The True-Cost Index · monthly edition
True-Cost Index, September 2026.
measured by Skontro · permanent edition
What a $1,000 buy cost across 7 exchanges (dollar books), September 2026: 84,080 measurements.
The dollar edition · USD books
What a $1,000 buy cost across 7 exchanges, September 2026 — fee plus hidden spread.
| Exchange | Measurements | Avg fee | Avg hidden spread | Avg all-in | Cheapest | Dearest |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Binance | 3586 | $1.00 | $0.34 | $1.34 | 11.3% | 0.0% |
| OKX | 16104 | $1.00 | $1.62 | $2.62 | 78.3% | 0.0% |
| Kraken | 16093 | $4.00 | $0.37 | $4.37 | 6.4% | 0.1% |
| Bitstamp | 14995 | $4.00 | $0.52 | $4.52 | 3.7% | 4.3% |
| Crypto.com | 15740 | $5.00 | $1.40 | $6.40 | 0.0% | 8.3% |
| Coinbase | 15625 | $12.00 | $0.46 | $12.46 | 0.0% | 85.3% |
| Bybitthin order book · not assessed | 1198 | $0.99 | $13.12 | $14.11 | — | — |
2026-09-01 → 2026-09-30 · 84,080 measurements · Method: /true-cost/methodology
The “0% fee” check
No exchange in the set advertised a (near-)zero taker fee this period.
Sources & method
Skontro's dollar series. Each exchange is priced separately on every measured asset, then averaged into one number. 84,080 measurements in 17,894 asset-hour rounds (17,156 rankable), observed 2026-09-01 → 2026-09-30 · 99.4% of scheduled asset-hour rounds.
Basket v2: the 25-asset series (from 2026-08-01). Not assessed = a thin order book or an exchange no longer compared; shown for the record, never ranked. 372 implausible rows (fills more than 0.5% below the reference) never entered the index. Ranking is by net amount received; affiliate relationships never move a number. How “hidden spread” is measured: /true-cost/methodology. Corrections → hello@skontro.com, applied and dated visibly.
The dollar edition · USDT books
What a 1,000 USDT buy cost across 9 exchanges, September 2026 — fee plus hidden spread.
| Exchange | Measurements | Avg fee | Avg hidden spread | Avg all-in | Cheapest | Dearest |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MEXC | 17140 | 0.50 USDT | 0.74 USDT | 1.24 USDT | 75.6% | 0.0% |
| OKX | 7244 | 1.00 USDT | 0.46 USDT | 1.46 USDT | 1.1% | 0.3% |
| Binance | 17113 | 1.00 USDT | 0.62 USDT | 1.62 USDT | 5.8% | 1.4% |
| Bitget | 17126 | 1.00 USDT | 0.65 USDT | 1.65 USDT | 8.8% | 2.4% |
| Bybit | 14863 | 1.00 USDT | 0.75 USDT | 1.75 USDT | 5.5% | 1.4% |
| KuCoin | 12169 | 1.00 USDT | 0.77 USDT | 1.77 USDT | 3.2% | 3.0% |
| Kraken | 6314 | 4.00 USDT | 0.54 USDT | 4.54 USDT | 0.1% | 4.1% |
| Crypto.com | 15020 | 5.00 USDT | 1.67 USDT | 6.67 USDT | 0.0% | 35.4% |
| Coinbase | 9266 | 12.00 USDT | 2.48 USDT | 14.48 USDT | 0.0% | 52.0% |
2026-09-01 → 2026-09-30 · 116,278 measurements · Method: /true-cost/methodology
The “0% fee” check
- MEXC advertises a near-zero taker fee — measured all-in 1.24 USDT per 1,000 USDT, 0.74 USDT hidden spread.
Sources & method
Skontro's dollar series. Each exchange is priced separately on every measured asset, then averaged into one number. 116,278 measurements in 17,175 asset-hour rounds (17,152 rankable), observed 2026-09-01 → 2026-09-30 · 95.4% of scheduled asset-hour rounds.
Basket v2: the 25-asset series (from 2026-08-01). 518 implausible rows (fills more than 0.5% below the reference) never entered the index. 2 thin-book rows (spread above 20% of the order size) are left out of the averages since September. Ranking is by net amount received; affiliate relationships never move a number. How “hidden spread” is measured: /true-cost/methodology. Corrections → hello@skontro.com, applied and dated visibly.
The founding EUR series · longest continuous record
What a €1,000 buy cost across 12 exchanges, September 2026 — fee plus hidden spread.
| Exchange | Measurements | Avg fee | Avg hidden spread | Avg all-in | Cheapest | Dearest |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OKX | 17872 | €0.96 | €1.30 | €2.26 | 45.7% | 1.3% |
| MEXC | 7157 | €0.50 | €2.09 | €2.59 | 0.4% | 0.5% |
| Bitget | 6454 | €1.00 | €1.83 | €2.83 | 0.7% | 0.0% |
| KuCoin | 2872 | €1.00 | €1.85 | €2.85 | 0.6% | 0.0% |
| Bitvavo | 17062 | €2.50 | €0.66 | €3.16 | 7.5% | 0.2% |
| Binance | 14968 | €1.00 | €2.24 | €3.24 | 42.0% | 4.0% |
| Kraken | 17257 | €4.00 | €0.59 | €4.59 | 0.2% | 6.5% |
| Bitstamp | 15432 | €4.00 | €2.74 | €6.74 | 0.1% | 15.8% |
| Crypto.com | 4303 | €5.00 | €2.98 | €7.98 | 0.0% | 1.3% |
| Coinbase | 12801 | €12.00 | €1.11 | €13.11 | 0.0% | 59.6% |
| Bitpanda * | 16540 | €0.00 | €14.48 | €14.48 | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Bybitthin order book · not assessed | 6237 | €0.99 | €25.41 | €26.40 | — | — |
2026-09-01 → 2026-09-30 · 139,015 measurements · Method: /true-cost/methodology
The “0% fee” check
- MEXC advertises a near-zero taker fee — measured all-in €2.59 per €1,000, €2.09 hidden spread.
Sources & method
Skontro's founding EUR series — the longest continuous record, running on as a continuing service beside the dollar edition. Each exchange is priced separately on every measured asset, then averaged into one number. 139,015 measurements in 17,925 asset-hour rounds (17,890 rankable), observed 2026-09-01 → 2026-09-30 · 99.6% of scheduled asset-hour rounds.
Basket v2: the 25-asset series (from 2026-08-01). * = estimated, not measured: a list-price exchange with no public order book; excluded from the cheapest/dearest rounds. Not assessed = a thin order book or an exchange no longer compared; shown for the record, never ranked. 561 implausible rows (fills more than 0.5% below the reference) never entered the index. 1576 thin-book rows (spread above 20% of the order size) are left out of the averages since September. Ranking is by net amount received; affiliate relationships never move a number. How “hidden spread” is measured: /true-cost/methodology. Corrections → hello@skontro.com, applied and dated visibly.
Notes
- 2026-08-31 to 2026-09-03 12:00 UTC: no external reference price (CoinGecko outage, see August). Spreads in that window are book-top lower bounds; week-over-week comparisons across that seam are not made.
- 2026-09-03 12:00 to 2026-09-06 06:20 UTC: Bybit order books were rebuilt from delta updates without a snapshot after a cache reset in our ingest, producing phantom prices below market (buys showing negative "hidden spread"). All Bybit rows from that window were removed on 2026-09-07; no other exchange was affected the same way. From this edition on, a plausibility floor drops any row whose buy fills more than 0.5% below the reference (earlier editions stay as published), and a crossed book is never cached.
Cite: Skontro True-Cost Index, September 2026 — measured 2026-09-01 to 2026-09-30, 84,080 hourly order-book measurements, $1,000 buy. skontro.com/research/2026/09
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