Bank Transfer

Coinbase is by far one of the most popular exchanges for purchasing Ether. Based in San Francisco, Coinbase offers support in 100+ countries including the US, Canada, UK, and Australia. Users can buy Ether via a connected bank account, debit card, SEPA transfer, PayPal and more. Once verified, Coinbase offers instant availability on deposits and allows relatively high transfer limits once an account has been verified. Fortunately, the US-based exchange has one of the highest security standards for centralized exchanges and all cash held in Coinbase wallets are FDIC insured up to $250,000.

While Coinbase offers a wide-range of features to its users, it does come at a cost. Coinbase fees are relatively high as they range from 1.49% on wire transfers to upwards of 3.99% on debit card purchases. With that said, experienced users looking to minimize fees through Coinbase can do so via Coinbase Pro where fees are substantially lower.

Bank Transfer

eToro is a digital trading platform for fiat currencies, cryptocurrencies, commodities and stocks. The company has put an emphasis on cryptocurrency trading in recent years, including becoming a major platform for trading Ethereum. As a robust trading platform for a wide range of assets, eToro allows for a multitude of deposit options including credit / debit card, wire transfers, PayPal, Skrill, and more. It’s important to note that users looking to purchase Ether on eToro are subject to a minimum deposits of $200 and a hefty amount of fees as well.

While eToro does not charge any deposit or trading fees, the platform does charge a $5 fee for withdrawals and a base 1% fees on any ETH-based trades. eToro is widely accessible for users including support for residents of the UK, Australia and a recent open beta for US residents in select states. To view all supported countries and US states, feel free to refer to their FAQ here.

Bank Transfer

BitPanda is one of the more prominent exchanges within the Eurozone. The exchange was founded in 2014 and has evolved into the go-to option for many European Ethereum enthusiasts. The exchange accepts deposits in USD, EUR, GBP, and CHF via credit / debit card, SEPA transfer, bank transfer, Skrill, EPS and other payment methods. Fiat deposit and withdrawal fees vary depending on the payment method. For a full list of associated fees, visit their official page here.

Buying and selling Ether on Bitpanda has relatively lower fees compared to some of its competitors. For the most part, fees range between 1.29% and 1.49% depending on the asset and the payment method. One of the more interesting aspects with BitPanda and its fee structure is that the fees are baked into the price real-time so fees are largely abstracted away from the user. BitPanda is open to users worldwide, however, some operations may be limited depending on the users’ residency.

Bank Transfer

As one of the major brokerage firms in the United States offering free trades, Robinhood also ventured into the crypto space offering support for major assets, including Ether. Similar to the rest of the platform, Robinhood offers $0 fees and $0 account minimums for all users. US-based users already using Robinhood for trading stocks, options, ETFs and other securities, the platform is a solid choice for introducing new users into Ethereum. With that said, given it’s primarily for trading stocks and other traditional securities, there’s a limited selection of crypto assets on the platform (largely ERC-20 tokens) and transferring the assets off the exchange is currently not supported.

Bank Transfer

One of the newer entrants in the US exchange market is Binance’s subsidiary, Binance US. While its parent company, Binance is one of the biggest exchanges on the market, they largely rely on crypto-to-crypto trades and do not support direct bank transfers to Binance accounts. With that said, Binance US brings the same world-class trading services offered through its parent company while fully compliant with US regulations. The San Francisco-based exchange offers competitive fees, charging 0.1% transaction fees. Users can even pay lower fees altogether if they hold BNB in their Binance US account.

Given the exchange just launched, it hasn’t had time to file for regulatory approval in all US states, including Alabama, Connecticut, Florida, New York, Texas and others. For a few list of unavailable states, feel free to refer to their official FAQ.

Bank Transfer

Kraken is a US-based crypto exchange offering trading support to a wide range of cryptoassets, including Ether. For the most part, Kraken is fairly accessible to global users, having only banned services to citizens of Afghanistan, Cuba, Guinea-Bissau, Iran, Iraq, Japan, North Korea, and Tajikistan. In addition to these select countries, Kraken does not offer support to US residents in Washington State (WA) and New York (NY) due to high costs of maintaining regulatory compliance. Residents of any other country or US state not listed are welcome to create an account and begin trading Ether through Kraken.

In terms of fees, Kraken is fairly competitive relative to other major exchanges. With that, Kraken offers fiat currency deposits and withdrawals via SEPA bank transfers (€0.09), US wire transfers ($5.00 flat), ACH transfers ($5.00), Canadian wire transfers (free) and Electronic Fund Transfers on CAD (0.25% fee) to its users,

As one of the first major exchanges on the market, Kraken has managed a long standing record for security and has built up a name for itself within the crypto exchange industry as it has yet to be compromised.

Bank Transfer

Founded by the Winklevoss twins in 2015, Gemini is a New York-based exchange that became the world’s first licensed Ether exchange in 2016. Similar to other top-tier exchanges, Gemini takes security of its assets under custody to the highest industry standard. Almost all funds are held offline and all US dollar accounts are FDIC insured. One of Gemini’s biggest differentiators from its competitors is its outstanding customer support as they are highly responsive for any complaints or issues.

In addition, Gemini offers some of the most competitive fees on the market as crypto transfers, bank transfers, and wire deposits are all free. Moreover, the first 30 withdrawals of each month are also free to all users. With all these benefits, there naturally comes some drawbacks. Given the stringent regulatory landscape in New York and the United States at large, signing-up on Gemini requires a significant amount of identity verification and other KYC/AML procedures in order to access the exchange.

Gemini is available in all U.S. states and districts excluding Hawaii as well as being operational in Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea and the U.K.

Bank Transfer

Founded in 2011, Bitstamp is one of the oldest and most reputable crypto exchanges in the industry to date. Initially starting as a Bitcoin-only exchange, Bitstamp has since gone on to provide Ethereum and several other cryptocurrencies. In terms of fiat currencies, the exchange supports EUR and USD deposits with SEPA transfers available for European users as well as traditional wire transfers for anyone else. Bitstamp supports all 28 countries in the European Union along with Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, and dozens of other countries. US residents also can leverage Bitstamp’s services via their subsidiary Bitstamp USA.

Bank Transfer

Bitfinex is a Hong Kong operated cryptocurrency exchange founded in 2012. The exchange accepts fiat deposits in EUR, JPY, GBP, and USD via wire transfer only. All bank wires have 0.1% deposit and withdrawal fee with an optional 1% fee for those looking for an expedited withdrawal. For users looking to purchase Ether on the exchange, Bitfinex leverages a taker-maker fee model where fees start for 0.2% for takers while maker fees can go as low as 0% for large market orders.

Bitfinex is rather accessible on a global scale, however, it’s not available for users in Bangladesh, Bolivia, Ecuador, Kyrgyzstan, and the United States. In terms of security, Bitfinex is notorious for its exchange hacks, including the hack for 1,500 BTC in 2015 and the massive hack for nearly 120,000 BTC in April of 2016. With that in mind, users should be cautious of storing large amounts of Ether on Bitfinex for an extended period of time.

Bank Transfer

Founded back in 2013, CEX.io is one of the older crypto exchanges in the industry to date offering support for Ether. The London-based exchange is registered with FINCEN and allows for deposits via credit card, wire transfer, SEPA transfer (EU) and an ACH transfer (US). The exchange offers support for a handful of fiat currencies including USD, EUR, GBP, and RUB.

CEX.io has some of the higher fees in the exchange industry, with fees ranging as high as 7.0% on Ether purchases. Withdrawal fees reach up to 3% depending on the currency and payment method. With that, bank wires and SEPA transfers do not incur fees while credit cards incur a 2.99% fee.

Given the FINCEN registration, CEX has a laundry list of countries not supported by the exchange either through wire transfers, credit card purchases or both. However, US, UK, Australian and most European residents are able to access the exchange with minimal restrictions.