Robinhood Vs. Coinbase | Which Is Better For Investors?

As the demand for cryptocurrencies has grown over the years, many traders have started looking for an exchange that will suit their specific trading needs.

There are many exchanges in the market today, each with different trading and deposit fees, user interaction, security features, and trading features. Depending on your experience and trading preferences, you should evaluate the characteristics of the stock market and how it can help you achieve your investment goals.

Today we're going to review and compare Robinhood and Coinbase to help you decide which platform is best for you.

Robinhood vs. Coinbase is the main difference

Coinbase and Robinhood are the best crypto exchanges that have been in the industry for years. Coinbase started in 2012 and Robinhood in 2013.

Both platforms are designed to allow novice traders to easily buy and sell cryptocurrencies, but they have different features in terms of trading aspects.

Coinbase is an exchange where you can buy coins using fiat, exchange cryptocurrencies for other cryptocurrencies, and withdraw coins to external wallets. Robinhood, on the other hand, is a broker where you can buy cryptocurrencies, stocks, options and ETFs using fiat currency and has a limited amount of coins that can be transferred directly to your wallet without saving.

But the number and variety of choices is not the only factor that sets them apart. So, we list the features of the two platforms below.

Robinhood vs. Coinbase - Payments and Transactions

Robinhood Exchange Fees

Robinhood does not charge any fees for the process of buying and selling cryptocurrencies, which makes it very attractive to investors. Robinhood, on the other hand, charges order flow commissions, meaning that trading fees are built into the trading spread (the difference between the bid and offer prices). This means you pay more if you are a buyer and less if you are a seller.

The trading commission is $0.000130 per share (selling a stock) and $0.00218 per contract (selling an option). This fee is rounded to the nearest cent and is no more than $6.49.

Robinhood Funding Fees

There are no commissions when you deposit fiat into your Robinhood account. However, there is a fee of 1.5% ($0.02 minimum) for instant bank transfer withdrawals. You can see a full list of fees here, which includes their fees for trading stocks, ETFs and options.

Coinbase trading fees

Coinbase is a bit more expensive when it comes to cryptocurrency exchanges. And, unfortunately, the platform does not have a very clear pricing structure. Fees vary depending on the amount purchased, Basic (Coinbase) and Profile (Coinbase Pro) charge different fees.

According to Coinbase's September 20, 2022 update on their official blog, they implemented a new fee structure to "account for changes in global cryptocurrency trading volume and asset prices."

For small transactions, you are charged either a flat fee or a variable percentage fee depending on the size of your order.

• $10 or less $0.99
• $1.49 over $10 and under $25
• $1.99 over $25 and under $50
• $2.99 ​​over $50 and up to $200

This means that for transactions over $200 you will pay a flat fee of around 1.5%. And that's in addition to the downside spread that's already in the trading price.

Coinbase Funding Fee

You can deposit fiat currency into your Coinbase wallet via wire transfer, debit or credit card, ACH wire transfer, wire transfer, and even PayPal. Below are the costs for each supported financing option:

Robinhood vs. Coinbase - Key Features

Key features of Coinbase

• Cryptocurrency trading and withdrawals. At Coinbase, you can trade cryptocurrencies for other cryptocurrencies with hundreds of pairs to choose from. You can also withdraw your cryptocurrency and store it in an external wallet.
• News feed .
• Price announcements. You can set up price alerts for the cryptocurrencies you want to track and receive notifications on your smartphone when your coins rise or fall by a large percentage.
• Educational materials. The Coinbase platform and mobile app feature educational videos where you can learn about cryptocurrency projects and even earn a small amount of coins.
• Fiat options. Coinbase supports many fiat payment methods, including debit cards, bank transfers and PayPal, making it very convenient for new traders.
• Wallet Options: The exchange supports escrow and non-escrow wallets, allowing you to store cryptocurrencies on the platform or withdraw them to separate wallets for storage.
• Rewards Program. You can earn additional cryptocurrencies through the Coinbase Rewards program, which is always adding new offers.
• Display function. Coinbase also has a staking feature where you can earn interest simply by holding coins on the exchange for a certain period of time.
• NFT: Coinbase has an NFT market where people can buy and sell NFT and create their own.

Key features of Robinhood

• Limited orders. Robinhood allows you to place limit orders on their cryptocurrencies, allowing you to buy or sell cryptocurrencies at a price you specify.
• Cash Management : Account holders also accept debit cards issued by Sutton Bank that allow free cash withdrawals at more than 75,000 ATMs and provide access to $1.5 million in FDIC insurance through the bank's cash withdrawal program.
• Robinhood Gold Features : When you upgrade your account to Robinhood Gold, you have access to several additional features, such as margin trading, larger instant deposit amounts, and 3% interest on brokerage money with no cash invested in linked bank accounts. There is a $5 monthly fee for this optional upgrade.
• Capital investment. This platform allows you to trade common assets including stocks, exchange traded funds (ETFs) and options.
• Wallet Features : Robinhood only offers crypto storage wallets that do not have private keys, which may be a concern for some crypto holders. If you want to transfer cryptocurrencies to your wallet without saving, you need to transfer your coins from Robinhood first and pay the network fee.

You can also send your coins to your Robinhood account, but this feature is limited to some cryptocurrencies.

• bitcoin (BTC)
• Bitcoin Cash (BCH)
• Bitcoin SV (BSV)
• Dogecoin (DOGE)
• Ethereum (ETH)
• Ethereum Classic (ETC)
• Litecoin (LTC)

Robinhood vs. Coinbase - Supported currencies

In terms of coin offerings, Coinbase supports more cryptocurrencies than Robinhood. Robinhood supports 17 cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin (BTC), Bitcoin Cash (BCH), Bitcoin SV (BSV), Cardano (ADA), Dogecoin (DOGE), Ethereum (ETH), and Ethereum Classic (ETC)

On the other hand, Coinbase supports more than 150 cryptocurrencies, adding new coins at a relatively normal rate. In August of this year alone, the exchange added 12 more cryptocurrencies, and users can check their blogs to see when new coins will be released.

Apart from Ethereum and all EVM compatible coins, the app supports major currencies like Bitcoin, Dogecoin, Litecoin, Stellar Lumens and Ripple.

Robinhood vs. Coinbase is a trading experience

Both platforms are designed intuitively and with ease of use in mind to reduce any friction in the buying or selling process.

The interface makes it easy to buy and sell cryptocurrencies, even for a first-time trader, as it has the basic features required for regular trading.

How to buy Bitcoin from Coinbase

Step 1: Create a Coinbase account

Go to the Coinbase website or download the Coinbase app to register on the platform. You will need to provide an official government-issued ID and documents as proof of address. The time of the verification process will depend on the region of your residence.

Step 2: Add money to your account

Once you have created your account, choose one of the available payment methods (bank account, debit card or bank transfer).

Step 3: Start a buy or sell transaction

From your Coinbase account, go to the "Buy and Sell" section. For mobile users, click the (+) Buy icon on the Home tab.

In the buy bar, find BTC and click Bitcoin. In the mobile app, use the search bar to find your coins. Tap the coin to go to the purchase screen.

Step 4: Shop stores

Enter the amount you want to spend in fiat currency and you can see how much that amount is worth in bitcoins.

Click "Pre-Purchase" to review your purchase details and make sure everything is correct before clicking the "Buy Now" button.

After completing your order, you will be directed to a confirmation page. Wait a few minutes for your BTC to be sent to your Coinbase BTC wallet.

How to buy bitcoins from Robinhood?

Step 1: Create an account

First, you need to create a Robinhood account. To do this, you need to download the Robinhood mobile app or use a browser to log in. Please note that you must have a valid social security number, email address, and proof of address to register.

Step 2: Top up your account

Once your account is approved, you can choose your preferred payment method for fiat currency deposits.

Step 3: Trade Bitcoins

Find your coins using the search bar. Go to the cryptocurrency details page and click "Buy". Then enter the fiat amount you want to use to buy bitcoins. Click the "View" button to view the details of the trade.

Swipe up to send the order.

Robinhood vs. Coinbase - Security

Coinbase security features

• Two-factor authentication. (2FA) via SMS or Google Authenticator, which generates a temporary password for your account.
• Integrated wallet. password-protected wallet encrypted with a 12-word recovery phrase.
• Cold storage . 98% of all cryptocurrencies are stored in "cold rooms" - wallets without internet access.
• FDIC Insurance (up to $250,000). FDIC insured in US dollars (USD) for deposits up to $250,000. Insurance does not cover cryptocurrency funds.

Robinhood security feature

• Two-factor authentication with Google Authenticator 2FA. SMS account recovery is disabled to prevent phone hacking.
• Device management. Robinhood allows you to view all the devices identified in your account and remove any devices you don't recognize.
• Cold storage .
• FDIC Insurance (up to $250,000). FDIC insurance covers US dollar deposits but does not cover cryptocurrency funds.

Robinhood vs. Coinbase - Support

Robinhood allows customers to request a service representative to call them at any time of the day or night, with the app notifying them that they will receive a call back within 30 minutes of the request.

Coinbase customers can contact support by phone, email or chat 24/7.

The general consensus online is that both customer support systems are lacking, with many complaints related to lost funds, frozen accounts, slow response times and more.

On Trustpilot, Coinbase has just 1.7 stars out of over 7,500 reviews, while Robinhood has 1.1 stars out of 3,400 reviews.

Final thoughts

It should be noted that Coinbase is supported in more than 100 countries around the world, while Robinhood is only available to US residents. Therefore, the latter platform is not suitable for international traders.

Robinhood is the best solution for those who want to buy and store popular cryptocurrencies without additional trading fees.

Coinbase, despite the higher fees, is more suitable for trading between currencies as it has more features and exotic altcoins.

Both platforms are aimed at beginner traders, so it all depends on your trading style and the type of portfolio you want to build.

Robinhood vs. post Coinbase |: Which is best for investors? appeared first on Coindoo.