Kraken vs Backpack in comparison

Kraken

Kraken provides two front ends with a single login. The Kraken app and website are designed for buying, selling, and staking, targeting beginners and intermediate users. Kraken Pro (available on web, mobile, and desktop) includes an order book with maker and taker fees, advanced order types, charting, margin, and futures. In our view, the split keeps the app simple without taking tools away from active traders.

Users rate the Kraken app favorably in app stores: it scores 4.74 on the US App Store from 35,420 ratings and 4.3 on Google Play US from 55,142 reviews. However, the app lacks advanced orders, margin, and futures, and charges a 1% fee on instant buys.

BBackpack

In our view the web and mobile apps are clean and show spot, futures and lending side by side. We think the shared margin account takes some learning, so we would start with spot trades and switch on futures and lending later.

Kraken

Kraken supports spot trading in more than 600 crypto assets, margin up to 10x leverage on spot pairs, futures, staking, and recurring buys. Recent additions include the Kraken+ subscription, the Krak money app, a crypto-backed credit line called Flexline, and tokenized stocks called xStocks, unavailable in the US, UK, Canada, or Australia. Kraken has also introduced CFTC-regulated perpetual futures for US traders, and Payward states that Kraken Pro offers eligible clients outside the US up to 100x leverage on BTC and ETH. Leverage at such levels can eliminate a position with minimal price shifts.

Limitations include a simpler app that offers fewer assets (Kraken reports over 300 there), and clients in Canada are restricted from margin trading or dealing in derivatives.

BBackpack

Backpack lists 88 spot and 103 perpetual futures markets. Traders also get margin, lending, grid bots and prediction markets in a unified portfolio. Outside the US it also sells real US stocks through Backpack Securities. Its own token, BP, launched in March 2026.

Kraken

Kraken's fees decrease significantly for frequent traders. On Kraken Pro, the initial tier is 0.40% maker and 0.80% taker. From $10K in 30-day volume, or 20K in platform assets, rates drop to 0.22% and 0.38%, and from $10 million in volume, maker orders cost 0% and taker orders 0.10%. Compared to Coinbase Advanced charging US users 0.50% maker and 0.90% taker at entry level, a new US trader finds slightly lower fees on Kraken Pro.

Costs can escalate outside Kraken Pro: 1% on instant and recurring buys in the app plus a spread that Kraken may keep, 1.5% on custom orders, $0.25 plus 3.75% on debit card deposits and a flat 3% for converting small balances. Kraken+ ($4.99 a month or $49.99 a year) eliminates the app's trading fee on up to $10,000 a month, but not the spread or card fees. In our view, Kraken Pro is good value once you trade regularly, while the app is an expensive way to make small, frequent purchases. Our ranking of exchanges by fees illustrates comparisons with other platforms.

BBackpack

At the entry tier, spot costs 0.08% maker and 0.10% taker, and perpetual futures 0.02% maker and 0.05% taker. The USDT/USDC pair trades without a fee. A bitcoin withdrawal costs 0.000026 BTC. In our view these are low fees for an exchange with a simple app.

Kraken

Kraken publishes proof of reserves. The latest snapshot, dated 30 June 2026 and attested by The Network Firm LLP, indicates reserve ratios of 102.9% for BTC, 100.5% for ETH, 100.6% for SOL, 102.3% for XRP, and 100.3% for ADA, with 105% or more for USDC, USDT, and USDG. Kraken also holds ISO/IEC 27001:2022 certification and has completed a SOC 2 Type 1 examination. These are good signs with limits: a snapshot captures one point in time, and Kraken's legal disclosures clarify that digital assets and accounts are not insured against losses.

In the UK, e-money held by Payward Services Limited is separated in a client account but lacks FSCS coverage. In the US, Kraken Securities LLC, which manages stock trading, is a member of SIPC, and Kraken offers two-factor authentication and passkeys for logins.

BBackpack

Backpack's reserve page showed a reserve ratio of 100.31% on our visit. It is registered with FinCEN in the US and holds a CASP license in the EU. It lost 88% of its corporate treasury on FTX in 2022 and later repaid former FTX EU clients. Assets are not FDIC insured or SIPC protected.

Kraken

The Kraken app is suitable for beginners, offering instant buys, recurring buys, and staking, without advanced orders, margin, or futures. Verification requires personal information, a valid ID, and a Social Security number or tax ID for US clients, typically taking a few minutes according to Kraken. New UK retail accounts must observe a mandatory cooling-off period before trading.

A notable limitation for beginners is cost: the instant-buy option charges 1% plus a spread, while the cheaper Kraken Pro order book requires some learning. In our view, a beginner who plans to buy regularly should weigh the 1% app fee against Kraken Pro's 0.40% maker fee before settling on the app.

BBackpack

We think Backpack is a weaker first stop for beginners. Fiat comes in by wire transfer only, with no card purchases, and in our view the cross-margin design can draw on balances you see as savings. For a first purchase we would rather point beginners to Coinbase.

Kraken

Support is the criterion we rate lowest for Kraken. In our view, its help centre is a strength on the self-service side: deposit options and minimums, withdrawal fees per network, verification levels and licensing by region each have their own public article, and much of this review's information comes from those resources.

BBackpack

For US users, Backpack lists support by email and by phone at (833) 623-5237. We would ask support which products your state allows before funding an account.