Cheapest exchange this week
Binance · $1.42 all-in avg
$1,000 buy avg · this week
What "0% fee" really costs
MEXC +€1.47 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
44,005 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 656 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 $1.14 all-in at OKX vs $16.33 at Bybit — 14.3× apart over 168 paired hourly measurements.
Week over week, OKX's measured average all-in cost per $1,000 buy moved from $16.91 to $4.90 (-71.0%, 3843 vs 3864 measurements, same 25-asset basket both weeks).
Window: 2026-08-09 → 2026-08-16 · 19,753 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 543 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 0.72 USDT all-in at MEXC vs 14.08 USDT at Coinbase — 19.5× apart over 168 paired hourly measurements.
Week over week, Bybit's measured average all-in cost per 1,000 USDT buy moved from 2.11 USDT to 1.49 USDT (-29.4%, 3844 vs 3862 measurements, same 24-asset basket both weeks).
Window: 2026-08-09 → 2026-08-16 · 24,859 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
€1.48 all-in
Most expensive measured — full basket
Bybit
€16.69 all-in · 11.3× 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: €2.66 (€2.16 of it hidden spread).
The measured "cheapest venue" title changed hands 1161 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 €2.08 all-in at OKX vs €128.92 at Bybit — 62.1× apart over 162 paired hourly measurements.
Week over week, Binance's measured average all-in cost per €1,000 buy moved from €2.43 to €3.21 (+32.2%, 3507 vs 3528 measurements, same 25-asset basket both weeks).
Window: 2026-08-09 → 2026-08-16 · 33,090 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. 44,005 measurements in 9,394 asset-hour rounds (9,016 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 | 1623 | $1.00 | $0.48 | $1.48 | 8.0% | 0.1% |
| Kraken | 8699 | $4.00 | $0.19 | $4.19 | 21.1% | 0.2% |
| Bitstamp | 3248 | $4.00 | $0.89 | $4.89 | 3.4% | 1.7% |
| Crypto.com | 8286 | $5.00 | $1.10 | $6.10 | 0.0% | 4.8% |
| OKX | 8719 | $1.00 | $9.18 | $10.18 | 64.7% | 3.4% |
| Coinbase | 8327 | $12.00 | $0.35 | $12.35 | 0.0% | 58.7% |
| Gemini | 3965 | $12.00 | $1.13 | $13.13 | 1.7% | 28.3% |
| Bybit | 759 | $1.00 | $20.23 | $21.23 | 1.0% | 2.8% |
2026-08-01 → 2026-08-16 · 44,005 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. 52,594 measurements in 9,017 asset-hour rounds (9,017 rankable), observed 2026-08-01 → 2026-08-16 · 95.0% 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 | 7803 | 0.50 USDT | 1.15 USDT | 1.65 USDT | 73.0% | 0.0% |
| Bybit | 8718 | 1.00 USDT | 0.80 USDT | 1.80 USDT | 20.3% | 2.4% |
| OKX | 3793 | 1.00 USDT | 1.02 USDT | 2.02 USDT | 2.5% | 0.6% |
| Bitget | 7803 | 1.00 USDT | 1.19 USDT | 2.19 USDT | 2.8% | 4.3% |
| Binance | 7779 | 1.00 USDT | 1.22 USDT | 2.22 USDT | 1.1% | 0.6% |
| Kraken | 3399 | 4.00 USDT | 1.17 USDT | 5.17 USDT | 0.0% | 4.1% |
| Crypto.com | 7962 | 5.00 USDT | 2.16 USDT | 7.16 USDT | 0.0% | 34.4% |
| Gemini | 421 | 12.00 USDT | -0.34 USDT | 11.66 USDT | 0.3% | 1.7% |
| Coinbase | 4916 | 12.00 USDT | 3.30 USDT | 15.30 USDT | 0.0% | 51.8% |
2026-08-01 → 2026-08-16 · 52,594 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 July 2026 — 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. 50,463 measurements in 5,952 asset-hour rounds (5,952 rankable), observed 2026-07-01 → 2026-07-31 · 100.0% of scheduled asset-hour rounds. 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 | 5920 | €1.00 | €0.66 | €1.66 | 70.2% | 0.0% |
| OKX | 5960 | €1.00 | €0.88 | €1.88 | 20.8% | 0.0% |
| Bitget | 3725 | €1.00 | €1.39 | €2.39 | 2.1% | 0.0% |
| MEXC | 4813 | €0.50 | €1.91 | €2.41 | 2.4% | 0.2% |
| KuCoin | 1490 | €1.00 | €2.92 | €3.92 | 0.1% | 0.0% |
| Kraken | 5960 | €4.00 | €0.52 | €4.52 | 0.2% | 0.0% |
| Crypto.com | 4470 | €5.00 | €2.52 | €7.52 | 0.0% | 1.9% |
| Bybit | 5502 | €1.00 | €8.08 | €9.08 | 3.4% | 5.7% |
| Coinbase | 5960 | €12.00 | €0.81 | €12.81 | 0.0% | 80.9% |
| Bitpanda * | 5904 | €0.00 | €14.07 | €14.07 | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Gemini | 759 | €12.00 | €2.86 | €14.86 | 0.7% | 11.4% |
2026-07-01 → 2026-07-31 · 50,463 measurements · Method: /true-cost/methodology
The “0% fee” check
- MEXC advertises a (near-)zero taker fee — measured average all-in cost: €2.41 per €1,000, €1.91 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.
03 · Get the monthly index
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