Cheapest exchange this week
Binance · $1.42 all-in avg
$1,000 buy avg · this week
What "0% fee" really costs
MEXC +€1.40 vs cheapest
all-in cost gap (EUR) · latest round
Cheapest way to move USDT at Binance
cheapest: BNB Chain 0.01 USDT · priciest: Tron 1.5 USDT
withdrawal fee · curated
Top reliability score right now
Kraken 88
sourced & dated · never bought
Original research · the True-Cost Index
What a trade really costs.
measured by Skontro — the same engine that serves every public comparison · monthly index + weekly find from the full measurement record · same engine as every public comparison
43,767 measurements across 8 venues on dollar books, hourly, August 2026 — what a $1,000 buy really costs: fee plus the measured order-book spread.
01 · This week — USD books
The weekly find, in dollars.
The same rolling-week measurements the Monday letter is built from — Skontro's dollar series.
Cheapest measured — full basket
Binance
$1.42 all-in
Most expensive measured — full basket
Coinbase
$12.30 all-in · 8.6× the cheapest
“Full basket” above averages every asset measured this week. A week-over-week line below compares only the narrower basket both weeks share — so the same venue can honestly carry two different all-in figures.
The measured "cheapest venue" title changed hands 653 times this week across 6 venues (4032 hourly rounds assessed) — cheapest is a moving target.
The widest measured venue gap this week was on ETH: a $1,000 buy averaged $1.15 all-in at OKX vs $16.00 at Bybit — 14.0× apart over 168 paired hourly measurements.
Week over week, OKX's measured average all-in cost per $1,000 buy moved from $16.92 to $4.86 (-71.3%, 3843 vs 3864 measurements, same 25-asset basket both weeks).
Window: 2026-08-09 → 2026-08-16 · 19,749 measurements. Estimated venues excluded from this section. Method: /true-cost/methodology.
01 · This week — USDT books
The weekly find, in USDT.
The same rolling-week measurements the Monday letter is built from — Skontro's dollar series (deep stablecoin books, never blended with the USD group).
Cheapest measured — full basket
Bybit
1.49 USDT all-in
Most expensive measured — full basket
Coinbase
15.20 USDT all-in · 10.2× the cheapest
“Full basket” above averages every asset measured this week. A week-over-week line below compares only the narrower basket both weeks share — so the same venue can honestly carry two different all-in figures.
The “0% fee” check: MEXC advertises a (near-)zero taker fee — measured average all-in this week: 1.67 USDT (1.17 USDT of it hidden spread).
The measured "cheapest venue" title changed hands 541 times this week across 5 venues (4032 hourly rounds assessed) — cheapest is a moving target.
The widest measured venue gap this week was on NEAR: a 1,000 USDT buy averaged 0.75 USDT all-in at MEXC vs 14.12 USDT at Coinbase — 18.7× apart over 168 paired hourly measurements.
Week over week, Bybit's measured average all-in cost per 1,000 USDT buy moved from 2.12 USDT to 1.49 USDT (-29.8%, 3844 vs 3862 measurements, same 24-asset basket both weeks).
Window: 2026-08-09 → 2026-08-16 · 24,863 measurements. Estimated venues excluded from this section. Method: /true-cost/methodology.
01 · This week — EUR, the founding service
The weekly find, founding EUR series.
The same rolling-week measurements the Monday letter is built from — Skontro's founding EUR series, the longest continuous record we have, running on as a service.
Cheapest measured — full basket
OKX
€1.53 all-in
Most expensive measured — full basket
Bybit
€16.75 all-in · 10.9× the cheapest
“Full basket” above averages every asset measured this week. A week-over-week line below compares only the narrower basket both weeks share — so the same venue can honestly carry two different all-in figures.
The “0% fee” check: MEXC advertises a (near-)zero taker fee — measured average all-in this week: €2.71 (€2.21 of it hidden spread).
The measured "cheapest venue" title changed hands 1155 times this week across 9 venues (4200 hourly rounds assessed) — cheapest is a moving target.
The widest measured venue gap this week was on SHIB: a €1,000 buy averaged €2.14 all-in at OKX vs €129.51 at Bybit — 60.5× apart over 162 paired hourly measurements.
Week over week, Binance's measured average all-in cost per €1,000 buy moved from €2.52 to €3.26 (+29.3%, 3507 vs 3528 measurements, same 25-asset basket both weeks).
Window: 2026-08-09 → 2026-08-16 · 33,004 measurements. Estimated venues excluded from this section. Method: /true-cost/methodology.
02 · Monthly index
The dollar edition — month to date · USD books
What a $1,000 buy cost — priced separately on every measured asset, then averaged into one number per venue — across 8 venues during the observed period in August 2026 · month to date — fee plus the hidden order-book spread, sampled hourly. Skontro's dollar series. 43,767 measurements in 9,344 asset-hour rounds (8,968 rankable), observed 2026-08-01 → 2026-08-16 · 98.9% of scheduled asset-hour rounds so far (period still running). Ranking is by net amount received; affiliate relationships never move a number.
| Venue | Measurements | Avg fee | Avg hidden spread | Avg all-in | Cheapest | Dearest |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Binance | 1613 | $1.00 | $0.48 | $1.48 | 8.0% | 0.1% |
| Kraken | 8653 | $4.00 | $0.19 | $4.19 | 21.1% | 0.2% |
| Bitstamp | 3206 | $4.00 | $0.90 | $4.90 | 3.3% | 1.7% |
| Crypto.com | 8242 | $5.00 | $1.10 | $6.10 | 0.0% | 4.8% |
| OKX | 8673 | $1.00 | $9.20 | $10.19 | 64.7% | 3.4% |
| Coinbase | 8283 | $12.00 | $0.35 | $12.35 | 0.0% | 58.5% |
| Gemini | 3965 | $12.00 | $1.13 | $13.13 | 1.7% | 28.4% |
| Bybit | 755 | $1.00 | $20.22 | $21.22 | 1.0% | 2.8% |
2026-08-01 → 2026-08-16 · 43,767 measurements · Method: /true-cost/methodology
The “0% fee” check
No venue in the set advertised a (near-)zero taker fee this period.
Basket v2: the 25-asset series (from 2026-08-01). How “hidden spread” is measured: /true-cost/methodology. Corrections → hello@skontro.com, applied and dated visibly.
The dollar edition — month to date · USDT books
What a 1,000 USDT buy cost — priced separately on every measured asset, then averaged into one number per venue — across 9 venues during the observed period in August 2026 · month to date — fee plus the hidden order-book spread, sampled hourly. Skontro's dollar series. 52,298 measurements in 8,969 asset-hour rounds (8,969 rankable), observed 2026-08-01 → 2026-08-16 · 94.9% of scheduled asset-hour rounds so far (period still running). Ranking is by net amount received; affiliate relationships never move a number.
| Venue | Measurements | Avg fee | Avg hidden spread | Avg all-in | Cheapest | Dearest |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MEXC | 7755 | 0.50 USDT | 1.15 USDT | 1.65 USDT | 73.0% | 0.0% |
| Bybit | 8672 | 1.00 USDT | 0.80 USDT | 1.80 USDT | 20.3% | 2.4% |
| OKX | 3773 | 1.00 USDT | 1.01 USDT | 2.01 USDT | 2.5% | 0.6% |
| Bitget | 7755 | 1.00 USDT | 1.19 USDT | 2.19 USDT | 2.8% | 4.3% |
| Binance | 7731 | 1.00 USDT | 1.22 USDT | 2.22 USDT | 1.1% | 0.6% |
| Kraken | 3381 | 4.00 USDT | 1.17 USDT | 5.17 USDT | 0.0% | 4.1% |
| Crypto.com | 7920 | 5.00 USDT | 2.17 USDT | 7.17 USDT | 0.0% | 34.4% |
| Gemini | 421 | 12.00 USDT | -0.34 USDT | 11.66 USDT | 0.3% | 1.8% |
| Coinbase | 4890 | 12.00 USDT | 3.30 USDT | 15.30 USDT | 0.0% | 51.8% |
2026-08-01 → 2026-08-16 · 52,298 measurements · Method: /true-cost/methodology
The “0% fee” check
- MEXC advertises a (near-)zero taker fee — measured average all-in cost: 1.65 USDT per 1,000 USDT, 1.15 USDT of it hidden spread. The fee is not the price.
Basket v2: the 25-asset series (from 2026-08-01). How “hidden spread” is measured: /true-cost/methodology. Corrections → hello@skontro.com, applied and dated visibly.
The founding EUR series — continuing service, longest continuous record
What a €1,000 buy cost — priced separately on every measured asset, then averaged into one number per venue — across 11 venues during the observed period in June 2026 · partial observed period — fee plus the hidden order-book spread, sampled hourly. Skontro's founding series — the longest continuous record — now running as a continuing service alongside the dollar edition. 12,380 measurements in 1,448 asset-hour rounds (1,448 rankable), observed 2026-06-23 → 2026-06-30 · 25.1% of scheduled asset-hour rounds (partial calendar-month coverage). Ranking is by net amount received; affiliate relationships never move a number.
| Venue | Measurements | Avg fee | Avg hidden spread | Avg all-in | Cheapest | Dearest |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Binance | 1448 | €1.00 | €0.39 | €1.39 | 85.9% | 0.0% |
| OKX | 1448 | €1.00 | €0.95 | €1.95 | 9.9% | 0.0% |
| Bitget | 905 | €1.00 | €1.16 | €2.16 | 2.0% | 0.0% |
| MEXC | 1267 | €0.50 | €2.17 | €2.67 | 1.7% | 0.2% |
| KuCoin | 362 | €1.00 | €2.65 | €3.65 | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Kraken | 1448 | €4.00 | €0.30 | €4.30 | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Crypto.com | 1086 | €5.00 | €3.26 | €8.26 | 0.0% | 2.6% |
| Bybit | 1269 | €1.00 | €7.45 | €8.45 | 0.5% | 5.2% |
| Coinbase | 1448 | €12.00 | €0.56 | €12.56 | 0.0% | 75.0% |
| Bitpanda * | 1448 | €0.00 | €14.07 | €14.07 | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Gemini | 251 | €12.00 | €7.63 | €19.63 | 0.0% | 17.0% |
2026-06-23 → 2026-06-30 · 12,380 measurements · Method: /true-cost/methodology
The “0% fee” check
- MEXC advertises a (near-)zero taker fee — measured average all-in cost: €2.67 per €1,000, €2.17 of it hidden spread. The fee is not the price.
Basket v1: the founding 8-asset series. * = estimated, not measured: a list-price venue with no public order book; excluded from the cheapest/dearest rounds. How “hidden spread” is measured: /true-cost/methodology. Corrections → hello@skontro.com, applied and dated visibly.
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