Compare
KU KuCoin VS PH Phemex
Both exchanges offer Spot, Margin, Perpetual futures. The differences below come from our individual reviews of KuCoin and Phemex.
| KuCoin | Phemex | |
|---|---|---|
| Founded | 2017 | 2019 |
| Regions | Available in most regions outside the United States. A 2025 guilty plea to unlicensed money transmission and a March 2026 CFTC consent order permanently bar KuCoin's operator from allowing US-based traders onto its platform. Also restricted in mainland China, Hong Kong, Singapore, and a handful of other jurisdictions: verify local availability before signing up. | Available in most regions outside the US, UK, Canada, and a growing restricted list that has recently added Australia, Hong Kong, and South Africa; EU access continues without MiCA authorization: verify local availability before signing up. |
| Products | Spot, Margin, Perpetual futures, Trading bots | Spot, Margin, Perpetual futures, Copy trading, Earn / lending |
| Maker fee | Verify current tier: KuCoin uses a volume-based maker/taker schedule, with roughly a 20% discount for paying fees in its native KCS token | Verify current tier: Phemex uses a volume-based maker/taker schedule (spot starts around 0.1%/0.1%; futures maker fees are among the lowest of any major exchange, around 0.01% at entry tier) |
| Taker fee | Verify current tier: KuCoin uses a volume-based maker/taker schedule, with roughly a 20% discount for paying fees in its native KCS token | Verify current tier: Phemex uses a volume-based maker/taker schedule (futures taker fees run above the industry average, around 0.06% at entry tier) |
KuCoin pros
- One of the widest altcoin listings among major exchanges, useful for traders looking for assets that haven't reached Binance or Coinbase yet
- A mature, free built-in trading-bot suite (grid and DCA bots) that many competitors charge for or don't offer at all
- Fully recovered from its 2020 hack, with no comparable incident since and a published monthly proof-of-reserves report
Phemex pros
- Entry-tier futures maker fee (around 0.01%) is lower than Binance, Bybit, or OKX at equivalent volume
- Broad leverage ceiling, up to 100x on major pairs, for traders who specifically want it
- Copy trading with multiple position-sizing modes (fixed margin, multiplier, smart ratio) rather than a single one-size-fits-all follow function
- Fast recent growth in listed assets and user base, now covering 600+ tokens plus tokenized stock and metals futures
This table is generated from the same data behind our individual exchange reviews. See methodology for how it's put together. Fee figures marked "not yet verified" need confirming against live terms before this page is treated as launch-ready.