Coinbase vs. Coinbase Pro: How Do They Compare?

At a Glance

Coinbase vs. Coinbase Pro: Ease of Use

Coinbase is designed with beginners in mind, offering a simple interface for buying and selling cryptocurrency. They also have a user-friendly mobile app on both iOS and Android for access on the go.

Coinbase makes it easy to get started with a simple signup form and verification process. Once you have signed up, you can connect a bank account or other source of funds to immediately begin purchasing crypto.

While Coinbase is an extremely intuitive platform to use, Coinbase Pro might seem intimidating to beginner investors when they first log in, as it’s designed with professional traders in mind. It presents users with a live price feed, multiple order options, and up-to-the-minute price charting, which might feel overwhelming if you’ve never traded cryptocurrency. 

Signing up for Coinbase Pro is very similar to Coinbase. If you already have a Coinbase account you must use the same email address. For Coinbase and Coinbase Pro, you can use the same login setting to access either platform.

Coinbase Pro offers a mobile app on both the iOS and Android platforms.

Coinbase vs. Coinbase Pro: Security

Since your account login information for both Coinbase and Coinbase Pro are connected, they both offer the same security features. 

Here are some of the security options available on both platforms:

Two-Factor Authentication

An industry best practice, Coinbase and Coinbase Pro offer two-factor authentication via SMS or the Google Authenticator app. This makes logging into your account more secure and makes it less likely that hackers can gain access to it.

Cold Storage and Crypto Vaults

Coinbase and Coinbase Pro store 98% of crypto assets offline in secure cold storage (not on the internet) and away from the prying eyes of online hackers. 

Both also employ an additional layer of protection through cryptocurrency vaults to prevent fraudulent withdrawals. Vaults are time-locked and can be set up with multiple user approvals so that any withdrawal request will be canceled if all approvals are not completed within a 24-hour period.

FDIC Insurance (up to $250,000)

Coinbase offers FDIC insurance on USD deposits. Like a traditional bank, Coinbase offers FDIC insurance on deposits up to $250,000. This coverage does NOT, however, extend to your cryptocurrency funds.

Whitelisting Crypto Addresses

Another layer of protection is the ability to restrict access to addresses that can withdraw your cryptocurrency. These addresses are saved in your address book, blocking any other addresses from accessing your funds. This feature is only available on Coinbase Pro.

Coinbase vs. Coinbase Pro: Features

Both Coinbase and Coinbase Pro allow users to buy and sell cryptocurrency with ease, but they both go about it in different ways. Below are a few of the unique features of each platform.

Coinbase Unique Features

Free education and free crypto: Coinbase has user education built into its platform and mobile app, helping beginners learn about cryptocurrency. These are bite-sized videos that teach users about a certain cryptocurrency project and will even reward them with a small bonus amount of the currency.

Newsfeed: Coinbase keeps users up-to-date on current events with a newsfeed built into the platform. These are curated articles from around the web on updates and breaking news within the crypto space.

Price Alerts: Coinbase allows you to create a watchlist of cryptocurrencies that will give you price alerts when there are big swings in price. These can be set up to be pushed to your mobile phone, or simply appear within the app.

Coinbase Pro Unique Features

Multiple trade options: Coinbase Pro offers more control over your cryptocurrency trading, giving users access to multiple trade options. Stop orders allow users to set a sell price to limit their losses. Limit orders allow users to set a buy point if they think a cryptocurrency will drop in value, letting them purchase at a lower price.

Advanced charting: Coinbase Pro allows users to create advanced charting views, such as minute-by-minute trading and viewing the moving averages for each cryptocurrency. The standard view shows the candlestick chart of the high and low prices within a specific time frame, similar to advanced stock charting programs, as well as open and close prices. You can also add multiple overlays to view the 12-day and 26-day exponential moving averages (EMA) to give you more insights into how a cryptocurrency is performing.

API keys: Coinbase Pro gives access to their API keys, allowing third-party apps to integrate with your Coinbase account.

Coinbase vs. Coinbase Pro: Currencies

Coinbase and Coinbase Pro both offer access to buy, sell, and trade 170 cryptocurrencies and counting. While there are many cryptocurrencies in existence, Coinbase carries some of the most widely traded ones on the market.

Both Coinbase platforms allow you to purchase cryptocurrency in dollar amounts, allowing you to buy fractions of coins. Coinbase has a $2 minimum order amount. Coinbase Pro has no minimum dollar requirement, though the order cannot be smaller than 0.001 BTC, 0.01 BCH, 0.01 ETH, or 0.1 LTC.

Coinbase vs. Coinbase Pro: Fees

Coinbase is a great way to help beginners get started, but it can be expensive. Understanding how they charge fees for buying and selling crypto may help you save a lot.

Coinbase charges maker-taker fees as high as 0.6%. Of course, makers pay less than takers and higher trade volumes mean lower fees. Instant buy purchases from Coinbase will carry a higher fee than buy trades on the exchange, but those aren't published by the company. Additionally, Coinbase charges extra fees based on the account used in the transaction.

Here is a breakdown of how Coinbase charges fees based on account type:

Coinbase may be best for buy-and-hold investors who want to purchase a currency and hold it for the long term.

Coinbase and Coinbase Pro both use a maker-taker fee schedule for their exchanges. When users place an order at the market price that gets filled immediately, they are considered a “taker” and are charged the taker fee. When users place an order that is not immediately matched, it is placed in the order book (until a match is found), and they are considered a “maker” and are charged a maker fee when the trade executes.

Here is a breakdown of the maker-taker fee structure:

Coinbase Pro only allows bank account, wire transfer, or Wallet transactions; it does not accept credit card or debit card purchases.

Coinbase Pro is very expensive compared to competing active trader platforms from Gemini and Kraken.

Final Verdict

When comparing Coinbase vs. Coinbase Pro, as you might expect, there are a lot of similarities. Both have access to similar currencies, both are regulated exchanges with insurance, and both offer extremely safe storage of your digital assets.

If you are new to the cryptocurrency space, Coinbase is a great starting point. With its simple user interface, simple price charts, and user education built right in, you can become knowledgeable in no time. If you are looking to actively trade crypto and want access to advanced charting, and other tools Coinbase Pro is designed for you. 

No matter which platform you choose, understand that investing in cryptocurrencies is highly speculative, so never invest more than you are willing to lose.

Methodology

When reviewing Coinbase vs. Coinbase Pro, we compared each platform based on ease of use, fee structure, security, unique features, and support currencies. We also considered the types of trades available on each platform and their relative cost to the wider cryptocurrency exchange market. 

While both platforms are owned by Coinbase Global, Inc., they offer very different functionality for users. In general, we feel that Coinbase is best suited for first-time crypto investors due to its simple interface and user education component. Advanced crypto traders should look at Coinbase Pro for its more advanced charting and trading options.