CoinSpot vs. Digital Surge: Which Is Better?

CoinSpot and Digital Surge are two of the best cryptocurrency exchanges in Australia. Each platform provides low fees, and a beginner-friendly trading experience. In this comparison between Swyftx and Digital Surge, we will compare the exchanges head to head to see which comes out on top using important criteria such as products and services, ease of use, deposit options, trading experience, supported cryptocurrency, fees, security, and customer support.

Quick Comparison

A Brief Overview

CoinSpot

CoinSpot is a Melbourne-based cryptocurrency exchange that provides an easy way for Australian investors and traders to buy, trade, and sell over 310 digital currencies and assets. The platform has gained high visibility in the financial and commercial sectors and has established itself as a major player in the Australian crypto market.

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Founded in 2013, CoinSpot is one of the oldest exchanges in operation and now serves over 1 million customers. The success of CoinSpot is primarily built upon its strong reputation for being a trustworthy and reputable platform to buy cryptocurrencies.

Based on our CoinSpot review, the platform is suitable for beginners with no prior crypto experience to investors with considerable experience. Advanced traders may find the lack of trading orders a disadvantage.

CoinSpot Pros & Cons

Digital Surge

Digital Surge is a Brisbane-based cryptocurrency exchange that provides Australians and New Zealanders with an easy way to buy, sell and store over 270+ cryptocurrencies. Digital Surge is perfectly suited for both beginners and experienced investors who want an enjoyable trading experience, offering a range of advanced order types and trading features on its user-friendly interface. Digital Surge supports Australian and New Zealand users only.

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Users that are looking for a Bitcoin and cryptocurrency exchange with low trading fees, an easy user experience, and excellent customer service may want to consider Digital Surge. Based on our Digital Surge review, we found the platform will be best suited for beginners and experienced traders alike.

Digital Surge Pros & Cons

Deposit Methods

The method by which an account wallet is funded is a personal choice that differs amongst investors. Deposit methods are an important aspect that should be considered to support convenience and minimize fees.

Direct bank transfers, POLi, PayID, and BPAY are some of the most common ways to deposit AUD funds into account wallets, and CoinSpot and Digital Surge are no exception. In terms of the variety of deposit options, we saw no significant advantage between CoinSpot and Digital Surge. Whilst the majority of methods will not incur a fee, both exchanges charge minor fees for some. Both exchanges currently do not support credit/debit card deposits.

DEPOSIT METHOD	COINSPOT	DIGITAL SURGE
Direct bank transfer (OSKO)	Yes	Yes
POLi	Yes	Yes
PayID	Yes	Yes
BPAY	Yes	Yes
Credit/debit card	No	No
Cash (Blueshyft)	Yes	No

Which Exchange Is More Expensive?

Deposit & Withdrawal Fees

Deposit and withdrawals fees for both exchanges are generally exempt from fees, with the exception of the following:

• Digital Surge charges a $2 – $3.30 fee that will be charged for deposits made using POLi.
• CoinSpot charges a 0.9% fee for deposits made using BPAY.

Trading Fees

CoinSpot charges a flat trading fee of 1% if AUD is used to buy crypto on the instant buy/sell feature. This feature is prominently located where beginners can easily find and use it while incurring premium fees. CoinSpot does offer a lower trading fee of 0.1% however users will need to access the trading interface and place market orders. Beginners, particularly those with no prior trading experience, may be discouraged or overwhelmed by the presence of advanced trading features including the TradingView live charting and orders books.

On the other hand, Digital Surge offers a trading fee of 0.5% which is highly competitive in the Australian cryptocurrency market. For comparison, trading fees for other Australian platforms include Swyftx (0.6%), BTC Markets (0.85%), and ZebPay (0.4%). 

An added bonus is that Digital Surge trading fees are structured in a tiered system. If the trading volume increases, the volume of the transaction will attract a slightly lower fee (based on a rolling 30-day trade volume). For example, if the trading volume is $120,000 then a fee of 0.4% will apply instead of 0.5%. CoinSpot does not offer this service and the 1% fee will apply for all transactions irrespective of the transaction amount.

In terms of their fee structures, Digital Surge offers customers slightly more value for money and is the cheaper exchange option to buy, sell, and trade cryptocurrencies.

Which Is Easier To Use?

Ease of use for investors is an important factor to take into consideration. The design of an interface will affect how intuitive it is for beginners. Are features and functions presented in a neat and holistic manner that makes them easily identifiable? Is the interface able to be customized?

The user interfaces of CoinSpot and Digital Surge share a lot of similarities. Both possess layouts that can be navigated by using the tabs at the top of their respective pages. The only difference is that CoinSpot has more tabs to support the extra features such as OTC and crypto swapping. Finding out how to deposit AUD into both account wallets is easily achieved and both present portfolio performance over time.

Both exchanges offer a quick buy/sell function where beginners can easily buy Bitcoin with AUD. Digital Surge customers have the option of selecting a simple price trigger order. To perform the same thing, CoinSpot users will need to access the exchange’s trading interface.

Beginners will find both platforms enjoyable and easy to use, however, we found the Digital Surge interface to be slightly more intuitive and visually appealing.

Which Is Best For Trading?

When it comes to trading, CoinSpot is the clear winner. Users can select the AUD-crypto trading pair in the top left of the screen to display live market prices, as well as TradingView, a popular live charting package in the crypto world. Tools including trend lines, indicators, and technical patterns are available to analyze the price action.

The CoinSpot order book is located below the live charting panel. For the selected trading pair, users can enter in the amount of AUD to spend or choose the amount of crypto to purchase. The trading interface has its limitations in terms of features and functionality and experienced traders are likely to opt for a more advanced setup elsewhere.

On the other hand, Digital Surge only presents the market price of a particular asset over selectable periods of time and does not offer the tools that CoinSpot users have access to.

Security & Safety

It is understandably nerve-wracking for beginners to deposit AUD into their account and use it to buy, trade, and store cryptocurrencies in an exchange’s wallet. The security measures that an exchange implements and its safety track record are important considerations.

CoinSpot and Digital Surge implement industry-standard security measures to safeguard customer funds and digital assets against potential loss, theft, or damage. Controls include the storage of the majority of held assets at highly secure offline locations, withdrawal restrictions, geo-lock logins, and 2FA.

Although CoinSpot is the first Australian crypto exchange to attain ISO 27001 certification, both exchanges are on par when it comes to security. Additionally, our research indicated that neither platform has experienced breaches in its digital frameworks since its inception.

Mobile App

CoinSpot has a mobile trading app that has an overall user rating of 2.6/5 on the Google Play store based on 2,600 reviews. The app is compatible with iOS and Android mobile devices and supports the vast majority of the features on the desktop site which makes it easy to monitor balances, places trades, or view charts while on the go.

Digital Surge also has an iOS and Android compatible mobile app that provides customers with access to all the features and functionality of the desktop platform. Biometric login (fingerprint or facial recognition) can be set up as an additional security measure.

Customer Support

Beginners in the crypto space will prefer convenient avenues to customer support and benefit from access to educational content to aid in understanding terms and aspects. In terms of the methods by which users can reach out for support, CoinSpot and Digital Surge both offer comprehensive Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). Educational content provided by Digital Surge was found to be slightly better tailored to beginners with easy to understand language. Live chat is available on both crypto platforms.

Comparison Outcomes

To assist investors and traders in making an informed decision, we have summarised the assessment outcomes for each category. Based on our comparison review, Digital Surge is seen as the better option for beginners.

ASSESSMENT CRITERIA	WINNER	REASON
Deposit Methods	Tie	Both exchanges generally offer the same methods with minor fees.
Fees	Digital Surge	Cheaper trading fee of 0.5% and tiered fee structure.
User Experience	Digital Surge	Digital Surge interface is more intuitive and visually appealing.
Trading	CoinSpot	CoinSpot offers TradingView live charting and limited advanced order types. Digital Surge only offers trigger orders and DCA.
Security & Safety	Tie	Both exchanges provide industry-standard security measures and have not been hacked.
Mobile App	Tie	Both mobile apps are iOS and and Android compatible, support the majority of features and support biometric login.
Customer Support	Tie	The Digital Surge educational content is expressed in lamens terms and email contact is supported.

Our Verdict

CoinSpot and Digital Surge are highly reputable exchanges in the Australian crypto market and are suitable options for beginners with no prior experience. Investors with a basic level of experience will quickly become accustomed to the features and layout of each platform.

The key difference between the two exchanges is the trading fees. Digital Surge’s lower trading fee of 0.5% will appeal to investors who want more value for their money. Existing CoinSpot customers should avoid using the instant buy/sell feature as the 1% trading fee is very high compared to Digital Surge and other exchanges.

Overall, Digital Surge appears to have a slight advantage over its more well-known competitor in CoinSpot. The platform has been specifically designed for beginners and is the cheaper option.