# Binance API vs Kraken API (slim)

> Kraken scores 71 (BB) to Binance's 63.2 (B) for exchange spot trading. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/binance-vs-kraken.md (~4,450 tokens) · this version ~2,330 tokens · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/binance-vs-kraken.json · canonical https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/binance-vs-kraken
- Index: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt · API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json · MCP: https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp · Updated: 2026-11-03
- Licence: CC BY 4.0, credit Anchor Terminal and link this page (https://www.anchorterminal.com/terms/#data)

Kraken API scores 71 (BB) on agent readiness against Binance API's 63.2 (B), and leads in 5 of 7 scored categories. Binance API leads on schema & documentation. Both do exchange spot trading.

- Binance API: B 63.2, rank #448 of 1349 · https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/binance.min.md
- Kraken API: BB 71, rank #159 of 1349 · https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/kraken.min.md
- Binance API, good for An agent trading a funded Binance account outside the prohibited countries, with the deepest set of markets in this group and a free testnet. Ahead on Schema & documentation, 86 against 80. Also A hosted endpoint, with nothing to install.
- Kraken API, good for An agent that trades spot, xStocks, forex or futures on a person's Kraken account from a local machine, with paper trading to test first and an approval gate on live orders. Ahead on Reliability, 67 against 45; Security & auth, 80 against 72; Payments & pricing, 40 against 35; Transparency & trust, 65 against 43. Also Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better; Runs on your own machine.

| Category | Binance API | Kraken API |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability (16%) | 45 | 67 |
| Performance (10%) | pending | pending |
| Schema & documentation (13%) | 86 | 80 |
| Agent ergonomics (13%) | 76 | 79 |
| Security & auth (14%) | 72 | 80 |
| Payments & pricing (10%) | 35 | 40 |
| Task success (10%) | pending | pending |
| Maintenance & community (7%) | 81 | 81 |
| Transparency & trust (7%) | 43 | 65 |

| Fact (where they differ) | Binance API | Kraken API |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Vendor | Binance | Payward, Inc. |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://agent.binance.com/mcp/agentic` | no (local only) |
| Transports | Streamable HTTP | stdio |
| Licence | Proprietary hosted service under Binance's Terms of Use, which load by script and weren't read. The API docs, connectors, CLI and Skills Hub are open on GitHub under MIT | Proprietary hosted service under Kraken's Global Terms of Service (30 October 2026). kraken-cli, which carries the kraken-mcp server, is MIT |
| Tools exposed | none | 152 |
| Read-only variant documented | no | yes |
| Last release | 2026-10-30 | 2026-10-29 |
| Terms last updated | couldn't be read | 2026-10-30 |
| Privacy policy last updated | couldn't be read | 2026-10-21 |
| Customer content may train models | couldn't be read | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict automated access | couldn't be read | yes |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | couldn't be read | yes |
| Terms or service can change without notice | couldn't be read | yes |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | couldn't be read | yes |
| Popularity | 4.9k stars | 795 stars |

Why the edge:
- Reliability, Kraken API +22: Binance API 45 (Read with the hosted lines on the spot REST API. No status page was found on binance.com or in the API docs (0), so no incident record (5). Rate limits are published as per-endpoint weights with numbers from exchangeInfo, 6,000 request weight a minute, 50 orders per 10 seconds, 160,000 a day and 61,000 raw requests per 5 minutes, and FIX limits per session (15). 429 and 418 carry Retry-After, a 5xx is documented as unknown status to be queried, and orders take a client order id (15). No SLA (0). Generally available (10). 0 + 5 + 15 + 15 + 0 + 10 = 45.); Kraken API 67 (Read with the hosted lines on the spot API. status.kraken.com is a Statuspage site with REST, WebSocket and FIX components (20). The incidents feed read covers 4 September to 3 November 2026. On 30 October spot and derivatives clients could not connect or submit orders across web, mobile, REST, WebSocket and FIX for 59 minutes 39 seconds, rated minor by Kraken; on 28 October some FIX clients were rejected on reconnection for 1 hour 59 minutes while other interfaces worked; the futures engine was degraded for 3 minutes on 13 October. A whole-exchange order outage 21 seconds short of an hour is read as one major (10 of 30). Numeric limits per key by tier and per pair for the matching engine (15). EAPI:Rate limit exceeded and EService:Throttled with a retry timestamp, a client order id and a validate flag on orders, but no Retry-After header (12 of 15). No SLA (0). Generally available (10). 20 + 10 + 15 + 12 + 0 + 10 = 67.)
- Transparency & trust, Kraken API +22: Binance API 43 (The editorial half. A closed service whose Terms of Use couldn't be read; the docs, connectors, CLI and skills are MIT on GitHub (10 of 30). The privacy notice couldn't be read, so no retention or subprocessor statement was checked; the prohibited-countries list is public and dated (5 of 30). The changelog gives retirement dates for SBE schemas and FIX fields months ahead (16 of 20). No subprocessor or data-location statement read (0 of 20). 10 + 5 + 16 + 0 = 31.); Kraken API 65 (The editorial half. A closed service with clear terms naming regional Payward entities under California law; the CLI is MIT (15 of 30). The privacy notice was not read (5 of 30). The changelog dates deprecations and the terms carry a last-updated date (16 of 20). No subprocessor or data-location statement read (0 of 20). 15 + 5 + 16 + 0 = 36.)
- Security & auth, Kraken API +8: Binance API 72 (API keys with HMAC, RSA or Ed25519 signatures, permissions for reading, trading, futures and withdrawals, an IP restriction, revocation in API Management, and OAuth with four scopes on the MCP server; no key expiry found (28 of 30). Read-only keys, sub-accounts, withdrawals only with an IP restriction, and the MCP server's isolated Agentic sub-account with no withdrawal scope and confirmation before writes (18 of 20). The API returns no untrusted content (10). Keys are listed in API Management and used weight is returned per call, but no per-call log for the operator was found (6 of 15). security.txt with a contact and no expiry, a Bugcrowd programme named in the proof-of-solvency repository, no certification read (10 of 20). 28 + 18 + 10 + 6 + 10 = 72.); Kraken API 80 (Keys with nine named permissions, optional expiry, IP restriction and nonce window, plus an OAuth sign-in from the CLI (authorisation code with PKCE, public client) that mints a no-withdrawal key expiring within 90 days or a read-only key (30). Read-only and no-withdrawal keys, position limits and pair allowlists in account settings, and MCP approval prompts for 33 dangerous tools (18 of 20). The API returns no untrusted content; the CLI docs warn that the feedback tool uploads a local file without approval (10). Keys and their permissions are listed in settings and ledgers record activity, but no per-call log for the operator was found (6 of 15). A valid security.txt, a bug bounty policy page, SECURITY.md and a secure SDLC workflow in the CLI; certifications not read (16 of 20). 30 + 18 + 10 + 6 + 16 = 80.)
- Schema & documentation, Binance API +6: Binance API 86 (The docs are Markdown in a public repository with a Postman collection and a Swagger spec, but the spec was last pushed in October 2024 (20 of 25). llms.txt and llms-full.txt on developers.binance.com (10). Each endpoint states its weight, parameters and notes on behaviour, with less on when not to use one (15 of 20). Enums for order types, time in force and symbol filters, required columns in the parameter tables (12 of 15). Request and response examples throughout and an error code list with messages (14 of 15). A dated changelog since 2018 with retirements announced months ahead, such as the 2 September 2026 field removal notified on 2 December 2025 (15). 20 + 10 + 15 + 12 + 14 + 15 = 86.); Kraken API 80 (No OpenAPI file was found for the REST API in the docs read; the CLI's agents/tool-catalog.json gives JSON Schema inputs for all 188 commands and the 152 MCP tools (15 of 25). The docs serve Markdown twins such as quickstart.md and the CLI ships llms.txt, AGENTS.md and CONTEXT.md (10). Endpoint pages and guides on order lifecycle, errors and rate limits say what each call does, with less on when not to use one (15 of 20). Enums for order types, time in force and flags, and enums and required fields in the tool catalogue (12 of 15). Python, Node.js and cURL examples, an errors guide and the CLI's error-catalog.json with retry guidance (13 of 15). A changelog of 120 dated entries with deprecations dated (15). 15 + 10 + 15 + 12 + 13 + 15 = 80.)
- Payments & pricing, Kraken API +5: Binance API 35 (No machine payment protocol (0). A 0.1 per cent standard spot fee is stated in the fee FAQ; the maker and taker table and futures fees load by script and weren't read (15 of 20). Public market data needs no key and the testnet is free with a GitHub login (20). A person signs up, passes Verified Plus verification, deposits and mints a key (0). 0 + 15 + 20 + 0 = 35.); Kraken API 40 (No machine payment protocol (0). Maker and taker fees by tier published without login (20). Public market data, paper trading and the futures demo need no account or card (20). A person signs up, verifies and mints a key or approves the OAuth sign-in (0). 0 + 20 + 20 + 0 = 40.)