Coinmama Review: Pros, Cons and How It Compares

Where Coinmama shines

Payment options. Coinmama is known for its variety of payment options, including the ability to purchase cryptocurrencies with Visa or Mastercard credit cards. That practice may have earned it fans, but likely not among investment advisors: Purchasing any investment like cryptocurrency with a high-interest credit card can be risky business. In September 2020, Coinmama reached a deal with Apple to allow the use of Apple Pay for crypto purchases.

Simplicity. Unlike many other exchanges, Coinmama doesn't facilitate transactions between buyers and sellers; all cryptocurrencies sold are from Coinmama’s own inventory, so the transaction is between users and the company. You will, however, need your own digital wallet to store the cryptocurrencies you buy.

Where Coinmama falls short

Fees. Coinmama has higher fees than some other providers, though these fees fall as the amount of crypto you purchase and the time you’ve been a customer increase.

No crypto-to-crypto trading. Coinmama doesn’t allow crypto-to-crypto transactions. To purchase crypto, you’ll need to use fiat, such as USD or GBP.

No crypto wallet. Coinmama does not issue a wallet. Rather, the company will send coins to whichever wallet you own.

No iOS mobile app. Only an Android app is available.

Coinmama is best for:

• Bitcoin buyers and sellers.

Coinmama at a glance

» Want to compare? View our picks for best bitcoin and cryptocurrency exchanges.

More details about Coinmama's ratings

Minimum trade: 2 out of 5 stars

The minimum amount to buy on Coinmama is $50, while the minimum amount to sell is $100.

Trading and transaction fees: 1 out of 5 stars

Trading platform: Coinmama’s simple transaction flow — buying and selling directly from the company — lends itself to the site’s simple design. Users select how much they want to buy, either by U.S. dollar amount or amount of bitcoins. The site sells fractional shares of bitcoin, so you can make purchases for as low as $50 worth of bitcoin based on its current spot trading price. Sales of bitcoin have a $100 minimum.

Crypto trading costs and transaction fees: To trade cryptocurrency, Coinmama charges a rate that’s based on the market rate of TradeBlock’s XBX Index plus 2%. In addition, there is a commission fee of up to 3.9% on crypto purchases and up to 0.99% to sell bitcoin.

Coinmama offers reduced fees to buy and sell through its loyalty program. Users who make $5,000 in purchases over 90 days get their sales fee reduced by 12.5%; users who purchase $18,000 over 90 days or a lifetime purchase amount above $50,000 get 25% off their sales fee.

U.S. users have two payment options, both of which have limitations. Trades funded by SWIFT bank transfer don't have a fee, but there is a $250 minimum. Your minimum for your first order drops to $30 if you pay with credit card, debit card, Apple Pay or Google Pay, but you'll be charged a 4.99% fee, and consecutive order minimums go back up to $50.

Number of cryptocurrencies: 3 out of 5 stars

Coinmama users can buy 15 cryptocurrencies: BTC, ETH, DOGE, UNI, AAVE, LINK, ETC, BCH, COMP, EOS, LTC, OMG, WBTC, LRC and NMR. However, users can only sell bitcoin for fiat currency (such as U.S. dollars) on the exchange. That may be a turnoff to users looking to cash in other cryptocurrencies or make cryptocurrency-to-cryptocurrency trades.

Crypto-to-crypto trading pairs: 1 out of 5 stars

Coinmama does not offer crypto-to-crypto trading. Users can only purchase crypto currencies with fiat.

Storage offering: 1 out of 5 stars

No crypto wallet: While not having a crypto wallet to store digital currency eliminates the possibility of your cash being stolen in a hack, you’ll still need to get an online crypto wallet from another vendor before making purchases on the site. Many crypto beginners may prefer a one-stop shop from exchanges that also provide online storage. Coinmama has a partnership with crypto wallet ZenGo, which it recommends for new users without a crypto storage wallet.

Security: Coinmama never holds customer cryptocurrency funds, nor stores your payment information, so your cryptocurrency and personal financial information aren’t available on the site to be hacked. Still, the company announced in 2019 that 450,000 email addresses and hashed passwords were hacked in a data breach, which may give some new users pause.

Staking offering: 1 out of 5 stars

Coinmama does not offer staking services.

Mobile app: 2 out of 5 stars

Coinmama’s app is available on Android only, but has received fairly good reviews.

Customer support options: 1 out of 5 stars

Availability in most U.S. states: Coinmama isn’t available in New York or Hawaii. Residents in these 17 states will be redirected to third-party provider Simplex when creating their account: Alabama, Alaska, Delaware, Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Maine, Maryland, Mississippi, Oregon, South Dakota, Vermont, Washington and West Virginia.

Is Coinmama right for you?

Coinmama’s easy interface and simple transaction flow may be attractive to those new to cryptocurrency trading, but its fees are pricier than many competitors.

Regardless of your choice, understand that investing in cryptocurrencies like bitcoin is highly speculative and known for its volatility. It’s wise to never invest any more than you can afford to lose.