Head to head · Exchange spot trading · October 2026 research run
Kraken API vs OKX API
Kraken API scores 71 (BB) on agent readiness against OKX API's 64.3 (B), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Both do exchange spot trading.
Best crypto exchange APIs and MCP servers for AI agents · All 210 exchanges comparisons
Which one, for what
Kraken API BB
Best 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
- Schema & documentation, 80 against 73
- Security & auth, 80 against 68
- Payments & pricing, 40 against 20
Also in its favour
- Agent-ready, a grade of BB or better
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
OKX API B
Best for An agent trading spot, perpetuals, futures or options on a person's OKX account from a local machine, with demo trading to test first and grid or DCA bots through the kit.
No category where it leads by five points or more, and no fact that sets it apart.
Watch for
The fee table loads by script and the fee FAQ defers to the logged-in view, so maker and taker rates were not read
Why the edge
Each category where one leads by five points or more, with the reason behind each side's score from its assessment. The numbers are in the table below; this is what they stand for.
Payments & pricing Kraken API +20
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.
OKX API 20
No machine payment protocol (0). The fee table loads by script and the fee FAQ defers to the logged-in view, so no rate was read (0 of 20, unchecked). Public market data and demo trading need no funded account or card (20). A person signs up, verifies and mints a key (0). 0 + 0 + 20 + 0 = 20.
Security & auth Kraken API +12
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.
OKX API 68
Key, secret and passphrase with Read, Trade and Withdraw permissions, up to 20 bound IPs, revocation in the account, and unbound Trade or Withdraw keys that expire after 14 idle days; no OAuth (28 of 30). Read-only keys, sub-account keys, demo trading, the kit's --read-only flag and its startup check that hides order tools when the key cannot trade, and an API Agreement requiring minimum scope; no confirmation step in the kit (18 of 20). The news and smartmoney modules return third-party text and the docs read give no guidance on treating it as untrusted (5 of 15). An account audit log tool in the kit and usage records for unbound keys in the Security Center, no per-call log (9 of 15). No security.txt; SECURITY.md with security@okx.com and GitHub private advisories; certifications and a bounty not read (8 of 20). 28 + 18 + 5 + 9 + 8 = 68.
Schema & documentation Kraken API +7
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.
OKX API 73
No OpenAPI file was found in the V5 docs; the kit's tool definitions are typed TypeScript with annotations, and the organisation has an undescribed ai-builder-openapi-md repository we did not read (12 of 25). okx.com/llms.txt exists and links the API and Agent Trade Kit pages, though the V5 docs have no Markdown twins (5 of 10). Each endpoint states its rate limit, rule, parameters and notes (15 of 20). Enums for ordType, tdMode and instType with required flags (12 of 15). Request and response examples per endpoint and an error code list with messages (14 of 15). A dated changelog with an upcoming-changes section that labels breaking changes and dates sunsets (15). 12 + 5 + 15 + 12 + 14 + 15 = 73.
Score by category
| Category | Weight this run | Kraken API | OKX API | Edge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reliability | 16%20 | 67 | 65 | Kraken API +2 |
| Performance | 10%pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13%16.2 | 80 | 73 | Kraken API +7 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13%16.2 | 79 | 77 | Kraken API +2 |
| Security & auth | 14%17.5 | 80 | 68 | Kraken API +12 |
| Payments & pricing | 10%12.5 | 40 | 20 | Kraken API +20 |
| Task success | 10%pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7%8.8 | 81 | 81 | even |
| Transparency & trust | 7%8.8 | 65 | 62 | Kraken API +3 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | BB 71/100 | B 64.3/100 |
Facts side by side
| Fact | Kraken API | OKX API |
|---|---|---|
| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | Payward, Inc. | OKX |
| 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 | Proprietary hosted service under OKX's Terms of Service (29 October 2026) and API Agreement (28 July 2026). The Agent Trade Kit (MCP server, CLI and skills) is MIT |
| Tools exposed | 152 | 170 |
| Read-only variant documented | yes | yes |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| Last release | 2026-10-29 | 2026-10-28 |
| Terms last updated | 2026-10-30 | 2026-10-29 |
| Privacy policy last updated | 2026-10-21 | couldn't be read |
| Customer content may train models | not found in the text | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict automated access | yes | not found in the text |
| 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 | 499 stars, 1.8k npm/wk |
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.
OKX API
OKX publishes per-endpoint rate limits, Read, Trade and Withdraw key permissions with IP binding, demo trading on the production host, and an MIT MCP server with 170 tools, a read-only flag and a permission check at startup. The fee table and privacy policy were not read, no OpenAPI file was found, and the news tools return third-party text.
Before you call either
Kraken API
- 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
- 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
- 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
- Keep the nonce strictly increasing per key and stay under the tier's counter, since EAPI:Rate limit exceeded has no Retry-After header
- Test strategies in a paper workspace, which fills at live prices with no account, before a live workspace
OKX API
- Start okx-trade-mcp with --profile demo first, then --read-only on a live key; load only the modules the task needs
- Use a sub-account key with Read and Trade only, bound to the agent's IP; an unbound Trade key expires after 14 idle days
- Stay under 60 place-order requests per 2 seconds per instrument and at most 3 amendments in flight per order; 50011 means the limit was hit
- Send a clOrdId on every order and use the structured error block (code, message, endpoint) to diagnose with read-only tools before retrying
- Call us.okx.com or eea.okx.com for US, Australian and EEA accounts; openapi.okx.com does not serve those regions
Questions
Which is better for AI agents, Kraken API or OKX API?
Kraken API scores 71 (BB) on agent readiness against OKX API's 64.3 (B), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories.
Do Kraken API and OKX API need an API key?
Kraken API takes an API key or an OAuth sign-in. OKX API needs an API key.
Can an agent call Kraken API and OKX API without installing anything?
Kraken API runs on your own machine, with no hosted endpoint listed. OKX API runs on your own machine, with no hosted endpoint listed.
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Machine-readable
- This page as Markdown
/compare/kraken-vs-okx.md· slim.min.md· JSON.json(or sendAccept: text/markdown) - Each listing in full
/api/v1/tools/kraken.json·/api/v1/tools/okx.json - From a terminal
anchor compare kraken okx(the CLI) - Over MCP
compare_tools {"a": "kraken", "b": "okx"}at/mcp, no key