Exchange reviews — every venue we have actually used, centralised and decentralised
Which centralised exchange should you open a first account with?
Binance, OKX or Bybit — all three charge a new account 0.1% or less on spot and 0.02% maker on perpetuals, so the choice is about what each does best: the deepest spot book (Binance), the lowest spot maker fee at 0.08% (OKX) or the best demo account (Bybit).
CEXBinance
Known for: Deepest spot order book on major pairs
Spot 0.1% / 0.1% · perps 0.02% / 0.05%
Read the review →
CEXOKX
Known for: Cleanest derivatives screen; lowest spot maker fee of the majors
Spot 0.08% / 0.1% · perps 0.02% / 0.05%
Read the review →
CEXBybit
Known for: Best demo account; readable derivatives
Spot 0.1% / 0.1% · perps 0.02% / 0.055%
Read the review →
Same numbers, side by side: the fee calculator runs your own size across all three; the matcher asks five questions and picks one; the first-account page says which we would open first and why; and the three phone apps, measured — install size, oldest iOS supported and how often each screen changes. On cost alone, which of the three is really the lowest-fee venue depends on how much you are moving, and the crossover is about $1,500.
When does a decentralised venue make sense?
When you would rather hold the keys yourself. On the five venues below the coins stay in your own wallet, and on fees Hyperliquid charges 0.015% maker / 0.045% taker on perpetuals, against 0.02% / 0.05% at Binance and OKX.
DEXHyperliquid
Known for: On-chain perpetuals L1; leverage checked only when the position opens; max 3–40x by asset
Spot 0.04% / 0.07% · perps 0.015% / 0.045%
Read the review →
DEXAster
Known for: Four products in one venue: Pro order-book perps (0% maker / 0.04% taker), Shield Mode, 1001x, and spot; hidden orders keep size and PnL off public feeds
Fees: see the review
Read the review →
dYdX
Known for: Longest-running perp DEX; every parameter is governance-adjustable; effective initial margin scales with the market's total open interest outside the large-cap tier
Fees: see the review
Read the review →
DEXpump.fun
Known for: Memecoin launchpad; nobody screens anything
Fees: see the review
Read the review →
DEXFOMO
Known for: Social memecoin trading app with leaderboards
Fees: see the review
Read the review →
Read DEX vs CEX first if you have never held a seed phrase; the DEX guide sorts venues by the job they do and says who should not use one yet.
Deeper on one venue: Binance fees explained — every bill on a $10,000 trade, including the 1.25% liquidation clearance fee that no fee page shows; Binance Demo Trading — where the old Futures testnet went, and the four things a demo cannot rehearse; and Hyperliquid fees explained — the same $10,000 on the self-custody side, with the HYPE discount priced honestly.
How do the exchanges compare head to head?
Each comparison takes two venues and answers one question — usually which to open first. Binance vs Bybit is depth against the best demo; Binance vs OKX is depth against the 0.08% spot maker fee.
Regular-tier fees on this page, side by side
| Venue | Type | Spot maker / taker | Perps maker / taker | Known for | Fees read |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Binance | CEX | 0.1% / 0.1% | 0.02% / 0.05% | Deepest spot order book on major pairs | 4 Sep 2026 |
| OKX | CEX | 0.08% / 0.1% | 0.02% / 0.05% | Lowest spot maker fee of the majors | 4 Sep 2026 |
| Bybit | CEX | 0.1% / 0.1% | 0.02% / 0.055% | Best demo account | 4 Sep 2026 |
| Hyperliquid | DEX | 0.04% / 0.07% | 0.015% / 0.045% | On-chain perpetuals; you hold the keys | 30 Aug 2026 |
Regular-tier fees, read from each venue’s own schedule on the date shown. On a $10,000 spot buy, 0.1% taker is $10.
Binance vs Bybit
The deepest book against the best demo — which to open first.
OKX vs Bybit
The clean screen against the readable one, for a reader learning perpetuals.
Binance vs OKX
Depth or the 0.08% spot maker fee; for EEA readers only one is available.
Binance vs Coinbase Advanced
Ten published fee tiers against a sign-in wall; no overlap in the US, UK or EEA.
DEX vs CEX
Who holds the keys, and everything that follows from it.
Every venue we track
20 exchanges in one sortable table — regular-tier fees with dated sources, leverage, identity rules, demo accounts and regional availability, for the venues we have reviewed and the ones we have only read. Filter by where you live before anything else.
How do we review an exchange?
By opening it and dating every number: fees, leverage caps and limits are read from the venue’s own pages without signing in, and every review names the reader the venue is wrong for.
Numbers with a date
Every fee, leverage cap and limit is read from the venue’s own pages without signing in, and the source and date sit next to it. If we could not read it, the cell is empty — not borrowed from another site.
Screens we opened
Verification, withdrawals, whitelist and anti-phishing settings, the TP/SL panel — read from the venue’s own help centre and written down with the exact labels. That is where the expensive surprises live, and no fee table shows them.
Who should not use it
Every review names the reader the venue is wrong for. A page that only praises is a thin affiliate page; a page that tells you when to walk away is one you can trust when it tells you to stay.
Which exchange should we review next?
We pick by demand. Name the venue you want opened screen by screen — and, if you like, why.
Requests are read weekly. We store the text you type and nothing else — no email needed.
Which exchange did you open your first account with? One tap — it helps the next reader see what people actually chose, not what a ranking says.
Counts come from readers of this site. They are a picture of who reads here, not a measure of which venue is better.
FAQ
How does TradingPrimer review an exchange?
By opening it: verification, withdrawals, the security switches and the order form, read from the venue's own help pages without signing in, with every fee dated and sourced. Each review names the reader the venue is wrong for. There are no stars and no ranking.
Are the reviews affected by referral links?
Referral buttons appear on reviews, but the venue with the most generous programme is not described more kindly, and a venue that stops being worth recommending is removed from the site rather than softened.
Which exchanges are reviewed so far?
Binance, OKX and Bybit among centralised exchanges; Hyperliquid, Aster, pump.fun and FOMO among decentralised venues. Twenty venues in total are tracked in the directory with verified regular-tier fees.