Robinhood vs. Coinbase

At a Glance

Coinbase vs. Robinhood: Features

Coinbase and Robinhood offer beginner-friendly trading platforms that enable investors to buy and sell crypto with ease. Coinbase is a leading digital asset exchange available in more than 100 countries and in all U.S. states except for Hawaii. Robinhood is only available in the U.S., covering all states except for Hawaii and Nevada. 

Coinbase is a full-service digital asset investment platform that offers an array of features, including: 

• Staking: Coinbase users can earn staking rewards on 15+ assets held on the platform. 
• Learning rewards: Users can earn small amounts of crypto for completing e-learning modules covering various crypto projects.
• Advanced trading: Experienced and professional traders can use Coinbase’s Advanced Trade platform.
• Derivatives: Coinbase also offers crypto futures trading for traders looking to use leverage to trade crypto. 
• NFTs: Coinbase also offers an NFT marketplace, enabling users to buy, sell, and collect NFTs.
• Web3 Wallet: Users can also store their funds in Coinbase Wallet, a non-custodial web3 wallet offered in addition to the hot wallets available on Coinbase.com and the Coinbase app. 

Robinhood is a popular trading app, most notably for first-time investors. In addition to offering easy-to-use crypto trading, the online broker began offering Crypto Wallets in 2022. Robinhood users can also buy and sell stocks, options, and ETFs. 

Robinhood features include:

• Crypto trading: Robinhood users can trade 15 crypto assets on the app. 
• Stocks and ETFs: Users can also trade a wide range of stocks and ETFs. 
• Options: Robinhood provides options trading for more experienced traders. 
• Cash management: Users can earn 4.5% APY on uninvested cash on the platform. 

Coinbase vs. Robinhood: Supported Currencies

Coinbase supports over 250+ digital currencies and tokens, while Robinhood only offers 15 crypto assets, all of which are also available on Coinbase. Both platforms support the following digital assets:

• Bitcoin (BTC)
• Ethereum (ETH)
• USD Coin (USDC) 
• Cardano (ADA) 
• Solana (SOL) 
• Dogecoin (DOGE) 
• Polygon (MATIC)
• Shiba Inu (SHIB) 
• Avalanche (AVAX) 
• Ethereum Classic (ETC) 
• Uniswap (UNI) 
• Litecoin (LTC) 
• Chainlink (LINK) 
• Stellar Lumens (XLM) 
• Bitcoin Cash (BCH) 
• Tezos (XTZ) 
• Aave (AAVE) 
• Compound (COMP) 

In addition to cryptocurrencies, Robinhood users can also buy and sell stocks, options, and ETFs, while Coinbase only offers crypto. Robinhood only supports U.S. dollar (USD) deposits, while Coinbase users can deposit USD, euros (EUR), and British pounds (GBP). 

Coinbase vs. Robinhood: Security

Robinhood and Coinbase both put a strong emphasis on security, providing robust security measures to safeguard customer funds. 

Both platforms provide two-factor authentication (2FA)  and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insurance. For FDIC insurance through Robinhood, users must opt in to cash management.

Coinbase keeps 98% of digital assets in air-gapped cold storage and holds an insurance policy to cover potential breaches of cryptocurrencies held in hot wallets. 

Robinhood also stores crypto assets on cold storage but doesn’t specify what percentage of assets are stored offline. Robinhood users can also benefit from Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC), which covers stocks, ETFs, and cash should the company go bankrupt.

Coinbase vs. Robinhood: Fees

Coinbase has a complex fee structure where fees are determined by factors such as the size of the trade, the payment method used, market conditions, and your location. 

Conversely, Robinhood doesn’t charge users trading commissions. However, that doesn’t mean that Robinhood is a zero-fee platform. Robinhood makes money using a payment for order flow (PFOF) system where the company earns revenues by routing user orders through a market maker who executes the trades and compensates Robinhood for the business. 

Coinbase vs. Robinhood: Ease of Use

Both Robinhood and Coinbase have put a beginner-friendly user experience at the core of their platforms, offering easy sign-up procedures and easy-to-navigate mobile and web-based interfaces. 

Buying and selling cryptocurrencies is a simple process on both trading platforms for anyone who has used an online brokerage before. Once your account is funded, you can trade crypto the same way you would trade stocks or other traditional assets. In the case of Robinhood, you can also do that, as the platform enables users to trade a suite of stocks, ETFs, and even options.

Final Verdict

Robinhood and Coinbase are two market-leading, user-friendly crypto trading platforms available for anyone looking to buy and sell digital assets. Robinhood is more beginner-focused and offers a wide range of asset classes, such as stocks and ETFs, while Coinbase offers a much larger number of tradable crypto assets and advanced crypto investment services, such as staking and crypto derivatives trading.

Methodology

We compared Coinbase and Robinhood by looking at the overall ease of use and functionality of their browser-based sites and mobile applications for beginners and active traders. Next, we broke down specific features and how those impacted the trading experience. Lastly, we looked at fee structures, security measures for the platforms and wallets, and supported currencies, deposit methods, and transaction types.