Kraken Fees to Buy Bitcoin: Instant Buy 1% vs Kraken Pro 0.40%/0.80% (October 2026)

Kraken bitcoin buying fees at a glance

The figures below come from Kraken's official fee schedule, read on 23 October 2026. The worked dollar amounts are our own arithmetic.

At the Kraken XBT/USD price of 81,245.80 USD (Kraken public ticker, 22:51 UTC on 22 October 2026), 500 USD buys about 0.00615 BTC before fees. After a 4 USD taker fee on Kraken Pro you would hold roughly 0.00610 BTC; after a 2 USD maker fee, about 0.00613 BTC. On Instant Buy, the 5 USD fee leaves about 0.00609 BTC, and the spread then lowers that further by an amount Kraken does not publish in advance.

Why Instant Buy costs more than the 1% headline

Kraken's fee page lists three separate costs on the Buy, Sell and Convert screens.

• Trading fee. 1% on instant and recurring trades, 1.5% on custom orders.
• Spread. The price you are shown is not the market rate. Kraken says the spread gives you price certainty at execution, that it may keep any excess spread, and that its size depends on market volatility, the asset, order size and type, your VIP status and your overall account activity. Two similar orders can therefore carry different spreads.
• Payment fee. Paying by credit or debit card, Apple Pay or Google Pay, ACH or from your Kraken balance can add a further charge depending on the method.

The practical point: the 1% is the floor, not the total. On a volatile day, when spreads usually widen, the gap between Instant Buy and a Kraken Pro order can be larger than the 0.2 to 0.6 percentage points the fee table alone suggests.

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How Kraken Pro fees work for a bitcoin buyer

Kraken Pro uses a maker-taker model. Its support article on maker and taker fees explains the difference simply: a market order fills immediately against orders already on the book and pays the taker fee; a limit order that does not fill immediately rests on the book and pays the lower maker fee. A limit order priced on the wrong side of the book can still fill at once and be charged as a taker. Kraken Pro offers a post-only option that guarantees the maker fee or cancels the order instead.

Your tier is set by the best of three measures over 30 days: spot trading volume, futures trading volume or assets held on the platform. Tier 1 starts at 0 USD and pays 0.40% maker and 0.80% taker. Tier 2 starts at 2,500 USD of 30-day spot volume and pays 0.30% and 0.60%. Tier 3, from 10,000 USD of spot volume or 20,000 USD of assets on the platform, drops to 0.22% and 0.38%.

One detail catches many new users: volume from Instant Buy, the Buy Crypto widget and the Kraken app does not count toward the 30-day volume that lowers your Pro tier. Neither does trading stablecoin and FX pairs. If you plan to buy regularly and want cheaper tiers, the volume has to be on Kraken Pro.

Step by step: the cheapest way to buy bitcoin on Kraken

1. Fund the account with cash first. Deposit USD, EUR or another supported currency to your Kraken balance. Card and wallet payments inside the Buy flow can add a payment fee, so a bank deposit usually leaves more money for the purchase. Our guide to depositing on Kraken covers bank details and reference codes.
2. Open Kraken Pro. Use the Kraken Pro app or pro.kraken.com with the same login. Pick the BTC/USD (XBT/USD) pair, or the pair for the currency you deposited.
3. Choose a limit order. Set a price at or just below the current best bid and tick post-only. If it fills, you pay 0.40% in Tier 1 instead of 0.80%.
4. Use a market order only when speed matters. A market order fills now at 0.80% in Tier 1, still cheaper than the 1% Instant Buy fee plus spread.
5. Check the confirmation screen. Kraken notes that fees can look different when you use a VPN, so read the fee shown before you confirm.
6. Withdraw only when you need to. Crypto withdrawal fees depend on the network and change over time; Kraken shows the exact fee on the withdrawal screen before you send.

When Instant Buy can still make sense

Instant Buy is not always the wrong choice. If you buy small amounts on a schedule and do not want to manage orders, recurring buys in the Kraken app are simple. Kraken+ members pay no trading fee on up to 10,000 USD of monthly Buy, Sell and Convert volume in USD, GBP, CAD, AUD, EUR or CHF. The spread and any card processing fee still apply, and the waiver does not cover Kraken Pro spot, futures, API or OTC trades.

There is also a cost Kraken lists for very small balances: the "Convert Small Balances" feature charges a fixed 3% on amounts below the minimum order size. Our Kraken small-balance guide explains when that fee bites.

How Kraken compares with other exchanges for buying BTC

At Tier 1, Kraken Pro's 0.40%/0.80% is higher than the 0.10%/0.10% regular spot rate Binance publishes, so frequent traders often compare venues before they choose. Kraken's strengths are elsewhere: a long track record, bank funding in several fiat currencies and a simple app. Our Binance vs Kraken comparison sets the two side by side, and the Kraken exchange profile lists current fees, KYC levels and the official sign-up link.

If you decide Kraken fits, open the account through our Kraken page and enter referral code 7f97gkqw at sign-up, then make your first bitcoin purchase on Kraken Pro with a limit order rather than the Buy button.

What we could not verify

Kraken does not publish a fixed spread for Instant Buy, so we cannot give an all-in percentage for that route. The exact card, Apple Pay, Google Pay and ACH payment fees depend on your country and method and are shown only in the purchase flow.

Quick answers

What is Kraken's fee to buy bitcoin? 1% on Instant Buy and recurring buys (1.5% on custom orders) plus a spread, or 0.40% maker and 0.80% taker on Kraken Pro for a new account.

Is Kraken Pro cheaper than the Kraken app? Yes for most purchases. Kraken Pro has no built-in spread, and even its highest Tier 1 rate, 0.80%, is below Instant Buy's 1% fee.

Does buying in the Kraken app lower my Kraken Pro fee tier? No. Kraken says Instant Buy and Kraken app volume do not count toward the 30-day volume used for Pro tiers.

Does Kraken+ make bitcoin purchases free? It removes the trading fee on up to 10,000 USD of monthly Buy, Sell and Convert volume in major currencies, but spreads and card fees still apply.

How do I make sure I pay the maker fee? Place a limit order on Kraken Pro with the post-only option; it either rests on the book at the maker rate or is cancelled.