Last reviewed 4 September 2026 · Every fee below read from the platform’s own page on 3–4 September · By the CryptoNorth Team
Between $2 and about $20 on the platforms that publish a number — a tenfold spread for buying exactly the same thing on the same day.
And on two of them there is no published number at all. Coinbase does not give one. The Netcoins figure below is our own estimate from its parent company’s audited accounts, not a rate Netcoins publishes. That is the finding that matters more than the cheapest row.
Crypto.com is not in the table. Its fee schedule does not load without JavaScript, so we could not read it at source on the day of writing, and we would rather leave a row out than fill it with a figure we have not checked.
The method is deliberately boring, because the point is that you can repeat it.
A single $1,000 CAD buy of Bitcoin, by a new customer with no trading history and no paid subscription tier. Bitcoin because it is where most Canadians start, and because several platforms price it differently from everything else.
Where a platform runs both a simple app and a pro interface, both are shown. The simple one is what a first-time buyer actually lands on, and it is usually the expensive one.
Every platform here funds free by Interac e-Transfer, so including it would change every row by the same zero. Withdrawal fees are a separate question and are covered in each review.
Where a platform publishes a spread range, it is in the table. Where it does not, the row says "not published" rather than carrying our guess.
Fees change without notice. Every figure here was read from the platform’s own page on 3–4 September 2026 and each row links to the page it came from. If you are reading this much later, check the source before relying on it.
Bitbuy’s Express screen, Coinbase’s simple buy and Shakepay all bill through the exchange rate rather than as a fee. Shakepay publishes its range. Bitbuy’s marketing page does not, but the fee schedule its dealer files does — you just have to know to look there.[8] Coinbase publishes nothing we could find. We followed that thread in what these platforms file versus what they advertise.
A spread is not a smaller fee. It is the same cost, moved into the exchange rate where you cannot see it. “No fees” and “zero commission” describe how a platform bills you, not how much you pay — and the platforms charging the most in this table are the ones using that language.
You can measure it yourself in about a minute. Open the buy screen, type $1,000, and note how much Bitcoin the platform offers you. Do the same on a second platform within a minute or two. The difference in the amount of coin is the real difference in price, whatever either screen calls its fee.
One purchase makes the gap look small. Buying regularly is where it stops being small.
Trading fees only. It assumes the rates above hold, which over five years they will not.
On cost alone, NDAX at $2 is the clear answer, and Kraken Pro and Bitbuy Pro are close enough that the difference is not worth switching for. NDAX pays us a commission; we are telling you anyway, and you can see the arithmetic above rather than take our word for it.
But cost is not the only thing that matters, and this page deliberately measures one thing. Regulation, coverage if the platform fails, and whether you will actually use the app all matter too — which is what the full comparison is for.
Nine platforms compared on fees, regulation and what happens if they fail.
Yes. The CRA counts it as a disposition even though no dollars move.
No, not on buying or selling it. Spending it is different.
Your fees form part of your cost base, which matters when you sell.
This page is information, not financial advice. Fees change without notice and the figures here are a snapshot taken on 3 September 2026. Spread-based pricing moves with the market, so the ranges shown are what the platforms say they target, not what you are guaranteed on any given trade. Always check the cost on the trade preview screen before you confirm.
The full comparison weighs cost at 35%, alongside regulation, selection, ease of use and fee transparency.
Compare all nine →