The best crypto platforms and apps in 2024

Below is our best crypto platforms comparison chart. To view all the data in the table, slide the columns right or left using your fingers or mouse. You can filter or rearrange the rankings by using the search tool or clicking on column headings. You can also download the data to your device in Excel, CSV and PDF formats.

Best crypto platforms and apps in Canada 2024 comparison chart

Best crypto platforms and apps in Canada table of contents

• Best overall crypto platform
• Best crypto platform for user experience
• Best crypto platform for beginners
• Best crypto platform for advanced traders
• Best crypto platform for customer support
• Frequently asked questions
• Best crypto platforms in Canada: Pros and cons
• Methodology
• How to choose a crypto platform or app
• Questions to ask before you start investing in crypto
• Learn more about crypto

Best overall crypto platform

Gold — Coinbase 

Coinbase is one of the world’s biggest crypto exchanges. It is a well-funded, well-established, publicly listed company, and it recently became registered with the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA) to do business here. Coinbase’s easy-to-use features, range of educational articles, customer support options, large coin selection and smooth user experience make it a great choice for beginners and advanced investors alike. (Read the pros and cons for Coinbase.)

Silver — Kraken 

A close second to Coinbase for Canadian crypto investors, Kraken scores very high on our list in terms of features, fees and user experience for both beginners and advanced traders. And, it is working towards becoming registered with the CSA. Although not a publicly listed company, Kraken has a long history—in crypto years, anyway—having been operational since 2011. For fee-conscious investors, Kraken could be the perfect choice, with fees ranging from 0% to 0.4%. Its customer service options are limited to chat and email. (Read the pros and cons for Kraken.)

Best crypto platform for user experience

Gold — NDAX 

This Canadian company’s slick and easily navigable website, along with its highly rated iOS and Android mobile apps, make it a winner for user experience. NDAX edges past Wealthsimple in this category because, while both have excellent, user-friendly investment platforms, NDAX is more suitable for advanced Canadian traders. And, although unrelated to user experience, NDAX’s low trading fee of 0.2% doesn’t hurt. (Read the pros and cons for NDAX.)

Silver — Wealthsimple 

Another crypto leader to emerge from Canada, Wealthsimple makes investing—in everything from stocks to crypto—beginner-friendly. It has taken its experience in building solid products in traditional investing and applied it to crypto. If you’re an active trader, though, Wealthsimple may not be your best bet. But if you’re a beginner or long-term buy-and-hold crypto investor, it’s a good choice. (More on that below.)

Best crypto platform for beginners

Gold — Wealthsimple 

If you’re new to crypto investing, Wealthsimple is a choice platform for these reasons: its smooth and user-friendly interface, good customer support, CSA registration, integrated tax filing and—for those who want them—access to traditional investment options like stocks and exchage-traded funds (ETFs) and a robo-advisor service. (Read the pros and cons for Wealthsimple.)

Silver — NDAX 

NDAX’s easy-to-use website and highly rated iOS and Android mobile apps are very beginner-friendly. In addition, its trading fees are some of the lowest in the market, at just 0.2%. NDAX also ranks high for its customer support—another important aspect for beginners—with live phone and chat support available.

Best crypto platform for advanced traders

Tie for Gold — Crypto.com and Kraken 

Advanced crypto traders in Canada prioritize competitive fees, technical charting, complex order types, and quick deposits and withdrawals. Crypto.com and Kraken both have these along with crypto derivatives such as “futures” contracts, for high-risk traders wanting to trade on margin. Plus, active traders can benefit from the platforms’ volume-based pricing—the higher your trading volume, the lower the trading fees. (Read the pros and cons for Crypto.com.)

Best crypto platform for customer support

Gold—Wealthsimple 

In terms of customer support, Wealthsimple benefits greatly from its older robo-advisor and stockbroker businesses. The company brings years of operational experience to the table for Canadians. Unlike most of its competitors, Wealthsimple offers three channels of support: phone, chat and email. (Most stop at chat and email.) You can talk to a human in real time by phone or chat on weekdays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. EST.

Silver—NDAX 

In the crypto world, live customer support is rare. This is why NDAX scores above many of its competitors in the customer support category: it offers live chat and phone support from 10 a.m. to midnight EST, Monday to Friday.

Frequently asked questions

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Best crypto platforms in Canada: Pros and cons

To help you choose the right crypto trading platform for your needs, we break down the pros and cons of the 14 that made our list. Platforms are scored with five parameters, with a maximum of 25 points, and they are listed here from highest to lowest scores. (See our methodology, below, for full details.)

Coinbase 

Score: 21

One of the oldest and most recognized names in the crypto space, Coinbase is now registered with the CSA to do business in Canada. Canadian users can now add money to their Coinbase account through Interac.

Kraken 

Score: 20.5

Kraken is a global platform that launched its trading services in 2013. With a renewed focus on Canada, Kraken is in the process of becoming registered with the CSA, and investors can now deposit Canadian dollars into their Kraken trading accounts.

NDAX 

Score: 20

Founded in 2018, Calgary-based NDAX—short for National Digital Asset Exchange—has some of Canada’s lowest crypto trading fees plus a roster of 34 coins. NDAX offers staking for certain coins, and it has a handy staking calculator.

Netcoins 

Score: 20

Netcoins, launched in 2014, keeps things cheap and cheerful with no fees for deposits or fiat withdrawals, flat fees for crypto withdrawals and a 0.5% fee for trades.

Wealthsimple 

Score: 19

In 2020, robo-advisor firm Wealthsimple launched Canada’s first regulated crypto platform, Wealthsimple Crypto, with a menu of two coins: bitcoin and ethereum. As of 2024, it offers over 60 cryptocurrencies via its user-friendly Wealthsimple app. 

Coinsmart 

Score: 18 

CoinSmart’s simple interface makes crypto trading accessible to beginners, but the platform also offers tools and services for experienced traders in Canada, such as advanced charting and order book functionality.

Bitbuy 

Score: 17.5

In December 2021, Bitbuy became Canada’s first crypto trading platform to be regulated as a marketplace, as well as the first to be both a registered digital asset marketplace and a restricted dealer of cryptocurrency assets. Canadian investors can benefit from clear pricing and consistent fees, and investors’ orders are matched against other live orders on Bitbuy rather than routed to a third-party dealer.

Newton 

Score: 16

Since its launch in 2018, Newton has grown steadily and now offers one of the largest selections of crypto coins among Canadian trading platforms.

Crypto.com 

Score: 15.5

With over 100 million users across 90 countries, Crypto.com joins Coinbase and Kraken as large global players that offer crypto services to Canadians. Crypto.com offers a full suite of crypto-centred services, including trading, staking and payments for businesses.

Gemini 

Score: 15.5

Offering access to over 80 cryptocurrencies, Gemini has strong security features and a full range of crypto products to suit beginners and advanced traders alike. Customers can benefit from 24/7 customer support and can access services including staking and crypto derivatives.

Shakepay 

Score: 14.5

Shakepay is both a crypto trading platform and an app that lets you use crypto for transactions, including sending and receiving money from people. Shakepay is based on the view that bitcoin could be used as regular money—so it’s an investment app and a payments app.

Coinsquare 

Score: 14.5

Coinsquare, launched in 2014, is an IIROC-registered Investment Dealer and Marketplace member. It is well funded, offers a large number of cryptocurrencies and has tiered offerings to suit new and experienced investors.

VirgoCX 

Score: 14

Toronto-based VirgoCX was founded in 2018 with a mission to provide safe, easy and accessible crypto trading. It offers over 60 coins and several tools for advanced traders in Canada.

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Methodology for best crypto platforms and apps 

For our list of the best crypto trading platforms, we included Canadian, U.S. and global companies operating in Canada that met the following criteria:

• Offers cryptocurrency trading in Canadian dollars
• Registered with FINTRAC, and is registered with or has applied for registration with the Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA)
• Accepting new customers from Canada

For the ranking, the crypto platforms were scored on five parameters. The total score is based on a weighted average using the percentages given below:

All information was sourced from the platforms’ websites, press releases and company employees.

To view all the data in the scoring table, slide the columns right or left using your fingers or mouse. You can filter or rearrange the rankings by using the search tool or clicking on column headings. You can also download the data to your device in Excel, CSV and PDF formats.

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How to choose a crypto platform or app

With so many crypto trading platforms for Canadians to choose from, it’s essential to review their features in detail. Newer crypto investors, for example, will benefit from a platform that’s easy to use and provides 24/7 customer support, while more experienced investors may look for advanced features like limit orders, a live order book or crypto staking. 

For any Canadian crypto investor, a large coin selection is impressive, but it’s not necessary if you plan to trade just the most established cryptocurrencies, such as bitcoin and ethereum. Of course, you’ll want to compare fees and spreads. Here are some important parameters to consider when comparing different crypto exchanges, platforms or apps.

• Security features: Look for two-factor authentication (2FA) and cold storage (meaning it’s offline).
• User experience: This is also crucial, encompassing ease of use, mobile app availability and customer support quality. 
• Trading features: Compare platforms’ supported cryptocurrencies, advanced trading tools, staking availability, etc.
• Fees: Compare trading, withdrawal, deposit and staking fees.
• Downloads and reviews: Check the App Store and Google Play Store downloads and reviews.
• Regulatory compliance: To do business in Canada, cryptocurrency platforms must be registered with FINTRAC, and either registered with the CSA or committed to a pre-registration undertaking (PRU) as they work toward registration.
• Supported payment methods: How easy is it to transfer money in and out? Look for methods such as Interac, wire transfers and credit/debit cards.
• Educational resources: Platforms may offer resources such as articles, tutorials and videos to help you understand crypto.
• Customer support: Compare types and availability of customer support, such as email, phone and chat, and what hours they’re available.

Crypto platform questions to ask before you start investing

Before you deposit any money, or even create an account, tackle this list of questions to help you decide on which platform is best for you. The answers will reveal if your needs as a crypto investor will be met.

• What coins are available?
• Can you buy and sell crypto in Canadian dollars?
• What are the fees for deposits, withdrawals and trading?
• How does the platform/app make money? Is it through fees? Or is is through spreads?
• Does the platform/app have a welcome offer?
• What’s the process to open an account? Is it free?
• What funding methods are available? Is it Interac, EFT (electronic funds transfer), wire transfer, crypto or something else?
• What are the wait times for deposits and withdrawals?
• How intuitive is the platform to use? What about its mobile app?
• What is the quality of customer support the platform offers? Is it available 24/7?
• How fast and easy is it to get money and crypto in and out of the platform?
• What security features and processes does the platform have?
• Is the platform registered with securities regulators?
• Does the platform comply with Canadian privacy laws, such as PIPEDA?
• For experienced traders, does the platform offer advanced trading tools, such as limit orders, charting and a live order book?
• If you’re interested in crypto staking, is it available, and for which coins?
• Does the platform have a referral program?

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Crypto is exciting, but remember…

Cryptocurrency is still a relatively new asset class that’s prone to significant price volatility—crypto’s highs and lows have caused investors many sleepless nights. For example, the price of bitcoin fell well over 70% from October of 2021 to December 2022. And while it has since recovered and even surpassed its previous high price, the crypto market goes through exaggerated boom-and-bust cycles compared to other asset classes.

Before you invest, consider why you want to buy crypto, whether it fits your overall investing strategy, your long-term financial goals, and your risk profile. And as with other speculative investments, it’s wise to limit your purchases to what you can afford to lose.

Crypto investing also has risks that you wouldn’t typically encounter when, say, buying exchange-traded funds (ETFs) or guaranteed investment certificates (GICs)—including technology risks, legal and regulatory uncertainty, and the potential for human error (including your own). It’s important to understand the different types of risk and how to protect your crypto assets, and to watch out for all-too-common crypto scams.

Also good to know: In the event that a financial institution becomes insolvent or suffers a security breach, crypto assets held there aren’t covered by the Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation (CDIC) nor the Canadian Investor Protection Fund (CIPF), unlike some other types of investment accounts. Plus—just in case you were thinking of adding crypto directly to your RRSP or TFSA—you can’t hold crypto in registered accounts. They aren’t qualified investments. 

Learn more about crypto

These and other crypto trading platforms make buying and selling cryptocurrencies almost as easy as ordering a pizza—but do you understand how crypto works, what affects crypto prices, how to choose investments and what risks are involved? Explore our roster of crypto articles to become a more informed investor:

Crypto basics

• What is cryptocurrency?
• How does crypto work? A guide to investing in bitcoin, ethereum and more
• Altcoins vs. bitcoin: What to consider when building your crypto portfolio
• Bitcoin is surging—what’s the prediction for crypto in 2024?
• What affects the price of bitcoin?
• What are the risks of trading crypto?
• How to invest more sustainably in crypto

Crypto investing

• Trading tools that can raise your crypto game
• How to navigate growing crypto regulation in Canada
• Mission digital: How Coinbase is reshaping Canada’s crypto landscape
• What’s the best type of crypto wallet?
• How long should you hold a cryptocurrency investment?
• Should you consider ETFs that include crypto?
• How to gain exposure to crypto without buying it
• Crypto trading fees: Are you paying too much?
• What is DeFi? And how can Canadians invest in it?

More crypto topics

• What you should know about cryptocurrency tax in Canada
• What would a central bank digital currency mean for Canada? We ask 5 experts
• Getting paid in bitcoin
• How to talk to your parents about crypto

About Aditya Nain

Aditya Nain is an author, speaker and educator who writes about Canadian investments, personal finance and crypto. He has co-authored two books and taught at universities for 12 years.

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