Binance Review

Binance scores 7.8 out of 10 in our crypto exchange ranking, second of the four exchanges we rate. The ranking compares published trading costs only. Binance's entry-tier fee is low and its schedule is public, but the cheapest version of that fee, and every VIP level above it, depends on holding BNB, the exchange's own token. That condition is the main thing holding the score down. All figures below come from Binance's own fee pages, checked on 1 November 2026. This is desk research; we did not open or trade on an account.

How Binance scores in crypto exchanges

The exchange category has four criteria. Each is marked 0 to 10 and carries equal weight, as our ratings methodology sets out.

The overall score is the plain average: (9 + 8 + 6 + 8) / 4 = 31 / 4 = 7.75, which rounds to 7.8.

Strongest criteria: disclosure and entry cost

Fee disclosure (9). Binance's spot fee schedule is public and does not require an account to read. For each level it gives the 30-day volume threshold, the BNB balance threshold, the maker and taker rate, and the rate when fees are paid in BNB. That is the information the criterion asks for: every tier, both sides of the book, and the conditions attached. We did find one gap in the wording. The table header describes the VIP requirements as volume "and/or" BNB balance, while the VIP 1 row reads "$1M+ and 5+ BNB." A reader cannot tell for certain whether both thresholds must be met.

Entry-tier cost (8). The Regular tier applies to accounts with less than $1 million of 30-day volume, which covers almost every retail trader. At 0.100% on each side, a $1,000 spot trade costs $1 in fees whether it is a maker or a taker order. That is the second-best entry-tier mark in the category, behind only Bitfinex's zero-fee schedule. The criterion scores the rate a small trader pays, not the professional rates further down the table.

Weakest criterion: the BNB condition

Fee conditions (6). This is a measured deficiency, not a gap in evidence. Two parts of the fee structure depend on BNB:

• Paying fees in BNB cuts the Regular rate by 25%, to 0.075% on each side. A $1,000 trade then costs $0.75.
• Every level above Regular lists a minimum BNB balance next to its volume threshold, from 5 BNB at VIP 1 to 5,500 BNB at VIP 9.

Our rubric treats a discount tied to the venue's own token as a condition. To take the cheaper rate you must hold BNB, and that holding gains or loses value with the BNB price. A volatile token can easily wipe out a 0.025-percentage-point saving. That is why this mark is the lowest of Binance's four, and below Kraken and Gemini, whose discounts do not require a token. You can still trade at the Regular rate without any BNB.

Product coverage (8). This is the second criterion below 9. The spot schedule says spot, margin, Convert, Copy Trading and trading-bot volume all count toward VIP levels. A separate futures fee page covers USDⓈ-margined and coin-margined contracts and states that VIP benefits apply to all Binance products. Fees for other products sit on their own pages rather than in one combined schedule. Bitfinex's single zero-fee announcement covers spot, margin, perpetuals, securities pairs and OTC, and earns the only 10 in this criterion.

What the score does not cover

The exchange ranking deliberately leaves out custody, reserves and licensing, so the 7.8 is a cost comparison, not a safety rating. This matters right now. On 30 October 2026 Binance disclosed a security incident. Its initial investigation pointed to a compromised DevOps engineer's laptop that gave an attacker access to a service container used to submit unauthorized withdrawals. Binance estimated the impact at about $6.3 billion and said about $3 billion had been frozen on-chain. It said it found no evidence of a wallet private key leak and that it would cover all losses from its SAFU fund and company funds. Withdrawals were suspended while deposits continued. The ADGM Financial Services Regulatory Authority said the same day that it was engaging closely with Binance and monitoring the incident. By 1 November Binance's announcement page listed an update titled "Withdrawals Resume in Phases." The post-mortem Binance promised had not been published.

None of this changes a fee criterion, so the score stands. It is still a reason to treat any cost ranking as one input among several. The same goes for costs outside the trading schedule, such as spreads on instant-buy screens, card charges and network withdrawal fees. Our guide to where exchange fees hide explains how to check them.

Binance vs Bitfinex and Kraken

Binance and Kraken score the same 9 for disclosure and differ on the trade-off between price and condition. Binance is cheaper at the entry tier (8 against 5). Kraken's discounts carry no token condition (8 against 6). On equal weights, Binance's cost advantage outweighs its condition penalty by half a point. Bitfinex leads both by a clear margin because its zero-fee schedule has nothing to qualify for.

Who it suits

On cost alone, Binance's Regular tier suits small and mid-size traders who are eligible to use Binance.com, which is closed to US residents. They pay 0.100% per side without holding anything. Whether the BNB discount is worth taking depends on whether you would hold BNB anyway. If you would not, the 25% saving comes with token exposure that the fee table does not price. Anyone choosing a venue should weigh custody and the October 2026 incident separately, since this score does not measure them.