Two checks — cost and trust
Bitstamp vs Kraken.
Top score today:Kraken88— updated 2026-10-04
Lowest: Bitstamp 75/100, updated 2026-10-04 — 2 exchanges scored.
Cheaper right now:Bitstamp$4.20— $1,000 buy, measured 2026-10-04 14:48 UTC
Kraken $5.26 — $1.06 more for the same buy.
Moments and sizes change the answer — the live comparison recomputes for your exact trade.
Bitstamp
- Published fee (maker / taker)
- 0.30% / 0.40%
- Reliability Score
- 75 / 100
- Measured cost · $1,000 BTC buy
- $4.20
- You get
- 0.01169931 BTC
- Of which hidden spread
- $0.20
- BTC withdrawal
- not published — excluded
live orderbook · 50s old at measurement
Open Bitstamp ↗neutral link
Kraken
- Published fee (maker / taker)
- 0.25% / 0.40%
- Reliability Score
- 88 / 100
- Measured cost · $1,000 BTC buy
- $5.26
- You get
- 0.01168686 BTC
- Of which hidden spread
- -$0.02
- BTC withdrawal
- $1.28 (0.000015 BTC)
live orderbook · 20s old at measurement
Open Kraken ↗neutral link
Sources & method
- Cost = live public orderbook walked for the exact $1,000 order + published base-tier fee + published withdrawal fee; ranked by what you receive.
- Reliability Score: sourced and dated, never part of the cost ranking; affiliate links never influence either.
- Cost method → · Score method → · Bitstamp record → · Kraken record →
Questions, answered
Is Bitstamp or Kraken cheaper for buying Bitcoin?
At 2026-10-04 14:48 UTC, a $1,000 Bitcoin buy cost $4.20 all-in on Bitstamp versus $5.26 on Kraken — fee plus measured spread.
Is Bitstamp or Kraken safer?
No safety verdicts — on Skontro's sourced Reliability Score, Bitstamp 75/100 (updated 2026-10-04) and Kraken 88/100 (updated 2026-10-04) — Kraken scores higher.
More comparisons
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Not investment advice. Skontro is not a CASP under MiCAR. Reliability Scores are information, not recommendations: every negative datapoint is dated and sourced, the methodology is public, and no exchange can pay to change a score.