# Kraken API vs MEXC API

> Kraken scores 71 (BB) to MEXC's 56.3 (C) for exchange spot trading. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kraken-vs-mexc
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kraken-vs-mexc.md (~4,800 tokens)
- Site index for agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt (the key docs and every listing in one file, at most 16 MB, about 4 million tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms-full.txt)
- API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json
- MCP: https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (the whole catalogue as tools, no key)
- DNS: dig +short TXT <slug>.grade.anchorterminal.com (the grade as a DNS TXT record, for a sandbox with no HTTP where names still resolve; also top., best.<category>. and <a>.vs.<b>. under the zone, and the same under grade.letme.dev)
- Licence: CC BY 4.0, credit Anchor Terminal and link this page (https://www.anchorterminal.com/terms/#data)
- Updated: 2026-11-04

Kraken API scores 71 (BB) on agent readiness against MEXC API's 56.3 (C), and leads in every scored category. Both do exchange spot trading.

- Kraken API: grade BB, 71/100, rank #159 of 1349. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/kraken.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/kraken.json
- MEXC API: grade C, 56.3/100, rank #743 of 1349. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/mexc.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/mexc.json
- Best crypto exchange APIs and MCP servers for AI agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/crypto-exchanges/index.md
- All 210 exchanges comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/crypto-exchanges/index.md

## Which one, for what

### Kraken API (BB)

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 43
- Schema & documentation, 80 against 64
- Agent ergonomics, 79 against 64
- Security & auth, 80 against 65
- Payments & pricing, 40 against 31
- Maintenance & community, 81 against 75
- Transparency & trust, 65 against 58

Also in its favour:
- Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better
- Free to start without a card

Watch for: No self-service spot sandbox; the spot UAT environment is on request through an account manager, and paper trading lives in the CLI

### MEXC API (C)

Good for: Spot and futures for agents in served countries that want a vendor-built MCP server with read-only and confirmation modes.

Watch for: No sandbox or testnet; only an order-validation endpoint


## Why the edge

### Reliability: Kraken API +24

- 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.
- MEXC API (43): Read with the hosted lines. No status page found; status.mexc.com does not resolve and llms.txt points to a maintenance-updates feed (0). No readable incident history (5). Rate limits documented with numbers, 300 weight per 10 seconds per IP, 500 per UID, 12 order requests a second per UID, 100 WebSocket messages a second (15). 429 and 418 carry Retry-After with ban lengths stated, a 5xx is to be treated as unknown rather than failed, an order-test endpoint exists, and newClientOrderId is optional with no idempotency promise (13 of 15). No SLA found (0). Spot and futures are generally available, futures order placement having reopened on 31 March 2026 after being closed since July 2022 (10). 0 + 5 + 15 + 13 + 0 + 10 = 43.

### Schema & documentation: Kraken API +16

- 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.
- MEXC API (64): No OpenAPI found; a Postman collection and the CLI's 25 capability reference files are the nearest machine-readable contract (5 of 25). llms.txt on mexc.com, written for assistants and pointing at the API docs and legal pages (7 of 10). Per-endpoint pages with purpose, parameters and permissions, without when-not-to-use guidance (13 of 20). Typed parameters with enums for order types, statuses and intervals (11 of 15). Examples on each endpoint and a separate error-code page with numeric codes and messages (13 of 15). Versioned API (v3) with a dated changelog of 72 entries to 23 October 2026 (15). 5 + 7 + 13 + 11 + 13 + 15 = 64.

### Agent ergonomics: Kraken API +15

- Kraken API (79): The MCP server loads services with -s, defaults to no live trading, and its 152 tool definitions average about 520 characters; the REST API takes count, limit and pair filters but has no field selection (18 of 25). Cursor pagination on ledgers and trades since 30 September and 6 October 2026, with ofs deprecated (17 of 20). Prefixed error strings such as EOrder:Rate limit exceeded and EAPI:Invalid nonce, and the CLI's error catalogue says which to retry (17 of 20). cl_ord_id and validate on orders, destructive_hint and elicitation on dangerous MCP tools, no idempotency key on REST (16 of 20). An official Rust SDK at 5 stars, a Go module and example clients, HMAC-SHA512 signing with a strict nonce (11 of 15). 18 + 17 + 17 + 16 + 11 = 79.
- MEXC API (64): Graded on the REST API with the CLI's MCP mode. Responses take limit parameters and the MCP read-only market subset is 22 tools, but a full spot MCP category lists 123 tools (15 of 25). startTime, endTime and limit on history, symbol filters on open orders (14 of 20). Numeric codes with messages, a 30035 order-limit code added 23 October 2026, 5xx guidance (14 of 20). newClientOrderId is optional with no idempotency guarantee; the CLI adds --dry-run and a confirmation step (10 of 20). Few required parameters; SDKs in five languages whose repository was last pushed in February 2024 (11 of 15). 15 + 14 + 14 + 10 + 11 = 64.

### Security & auth: Kraken API +15

- 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.
- MEXC API (65): Granular permissions (account read, trade, withdraw, transfer), per-pair restriction, up to 10 linked IPs, 90-day expiry without an IP, renewal and revocation in the account, 30 keys per account (26 of 30). A read-only MCP mode that hides write tools, a confirmation step before orders and transfers in the CLI and MCP, and --yes that agents are told not to add; nothing server-side confirms an API order (17 of 20). The API returns exchange data, and the CLI security page warns that agents may be led by web pages or files into unwanted actions (12 of 15). CLI confirmations are logged and reported to MEXC with no operator access described; an apiKeyInfo endpoint shows key settings (6 of 15). No security.txt, disclosure policy or bug bounty found; a proof-of-reserves page exists (4 of 20). 26 + 17 + 12 + 6 + 4 = 65.

### Payments & pricing: Kraken API +9

- 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.
- MEXC API (31): No machine payment protocol (0). Fees published without login on MEXC's own fee guide (20 October 2026) and a 2024 announcement, with a separate API futures schedule; the fee page itself is drawn by script (16 of 20). Public market data needs no key or card; trading needs a verified and funded account. Judgement call (15 of 20). A person must sign up in a browser, and futures need identity verification (0). 0 + 16 + 15 + 0 = 31.

### Transparency & trust: Kraken API +7

- 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.
- MEXC API (58): The editorial half. A closed service with a dated user agreement naming MEXC (Comoros) Ltd; the CLI is UNLICENSED on npm (15 of 30). The privacy policy names no entity, states no retention periods and relies on standard contractual clauses for transfers (10 of 30). The changelog flags endpoints as "will be discontinued soon" without dates and the futures log records removals (8 of 20). Third parties are named by category only, with no subprocessor list or data locations (5 of 20). 15 + 10 + 8 + 5 = 38.

## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Kraken API | MEXC API | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 67 | 43 | Kraken API +24 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 80 | 64 | Kraken API +16 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 79 | 64 | Kraken API +15 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 80 | 65 | Kraken API +15 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 40 | 31 | Kraken API +9 |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 81 | 75 | Kraken API +6 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 65 | 58 | Kraken API +7 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **71 · BB** | **56.3 · C** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Kraken API | MEXC API |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | Payward, Inc. | MEXC (Comoros) Ltd |
| Hosted endpoint | no (local only) | no (local only) |
| Transports | stdio | stdio |
| Auth | OAuth or key | API key |
| Pricing | Pay per use | Pay per use |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | Proprietary hosted service under Kraken's Global Terms of Service (30 October 2026). kraken-cli, which carries the kraken-mcp server, is MIT | none |
| Tools exposed | 152 | 299 |
| Read-only variant documented | yes | yes |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| Last release | 2026-10-29 | 2026-10-23 |
| Terms last updated | 2026-10-30 | 2026-10-13 |
| Privacy policy last updated | 2026-10-21 | 2026-06-01 |
| Customer content may train models | not found in the text | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict automated access | yes | yes |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | yes | not found in the text |
| Terms or service can change without notice | yes | yes |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | yes | yes |
| Popularity | 795 stars | 315 stars |

## Verdicts

**Kraken API.** Kraken pairs a documented REST, WebSocket and FIX API with the open-source kraken-cli, whose kraken-mcp server gates 33 dangerous tools behind approval and signs in by OAuth with a no-withdrawal key. Spot has no self-service sandbox, no OpenAPI file was found, and a 59-minute connectivity outage hit every interface on 30 October 2026.

**MEXC API.** MEXC publishes granular key permissions, per-pair key limits, weighted rate limits with Retry-After and a dated changelog, and its official CLI runs a read-only-capable MCP server with confirmation before any fund movement. There is no sandbox or status page, API futures orders pay a higher fee schedule, and the user agreement excludes the US, UK, EU members and others.

## Before you call either

### Kraken API

1. Start kraken-mcp with -s market,paper,feedback or the default services; add trade only with a least-privilege key, and never pass --allow-dangerous on an agent that reads untrusted input
2. Ask the person to run kraken auth login in their own terminal; it needs a browser and saves a no-withdrawal key that expires in 90 days at most
3. Send a fresh --cl-ord-id on each order and run it with --validate first; after a network error look the order up before sending it again
4. Keep the nonce strictly increasing per key and stay under the tier's counter, since EAPI:Rate limit exceeded has no Retry-After header
5. Test strategies in a paper workspace, which fills at live prices with no account, before a live workspace

### MEXC API

1. Use a key limited to SPOT_ACCOUNT_READ and SPOT_DEAL_WRITE, the pairs you trade and your IP addresses; keys without a linked IP expire after 90 days
2. Start the MCP server as `mexc mcp spot --read-only` unless the task trades, and never pass `--yes`; orders and transfers wait for the person's confirmation
3. Call POST /api/v3/order/test before a live order, since there is no sandbox
4. On 429 or 418 wait for Retry-After; order placement and cancellation share 12 requests a second per UID, and repeated breaches ban the IP for up to 3 days
5. Treat a 5xx on an order as unknown, not failed, and query the order before retrying; set newClientOrderId so the order can be found

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, Kraken API or MEXC API?

Kraken API scores 71 (BB) on agent readiness against MEXC API's 56.3 (C), and leads in every scored category.

### Do Kraken API and MEXC API need an API key?

Kraken API takes an API key or an OAuth sign-in. MEXC API needs an API key.

### Can an agent call Kraken API and MEXC API without installing anything?

Kraken API runs on your own machine, with no hosted endpoint listed. MEXC API runs on your own machine, with no hosted endpoint listed.


## For agents

- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kraken-vs-mexc.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kraken-vs-mexc.min.md
- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {"a": "kraken", "b": "mexc"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare kraken mexc`
- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/kraken.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/mexc.json

## Other comparisons with Kraken API or MEXC API

- [Bitfinex API vs Kraken API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitfinex-vs-kraken.md)
- [Bitfinex API vs MEXC API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitfinex-vs-mexc.md)
- [Bitget vs Kraken API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitget-vs-kraken.md)
- [Bitget vs MEXC API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitget-vs-mexc.md)
- [Bithumb Open API vs Kraken API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bithumb-vs-kraken.md)
- [Bithumb Open API vs MEXC API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bithumb-vs-mexc.md)
- [Bitstamp API vs Kraken API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitstamp-vs-kraken.md)
- [Bitstamp API vs MEXC API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bitstamp-vs-mexc.md)
- [Bybit vs Kraken API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bybit-vs-kraken.md)
- [Bybit vs MEXC API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/bybit-vs-mexc.md)
- [Crypto.com Exchange API vs Kraken API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/crypto-com-exchange-vs-kraken.md)
- [Crypto.com Exchange API vs MEXC API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/crypto-com-exchange-vs-mexc.md)
- [Gate vs Kraken API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gate-io-vs-kraken.md)
- [Gate vs MEXC API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gate-io-vs-mexc.md)
- [Gemini Exchange API vs Kraken API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-exchange-vs-kraken.md)
- [Gemini Exchange API vs MEXC API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/gemini-exchange-vs-mexc.md)
- [HTX trading API vs Kraken API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/htx-vs-kraken.md)
- [HTX trading API vs MEXC API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/htx-vs-mexc.md)
- [KuCoin vs MEXC API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kucoin-vs-mexc.md)
- [MEXC API vs OKX API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mexc-vs-okx.md)
- [MEXC API vs Uniswap Trading API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mexc-vs-uniswap.md)
- [MEXC API vs Upbit Open API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/mexc-vs-upbit.md)
- [Binance API vs Kraken API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/binance-vs-kraken.md)
- [Binance API vs MEXC API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/binance-vs-mexc.md)
- [Coinbase Advanced Trade API vs Kraken API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/coinbase-advanced-trade-vs-kraken.md)
- [Coinbase Advanced Trade API vs MEXC API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/coinbase-advanced-trade-vs-mexc.md)
- [Coinbase MCP server (Coinbase for Agents) vs Kraken API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/coinbase-mcp-vs-kraken.md)
- [Coinbase MCP server (Coinbase for Agents) vs MEXC API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/coinbase-mcp-vs-mexc.md)
- [Kraken API vs KuCoin](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kraken-vs-kucoin.md)
- [Kraken API vs OKX API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kraken-vs-okx.md)
- [Kraken API vs Uniswap Trading API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kraken-vs-uniswap.md)
- [Kraken API vs Upbit Open API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/kraken-vs-upbit.md)
- [Deribit vs Kraken API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deribit-vs-kraken.md)
- [Deribit vs MEXC API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/deribit-vs-mexc.md)
- [dYdX vs Kraken API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/dydx-vs-kraken.md)
- [dYdX vs MEXC API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/dydx-vs-mexc.md)
- [Hyperliquid vs Kraken API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hyperliquid-vs-kraken.md)
- [Hyperliquid vs MEXC API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/hyperliquid-vs-mexc.md)

---

Query this catalogue directly over MCP: https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (Streamable HTTP, no key). How: https://www.anchorterminal.com/agents/#mcp