When searching for the best crypto exchange, Binance and OKX are always top recommendations. This is because both exchanges are leading platforms for trading, offering traders basic and advanced investment tools and access to the web3 ecosystem.
Although both exchanges offer similar core services, they have distinct features that set them apart. In this OKX vs Binance comparison, we’ll highlight the differences in products, trading fees, trading features, security, and passive income opportunities to help you decide on the better exchange for your trading needs. Let’s get started!
OKX vs Binance: A Glance Comparison
| Criteria | OKX | Binance |
| Who should use? | Traders and investors who want to do more than crypto trading. | Advanced and frequent traders who need access to more tools and deep liquidity. |
| Founded | 2017 | 2017 |
| Best Features | Trading bots, OKX Grow, institutional services, copy trading, and instant buy/sell. | Trading bots, Binance Earn, Binance Wallet, extensive educational resources, and launchpad. |
| Trading Instruments | Spot, futures, margin, and options trading. | Spot, futures, and options. |
| Supported Cryptos | 350+ | 500+ |
| Access to Web3 | Yes | Yes |
| Trading Fees | 0.080% maker, 0.10% taker | 0.10% maker/taker |
| Security Features | SAFU, cold storage, 2FA, and withdrawal address whitelisting. | Cold storage, semi-offline multi-signature approval, 2FA, bug bounty program. |
| NFT Marketplace | Yes | Yes |
| Native Token | OKB | BNB |
| Native Blockchain | X Layer | BNB Chain |
| Supported Devices | Android, iOS, and a web version. | Android, iOS, and a web version. |
| Regional Availability | 190 countries | 200+ countries |
| Regulatory Restrictions | Restricted in many countries, including the US, the UK, and Canada. | Restricted in many countries, including the US and Canada. |
What is OKX?
OKX is one of the largest cryptocurrency exchanges by trading volume. It was founded in 2013 by Star Xu as OKEx, and rebranded to OKX in 2022. The platform offers advanced trading services, including spot trading, derivatives trading, and access to decentralized finance (DeFi) via the OKX Wallet, serving over 20 million crypto investors across more than 190 countries.
Additionally, OKX Exchange supports various other features like copy trading to help users automatically replicate the trades of professional traders and also demo accounts, which are a simulated trading environment that allows traders, especially newcomers, to practice their trading strategies before going live with real money.
The cryptocurrency exchange is also heavily regulated with licenses in several major regions, including the UAE, EU, and Singapore. It also sponsors sporting and cultural events, like the Tribeca Film Festival and McLaren, and became Manchester City’s first crypto partner in 2022.
Pros & Cons of OKX
| Pros of OKX | Cons of OKX |
| User-friendly interface, making it suitable for both beginners and experienced traders. | No fiat off-ramp on OKX, so you cannot withdraw fiat currency directly to your bank account. |
| Low trading fees with discounts for high-volume traders (VIPs) and OKB holders. | Although OKX is unavailable in some regions, including major markets like the US and Canada. |
| Integrates a web3 wallet “OKX Wallet” that gives access to thousands of decentralized apps and protocols. | Some users report issues with onboarding, including repeated document submission for KYC verification. |
| Strong security measures, including SMS-based two-factor authentication and hardware U2F keys. | |
| OKX publishes regular proof-of-reserves audits. |
OKX is Best for:
- OKX is best for seasoned traders and those who want to do more than buy and sell. It offers access to various trading instruments such as margin, futures contracts, and options trading, along with advanced charting tools, to manage your trades.
- Comprehensive Products/Services: Alongside the exchange, offers staking, a web3 wallet that supports multiple chains and connects to other decentralized applications (dApps).
- Staking and Earning: Through OKX Earn, users can stake tokens or lock digital assets to earn rewards on their cryptocurrencies.
What is Binance?
Binance is the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, founded in 2017 by Changpeng Zhao (CZ). Six months after launch, the exchange capitalized on the growing demand for crypto trading and became the largest exchange by volume by offering a user-friendly platform with fast execution.
It’s hard to miss Binance when searching for the leading exchanges for crypto trading. The company aggressively expanded its asset listings, which attracted users from various regions. It also added various trading products, such as spot, margin, futures, options, staking, and savings, and now offers one of the most extensive crypto products and services in the cryptocurrency industry.
Currently, Binance has over 280 million users and operates in compliance with regulations in many countries, though it also faces restrictions in some regions, such as the US and UK. For US traders, the crypto exchange offers a US-regulations-compliant version, Binance.US, which gives access to some of the platform’s products and services.
Pros & Cons of Binance
| Pros of Binance | Cons of Binance |
| Competitive trading fees, including a discount for traders paying fees with Binance Coin (BNB). | Binance has faced much regulatory and legal pushback in many countries. |
| Deep liquidity ensures fast order execution with minimal slippage | The US version is limited. It is available in fewer than 38 states, supports fewer cryptocurrencies, and products. |
| An extensive suite of products, including Earn programs, a launchpad, staking features, and a web3 portal. | May be complex for beginners due to the extensive product offering and advanced trading tools. |
| Emergency SAFU for user protection | |
| Binance is among the most popular trading platforms in the crypto space. |
Binance Exchange is Best for:
- Deep Liquidity: Binance is the biggest crypto exchange by daily trading volume. This means that you can place trades and have them executed quickly with minimal slippage.
- Advanced Traders: Binance offers futures trading, margin trading, and advanced charting tools for frequent and high-risk, high-reward traders.
- The exchange also provides staking, savings, and launchpad access for users who want to earn passive income on the crypto assets.
Binance vs OKX: Trading Features
| Trading Instrument | OKX | Binance |
| Trading Markets | Futures contracts and spot trading | Spot and futures trading |
| Margin Trading | Yes | Yes |
| Leverage Trading | 125x | 125x |
| Options Trading | Yes | Yes |
| Premarket Trading | Yes | Yes |
| Convert & Block Trade | Yes | Yes |
| Trading Bots | Yes | Yes |
| Copy Trading | Yes | Yes |
| Demo Trading | Yes | Yes |
| P2P Trading | Yes | Yes |
OKX vs Binance: Platform Products and Services
What OKX Offers:
- OKX Grow: This product offers multiple ways to earn and grow your crypto portfolio. It includes Earn, crypto loans, and Jumpstart. Earn provides access to staking, savings, and DeFi yield farming opportunities and loans on OKX allow users to borrow against their crypto assets. Meanwhile, Jumpstart is a platform that gives users early access to token sales.
- Trading Bots: OKX offers trading bots that automate trades using AI-powered strategies such as grid trading, DCA (Dollar Cost Averaging), and arbitrage, allowing users to execute trades 24/7 without constant monitoring.
- Trading Instruments: OKX offers a wide range of products to suit different trading preferences and risk appetites. These include Spot Trading for buying and selling crypto, Futures for leveraged trading on long or short positions, Perpetual Swaps for speculating on price movements without expiry, Options for flexible hedging strategies, and Margin for amplifying exposure using borrowed funds.
- OKX Web3: OKX Web3 gives users access to the broader web3 world directly through the OKX Wallet. It supports multiple blockchains, giving users full control over their digital assets and access to DEXs, NFTs, DeFi protocols, and dApps without leaving the OKX environment.
What Binance Offers:
- Advanced Trading Tools: Binance offers an extensive suite of advanced trading features for professional traders. Under its “Trade” section, you can access margin trading for leveraged positions and futures trading for higher leverage. Additionally, the Convert option helps you swap tokens easily, while P2P trading allows you to make direct crypto purchases from other users via local payment methods.
- Binance Earn: Binance offers multiple earning products, including Simple Earn for flexible and locked savings, Launchpool for staking tokens to earn new token rewards, Liquidity Farming for earning from liquidity pools, and Staking for earning rewards by securing proof-of-stake (PoS) networks.
- BNB Chain: This is a native blockchain developed by Binance that powers the platform’s ecosystem. BNB Chain enables fast, low-cost transactions, and developers can build decentralized applications (dApps) and decentralized finance (DeFi) protocols on it. Binance Coin (BNB) fuels the chain, and it can be used to pay trading fees and access various products and discounts.
- Binance Wallet: The Binance Wallet is a self-custodial wallet within the Binance ecosystem that serves as a gateway to web3. It is integrated into the Binance app and is also available on Trust Wallet. The wallet supports hundreds of cryptocurrencies across multiple blockchains, enabling users to easily hold, transfer, stake, swap tokens, and interact with dApps.
OKX vs Binance: Fee Structures
| Fee | OKX Fees | Binance Fees |
| Spot Market (maker/taker) | 0.080% and 0.10% | 0.10% |
| Derivatives Market (maker/taker) | 0.020% and 0.050% | 0.020% and 0.050% |
| Options (maker/taker) | 0.030% | 0.0240% |
| Crypto Deposits | Free | Free |
| Withdrawal | Depends on the crypto and the withdrawal network. | Depends on the crypto and the withdrawal network. |
| Trading Fee Discounts | Applies to VIP users | 25% discount when paying with BNB, plus additional discounts for VIP users. |
| Zero-fee Trading Pairs | Yes | No |
Binance vs OKX: Coins Supported, Liquidity, & Volume
| Criteria | OKX | Binance |
| Supported Coins | 350+ | 500+ |
| Supported Trading Pairs | 500+ | 1500+ |
| Liquidity | High | Higher than OKX |
| Trading Volume | Avg. $3 billion | Avg. $20 billion |
| User Base | 20+ million | 280+ million |
Binance vs OKX: Security Comparison
| Feature | OKX | Binance |
| Cold Wallet Storage | Yes | Yes |
| Multi-sig Approvals | Semi-offline multi-sig wallets | Threshold signature schemes |
| 2FA | Yes | Yes |
| Withdrawal Whitelisting | Yes | Yes |
| Insurance Fund | Not explicitly stated | Yes, SAFU |
| Proof of Reserve Audits | Yes | Yes |
| Real-time Security Alerts | Integrated AI fraud detection | AI risk monitoring and anomaly detection |
| Bug Bounty | Yes | Yes |
| Regulatory Compliance | Regulated in multiple jurisdictions. | Highly regulated in multiple regions, including Japan and some European markets. |
Binance Security Measures
- User Account Security: Binance mandates 2FA for login and withdrawals and encourages users to activate other account-level security features, such as withdrawal address whitelisting, anti-phishing codes, device management, and biometric verification.
- Cold Storage: The exchange stores the majority of users’ assets in offline wallets, protecting their funds from online attacks.
- Binance Secure Asset Fund (SAFU): Binance runs the Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU), a $1 billion emergency insurance fund that reimburses affected users in the event of an exchange-level security breach.
OKX Security Measures
- Advanced Protection: OKX uses industry-standard and advanced protections, including about 95% of user funds kept in cold wallets with encrypted keys stored offline, semi-offline multi-signature approval for fund movements, and hot wallets for daily liquidity.
- User Account Security: The exchange mandates two-factor authentication (2FA) for all accounts, supports withdrawal address whitelisting, device and IP management, and provides real-time security alerts, with integrated AI-powered threat detection to detect fraudulent activity.
- OKX conducts and publishes monthly external Proof of Reserves audits with 1:1 backing.
OKX vs Binance: Affiliate & Referral Programs
| Criteria | OKX | Binance Exchange |
| Affiliate Commission | Up to 50% | Up to 40% |
| Additional Rewards/Perks | 24/7 dedicated support, partner with sub-affiliates, and earn more with more referrals. | Set how much commission to share with friends and 100 USD trading fee credit. |
| Referral Rewards (Sign up) | 10,000 USDT | 100 USDT |
| Fee Discounts | 30% | 20% |
| Valid Referral Code | 98973395 | BINANCENFTP |
| Mandatory KYC (Identity Verification). | Yes | Yes |
Pro Tip: Depending on your preferred crypto exchange, you can use the current OKX referral code or Binance referral code to join and claim exclusive rewards, bonuses, and trading discounts.
Binance vs OKX: User Experience
Binance offers tons of products and services available on the web version and the mobile app. Although the interface is clean and easy to navigate, it can be overwhelming for new users due to its extensive selection of products and services.
Spot, futures trading, multiple earning products, staking, NFT marketplace, and more are all packed into a platform dashboard. Although this gives seasoned traders easy access to all their trading needs without going to a different app, it can be overwhelming for those who are new to crypto trading.
However, if you are new or would like to learn more details about Binance, we cover the cryptocurrency exchange in more detail in this comprehensive Binance review.
OKX, on the other hand, has a smoother, more modern user experience. The design feels lighter, more intuitive, and less cluttered compared to Binance. The onboarding process is fast, and even advanced features like copy trading, trading bots, and DeFi wallets are more accessible. You can find out more about what we liked and didn’t like about OKX Exchange in this complete OKX review.
Binance vs OKX: Customer Support
Binance offers 24/7 live chat, multilingual help centre, a ticketing system, and one of the most comprehensive educational resources and Support Centres in the cryptocurrency market. However, customer support reviews from users are mixed. On user review sites, people report long waits, generic responses, or frustration when dealing with complex issues.
OKX also provides 24/7 support via live chat and a comprehensive help centre for self-help. Similar to Binance, the reviews online are mixed, and OKX has a rating of 2.2 stars on Trustpilot from over 1,400 reviews, with many complaints about funds being frozen, lack of clear explanation and poor follow-up.
Conclusion: Best Crypto Exchange Between Binance Vs OKX?
From our review, OKX and Binance are both major exchanges and strong choices for trading cryptocurrencies. Binance has a broader product lineup, more asset coverage, and provides deeper liquidity than OKX. On the flip side, OKX supports various trading features but leans more towards other investment products and offers slightly lower trading fees than Binance. So compare the two cryptocurrency exchanges and choose the best one based on your trading goals and needs.
FAQs
Is Binance a Trusted Cryptocurrency Exchange?
Yes, Binance is a trusted cryptocurrency exchange. Although the platform has faced multiple legal and regulatory issues, it has been in the crypto industry for almost a decade and has robust security measures to protect users’ funds.
What Crypto Exchange is Better than OKX?
The cryptocurrency exchanges that are good alternatives to OKX include Binance, MEXC, Bybit, Gate.io, Crypto.com and Coinbase for US traders.
Which Exchange has Lower Fees: OKX vs Binance?
OKX has slightly lower fees than Binance. OKX fees for regular users are 0.080% for makers and 0.10% for takers; meanwhile, Binance fees for the same tier are 0.100% for makers and 0.100% for takers.
Which Exchange is More Beginner-friendly: OKX or Binance?
Both exchanges will be quite complex for beginners, especially those who are completely new to crypto trading. However, if you are leaning towards an exchange with a cleaner, more intuitive interface, OKX would be suitable for you.
Binance is also a great option for beginners, as it offers a simplified mode (Lite mode) that makes initial use easier. The exchange has tons of educational resources, guides and many tutorials for beginners. You can also start with spot trading (simple buy and sell) on the cryptocurrency exchange before you proceed to more advanced strategies.
Which Crypto Exchange is More Secure: Binance vs OKX?
Binance and OKX are both highly secure exchanges. They offer a robust platform and account security features that help protect users’ assets.
What are the Deposit and Withdrawal Options on Binance and OKX?
Both Binance and OKX support crypto and fiat transactions. On Binance, you can fund your account and withdraw assets with crypto or fiat using bank transfers, cards, or P2P trades. On OKX, you can also deposit crypto directly or use bank transfers for fiat in currencies like USD and EUR. Withdrawals are available in both crypto and fiat, but the payment method depends more on your region.
