Crypto ExchangesReview
Binance Review: Cheap Fees Weighed Against a Long Rap Sheet
We checked Binance's live spot fee schedule and trading interface against its BNB discount and VIP tiers, then set the resulting savings against a $4.3 billion settlement, an exit from several countries and a US arm that still cannot offer everything the main platform does.
Our verdict
Binance's 0.10% base spot fee, cut further with BNB or trading volume, undercuts most rivals we have tested, and the order books we watched on major pairs are as deep as any exchange in this category. That price comes bundled with a $4.3 billion 2023 settlement over sanctions and Bank Secrecy Act violations, exits from the UK, Netherlands and Canada, and a separate, more limited Binance.US for American residents, so the low fees only tell half the story.
Best for: Active traders outside the US who want low fees and deep liquidity and accept the regulatory baggage
- Price
- Free account; trading fees from 0.1%
- Made by
- Binance
What we liked
- Base spot fee of 0.10% maker and taker beats most mainstream exchanges
- Paying fees in BNB cuts that rate by a further 25%
- VIP tiers fall as low as 0.025% maker and 0.031% taker at high volume
- Order books on major pairs like BTC/USDT stay deep even during fast moves
What held it back
- A $4.3 billion settlement in 2023 covered sanctions and Bank Secrecy Act violations
- Binance exited the UK, Netherlands and Canada after regulatory action in each
- Binance.US operates separately with no perpetual futures and state-by-state limits
- MiCA rules forced USDT off EEA spot pairs for European users in March 2025
We pulled Binance's live fee schedule, watched the BTC/USDT order book during a fast afternoon move and read through the settlement documents that explain why the exchange looks different depending on which country you're sitting in.
The fee schedule is genuinely hard to beat
Binance's base spot tier charges 0.10% maker and 0.10% taker, a rate that already sits below Coinbase's standard tier and matches or beats most exchanges we cover. Pay those fees in BNB and Binance knocks a further 25% off, dropping an active retail trader's effective rate close to 0.075%. Climb the nine-level VIP ladder on volume and BNB holdings and the top tier falls to 0.025% maker and 0.031% taker, numbers built for market makers rather than a weekend trader but visible to anyone on the public schedule (binance.com/en/fee/trading).
Liquidity you can actually see moving
Numbers on a fee page mean little without volume behind them. We opened the BTC/USDT spot chart during an ordinary afternoon and watched the order book absorb market orders without the price jumping the way it does on thinner exchanges. That depth is Binance's real competitive edge over smaller platforms: cheap fees only matter if there is enough liquidity on the other side of your trade to fill it at the price you expected.
The $4.3 billion reason to read the fine print
In November 2023, Binance agreed to a $4.3 billion settlement with the US Department of Justice, FinCEN, OFAC and the CFTC, covering Bank Secrecy Act violations and unlicensed money transmission dating back to 2017. Binance also publishes quarterly Proof of Reserves data, showing balances like a 100.16% BTC ratio and 102.91% USDT ratio at the audit we checked, a transparency step that predates the settlement but has become more visible since.
Specifications
- Account cost
- Free to open
- Base spot fee
- 0.10% maker / 0.10% taker
- BNB discount
- 25% off trading fees when paid in BNB
- Top VIP tier fee
- 0.025% maker / 0.031% taker (VIP 5, $150M+ volume)
- 2023 settlement
- $4.3 billion, DOJ, FinCEN, OFAC and CFTC
- US access
- Binance.US only, spot and staking, no perpetual futures
- EU stablecoin rule
- USDT removed from EEA spot pairs in March 2025 under MiCA
