Crypto traders in the United States are already familiar with these two names that have been prevailing in the market for a long time. Coinbase Vs Robinhood has been a debate for traders to decide which platform is the right one for beginners to debut. Robinhood can be considered the online crypto broker facilitating transactions and allows its users to purchase stock and altcoins. Still, the user cannot withdraw crypto funds from their Robinhood account. Instead, they might have to sell their crypto coins and transfer the balance to their accounts outside Robinhood.
Questions like ‘Is coinbase better than Robinhood‘ have been heard a lot amongst the traders in the U S crypto market.
Coinbase is a cryptocurrency exchange platform delivering a wide selection of cryptocurrencies and modes of payment. Also, the exchange allows users to withdraw funds to various accounts to provide more convenience.
Coinbase provides a safe platform for beginners who want to step into the world of cryptocurrency. Robinhood is also an excellent platform for novice crypto traders. Still, there is a lack of crypto collection available on the exchange.
We have made the discussion on Coinbase vs Robinhood easier for you by taking a brief look at the standard and advanced features, from fees to transactions and everything, to help you make an easier decision about Coinbase vs Robinhood for crypto.
Overview of Coinbase
Coinbase is a crypto trading and investing platform offering users a convenient space to purchase, sell and exchange more than 100 different cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Dogecoin. Coinbase is a massive company with more than 98 million users and assets worth $256 billion on the platform.
The company was founded in 2012 to facilitate a space to send and receive BTC. The company rose by lifting dozens of unique cryptocurrencies and consists of above 4,900 employees around the globe.
Coinbase runs with users in above 100 countries, and customers trade almost $309 billion every quarter. The platform manages a quality crypto ecosystem supporting 13,000 financial institutions.
Overview of Robinhood
Robinhood stepped into the crypto market much later than Coinbase. Even though Robinhood was founded in 2019, it was initially focused on traditional stocks instead of the cryptocurrency market. The most significant competitive advantage of the platform was not charging any commissions on stocks, options and crypto trading.
The exchange platform has over 13 million users with an average age of 31, making it a more transparent option for young investors to jump into investment fame. Robinhood offers a limited collection of cryptocurrencies to invest including Bitcoin, Ethereum and more.
Robinhood focuses on overall simplicity making its mobile and website platforms straightforward and user-friendly.
Coinbase: Pros and Cons
Pros | Cons |
Founded in 2012, Coinbase was the first platform to make buying Bitcoin easy. | Not having Coinbase Pro may charge its users higher fees on trading. |
Coinbase is considered one of the most liquid exchanges in the market because of its longevity factor and approval from regulators. | Sometimes, Coinbase fails to deal with rising web traffic and trading volume whenever there are massive activities in the market. |
Coinbase takes a more calculative approach in comparison to other exchanges in terms of decisions regarding crypto cousins as an addition to the platform. | |
Whether a novice or advanced traders, the platform is convenient for all traders. |
Robinhood: Pros and Cons
Pros | Cons |
Other than crypto assets, users are able to trade traditional stocks on Robinhood. | Users won’t be able to withdraw their crypto holdings from the exchange’s internal account. |
Robinhood also offers a user-friendly interface to make it convenient for all types of traders. | Robinhood offers a collection of limited altcoins to select from. |
Comparatively lower fees from other exchange platforms, not free, though. | |
There is no specific minimum amount that can be deposited. |
Coinbase VS Robinhood: Comparison in a Glance
Robinhood | Coinbase | |
Key Features | Intuitive app.
Supports crypto purchases, ETF, stock and options. |
User-amiable application. Available in above 100 countries. Users can withdraw crypto to PayPal or a digital wallet and select from a wide variety of coins. |
Number of Cryptocurrencies available | 7 | 139 |
Fees | No commissions, but users shall pay an order flow fee that varies for each trade format. | 0.50% per trade, 3.99% for purchases via credit card, and 1.49% for Coinbase wallet or purchases via bank account. |
Types of Transactions available | Limit orders, buy and sell. | Buy, sell, send, receive, and exchange. |
Security Features | 2-step verification, FDIC-insured USD balances, cold storage, SIPC coverage for ETF, stock, and cash funds, and insurance against crypto platform breaches. | 2-step verification, cold storage, biometric fingerprint logins, insurance in the event Coinbase is breached, FDIC-insured USD balances, and AES-256 encryption for digital wallets. |
Max Trading Amount | No limits, but the user must wait for ACH funds to clear. | Limits differ based on the user’s payment method and region. |
Coinbase VS Robinhood: Features
Robinhood and Coinbase provide user-friendly applications with just an adequate amount of features for investors in the beginning stage. Coinbase is a cryptocurrency exchange platform for users available in over 100 countries, including all 50 states except Hawaii.
Robinhood is a web-based brokerage company for U.S. users in 48 states. But, the differences don’t end there.
With Coinbase, users can:
- Purchase crypto via a credit or debit card.
- Learn about cryptocurrency with educational content like videos and tutorials.
- Follow trends by tracking the online newsfeed on Coinbase
- Configure alerts for prices of crypto to be notified by the app on your smartphone.
- Make crypto to crypto trades on the Coinbase platform.
- Make cash withdrawals to your hot wallet or PayPal account.
- Get rewarded with cryptocurrency for watching short videos
- Utilise the standalone Coinbase wallet with or without trading on the exchange.
On the other side, Robinhood has nothing to offer like a digital wallet. Users won’t be able to purchase cryptocurrency using their debit or credit cards. Although, the most significant difference between Coinbase and Robinhood is that users can’t transfer their coins from their accounts until it’s sold for cash. Still, they can use your coins to buy exchange-traded funds (ETFs) on the exchange platform made available by Robinhood, which accepts limited orders. Coinbase investors may need to use the Coinbase Pro account to place limited orders.
Certain features of Coinbase and Robinhood are outdated. As a crypto enthusiast, you want a wider range of rich features. You must indeed check out the upcoming crypto exchange platform XBO, which is expected to deliver a quality set of features within its five tiers of loyalty programs.
Coinbase S Robinhood: Currencies Supported
Coinbase supports much more currencies than Robinhood, above 130 cryptocurrencies, and the platform always adds more to the list. If compared to Coinbase, Robinhood has to offer seven altcoins, and you can also purchase these seven cryptos on Coinbase, inclusive of Dogecoin:
- Ethereum (ETH)
- Ethereum Classic (ETC)
- Litecoin (LTC)
- Bitcoin (BTC)
- Bitcoin Cash (BCH)
- Bitcoin SV (BSV)
- Dogecoin (DOGE)
Traders turn towards Robinhood only because they can purchase stock, ETF, and options on that particular platform. Robinhood only accepts USD fiat currency. On the other hand, Coinbase supports EUR, USD and GBP. Coinbase or Robinhood; both platforms allow users to purchase coin fractions.
Coinbase VS Robinhood: Security
One could find likely security features on Coinbase and Robinhood, including two-factor (2F) authentication and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insurance on USD balances. Users should “opt into Cash Management for FDIC insurance via Robinhood.” Although, Coinbase has a slight advantage. Coinbase stores 98% of currencies in air-gapped cold storage and holds an insurance policy to cover potential breaches of coins in hot storage.
Robinhood also keeps coins in cold storage but doesn’t offer specifics. The Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) covers users’ ETF, stock, and cash funds if Robinhood goes under.
For digital wallet users of Coinbase, an encrypted 12-word recovery phase protects their currencies. Robinhood provides device management, so users can disconnect them from their accounts if they see any unknown devices.
Soon-to-launch XBO crypto exchange platform is prepared to deliver military-level security to safeguard deposits and confidential information of its users with their efforts to team up with leading security service providers in the industry.
Coinbase VS Robinhood: Ease of Use
Even though Coinbase and Robinhood are different in a lot of ways, both are user-friendly and designed for novice investors. The sign-up process is slightly quicker. It is easy to trade on Coinbase because the platform accepts payments via debit or credit card, whereas Robinhood only allows transactions via ACH. Both applications deliver mobile apps for Android and iOS devices, whilst the Coinbase app has higher ratings.
Users can find a knowledge base and articles about trading on Robinhood and Coinbase. But Coinbase has the upper hand by offering videos and opportunities to earn rewards of small amounts of crypto to watch short video snippets.
Both platforms deliver customer service via email, and responses are not always on time. Regardless of which exchange users prefer, they may not get an immediate reply to their query.
Coinbase vs Robinhood: Fees
At first look, Robinhood crypto fees are preferable in comparison to Coinbase’s heavy fee list. However, commission-free trading does not always mean zero costs. Robinhood makes money as a brokerage by collecting a percentage of the trade when market makers execute it. This means the user may pay a higher market rate for crypto. Contrary to Coinbase, Robinhood does not share charges for order flow, so it’s difficult for investors to understand which platform is comparatively cheaper when purchasing cryptocurrency.
Users can pay up to 3.99% per trade on Coinbase, one of the comparatively highest charges for crypto exchanges. The exact fee depends on the mode of payment preferred by the user. But, the user may use Coinbase Pro at no additional cost and benefit from comparatively lower prices.
Conclusion
There’s a lot to know and understand when it comes to the comparison of Coinbase vs Robinhood, and the fact is that there is no perfect exchange that can meet all of the requirements of every possible user of today. Suppose you are someone who is an existing Robinhood user and planning to trade in cryptocurrencies for the first time. In that case, you’re probably better off trying the crypto exchange platform with Robinhood for now.
However, suppose you prefer withdrawing your crypto assets into your personal cryptocurrency wallet. In that case, Robinhood is probably not the right option for you. On the other hand, if you wish to trade cryptocurrencies and learn more about cryptocurrency and several other coins in the market and let you withdraw your crypto assets to your personal wallet at any time, Coinbase is a better choice for you.