Cheapest Place To Buy Crypto: What $1,000 Really Costs On Each Exchange

How We Measure The Cost

For each coin, the collector asks every exchange in the table for its current order book and works out what $1,000 would buy at the best available asking prices. It compares that with the Cult of Money Price, our volume-weighted average across exchanges, and adds the exchange's lowest-tier taker fee, the fee for an order that fills right away. The difference is your total cost in dollars.

A few rules keep the numbers fair:

• Lowest public fee tier. We use the fee a new customer pays, not a discount for high-volume traders or for holding the exchange's token.
• Advanced screens only. Most exchanges have a simple app and a separate trading screen with lower costs. We measure the trading screen, which any customer can use.
• No test buys. We measure from public order books and published fees. Apps that build an unpublished spread into the price, such as Robinhood, Cash App and PayPal, aren't scored.
• Region labels. Each row shows where the exchange serves customers, so readers outside the US can find their own cheapest option.

The full method, including how outlier quotes are dropped, is on our price methodology page. The same cost readings make up a quarter of each exchange's Cult of Money Exchange Score.

What Moves The Cost

The trading fee. On Nov. 1, 2026, the lowest published taker fees ranged from 0.02% at Binance.US to 1.20% at Gemini, with Kraken at 0.80% and Coinbase Advanced at 0.90%. On $1,000, that's 20 cents versus $12.

The spread. Busy markets like bitcoin and ether trade with almost no gap between the best buy and sell prices. Smaller coins and smaller exchanges can have spreads of 0.5% or more, which adds $5 to every $1,000.

Order size. A $1,000 order fills at the best price on most exchanges. Much larger orders reach deeper into the order book and pay more, so check the live price before you place a big trade.

How you buy. Paying by debit card, using an app's instant "Buy" button or buying through a broker usually adds costs that this table doesn't include.

Cheapest Is Not Always Best

Cost is one part of choosing an exchange. An exchange with a low fee may have a weaker safety record, limited withdrawals or no service where you live. Our best crypto exchanges ranking weighs cost against safety, reserves, reliability, withdrawals, coin selection and ease of use.

Two examples from the table:

• Bitstamp was among the cheaper options in our Nov. 1 readings, but its US service stops taking new deposits and purchases on Feb. 1, 2027. See our Bitstamp review.
• Global OKX posts low costs, but US residents have to use OKX US, a separate platform with a 0.35% taker fee. See our OKX review.

FAQ

What Is The Cheapest Place To Buy Bitcoin?

In our Nov. 1, 2026 readings, Binance.US had the lowest cost to buy $1,000 of bitcoin among US exchanges, about $0.68, followed by global OKX at about $1.08. Switch the table above to Live Now to see today's order, which changes as fees and spreads move.

Why Is Coinbase More Expensive Than Other Exchanges?

Coinbase Advanced's lowest-tier taker fee is 0.90%, one of the highest among major exchanges, so $1,000 of bitcoin cost about $8.83 there on Nov. 1, 2026. Fees fall as your monthly trading volume rises.

Does This Include Withdrawal Fees?

No. The table covers the cost to buy. Moving coins off an exchange can add a network fee that depends on the coin and the exchange. Check the exchange's fee page before you withdraw.

How Often Is The Table Updated?

Our collector reads order books every minute. The table opens on our dated measurement, which is the reading our Exchange Scores use, and Live Now shows current order books. We recheck each exchange's fee page monthly, because a fee change moves its cost and its Exchange Score.