All links are external & open in a new tab, except for "Read Review" buttons. Before jumping into this page, an important disclosure.
You'll need a Bitcoin wallet before you buy since some exchanges require one.
Don't have a wallet? Read our guide on the best Bitcoin wallets.
CoinMama Popular Buy Bitcoin Read Review
CoinMama allows customers in almost every country to buy bitcoin with a credit or debit card. They charge an ~6% fee on each purchase.
If buying less than $150 worth of bitcoins, you won't need to verify your identity. This convenience makes small purchases quick and easy.
Want to buy using CoinMama? This step-by-step guide will show you how to use CoinMama.
- Works in almost all countries
- Highest limits for buying bitcoins with a credit card
- Reliable and trusted broker
- Some of the highest fees among credit/debit card bitcoin brokers
LocalBitcoins Popular Buy Bitcoin Read Review
LocalBitcoins is an escrow service which also helps to match bitcoin buyers and sellers. The most common method of payment for purchase is cash deposit. However, users may advertise trades for whichever payment method they prefer.
Buying bitcoins via an in-person meeting, secured and facilitated by LocalBitcoins, may be one of the fastest and most private ways to buy bitcoins in any country.
- Can be private, fast and easy
- In-person trades require no personal information
- Purchases of bitcoin can be made quickly via cash deposit
- Beware of scams; always follow the rules!
- Harder to buy large amounts of bitcoins compared to large exchanges
- Slightly to significantly higher prices than regular exchanges; premium for higher privacy
bitFlyer Popular Buy Bitcoin
bitFlyer is the largest Bitcoin broker and exchange in Japan, in terms of users, average daily volume and investment capital. In fact, it is one of the largest Bitcoin exchanges in the world. You can deposit funds via credit card or bank transfers, with Quick Deposit functionality enabled for many banks.
- Deep liquidity ensures prices near the fair market rate
- Extremely low fees; 0.15% at most, lower for more trading volume
- Fairly private for small trades; only a phone number or Facebook account required for 250,000 JPY monthly limit
- High or no limits for fully-verified or VIP traders
- Identity verification required to unlock higher monthly limits
- Support only available from 9 AM to 7 PM during weekdays
- Limited payment options
- Exchange can be hard to use for new Bitcoin users; it's geared towards traders
Coincheck Buy Bitcoin
Coincheck is a Bitcoin exchange based in Japan. Registered users can buy and sell bitcoin via bank transfer or credit card.
- Private for Japanese citiizens buying less than $500 worth of bitcoin; no need for identity verification
- One of a few major Bitcoin exchanges in Japan
- Support for multiple altcoins
- No set fee for credit card deposits; varies based on conditions
- Exchange can be hard to use for new Bitcoin users; it's geared towards traders
Kraken Popular Buy Bitcoin
Founded mid-2013, Kraken is the world's largest Euro-denominated Bitcoin exchange, based on daily average trading volume. It supports deposits from US, European, Canadian, British, and Japanese customers. Deposits can be made via bank wire, SEPA, SWIFT, and bank deposit (Japan only).
- Well-financed and trusted exchange
- Very low 0.25% taker fee, falling to 0.1% with sufficient trading volume
- Very low maker fee, falling to 0% with sufficient trading volume
- Deep liquidity for large volume buyers in European markets ensures a price close to fair market rate
- Highly-rated for security
- Publishes proof of reserve audits
- User-interface makes it difficult for first time buyers
- Requires ID verification, so not private
Bitcoin ATMs Buy Bitcoin
You can use our Bitcoin ATM map to buy bitcoins with cash. Bitcoin ATMs can be a quick and easy way to buy bitcoins and they're also private. That convenience and privacy, however, comes with a price; most ATMs have fees of 5-10%.
- Our map makes it super easy to find a Bitcoin ATM near you
- Bitcoin ATMs often have 5-10% fees per purchase
Bitfinex Buy Bitcoin
Hong Kong-based Bitfinex has long been one of the largest USD Bitcoin exchanges in the world. Bitfinex accounts may be funded by bank wire only, their fee on accepting such transfers is low at only 0.1%.
In August 2016, however, it was hacked and lost around 30% of its users funds. While Bitfinex can be helpful for buying large amounts of bitcoins, it is probably best to not use the exchange until it fully compensates affected users.
- Very low fees even for low volume buyers; 0.1% for market makers and 0.2% for market takers
- One of the best ways to buy large amounts of bitcoins
- Allows lending of fiat or bitcoin to margin traders at interest (but this is risky in light of the hack)
- Very deep liquidity promotes a price close to fair market rate
- Supports several altcoins
- Was recently hacked and has yet to fully compensate all users for their loss
- Geared towards traders; possibly quite confusing for first time buyers
- Single payment option
Xapo Buy Bitcoin
Xapo is a global Bitcoin platform, based in Switzerland. It allows users in almost any country to purchase bitcoins via SWIFT transfer. While Xapo itself has low fees, you may incur significant charges when you send the SWIFT transfer to Xapo. Xapo also offers a bitcoin-funded debit card which works just like any other.
- Started as a vaulting service, with claimed security investment above $20 million
- Easy to use for first-time buyers
- Deep liquidity promotes a price close to fair market rate
- Offers a wallet service that should not be used to store bitcoins
- Requires ID verification, so not private
- Trading fees not publically stated on website
Mycelium Local Trader Buy Bitcoin
Mycelium Local Trader helps you find local Bitcoin sellers. Once you locate a seller, you meet up in-person and conduct the trade. Mycelium charges absolutely no fees. While Mycelium Local Trader works great in highly-populated areas, users in low population areas will have trouble finding sellers.
- Easy and cheap way to buy bitcoins with cash
- Private way to buy bitcoins, no personal information required beyond cellphone number
- Users in sparsely populated areas will have trouble finding sellers
ShapeShift Buy Bitcoin
ShapeShift lets you buy bitcoin with Litecoin, Dogecoin, altcoins and many other digital tokens. ShapeShift works in nearly every country but you will need another cryptocurrency in order to purchase bitcoins. Exchanges happen almost instantly because ShapeShift never actually controls your tokens but just exchanges them.
- Easiest and fastest way to buy bitcoins with altcoins
- Fees are reasonable for larger traders
- Need altcoins or other digital tokens to use
bitcoin-otc Buy Bitcoin
Bitcoin-OTC is an over-the-counter marketplace for the peer to peer exchanging of bitcoin. It is almost like a Craigslist for Bitcoin. Users must create ads or locate other ads to find sellers of bitcoin. Bitcoin-OTC is somewhat complicated and hard to use, but may be the only option for users in some countries without an exchange.
- Can be a good way to find Bitcoin sellers if no other options exist
- Need to keep eye out for scams
- Need to build trust and feedback for your account before trading larger amounts
