Swyftx vs Binance: Exchange Comparison 2024
Our pick: Swyftx
Swyftx and Binance are two of the best cryptocurrency exchanges in Australia and separating them are difficult. However, Swyftx is ultimately the winner. The platform is dedicated to servicing crypto investors of all experience levels, which is mirrored by its excellent, simple user interface.
The Swyftx earn wallet is a great feature for generating passive income, and customers rave about the platform’s customer support. Binance is the largest crypto exchange and does have some unique advantages – lower trading fees and more features – however you can no longer deposit AUD into Binance as it has been debanked by their Australian bankers partners.
The cryptocurrency world has evolved substantially over the past decade. Today, it is easier than ever for the crypto-curious to add digital currencies to their investment portfolios. However, such a wide range of options can become overwhelming when deciding which trading platform to choose. That’s why it’s always a good idea to compare the features, fees and user experience of various cryptocurrency exchanges to help make decision-making a breeze. Today we will compare two of Australia’s top crypto exchanges, Swyftx vs Binance.
Trading fees | 0.1% | 0.1-0.6% |
Deposit fees | Cannot deposit AUD | Bank transfer: $0 PayID: $0 Credit card: 1.99% |
Withdrawal fees | Cannot withdraw AUD | 0% |
Website | binance.com/en | - |
Cryptocurrencies | 500+ | 400+ |
Headquarters | Caymen Islands | Brisbane, Australia |
Australian based customer support | ||
Demo mode | ||
Full learn platform |
Binance vs Swyftx
Ease of use
Swyftx is a cryptocurrency exchange primarily intended for beginner to intermediate investors. The layout of their platform reflects this, and customers can access all of Swyftx’s services with just a few clicks. Finding a specific coin, feature or wallet only takes seconds, thanks to the easily identifiable navigation pane. Customers can even bring up the search bar by pressing “/” on the web application. There can be a slight learning curve when tailoring the platform’s customisable dashboard. However, doing so will substantially improve the overall Swyftx experience.
Binance isn’t exactly renowned for its platform’s ease of use. This criticism may be slightly unfair, as navigating the exchange isn’t as convoluted as one might expect from such a feature-heavy platform. Several dropdown menus make finding the majority of Binance’s services pretty easy. Advanced charting tools, an NFT marketplace and derivatives trading are some of Binance’s features that Swyftx does not offer that more experienced traders may utilise. However, the sheer number of options available makes the user interface inherently cluttered, easily making newcomers feel claustrophobic and overwhelmed.
Winner: Swyftx
Binance is a manageable platform to use. Most features are easy enough to find, and the design is far from inoperable. That said, it can still take beginners a long time to adjust to Binance’s layout and how to best use it. Swyftx on the other hand, provides a much more intuitive browsing experience that should suit those without much of an investing background.
Fees
Trading fees | 0.1% | 0.1-0.6% |
Deposit fees | Cannot deposit AUD | Bank transfer: $0 PayID: $0 Credit card: 1.99% |
Withdrawal fees | Cannot withdraw AUD | 0% |
Trading fees
Swyftx is lauded in Australia as providing some of the country’s lowest trading fees and spreads compared to other crypto exchanges. The company is notably transparent with its fee schedule – customers can see exactly where their money is going before making a trade. A flat 0.6% trading fee per transaction is one of the lowest in the Australian market.
Binance offers extremely low trading fees that are incredibly competitive. Those placing spot or market orders will incur a max fee of 0.1% when buying and selling crypto. Traders with extremely high volumes can reduce this trading fee to a low of 0.06%.
Withdrawal and deposit fees
Swyftx does not charge fees for the most popular forms of withdrawing, or depositing of Australian dollars. AUD deposit options include bank transfers, PayID and POLi. Depositing funds with a debit card will incur a 3.6% third-party fee and spreads up to 4%. All cryptocurrency deposit methods are free, while withdrawals for all crypto exchanges come with a standard network fee (gas).
Binance deposit methods do not typically charge deposit fees, although this varies based on the fiat currency used. AUD deposits and withdrawals can be made via PayID/Osko and Bank transfer with no charges. Crypto deposits are always free, but withdrawals will incur a variable network fee.
Spreads are an oft-overlooked fee when investing in digital currencies. Most platforms do not disclose their spreads, however, Swyftx is a notable exception. The average Swyftx spread is around 1.7% and goes as low as 0.45% for certain Bitcoin transactions.
Binance is not as transparent with its spreads, and they can vary dramatically from asset to asset when crypto trading. However, given the platform’s industry-leading volume, liquidity and revenue, spreads as low as 0.1-2% are commonly reported.
Winner: Binance
Swyftx’s low fees combined with spread transparency make it one of the most cost-effective exchanges to trade crypto in Australia. However, Binance has an unparalleled international reach that allows it to offer extremely competitive fee rates to buy and sell crypto compared to location-specific platforms such as Swyftx. Both platforms cryptocurrency withdrawal fees are similar.
Customer support
Australian based customer support |
Swyftx has garnered a reputation as one of the best cryptocurrency exchanges for live chat support. A particular benefit of Swyftx vs Binance is comparing the live chat support that is offered. Swyftx crypto exchange offers a dedicated, Australian-based live chat support team. This means there are no discrepancies in time zones and active business hours for Australian users. The exchange offers a 24/7 live chat customer support (with wait times of less than 15 minutes during support times), email contact and a Telegram group. Impressively, Swyftx boasts a 4.7/5 star rating on the review site TrustPilot.
Binance’s live chat support is decent. There are ample resources (help articles, guides and walkthroughs) that should suit most questions and issues. However, getting in contact with the live chat support representative for more complex problems can take a while. Binance offers live chat support and contact forms but has a lacklustre 2/5 star rating on Trustpilot.
Winner: Swyftx
Swyftx is the clear winner here. The company is renowned for its excellent customer service team, quick replies and helpful answers. Binance, on the other hand, can struggle to provide timely help to its customers.
Security
Swyftx strives to be a safe crypto exchange and has a strong reputation in security with a team of over 50 years of building secure frameworks and protecting customer data. The platform uses all the modern and industry-leading security measures one would expect from such a reputable exchange. This includes data encryption, 2FA, biometric authentication and hot/cold wallet storage. The team is dedicated to achieving ISO27001 accreditation in the coming years in regard to information security management. The crypto exchange conducts external penetration testing as well. Security features can extend to the KYC verification requirements that assist in protecting user funds and identities. However, a slight drawback of Swyftx’s security measures is its lack of an insurance fund.
Binance is a world-class exchange that turns over billions of dollars daily. Such massive volume makes it a target for hackers, so security is one of its top priorities. Binance employs bank-like measures to ensure the safety of its customer’s funds, including 2FA, biometric authentication IP and wallet whitelisting and a $1 billion-dollar insurance fund. However, the Binance crypto exchange has been hacked in the past, losing USD $40 million in 2019.
Winner: Tie
When comparing Swyftx vs Binance, each platform has top-notch security measures that should leave most customers feeling comfortable that their funds are safe. That said, it is always a good idea to consider holding digital currencies in a hardware/cold wallet for maximum safety.
Staking/Earn
Swyftx removed their staking feature due to regulatory concerns in Australia.
Swyftx users used to be able earn interest and passive income on multiple crypto assets, including popular coins like Solana, Cardano and Cosmos. The previous biggest positive of using Swyftx’s earn wallet was how easy it was to get started. Perpetuating their beginner-friendly philosophy, users could easily transfer and withdraw funds from Swyftx’s earn wallets at any time.
Binance’s primary earning program is its “Simple Earn” hub, which works almost identically to a high-interest savings account (HISA). There are over 300 products that users can earn interest, although not all of them are available to Australians. Binance frequently offers promotions with short-term boosts to earning rates. Those locking up their funds for multiple months will find Binance’s annual percentage yield (APY) competitive. However, the flexible earn wallets have rather disappointing interest rates.
Winner: Binance
Binance has one of the most comprehensive earning programs on the market, with hundreds of assets for customers to accumulate passive profit. With Swyftx no longer offering an Earn feature we hav to give this round to Binance. However, before Swyftx cancelled their earn program, they had one of the easiest-to-use platforms available that typically provided more competitive earn interest rates than Binance.
Features
Swyftx has a solid set of features that are generally targeted toward beginners. Recurring buys are an excellent addition that allows investors to leverage a dollar-cost average trading strategy. Users can utilize alternative deposit methods and execute OTC orders for trades that exceed Swyftx’s daily deposit/trade limits. Additionally, customers can begin planning for retirement by adding cryptocurrency to their SMSF. The platform offers a demo mode feature where users can use virtual money to practise trading.
Binance is quite possibly the most feature-laden exchange out there. Cryptocurrency traders can access margin trading and derivative assets to amplify their gains (and losses). The platform also supports on-chain ETH 2.0 staking, mining pools, an NFT marketplace and OTC trading for high-net-worth individuals. Put simply, investors can access most blockchain-related services on the Binance exchange.
Winner: Binance
Although Swyftx has a few useful features, it keeps its services simple to accommodate newer crypto investors. Conversely, Binance’s suite of features is renowned across the industry. It’s the one-stop shop for all your crypto trading needs and is continually looking to expand its offerings.
Tradeable coins
Australian based customer support |
Swyftx supports over 320 cryptocurrencies for buying, selling and trading. This includes all the major assets you’d expect, such as Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin and Dogecoin. The platform does a good job at keeping its list of coins up-to-date and is constantly adding new, reputable altcoins. For example, ApeCoin was available for trade on Swyftx almost immediately upon release.
Binance has an impressive list of financial instruments supported on its platform. For starters, customers can trade 340+ cryptocurrencies, including an array of obscure altcoins. On top of this, more experienced crypto investors will enjoy Binance’s 1000+ trading pairs, including futures trading and perpetual contracts.
Winner: Binance
There isn’t much separating the number of coins supported by Binance (400+) and Swyftx (320+). Where Binance edges ahead is its support for more advanced trading instruments, such as derivatives. This gives the platform a larger range of trading options for those with the skill to utilise them.
Learning material
Full learning platform | - | - |
Swyftx has some of the most comprehensive learning resources for cryptocurrency investors of all experience levels. Beginners will find themselves at home on Swyftx Learn, where they can discover all the basics of the blockchain, the history of Bitcoin and some entry-level trading tips. Those with more crypto know-how can explore the excellent advanced trading series that dives into technical analysis, trading strategies and combining various indicators. The company has also begun releasing Tapping Into Crypto, a weekly podcast that dives into all things crypto.
Binance’s learning centre (referred to as Binance Academy) is one of the more well-known resources for investors. The hub contains walkthroughs on using Binance, alongside hundreds of articles ranging from Ethereum introductions to risk management strategies.
Winner: Swyftx
Swyftx and Binance have two of the best learning resources available of any competing exchange. Swyftx narrowly takes the cake due to the depth of its content, as well as the introduction of an engrossing podcast.
Overall winner: Swyftx
Swyftx is our pick for the best exchange in this comparison review.
Swyftx rapidly built itself a positive reputation among the Australian crypto community for good reason. Its competitive fees, top-tier customer support and impressive list of altcoins are only part of its charm. Pair all of that with a seamless user interface, and it’s easy to see why Swyftx is the simple choice for most Australian beginners.
However, when comparing two industry-leading cryptocurrency platforms, there aren’t any losers. Binance is by far the most popular exchange on the market – and it does a lot right. The sheer range of features, low fees and deep liquidity make it the perfect platform for advanced traders. It is quite likely that investors will end up using both exchanges at some point along their crypto journey.
Head to our full Swyftx review and Binance review for more info on each exchange. Alternatively, check out our comparison of Swyftx vs Coinspot.