Last checked 12 November 2026.
About this guide. General information only, not financial advice. It doesn’t recommend a crypto platform or a crypto asset. Kraken and Coinbase appear below only as examples of how platforms describe their own pricing, taken from their published help pages, and this article contains no affiliate links. Nothing here comes from testing them, and the worked example uses invented numbers.
“Zero trading fees.” Lovely. Then you hit the preview screen and there’s still a price to untangle.
Here’s the quick answer. A fee line tells you about one charge, not what the purchase costs. So skip the headline and find two numbers: the total Australian dollars you’ll pay (including any fee added on top) and the crypto you’ll receive. Then divide:
Total AUD ÷ crypto received = your effective price.
That’s what each unit is really costing you, and it’s the number that lets you compare two quotes fairly.
A worked example (with made-up quotes)
Illustration only. These are invented quotes for the same fictional asset. They aren’t prices from real platforms, and A$100 isn’t a suggested amount to spend.
| Measure | Quote A | Quote B |
|---|---|---|
| Total you pay | A$100 | A$100 |
| Trading fee shown | A$0 | A$1 (included in the A$100) |
| Crypto you receive | 19.6 units | 19.8 units |
| Effective price (total ÷ units) | about A$5.10 a unit | about A$5.05 a unit |
Quote A looks free. Quote B charges a dollar. Yet in this illustration, B gives you 0.2 more units for the same A$100.
Two ways to get this wrong:
- Don’t add Quote B’s A$1 fee again. It’s already included in the A$100 total.
- Treating it as a verdict. The numbers are made up. They show how to compare, not which platform is cheaper. Real quotes shift with the amount, the payment method and the market.
Three things that shape what you get
1. Fees on their own line. Trading fees, card fees, service fees. These are the easy ones, because someone has labelled them.
2. The price you’re quoted. This is where the quieter cost can live. Kraken’s Australian help page says its Instant Buy fees are a displayed fee plus, where applicable, a spread that’s included in the price. Coinbase’s pricing page says it includes a spread in the price when you use its simple Trade option, and that you can see it by tapping the tooltip beside the price in the order preview.
Either way, the spread is already inside the price. It isn’t an extra line you add on.
Treat both as examples of how pricing gets described, not as what you’ll pay. Features and charges can depend on your region and your account, so the page that matters is the one that covers yours.
3. How you pay. Kraken says its spread depends on things like the transaction size, the asset, the payment method and market conditions. Coinbase says its fees can depend on the payment method, order size and market conditions. So the same purchase, paid two different ways, can cost two different amounts. If anything is charged in a currency other than Australian dollars, check whether your bank or card adds a charge of its own.
What “spread” means here (it’s two different things)
The market spread. Moneysmart defines the bid–ask spread as the difference between the bid price and the ask price. Buying straight away can mean accepting the ask, the higher of the two. Selling straight away can mean accepting the lower bid. Moneysmart calls that crossing the spread, and an order book can show the gap at any moment.
A buy limit order sets the most you’ll pay. If your limit is below the lowest asking price, the order waits. It might fill later, fill only partly, or not fill at all.
A platform’s pricing spread. Some platforms build a spread into the prices on their simple buy screens, as Kraken and Coinbase describe above. Kraken says any spread is worked out before the order executes and may differ for similar transactions.
Then there’s slippage, which is different again. Kraken describes it as the gap between the price you expect when you place a market order and the price you actually pay or receive. On a large order, the first part might fill at the price you expected and later parts at worse ones.
One trap worth knowing. Coinbase says no spread is included on Coinbase Advanced, because you’re dealing directly with the order book. That doesn’t make it free. An order book can still have a gap between the best bid and the best ask, and Coinbase Advanced has its own fees, shown on the order preview. “No spread added” never means “no cost”.
What a “zero trading fee” tells you One labelled charge is zero.
What it doesn’t tell you Whether there’s a spread in the price, what funding or withdrawing will cost, or whether you’re getting more crypto or less than you would elsewhere.
How to compare quotes without fooling yourself
For a like-for-like comparison, line up:
- The asset. The same coin or token.
- The amount. Kraken lists transaction size as one of the things that affects its spread, so compare A$500 with A$500, not with A$50.
- The payment method. Bank transfer, card, digital wallet, or money already sitting in your account.
- The product. One brand can run a simple buy screen and a separate trading screen, priced differently. Coinbase, for example, says it includes a spread in simple Trade prices but not on Coinbase Advanced.
- The currency. Everything in Australian dollars.
- The moment. Take your quotes as close together as you can.
- Quote versus result. A preview is a quote. Check the confirmation too, because that’s what you actually got.
Read the fee page for your own region and account, too. Coinbase, for one, says where you are can affect its fees, and that some charges apply only in some jurisdictions. A page written for somewhere else, or for a different kind of account, may not describe what you’ll pay.
And skip the chart. The price on a chart isn’t a price anyone has offered you. Compare quote with quote.
Costs that can come later
Some costs never appear on the purchase screen:
- Getting money or crypto out. Moving Australian dollars back to your bank, or crypto to your own wallet, can involve platform charges and network fees. Coinbase, for example, says it charges an estimate of the network fee when you send crypto off its platform.
- Memberships. Some platforms sell subscriptions that waive or cut trading fees. Kraken’s Australian Instant Buy page says its trading fee is waived for Kraken+ members, up to a monthly volume limit. Coinbase says Coinbase One members may still have a spread included in their quoted prices. A waived fee isn’t a free trade.
These don’t belong in the purchase-preview sum, because they aren’t part of that quote. They still count when you’re choosing where to buy, though. Sketch the journey you actually intend (say, buy, hold for a while, then move the crypto to your own wallet or the dollars back to your bank) and add up every cost along it. Count each cost once, in one place.
Before you tap confirm
- Total AUD (every charge counted once), crypto received, and the effective price
- Is a spread included in the price? Check the fee page or the preview’s tooltip
- Same asset, amount, payment method, product and currency as the quote you’re comparing with
- The fee page that covers your region and account
- Later costs for the journey you plan (withdrawals, memberships), each added once
- A saved copy of the preview and the confirmation
That last one is also the start of your records. Keeping Crypto Records From Day One covers what else to keep.
Copy-and-use quote worksheet
| Field | Quote 1 | Quote 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Date and time | ||
| Platform and exact product (simple buy or trading screen) | ||
| Asset | ||
| Payment method | ||
| Total AUD payable (each charge once) | ||
| Crypto received | ||
| Effective AUD per unit | ||
| Quoted, estimated or executed? | ||
| Later costs for your planned journey (each once, not already in the total above) | ||
| Whole-journey cost (total payable + later costs) |
What this tells you, and what it doesn’t
Your effective price tells you which quote gives you more crypto for your money, for that amount, paid that way, at that moment.
It doesn’t tell you whether the platform is registered or licensed, who holds your crypto, how easily you can get it out, or whether buying crypto suits you at all. Moneysmart warns that if you buy crypto, you should be prepared to lose everything you put in.
Cost and platform risk are different questions. What to Check Before Choosing a Crypto Platform covers the second one.
Where to next?
Ready for the purchase itself? How to Buy Crypto Safely in Australia covers the steps of a first buy, and the safety checks before you send any money.
New to crypto? The Start Here reading path walks you through the basics in order, from what crypto is to buying safely and keeping records.
Sources
Last checked 12 November 2026.
- Moneysmart, Bid–ask spread (glossary) (last updated 16 June 2020)
- Moneysmart, Crypto assets (last updated 6 November 2026)
- Kraken, Managing card purchases & FAQs about buying instantly (Australian help page, last updated 16 September 2026)
- Kraken, How to set prices for limit orders on Kraken Pro (Australian help page, last updated 31 March 2025)
- Kraken, Sliced market orders explained (used only for its definition of slippage)
- Coinbase, Pricing and fees disclosures
- Coinbase, Coinbase Advanced fees