CoinSpot Or CoinJar: Which Is Better?

As two of the most comprehensive, long-established crypto exchanges available to people in Australia, we take a look at a comparison between CoinSpot and CoinJar, so you can choose the exchange that best suits your needs.

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About CoinSpot is one of Australia’s most used and trusted exchanges.Coinjar is a trusted exchange based in the UK
Rating
Cheaper Fees
Payment Methods
Direct Deposit
Credit Card
PayPal
Pay ID
Poli
Features
Beginner Friendly
Mobile App
Cold Storage
2-Factor
Currencies Accepted AUDAUD, GDP

CoinSpot

Pros

  • Big selection of alt coins
  • User friendly
  • Better Security

Cons

  • Mobile app isn’t as good

CoinSpot is one of the oldest and most well-established cryptocurrency exchanges in Australia. It was set up in Melbourne in 2013 and has been a certified member of Blockchain Australia since 2014. While CoinJar does have the better app interface, CoinSpot has better security, customer support and more variety when it comes to alt coins like Doge and Cardano. It also has a slight edge over CoinJar because it’s an Australian based company which makes customer support smoother for Aussies.

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CoinJar

CoinJar was established in Australia in 2013, also in Melbourne. However, in 2014, it relocated to the UK and became a Limited Company headquartered in London. A Venture Capital-backed exchange, CoinJar is also in the process of offering a digital currency debit card, called CoinJar Card. Excellent app but CoinSpot is more trusted and popular among Australians.

Pros

  • Excellent Mobile App

Cons

  • No longer Australian based
  • Limited selection of coins
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CoinSpot vs CoinJar: Exchange Comparison 

Fiat currencies accepted

CoinSpot accepts Australian Dollars (AUD) while CoinJar accepts both Australian Dollars and British Pounds (GBP).

Cryptocurrencies

CoinSpot is well known for offering a wide range of cryptocurrencies and its current list is well over 150 including all the major coins, as well as many alt coins. This includes Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, Bitcoin Cash, and Litecoin. Meanwhile, CoinJar has recently expanded its offering from five to thirteen, including Stellar, 0x Token, Maker Dai, Compound and Chainlink.

🏆 Winner: CoinSpot

If you’re new to Crypto, you may want to have the option to buy and sell multiple coins and Coinspot gives you the best selection.

Deposit methods

You can deposit into CoinSpot from three major Australian payment firms; POLi, BPAY, and PayID. You can also deposit cash via blueshyft, at major retail outlets across Australia’s major cities. CoinJar, by contrast, allows direct bank and wire transfers, as well as cryptocurrency deposits and blueshyft. Of these, BPAY is the most widely used method, offering the fastest transfer speeds and the highest security standards.

👔 Tie

More ways to do a direct bank transfer makes it more convenient to transfer funds. Both platforms offer multiple payment methods.

Fees 

CoinSpot charges a flat 1% for instant purchases. However, a market order is a tenth of the price, at 0.1%. BPAY deposits are charged at 0.9% and blueshyft cash deposits at 2.5% but POLi, PayID, Direct Deposits are free.

CoinJar charges a 2% fee for instant purchases using a debit or credit card. BPay deposit is free. Trades from crypto to crypto are charged at 0.1% fee but can increase depending on the volume of your trades.

CoinSpot VS CoinJar Fees

🏆 Winner: CoinSpot

Use POLi, PayID, Direct Deposits combined with market orders and you’ll only pay .1% on CoinSpot. Doesn’t get cheaper than that.

Security features 

CoinSpot is the only Australian crypto exchange to hold ISO 27001 – an international standard for the safe management and security of information. It uses two-factor authentication with smartphone sign-off for transactions. There are strict timeout limits, and the majority of funds are in offline storage. 

CoinJar stores 905 of customer funds offline and uses a machine learning algorithm to recognise suspicious activity. Like CoinSpot, CoinJar also uses two-factor authentication.

🏆 Winner: CoinSpot

Both companies take their security safely, but ISO 27001 status is internationally recognised as being the gold standard. If you value security, CoinSpot is the clear choice.

Regulation compliance 

As a solely Australian firm, CoinSpot is a member of the Australian Digital Commerce Association and complies with all AML laws within the country. By contrast, CoinJar is registered with AUSTRAC but as it is now a registered UK business, it also complies with UK AML and business regulations. Anti Money Laundering laws are important as they provide a standard for platforms to operate to, and both these businesses clearly demonstrate their intent to prioritise customer safety in their countries of operation.

🏆 Winner: CoinJar

By simple virtue of achieving compliance in two separate countries, CoinJar is the winner here.

Customer service 

Both CoinSpot and CoinJar have comprehensive FAQ sections on their site for immediate issues. CoinJar allows you to send emails to support; meanwhile, CoinSpot runs their help centre through Zendesk, which allows for both support ticket logging and direct emailing.

🏆 Winner: CoinSpot

Zendesk is an efficient platform for support which you will find easy to use. CoinSpot customer support is pretty responsive.

Mobile functionality 

CoinSpot doesn’t have bespoke mobile functionality, although the company does insist that their website is simple enough to be used via your web browser on any smartphone. However, it is not as easily navigable as a mobile application.

In contrast, CoinJar’s main platform strength is its mobile app, available on both Android and iOS. The app is fully compatible with all CoinJar’s functions. The menus are easy to pull up and navigate through, and no technical knowledge is required.

🏆 Winner: CoinJar

CoinJar’s mobile interface is easy to use and even if you have no technical knowledge, you will be able to pick it up more or less instantly.

Pros and Cons of CoinSpot

Without doubt the main advantage of CoinSpot is the sheer number of altcoins you can buy on the exchange. As well as the main coins like Bitcoin, Ethereum and XRP, CoinSpot allows for the purchase, sale, and swap of over 100 other coins, which can all be stored in your multi-currency wallet. Deposits and withdrawals are also well-priced, with free options for AUD in both directions.

Clearly, CoinSpot’s instant buy / sell / exchange function on its main site is aimed at ease of use, and this makes it an ideal site for beginners or casual traders. However, this instant function carries fees of 1%, which far exceed the costs of buying directly on the markets. Again, this means that for larger trades, CoinSpot may not be your best bet. This focus on lower individual volumes and more casual traders also means that CoinSpot lacks the kind of depth of trading option that you get with Coinbase Pro, for example.

Pros and Cons of CoinJar

With its Australian-British background, CoinJar offers both AUD and GBP as trading pairs, and deposits in both these fiat currencies depending on where you live. From starting with Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, Litecoin and Zcash, CoinJar now supports 13 different tokens (although Zcash is no longer supported). Like CoinSpot, CoinJar offers a simple interface, which means there is no barrier to use or beginners. There is also good online support and instant transactions to boot.

For on-the-go users, the CoinJar wallet app is excellent and easy to use, and the CoinJar Card for use in retail establishments is on its way to the UK.

The main downside of CoinJar is the flat 1% conversion fee, ten times the price of a market order on CoinSpot. Again, this effectively prices higher volume traders out of the basic platform. However, CoinJar does also run an OTC trading desk for transactions over 25,000 GBP.

The Verdict: 🏆

Both CoinSpot and CoinJar are well-established crypto exchanges with good security and similar levels of customer support. If you are looking to get into trading a diverse range of tokens, then CoinSpot is the way to go with its massive range of supported cryptocurrencies. CoinJar supports thirteen cryptocurrencies and its fees are slightly better, but it can’t compete on range. However, neither platform is well-priced enough in terms of fees for high-volume trades.

For casual users and beginners in Australia, CoinSpot is the logical choice. And for users who want to transact in AUD and GBP, CoinJar would make more sense.