold storage and holds insurance covering potential breaches of cryptocurrencies held in hot wallets.
Robinhood also stores its crypto assets on cold storage, but there is no clarity on how much of its assets are stored offline. Users, however, get additional security in the form of Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC), which covers users’ assets in the event of a company going bankrupt.
Robinhood is seen as a safe and secure option for stocks and cryptocurrencies, but the platform has faced criticism from users in the past. In 2021, for instance, the company’s decision to restrict trading of GameStop and other stocks due to liquidity issues raised questions on Robinhood’s reliability.
Talking about custody, Coinbase offers its own wallet but also allows users to take custody of their assets through their own wallet. On the other hand, Robinhood offers Robinhood Wallet, which serves as a self-custody wallet for storing and managing crypto.
Customer support
Both Robinhood and Coinbase offer limited customer support. Robinhood’s customer support is available via chat 24/7 and phone 7 AM – 9 PM ET, while administrative phone support for brokerage accounts is available only on weekdays. The platform also allows users to view support chat history in the app or on the web.
Robinhood doesn’t display customer service phone numbers, and users need to sign in to their account to request a callback. The platform also has a robust FAQ support page offering answers to all general queries that users may have.
Coinbase customer support options include phone, email, and chat support (priority support for Coinbase One subscribers). Both crypto exchanges, however, have faced criticism for slow response times and unhelpful l responses.
Robinhood pros and cons
Pros
- Diverse investment options: The platform offers traders a variety of options to invest in, including stocks, ETFs, options, and cryptocurrencies.
- User-friendly and intuitive interface: Robinhood is a great platform for beginners because of its user-friendly mobile app and caters well to users looking for basic features that are easy to navigate quickly.
- No trading fees: Robinhood’s innovative business model of no fees have forced many competitors to reduce or eliminate their trading fees to remain competitive.
- Fractional share trading: Robinhood allows traders to purchase shares with as little as $1, while its dividend reinvestment program (DRIP) automatically reinvests dividends.
- Solid cash management: Robinhood’s innovative cash card let traders automatically invest rewards earned from purchases. Cash sweep accounts allow users to earn interest of up to 1%, while Robinhood Gold members can earn up to 5.00% on uninvested cash.
- IRA match: Robinhood matches some IRA contributions of its users. The platform matches 1% for regular users and 3% for gold-level subscribers.
Cons:
- Limited cryptocurrency features: Since Robinhood is not a crypto-first platform, it lacks advanced features that could be of interest to experienced traders.
- High spread: Though the platform doesn’t charge trading fee, the platform has high spreads than many other platforms. ‘Spread’ is the difference between the listed and the real price of the asset.
- Limited asset types: Though Robinhood offers different asset types for investors to trade, it still doesn’t offer all assets, such as fixed income, mutual funds, and foreign exchange.
- Limited research: Robinhood’s research tools are not as effective as offered by some of the competitors. Moreover, the platform doesn’t have stock or ETF screeners.
Coinbase pros and cons
Pros
- Extensive crypto support: Coinbase supports more than 260 cryptocurrencies, giving users plenty of options to trade.
- Additional features: Coinbase provides plenty of additional features to both new and experienced traders. For beginners, the platform offers staking and educational modules that allow users to earn free crypto, while for experienced traders, the platform offers advanced charting and analytical tools.
- Trading platforms: Coinbase provide traders with multiple platforms, including the original Coinbase platform with simple interface and Advanced Trade platform with advanced charting functions. The platform also has an option called Coinbase One, which costs about $30 and provide traders with no-fee trades and other benefits.
- Quick withdrawals: Unlike other platforms where users need to wait for days for transactions to clear, Coinbase allow users to withdraw crypto immediately after they purchase it using fiat currency.
Cons:
- High transaction fee: Coinbase’s transaction fee is higher than the industry average.
- Limited assets: Coinbase is a crypto-only platform, and thus, it doesn’t allow trading of other assets, such as stocks and commodities.
Robinhood vs Coinbase in 2024 – Our verdict
Both Robinhood and Coinbase are market-leading and user-friendly crypto trading platforms. Coinbase, however, is the clear winner when it comes to cryptocurrencies. Robinhood’s free trading is attractive, but its lack of crypto capabilities and its short list of cryptocurrencies are also setbacks.
However, choosing between the two requires considering your investment strategy and needs.
For instance, Robinhood may be better if you want to trade traditional and digital assets. If you are only interested in crypto, Coinbase could prove to be a better option.
When choosing an exchange, you must also consider other relevant factors, such as fees, security, customer support, and user interface.
Methodology
For Coinbase vs Robinhood, we compared the two platforms on the basis of factors that matter most to traders. We focused heavily on their mobile app and browser-based sites’ overall ease of use and functionality.
We also compared the two platforms based on their specific features and how those features influence the overall trading experience. Additionally, we considered other factors that matter to investors, such as fees, security measures, payment methods, and supported currencies.
