Cheapest exchange this week
Binance · $1.42 all-in avg
$1,000 buy avg · this week
What "0% fee" really costs
MEXC +€1.42 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
43,886 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 655 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 $16.34 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 $4.88 (-71.1%, 3843 vs 3864 measurements, same 25-asset basket both weeks).
Window: 2026-08-09 → 2026-08-16 · 19,751 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 14.11 USDT at Coinbase — 18.8× 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 (-29.6%, 3844 vs 3862 measurements, same 24-asset basket both weeks).
Window: 2026-08-09 → 2026-08-16 · 24,861 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
€1.51 all-in
Most expensive measured — full basket
Bybit
€16.76 all-in · 11.1× 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: €2.69 (€2.19 of it hidden spread).
The measured "cheapest venue" title changed hands 1160 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 €2.11 all-in at OKX vs €129.43 at Bybit — 61.3× apart over 162 paired hourly measurements.
Week over week, Binance's measured average all-in cost per €1,000 buy moved from €2.48 to €3.24 (+30.5%, 3507 vs 3528 measurements, same 25-asset basket both weeks).
Window: 2026-08-09 → 2026-08-16 · 33,046 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. 43,886 measurements in 9,369 asset-hour rounds (8,992 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 | 1618 | $1.00 | $0.48 | $1.48 | 8.0% | 0.1% |
| Kraken | 8676 | $4.00 | $0.19 | $4.19 | 21.1% | 0.2% |
| Bitstamp | 3227 | $4.00 | $0.90 | $4.90 | 3.3% | 1.7% |
| Crypto.com | 8264 | $5.00 | $1.10 | $6.10 | 0.0% | 4.8% |
| OKX | 8696 | $1.00 | $9.19 | $10.19 | 64.7% | 3.4% |
| Coinbase | 8305 | $12.00 | $0.35 | $12.35 | 0.0% | 58.6% |
| Gemini | 3965 | $12.00 | $1.13 | $13.13 | 1.7% | 28.4% |
| Bybit | 757 | $1.00 | $20.17 | $21.17 | 1.0% | 2.8% |
2026-08-01 → 2026-08-16 · 43,886 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. 52,446 measurements in 8,993 asset-hour rounds (8,993 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 | 7779 | 0.50 USDT | 1.15 USDT | 1.65 USDT | 73.0% | 0.0% |
| Bybit | 8695 | 1.00 USDT | 0.80 USDT | 1.80 USDT | 20.3% | 2.4% |
| OKX | 3783 | 1.00 USDT | 1.02 USDT | 2.02 USDT | 2.5% | 0.6% |
| Bitget | 7779 | 1.00 USDT | 1.19 USDT | 2.19 USDT | 2.8% | 4.3% |
| Binance | 7755 | 1.00 USDT | 1.22 USDT | 2.22 USDT | 1.1% | 0.6% |
| Kraken | 3390 | 4.00 USDT | 1.17 USDT | 5.17 USDT | 0.0% | 4.1% |
| Crypto.com | 7941 | 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% | 1.8% |
| Coinbase | 4903 | 12.00 USDT | 3.30 USDT | 15.30 USDT | 0.0% | 51.8% |
2026-08-01 → 2026-08-16 · 52,446 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 13 venues during the observed period in August 2026 · month to date — 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. 65,943 measurements in 9,450 asset-hour rounds (9,450 rankable), observed 2026-08-01 → 2026-08-16 · 99.7% 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KuCoin | 1276 | €1.00 | €0.25 | €1.25 | 2.6% | 0.0% |
| OKX | 9475 | €0.96 | €0.77 | €1.73 | 55.1% | 0.1% |
| Bitget | 3411 | €1.00 | €1.40 | €2.40 | 0.1% | 0.0% |
| Bitvavo | 3665 | €2.50 | €0.18 | €2.68 | 1.0% | 0.1% |
| MEXC | 3787 | €0.50 | €2.29 | €2.79 | 0.3% | 0.9% |
| Binance | 7938 | €1.00 | €1.92 | €2.92 | 29.6% | 4.7% |
| Kraken | 9456 | €4.00 | €0.47 | €4.47 | 0.1% | 15.2% |
| Crypto.com | 2274 | €5.00 | €2.06 | €7.06 | 0.0% | 0.6% |
| Bitstamp | 3249 | €4.00 | €5.48 | €9.48 | 0.1% | 8.7% |
| Coinbase | 6820 | €12.00 | €1.49 | €13.49 | 0.0% | 62.4% |
| Bitpanda * | 9475 | €0.00 | €14.48 | €14.48 | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| Gemini | 360 | €12.00 | €7.25 | €19.25 | 0.0% | 3.5% |
| Bybit | 4757 | €1.00 | €20.95 | €21.95 | 11.1% | 3.8% |
2026-08-01 → 2026-08-16 · 65,943 measurements · Method: /true-cost/methodology
The “0% fee” check
- MEXC advertises a (near-)zero taker fee — measured average all-in cost: €2.79 per €1,000, €2.29 of it hidden spread. The fee is not the price.
Basket v2: the 25-asset series (from 2026-08-01). * = 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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