The ultimate crypto exchange for Australians: CoinSpot vs CoinJar

CoinSpot and CoinJar are two crypto exchanges with the most transparent fee structures in Australia. Both platforms offer helpful trading features such as Bundles and OTC trading that cater to the needs of novice and advanced investors. 

However, CoinSpot has a more competitive fee policy, flexible payment methods, and supports more attractive trading tools. The exchange’s NFT marketplace is an undeniably wonderful feature, and one that is unique among Australian-based crypto exchanges.

CoinSpot & CoinJar Australia:  At a Glance

The table below provides a comprehensive comparison between CoinSpot vs Coinbase.

CoinSpot Overview

Founded in 2013, CoinSpot is one of Australia’s oldest and most reliable crypto exchanges in Australia with robust & verified security and a firm customer base of over 2.5 million users. The platform is acclaimed as one the most user-friendly and transparent exchanges, catering to the needs of both novice and advanced traders.

The exchange has consistently strived to provide supporters with a wide selection of digital assets, boasting over 480+ cryptocurrencies available for trading.

CoinJar Australia Overview

CoinJar Australia is one of the country’s longest-running cryptocurrency exchanges. Launched in 2013, the crypto exchange provides a range of innovative features, including CoinJar Bundles, CoinJar Swipe Card, SMSF and an OTC trading desk. Users can also set up recurring buys to make dollar-cost averaging their investments more efficient.

With competitive fees and advanced trading options through CoinJar Exchange, CoinJar is a comprehensive platform that meets the needs of Australia’s growing crypto community.

CoinSpot vs. CoinJar Australia: Unique Features

CoinSpot’s Features

CoinSpot is known as the most user-friendly exchange in Australia with easy-to-use interface and a variety of trading options that cater to the needs of both novice and experienced investors. 

• Spot Trading: CoinSpot offers an intuitive trading interface. Users can easily browse and buy any of over 480 digital currencies. The cryptos list is also regularly updated each month, depending on customer requests. 
• Bundles: Bundles are a carefully selected assortment of various digital currencies. Using bundles can help you cut down the fees by just paying one time for the whole bundle instead of paying the fee for each coin.
• In-platform NFT Marketplace: CoinSpot is the first platform in Australia to enable users to make purchases directly through its in-platform NFT Marketplace.  It allows users to purchase NFTs using their choice of cryptocurrency with no need to convert currency or set up an external wallet. 
• OTC Trading: CoinSpot’s specialised OTC Trading Desk allows members to perform high-volume transactions without the need of traditional public order books.

CoinJar Australia’s Features

CoinJar Australia also offers Instant Buy and Bundles, along with a Crypto Debit Card and OTC Trading similar to those on CoinSpot. However, the exchange does not support an in-platform NFT Marketplace. 

• Instant Buy/Sell: Users can quickly buy and sell cryptocurrencies using AUD through credit/debit cards, Apple Pay, or Google Pay
• CoinJar Bundles: This feature allows users to purchase a diversified portfolio of cryptocurrencies in a single transaction, which can be easily rebalanced.
• CoinJar Swipe Card: A prepaid Mastercard that lets users spend their cryptocurrency like cash in-store or online. Funds are converted instantly into AUD.
• Recurring Buys: This feature allows users to set up automatic purchases of their chosen cryptocurrency at regular intervals to dollar-cost average their investments.
• CoinJar Exchange: This platform offers advanced trading options with limit and market orders, competitive fees, and deep liquidity for professional traders.

CoinSpot vs. CoinJar Australia: Fee Structures

CoinSpot Fee Policies

Fees are how crypto exchanges and platforms earn money in the end, so investors need to understand “What are CoinSpot fees?”. 

Deposit Fees

The exchange accepts a wide variety of deposit methods. On CoinSpot, you don’t need to pay any fee when you make instant deposits via POLi, PayID, or Direct Deposit (via OSKO). If you use Bpay or cards, you will have to pay 0.9% fee (for credit cards) or a 1.88% fee (for debit cards). Otherwise, for physical cash deposits at Blueshyft newsagents, the deposit fee is up to 2.5%

Withdrawal Fees

You can withdraw money from CoinSpot using bank transfers like POLi or PayID without paying any charges. It offers free AUD withdrawals. However, you must pay a small mining fee (blockchain network fee), depending on the token and the network traffic. For example, Bitcoin withdrawals have a fee of 0.0002 BTC, Ethereum withdrawals have a fee of 0.0018 ETH, and Solana withdrawals have a fee of 0.02 SOL.

Transaction Fees

The exchange lays trading fees out simply, so you only pay one transparent fee and avoid any hidden costs as on other platforms.

• Market Trades (0.1% fee): When you set a price at which you want to buy or sell a cryptocurrency, your order will be filled when another trader places an order at that same price. At the time of writing, CoinSpot includes 15 popular options, including BTC, ETH, BNB, XRP, and ADA. 
• Instant Buy/Sell (1% fee): CoinSpot sets a fixed price for your desired coins. You don’t have to wait for traders to buy from you or sell to you. Trade happens instantly. The advantage of “Instant” purchasing is that you don’t have to worry about price fluctuations while waiting for your order to be filled. All 410+ crypto assets available on CoinSpot can be purchased instantly. 
• OTC Trades (0.1% fee): Users who conduct high-volume transactions can take advantage of CoinSpot’s OTC Trading Desk, which offers instant liquidity and settlement into your account. For transactions of $50,000 AUD or more, this is usually the best option. The best part is that it settles instantly with only a 0.1% fee per trade.
• Advanced Trading Tools (1% fee):  If you are a seasoned trader, you can use tools like Recurring Buy, Take Profit, Stop Loss, and Limit Orders with a 1% fee. 
• CoinSwap (1% fee): When you swap on Swyftx (exchange any crypto for any other one they offer), you make two trades: sell & buy. Each of these trades has a 0.6% fee, so the total is 1.2%. CoinSpot’s swap feature, in contrast, allows customers to swap between currencies in one simple trade for a low 1% fee.

CoinJar Australia Fee Structure

Deposit and Withdrawal Fees

According to the latest announcement from CoinJar Australia, the exchange now only supports 2 deposit methods, which are PayID and Bank transfer. Both incur no fees and typically arrive within minutes. When we tried, the first PayID deposit took about 14 hours to arrive.

Similarly, you will not need to pay anything when withdrawing from CoinJar in AUD. 

Transaction Fees

It’s very important to note that CoinSpot and CoinJar Australia are two crypto exchanges with the most transparent fee structures with specific rates for all trading activities and no hidden fees during transactions. 

If you wish to make an instant buy, the charge would be 2% via cards, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. There’s a simple 1% fee on all crypto to fiat conversions and maker and taker fees of 0.1% on fiat trading pairs, or 0.06% on crypto-to-crypto or crypto-to-stablecoin trading pairs. 

CoinSpot vs. CoinJar Australia: Customer Experience

CoinSpot’s Customer Feedback

For those first entering the crypto space, it is effortless to buy, sell or swap various crypto assets with CoinSpot. This exchange has been recognised as one of the top solid choices for both beginners and experienced traders due to its straightforward and user-friendly interface. There are no complex pages so that users can feel like they know the platform very well. 

CoinSpot constantly checks and assists its users with any issues they encounter. If you want help, CoinSpot also has a Live Chat option that enables you to reach out for assistance immediately, 24/7. Otherwise, if the team notices a suspicious activity, they will attempt to address the problem and contact you even before you recognise it. 

If you cannot converse over live chat, CoinSpot provides alternative measures through their help desk, where you can respond whenever you are ready. The support staff will contact and help you address your problems within 24 hours.

The customer service team is also active on various platforms to answer any queries from their users. For instance, you can feel free to discuss everything about crypto and receive timely support from the official CoinSpot Reddit. 

CoinJar Australia’s User Experience

CoinJar has just won the Finder’s award for “Crypto Trading Platform – Value” in the 2024 Product Awards. The exchange also receives many good reviews on trustpilot.com and always tries to respond to every review with detailed solutions. 

We still find about one fourth of the reviews stating having problems with CoinJar and not getting assistance from the exchange on time. This is understandable as CoinJar does not have a 24/7 live support chat, and users need to reach out through email or submit a request whenever they encounter an issue. 

Coinspot v.s. CoinJar Australia: Security

When choosing an exchange, security is one of the most integral factors. Literally, both Coinbase and CoinSpot emphasise strong security measures against crypto frauds, scams, or cyber breaches. 

CoinSpot’s Security

CoinSpot is registered with AUSTRAC and is one of a few that has received the Blockchain Australia certification since 2014. 

It is also the first Australian crypto exchange to be awarded the international recognised ISO 27001 certification for information security. The examination process requires the platform to fully adhere to the International Organisation for Standardisation’s requirements and pass an external audit conducted by SCI Qual International (an accredited JAS-ANZ certification body). Therefore, CoinSpot has proved stringently unrivalled in terms of security.

Specifically, the exchange keeps most assets in highly secure offline locations with customisable options for you to prevent unauthorised account access.

• Two-Factor Authentication: Even if your password is compromised, hackers won’t be able to access your account without the 6-digit Authenticator code that is renewed every 30 seconds.

• Anti-phishing phrase: You can customise the phrase that appears each time you sign in with Two-Factor Authentication, ensuring that you are on the actual CoinSpot website and not a phoney one attempting to steal your information and password.

• Geo-lock logins: You can use this option to restrict logins to Australian IP addresses only, thus preventing hacking from outside Australia.  

• Disable withdrawals: This feature prevents anyone from withdrawing cryptocurrency or AUD from your account. You must contact support to re-enable withdrawals.  

• Session timeout: You can specify the time between when you first log in to CoinSpot and the next time when you are required to log in again. This safeguards against unauthorised access if you forget to log out of your account.

It’s important to note that CoinSpot has never been hacked or exploited before. 

CoinJar Australia’s Security

CoinJar implements strong and popular security measures to protect user funds and data, including:

• Encryption and Secure Data Storage: CoinJar uses AES-256 encryption to secure data both in transit and at rest, ensuring that sensitive information is protected.
• Two-Factor Authentication (2FA): Users are required to enable 2FA via an authenticator app.
• Cold Storage: Over 90% of customer funds are stored in geographically distributed cold storage wallets, which are offline and secure from cyber attacks.
• Multi-Signature Wallets: CoinJar employs multi-signature wallets to reduce the risk of unauthorised access to your account. 

Article Sources

At CoinCulture, we value content that is authenticated and helpful. All information is supported with white papers, government data, authorised organisations reports, and interviews with industry experts. We also reference original research and articles from other trusted publishers. 

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5. International Organisation for Standardization. “ISO certification, https://www.iso.org/standard/27001”
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