Crypto exchanges: how to choose between Binance, Bybit, OKX, Bitget and Gate
Pick an exchange for the job: the products you need, whether it serves your country, and whether it has an active P2P market in your currency. Below are the criteria I use myself, a product table for five exchanges and availability notes as of October 2026.
Contents
How to choose a crypto exchange
I picked my first exchange in 2020 from a Telegram ad and left a month later: it had no futures I wanted and its P2P market was empty. Since then I check the same things in the same order.
- Availability in your country. If the exchange doesn't officially serve your country, your account can be restricted at any time, up to withdrawal-only mode.
- The products you need. Every exchange has spot, but options, tokenized stocks, copy trading and bots vary by exchange and by country.
- P2P in your currency. Don't stop at "has P2P" – look at how many live ads there are for INR, NGN or PHP and the spread between buying and selling USDT.
- Liquidity in your coins. Major pairs are similar everywhere; on altcoins a thin order book means slippage.
- Fees. Check the official fee page: maker, taker, funding, withdrawals. Numbers change, which is why our reviews carry a check date.
- Security and transparency. Two-factor authentication, a withdrawal address whitelist, published Proof of Reserves.
The first three points rule out most options. Comparing fees only makes sense between exchanges that pass that filter.
Exchange comparison by product
| Product | Binance | Bybit | OKX | Bitget | Gate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Spot | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Futures | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Crypto options | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Tokenized stocks | Yes | Yes (xStocks) | Yes | Yes (Stock+) | Yes (xStocks) |
| Earn | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Copy trading | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Trading bots | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| P2P | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
As of October 2026. Bitget has no crypto options, but since July 2026 its Stock+ platform offers US stock options. Products depend on your country: OKX tokenized stocks, for example, are not available in the US or the EU.
The table shows that the core set is the same at all five. The differences are in the details: number of contracts, supported countries, Earn terms, how copy trading works. I cover those in the individual reviews.
Availability in the EU, US and UK
The EU's MiCA transition period ended on 1 July 2026: without a CASP licence an exchange can no longer serve EU residents. Here is where things stand as of October 2026:
- EU. Bybit (Austria), OKX (Malta) and Gate (Malta) hold MiCA licences. Binance withdrew its application in Greece and from 1 July 2026 limited EU users to managing positions and withdrawing, except in countries where it operates through local entities. Bitget is not on the ESMA register; its Austrian application is pending.
- US. The global platforms don't accept US residents. Binance serves the US through the separate Binance.US, and OKX has had a separate US platform since 2025.
- UK. Binance has not taken new UK customers since 2023. Bybit returned in December 2025 with spot and P2P. For the others, terms depend on the product – read them when you sign up.
If you live in the EU, US or UK, first check which legal entity of the exchange would serve you. In India, Nigeria or the Philippines, local rules change too, so reread the terms before signing up.
Russia and sanctions. EU Regulation 833/2014 (Article 5b) bars EU crypto service providers, including every MiCA-licensed platform, from serving Russian nationals and residents, and US and EU sanctions cut off Russia's largest banks. On top of that, each global exchange sets its own policy: Binance left Russia in 2023, Bitget and Gate list it as restricted, OKX limits fiat services there, and bybit.com still serves Russian users as of October 2026.
Reviews and registration guides
Each review covers products, fees with a check date, P2P and what I like and dislike about using the exchange. The registration guides walk through sign-up and verification step by step.
| Exchange | Review | Registration | Stands out for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Binance | Binance review | How to sign up | The full product set in one account |
| Bybit | Bybit review | How to sign up | Clean futures terminal, xStocks |
| OKX | OKX review | How to sign up | Options, bots and a built-in Web3 wallet |
| Bitget | Bitget review | How to sign up | Copy trading and the Stock+ platform |
| Gate | Gate review | How to sign up | Lots of altcoins and early listings |
Cards for every review are listed further down the page.
What about WhiteBIT, MEXC, BingX and KuCoin?
We only write in depth about exchanges I trade on myself, where I can show the interface, P2P and withdrawals first-hand. If you're weighing them against WhiteBIT, MEXC, BingX or KuCoin, run the same checks: country availability, products, an active P2P market, fees on the official fee page.
One habit that has saved me stress: keep accounts on two exchanges. If one goes into maintenance or pauses withdrawals, the other is ready. And start with spot and futures basics, not maximum leverage.
In this section
- BinanceThe largest exchange by coin choice and liquidity: what it offers, what it costs, where it's blocked.
- BybitFees, products, bybit.com vs bybit.eu, P2P and who Bybit is (and isn't) for.
- OKXFees, products, country access and P2P on OKX – what to check before you sign up.
- BitgetStrong copy trading and futures, but check your country first: the restricted list keeps growing.
- GateThe exchange with the widest altcoin choice: products, fees, restricted countries and KYC.