Gemini Review

Gemini scores 6.3 out of 10 and ranks fourth of four in our crypto exchange ranking, which compares published trading costs. Its fee mechanism is clean: tiers depend on volume or balance, and no token is needed. The score is held down by the price a small account pays at the start of the ActiveTrader schedule, 0.600% maker and 1.200% taker. Those are the highest entry rates of the four venues we rate. Figures were checked against Gemini's own fee pages on 1 November 2026. This is desk research; no account was opened or traded.

How Gemini scores in crypto exchanges

Exchanges are marked on four criteria. Each is scored 0 to 10, and all four carry equal weight under our ratings methodology.

The overall score is the plain average: (8 + 2 + 8 + 7) / 4 = 25 / 4 = 6.25, which rounds to 6.3. Product coverage rose from 6 to 7 at this check, after the ActiveTrader schedule effective 1 September 2026 added derivatives fees and margin interest to the spot rates; the previous overall score was 6.0.

Strongest criteria: disclosure and conditions

Fee disclosure (8). The ActiveTrader and API fee schedule, effective 1 September 2026, lists all 13 spot tiers with both maker and taker rates. It also gives the balance thresholds that can substitute for volume and the zero-fee stablecoin pairs. Derivatives fees and margin interest rates are on the same page. The gap is on the other side of the account. The Gemini app fee schedule, effective 15 February 2026, publishes no fixed fee or spread for instant and recurring orders. It says fees are calculated per order and that the quoted price includes a spread that Gemini may keep. You see the cost on the review screen before confirming, but you cannot compare it in advance from the published page.

Fee conditions (8). Your tier is set by your trailing 30-day volume or your total USD asset balance. If the two point to different tiers, the higher one applies, and tiers are recalculated daily. No exchange token is involved. The mark matches Kraken's and is two points above Binance's, whose discount and VIP levels require holding BNB. It stays below Bitfinex's 10, because lower rates still depend on reaching a threshold.

Weakest criteria: entry cost and coverage

Entry-tier cost (2). This is a measured deficiency, and it decides Gemini's position. At the entry tier, a $1,000 order that fills immediately pays the 1.200% taker fee, which is $12. The same order resting on the book as a maker order pays $6. Buying and then selling $1,000 with taker orders costs $24 in fees before any price movement. The next tier, at $10,000 of 30-day volume or a $1 million balance, cuts this to 0.400% maker and 0.800% taker, so an occasional trader will rarely leave the entry tier. Our rubric deliberately scores the rate that small accounts pay, not the 0.000% maker rate reached at $250 million of volume. The stablecoin pairs RLUSD/USD, USDC/GUSD and GUSD/USD trade at 0% and are the exception.

Product coverage (7). The current schedule covers spot pairs, stablecoin pairs and a derivatives section. Derivatives start at 0.02% maker and 0.07% taker, charged in GUSD. The schedule also gives hourly margin interest, for example 0.003% per hour on USD, and a 0.5% liquidation fee. OTC trading is not priced on the schedule. That puts three of the four markets the criterion lists on one published page: spot, margin and derivatives. Kraken's schedule has the same coverage and gets the same 7. The mark rose from 6, which was set on 24 July 2026, because the schedule now in force took effect on 1 September 2026 and adds these sections. It stays below Binance's 8 and Bitfinex's 10.

What the score does not cover

Custody, reserves and licensing are outside the exchange ranking, so 6.3 is a cost score, not a safety assessment. Availability is not scored either, but it has changed. Gemini's quarterly report to the SEC for the period ended 31 March 2026 says the company announced on 5 February 2026 that it would wind down operations in the United Kingdom, the European Union, other European jurisdictions and Australia. Readers in those regions should treat this review as describing a service they may no longer be able to use. They should check Gemini's notices for their region. Transfer fees, such as card deposits and wire withdrawals, sit on a separate schedule and are not part of the score.

Gemini vs Kraken and Binance

The nearest comparison is Kraken, which also ties discounts to volume rather than a token and earns the same 8 for conditions. Kraken leads by 1.0 point. The gap is entry cost (5 against 2) and one point on disclosure; the two now tie on coverage. Binance scores lower than Gemini on conditions (6 against 8) but far higher on entry cost (8 against 2).

Who it suits

On published costs, Gemini's ActiveTrader pricing suits accounts that qualify for a lower tier through volume or a large balance. It also suits traders who mostly use the zero-fee stablecoin pairs. For a small account paying entry rates, the fee is the highest in this comparison, so cost-focused readers should compare the review screen against ActiveTrader before trading. Our guide to maker, taker and spread costs explains the difference.