Two checks — cost and trust
Kraken vs MEXC.
Top score today:Kraken88— updated 2026-10-04
Lowest: MEXC 62/100, updated 2026-10-04 — 2 exchanges scored.
Cheaper right now:Kraken5.44 USDT— 1,000 USDT buy, measured 2026-10-04 14:48 UTC
MEXC 17.57 USDT — 12.13 USDT more for the same buy.
Moments and sizes change the answer — the live comparison recomputes for your exact trade.
Kraken
- Published fee (maker / taker)
- 0.25% / 0.40%
- Reliability Score
- 88 / 100
- Measured cost · 1,000 USDT BTC buy
- 5.44 USDT
- You get
- 0.01168482 BTC
- Of which hidden spread
- 0.16 USDT
- BTC withdrawal
- 1.28 USDT (0.000015 BTC)
live orderbook · 110s old at measurement · via USDT
Open Kraken ↗neutral link
MEXC
- Published fee (maker / taker)
- 0.00% / 0.05%
- Reliability Score
- 62 / 100
- Measured cost · 1,000 USDT BTC buy
- 17.57 USDT
- You get
- 0.01154218 BTC
- Of which hidden spread
- 0.05 USDT
- BTC withdrawal
- 17.02 USDT (0.0002 BTC)
live orderbook · 51s old at measurement · via USDT
Open MEXC ↗affiliate link
Sources & method
- Cost = live public orderbook walked for the exact 1,000 USDT 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 → · Kraken record → · MEXC record →
Questions, answered
Is Kraken or MEXC cheaper for buying Bitcoin?
At 2026-10-04 14:48 UTC, a 1,000 USDT Bitcoin buy cost 5.44 USDT all-in on Kraken versus 17.57 USDT on MEXC — fee plus measured spread.
Is Kraken or MEXC safer?
No safety verdicts — on Skontro's sourced Reliability Score, Kraken 88/100 (updated 2026-10-04) and MEXC 62/100 (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.