Updated Rules checked 2026-10-11
On fees alone, MEXC is much cheaper than Gate. For regular users on USDT-margined futures, MEXC charges a maker fee of 0% and a taker fee of 0.02%, while Gate charges 0.02% / 0.05%; on major-coin spot, MEXC is 0% / 0.05% and Gate is 0.1% / 0.1%. If you mainly trade futures, often get in and out with market orders, or want to add a referral code within 30 days of signing up, choose MEXC.
Gate suits needs other than fees: it has been operating longer, it has more spot trading pairs, it offers products such as options, CFDs and stocks, and its reserves page publishes a platform-wide total reserve ratio. Its referral code rebate has no time limit for as long as the referral relationship lasts, and it goes back to your spot account after every trade. Neither exchange has completed anti-money-laundering registration with Taiwan’s Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC, 金融監督管理委員會), and neither offers a convenient way to deposit New Taiwan dollars (TWD) in Taiwan, so on that point it makes no difference which one you pick.
The information below was checked against both exchanges’ official pages on 2026-10-11 and is provided for reference.
What’s the difference between MEXC and Gate?
| Item | MEXC | Gate |
|---|---|---|
| Operating since | 2018 | The website footer shows 2013–2026 |
| Spot maker / taker (VIP 0) | 0% / 0.05% (major coins; many small-cap pairs have a taker fee of 0.08% or 0.2%) | 0.1% / 0.1% |
| USDT-margined futures maker / taker (VIP 0) | 0% / 0.02% | 0.02% / 0.05% |
| Platform token discount | MX: 20% off, on both spot and futures; the 50% discount for holding 500 MX has been suspended since 2026-02-09 | GT: 10% off, spot only |
| Referral code rebate | 20%, calculated on net fees, paid the day after the trade | 20%, returned to your spot account after each trade |
| Adding a referral code after sign-up | A main account with no referrer can add one itself within 30 days of sign-up | No way to add one found in official sources |
| Switching | Can’t be changed or removed once bound | No way to switch found in official sources; each user can register through only one invitation mode |
| Identity verification | Two levels, Primary and Advanced; depending on the regulations where you live, unverified accounts may be unable to deposit, withdraw or trade | Required for all users |
| Withdrawal limits without verification | Withdrawing without verification prompts you to verify first; Primary allows 80 BTC a day, Advanced 200 BTC | Verification required before both deposits and withdrawals |
| Taiwan FSC registration | Not on the FSC anti-money-laundering registration list | Not on the FSC anti-money-laundering registration list |
| TWD deposits | TWD isn’t among the 60 fiat currencies supported on P2P | C2C has a USDT/TWD market, which showed “No ads available” when we checked |
| Copy trading / grid | Futures copy trading (including AI traders), futures grid, spot grid, spot recurring buy | Futures copy trading, spot grid, futures grid, infinite grid, martingale, recurring buy |
| Proof of reserves | Audited monthly by Hacken; 2026-09-10 snapshot: BTC 297%, USDT 119% | Merkle tree + zk-SNARKs; 2026-09-13 total reserve ratio 117% |
| Listings | 1,801 spot trading pairs, 1,088 USDT-settled futures | 2,196 spot trading pairs, 1,027 USDT perpetuals |
Sources: fees come from the MEXC fee overview and the Gate fee page; the MX discount from the MEXC announcement on changes to the MX fee discount. The rebate and add-later rules come from the MEXC affiliate FAQ, the MEXC guide to self-service referrer binding, the Gate referral rules and the Gate announcement on invitee rebates. Identity verification comes from the MEXC KYC FAQ (2026-06-02) and the Gate identity verification FAQ. Taiwan registration status was checked against the list updated on 2026-09-29 in the Securities and Futures Bureau’s “virtual asset service providers” section. Listing counts are the number of tradable instruments read on 2026-10-11 from the MEXC spot API, the MEXC contract specifications, the Gate spot API and the Gate futures API. Sources for the other rows are given in the matching sections below.
How much do MEXC and Gate fees differ?
At VIP 0, Gate’s taker fee is 2.5 times MEXC’s on futures, and its fee on major-coin spot is 2 times MEXC’s. On top of that, MEXC’s maker fee is 0, while Gate charges makers 0.02% on futures and the same 0.1% for makers and takers on spot, so switching to limit orders on Gate saves you nothing on spot.
Take the same trader on both: 200,000 USDT in USDT-margined futures and 20,000 USDT in major-coin spot each month, all filled as taker.
| Monthly fees | MEXC | Gate |
|---|---|---|
| Futures 200,000 USDT (taker) | 200,000 × 0.02% = 40 USDT | 200,000 × 0.05% = 100 USDT |
| Spot 20,000 USDT (taker) | 20,000 × 0.05% = 10 USDT | 20,000 × 0.1% = 20 USDT |
| Total | 50 USDT | 120 USDT |
| With the platform token discount | 50 × 0.8 = 40 USDT (MX discount) | 100 + 18 = 118 USDT (GT discounts spot only) |
| All limit orders (maker) | 0 USDT | 40 + 20 = 60 USDT |
For the same volume, Gate costs 70 USDT more a month, 2.4 times what you pay on MEXC. Most of the gap comes from futures, because Gate’s GT discount can’t be used on futures. Higher VIP tiers don’t close it either: according to Gate’s fee page, the USDT perpetual taker fee only drops to 0.03% at VIP 10 and 0.028% at VIP 11, still above the 0.02% MEXC charges regular users. VIP 11 requires any one of the following: 120 million USD in 30-day trading volume (futures counted at 40%), 4 million USD in assets, or an average of 200,000 GT held over 14 days.
There are two things to watch on MEXC. First, 0.05% is the rate for major coins; the fee page also lists more than a thousand small-cap pairs with a taker fee of 0.08%, and some at 0.2%, so when you trade small caps, MEXC isn’t necessarily cheaper than Gate’s 0.1%. Second, MEXC has plenty of zero-fee trading pairs and contracts, and new users in Chinese-speaking regions and Malaysia who complete Advanced verification also get a zero-fee allowance on BTC, ETH and GOLD futures of up to 3 million USD in total (MEXC announcement on futures fee changes for new users, 2026-06-04). Zero-fee trades carry no fees, so they earn no rebate either.
The platform token discount also works out better on MEXC. The MX discount takes 20% off on both spot and futures, bringing the futures taker fee down from 0.02% to 0.016%; Gate’s GT discount takes 10% off spot only, from 0.1% to 0.09%. Gate also has an easy trap to fall into: when your account holds point cards, spot fees paid with point cards are a fixed 0.2%, twice what you’d pay at VIP 0 without them, and futures taker orders also use point cards first by default when you have them (Gate fee page). On MEXC, the problem is that the help pages contradict each other: the MEXC zero-fee spot trading FAQ (2025-12-23) says all spot trading pairs are zero-fee and spot no longer generates referral commission, but the fee page and the 2026 announcements both say 0.05%. This article goes by the fee page; if one of your spot orders is charged no fee, that trade earns no rebate.
On both exchanges, futures fees are charged on position value, not margin: 1,000 USDT of margin at 10x is a 10,000 USDT position, and opening and closing it once as a taker costs 4 USDT on MEXC and 10 USDT on Gate. Futures use leverage, and if the price moves against you, your position may be liquidated and you can lose all of your margin. Perpetual contracts also have funding rates, paid between longs and shorts; funding isn’t a trading fee and earns no rebate. Both exchanges have contracts that settle every 8 hours and every 4 hours, and on Gate the interval automatically switches to 1 hour when the rate hits its upper or lower limit (MEXC funding rate guide, Gate funding rate guide).
Withdrawal fees differ too. USDT withdrawal fees on both fee pages on 2026-10-11: on BEP20, 0.01 USDT on MEXC and 0.5 USDT on Gate; on TRC20, 0.5 USDT on MEXC and 1.5 USDT on Gate. On Gate, Arbitrum One costs only 0.05 USDT. The full breakdowns are in the MEXC fees guide and the Gate fees guide.
MEXC futures rebate calculator (taker 0.02%)
| Monthly volume | Fees (0.02%) | Auto rebate (20%) | Net fees |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10,000 USDT | 2 USDT | 0.4 USDT | 1.6 USDT |
| 100,000 USDT | 20 USDT | 4 USDT | 16 USDT |
| 1,000,000 USDT | 200 USDT | 40 USDT | 160 USDT |
Example at a futures fee rate of 0.02% and the current 20% automatic rebate (rate updated 2026-10-24). Your exchange statement prevails.
Gate futures rebate calculator (taker 0.05%)
| Monthly volume | Fees (0.05%) | Auto rebate (20%) | Net fees |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10,000 USDT | 5 USDT | 1 USDT | 4 USDT |
| 100,000 USDT | 50 USDT | 10 USDT | 40 USDT |
| 1,000,000 USDT | 500 USDT | 100 USDT | 400 USDT |
Example at a futures fee rate of 0.05% and the current 20% automatic rebate (rate updated 2026-10-24). Your exchange statement prevails.
Rebates refund a percentage of your fees. Gate’s fees are higher to begin with, so the same percentage returns a larger amount, but after the rebate you still pay more than on MEXC. Enter your monthly futures volume into both calculators above to compare what you actually pay. Every exchange’s fees after rebates are ranked in actual fees after referral rebates.
How do MEXC and Gate referral code rebate rules differ?
Both exchanges cap the share affiliates can pass on to invitees at 20%: MEXC states it in the MEXC commission sharing announcement, and Gate in the Gate announcement on rebate ratio changes. The cap is the same; the differences are in how the rebate is calculated and in the binding rules.
Sign up with this site’s MEXC referral code and MEXC automatically refunds 20% of your fees.
Sign up with this site’s Gate referral code and Gate automatically refunds 20% of your fees.
| Rule | MEXC | Gate |
|---|---|---|
| Calculation base | Net fees = fees − bonuses − vouchers − other discounts; the rebate is calculated on the amount after the MX discount | Calculated on trading fees; which amount counts once the GT discount applies isn’t stated officially |
| Rebate duration | Not disclosed officially | Affiliate referral codes: no time limit for as long as the referral relationship lasts |
| When it’s paid | Paid before 01:00 (UTC) the day after the trade; check your fund records | Returned to your spot account after each trade, or within 1–2 hours in special cases |
| VIP limits | Invited users can’t join the MEXC VIP program | Trades by users at VIP 11 and above generate no commission |
| Trades that earn no rebate | Zero-fee maker orders, zero-fee trading pairs, API orders, fees covered by futures bonuses | Fiat trades; trades during an assessment period |
| Adding a code later | Within 30 days of sign-up, on a main account with no referrer; your referrer must have signed up before you | No way to add one found in official sources; it can only be entered at sign-up |
| Switching | Can’t be changed or removed | No way to switch found in official sources |
| Other limits | Commission from self-referrals is canceled | The referral is invalid if the inviter and invitee use the same IP |
The calculation base and exclusions come from the MEXC referral rules and the MEXC affiliate FAQ; the VIP limits from the MEXC VIP program upgrade announcement and the Gate affiliate FAQ; Gate’s rebate duration from the Gate affiliate FAQ.
If you already have an account, the biggest difference between the two is adding a code later. On MEXC, you can still add one on the self-service inviter binding page within 30 days of sign-up; after 30 days, or if you already have a referrer, it can’t be changed. Gate’s official pages show no way to add one, so the referral relationship is settled at sign-up; the claim you see online that you “can bind within 7 days” refers to Gate Wallet (Web3), not exchange accounts. Neither exchange has an official switching process, and opening another account runs into account limits and multi-account terms; the details are in the MEXC referral switch guide and the Gate referral switch guide.
If you trade very high volume, look at the VIP rules. Under MEXC’s rules, accounts registered with a referral code can’t become VIP, but MEXC VIP 1 requires 10 million USDT a month, which most people never reach. On Gate, commission only stops being generated at VIP 11, and because the invitee’s rebate is split from the affiliate’s commission, it stops as well.
Do MEXC and Gate both require identity verification? What should users in Taiwan know?
Identity verification: Gate requires every user to complete identity verification before both deposits and withdrawals; review usually takes 10 minutes to 12 hours, and users under 18 can’t be verified. MEXC has two levels, Primary and Advanced, and the daily withdrawal limit for verified accounts is 80 BTC at Primary and 200 BTC at Advanced. Its KYC FAQ states that depending on the regulations where you live, unverified accounts may be unable to deposit, withdraw or trade, and if you try to withdraw without verification, the system asks you to verify first. On MEXC, one ID document can verify up to 2 accounts. In practice, both require KYC before you can withdraw normally. For the documents each exchange requires, the verification steps and review times, see the MEXC KYC guide and the Gate KYC guide.
FSC registration: neither MEXC nor Gate is on the FSC anti-money-laundering registration list. The list updated on 2026-09-29 in the Securities and Futures Bureau’s “virtual asset service providers” section has 11 companies in total (list PDF), and neither brand is on it. The practical effect is that if a dispute arises, neither Taiwan’s Securities and Futures Investors Protection Center nor the Financial Ombudsman Institution can help. When the FSC explained the FTX case on 2022-11-23, it stated that offshore trading platforms aren’t covered by these mechanisms (FSC press release). A frozen account or restricted withdrawals can only be handled under the platform’s own terms.
TWD deposits and withdrawals: neither exchange offers direct deposits from Taiwanese banks. When we read the currency list on MEXC P2P on 2026-10-11, TWD wasn’t among its 60 fiat currencies (MEXC P2P). Gate C2C has a USDT/TWD market, but when we viewed it logged out on the same day, it showed “No ads available” (Gate C2C TWD market). Both exchanges’ buy-crypto pages offer third-party channels such as credit cards (MEXC Buy Crypto); whether you can pay in TWD, and what it costs, you can only see in the quote after logging in. The more common approach is to buy USDT with TWD on a registered local platform, such as MAX or BitoPro, and then transfer it over. The FSC expects to extend the transfer rules (Travel Rule) to transfers between domestic and offshore platforms by the end of 2027 (FSC press release of 2026-08-04); from then on, transfers will have to include information about both sender and recipient.
Apps and restricted regions: on 2026-10-11, both apps were available on the Taiwan App Store (MEXC, Gate), and both exchanges’ websites have Traditional Chinese versions. Neither the MEXC terms of use nor the Gate user agreement lists Taiwan among its restricted regions.
What are MEXC and Gate each best at?
MEXC is strongest on fees: it has many zero-fee trading pairs, a futures maker fee of 0%, 1,801 tradable spot pairs and 1,088 USDT-settled futures. It suits people who mainly trade futures, trade moderate volume and want to keep fees as low as possible. Features listed on its website:
- Futures copy trading, with AI traders you can also copy (MEXC copy trading).
- Futures grid (long, short or neutral, from 10 USDT, MEXC futures grid), spot grid and spot recurring buy.
- Earn (MEXC Earn), Launchpad, pre-market trading, US stock futures, DEX+ on-chain trading and demo trading.
Gate is strongest on product range: it has 2,196 tradable spot pairs, more than MEXC, and besides perpetual contracts it offers delivery futures, options, CFDs and stocks. It suits people who want to trade more kinds of products from a single account. Features listed on its website:
- Futures copy trading, with the page showing 249,001 copiers (2026-10-11, Gate copy trading); copy trading volume also counts toward your VIP level (Gate VIP page).
- Trading bots: spot grid, futures grid, infinite grid, martingale and recurring buy (Gate strategy bots).
- Earn products such as Simple Earn (Gate Simple Earn), Launchpool, Gate Web3 Wallet and Gate Card.
Both have copy trading and grid bots, so when choosing, look at cost first: orders placed by copy trading and bots pay trading fees just the same, and for strategies that often fill at market price, you pay less in fees on MEXC.
How do MEXC and Gate compare on proof of reserves and security record?
MEXC: publishes proof of reserves monthly, audited by Hacken. The September 2026 report uses a 2026-09-10 snapshot, with reserve ratios of BTC 297%, USDT 119%, USDC 111% and ETH 111%, and users can verify their own balances in their accounts with a Merkle tree (MEXC proof of reserves, MEXC security overview). The same article says the guardian fund holds 100 million USDT and 2,000 BTC (2026-10-01), and the futures risk protection fund stood at about 798 million USDT in mid-September 2026; MEXC itself states that the guardian fund is a company commitment, not a statutory compensation scheme.
MEXC’s most prominent controversy is about account freezes: in July 2025, about 3.1 million USD of one trader’s funds was frozen under risk-control rules, and at the end of October 2025, MEXC’s chief strategy officer publicly apologized and said the funds had been unfrozen (Cointelegraph report). MEXC’s security overview says there have been no public reports of its exchange wallets being hacked since it launched in 2018.
Gate: its proof of reserves uses a Merkle tree plus zk-SNARKs. The latest audit, dated 2026-09-13, showed total reserves of about 8.215 billion USD and a total reserve ratio of 117%; by coin, BTC was at 120.31%, ETH at 123.59% and USDT at 114.25% (Gate reserves page, checked 2026-10-11). Gate publishes a platform-wide total reserve ratio while MEXC publishes per-coin ratios, so the two figures can’t be compared directly; BTC, ETH and USDT, which both report, are above 100% on both.
Gate’s incident record: in January 2019, Ethereum Classic (ETC) suffered a 51% attack, and Gate lost about 40,000 ETC, worth about 200,000 USD at the time; Gate said the platform would cover the loss (CoinDesk report, republished), and the attacker later returned about 100,000 USD worth of ETC (CoinDesk 2019-01-14). On 2025-04-23, Gate carried out an emergency upgrade of its futures system because of heavy traffic, suspending futures and copy trading, and promised 100% compensation for user losses during the upgrade (excluding market factors) (The Block report).
Proof of reserves is only a snapshot at a point in time, not a full financial audit. Any assets you keep on an exchange carry the risk of the platform itself. Hacks, withdrawal suspensions and regulatory records for 13 exchanges are collected in exchange safety records.
MEXC or Gate: which should you choose?
- Beginners buying major-coin spot: MEXC. Major coins such as BTC and ETH have a 0.05% taker fee and a 0% maker fee, versus 0.1% on Gate, and if you forget to enter a referral code, you can still add one within 30 days of sign-up.
- Futures and frequent trading: MEXC. The taker fee is 0.02% vs 0.05% and the maker fee 0% vs 0.02%, and even at VIP 11, Gate’s futures taker fee is still 0.028%.
- Copy trading and grid bots: MEXC. Both have futures copy trading and grids, and since these strategies often fill at market price, the exchange with lower fees saves more over time.
- Lowest fees above all: MEXC, combined with limit orders and the MX discount; before trading small-cap coins, check whether the pair charges 0.08% or 0.2%.
- Options, CFDs or less common spot coins: Gate. The product list in MEXC’s website footer doesn’t include options or CFDs, Gate has more spot trading pairs, and its rebate has no time limit for as long as the referral relationship lasts.
- Taiwan regulatory compliance matters to you: neither is the answer, since neither is on the FSC registration list. Use the registered MAX or BitoPro for TWD deposits and withdrawals, and keep only the funds you need for trading on offshore exchanges.
Plenty of people open accounts on both: everyday futures and major coins on MEXC, and Gate for coins MEXC doesn’t list or products MEXC doesn’t offer. Each account has to be bound to a referral code at its own sign-up.
Still weighing other exchanges? To compare MEXC with larger exchanges, see OKX vs MEXC and Bitget vs MEXC. Each exchange’s fees, rebates, proof of reserves and restricted regions are covered in full in the MEXC review and the Gate review.
How do you transfer from MEXC to Gate, and what does it cost?
There is no internal transfer between the two, so USDT has to go out as an on-chain withdrawal: first go to the deposit page on the receiving exchange, choose USDT and a network and copy the address, then go to the withdrawal page on the sending exchange, choose the same network and paste it. The sending exchange charges the withdrawal fee, a fixed amount per withdrawal no matter how much you send. According to the MEXC fee overview and the Gate fee page as of 2026-10-12, the cheapest networks open on both sides are:
- MEXC → Gate: use Plasma, 0 USDT (minimum withdrawal 10 USDT); for small amounts under 10 USDT, you can use Avalanche C-Chain, 0.000074 USDT (minimum withdrawal 4 USDT).
- Gate → MEXC: use Aptos, 0.04 USDT (minimum withdrawal 1 USDT).
On the commonly used TRC20, MEXC charges 0.5 USDT and Gate 1.5 USDT. Fees can change at any time, so go by the amount shown on the withdrawal page before you confirm, and make sure the receiving exchange’s deposit page offers the same network; if you pick the wrong network, the funds may not be recoverable. For every network’s fee and minimum withdrawal at 13 exchanges, see USDT withdrawal fees compared.
FAQ
Which has lower fees, MEXC or Gate?
MEXC. For regular users on futures, MEXC charges maker 0% and taker 0.02%, and Gate 0.02% / 0.05%; on major-coin spot, MEXC is 0% / 0.05% and Gate 0.1% / 0.1% (both fee pages, 2026-10-11). With 200,000 USDT in futures plus 20,000 USDT in spot a month, all as taker, you pay 50 USDT on MEXC and 120 USDT on Gate. The exception is MEXC’s small-cap pairs, where the taker fee is often 0.08% or 0.2%.
Can I use MEXC and Gate at the same time?
Yes. They’re separate exchanges, so you just register and complete identity verification on each. Referral codes are bound separately: on Gate only at sign-up, and on MEXC within 30 days of sign-up. To move assets between the two, use USDT on a network both support, and check the fee page at the time for the withdrawal fee.
Should users in Taiwan pick MEXC or Gate?
If you mainly trade futures and major coins, use MEXC for its lower fees; if you need options, CFDs or more spot trading pairs, open a Gate account as well. Neither lists Taiwan as a restricted region and both apps are on the Taiwan App Store, but neither is on the FSC anti-money-laundering registration list and neither offers direct TWD deposits, so TWD has to be converted to USDT on a registered local platform first.
Which is safer, MEXC or Gate?
Both publish proof of reserves regularly, with major coins above 100%, and neither can be shown to be safer than the other. MEXC is audited monthly by Hacken, with a 2026-09-10 snapshot of BTC 297% and USDT 119%; Gate’s total reserve ratio on 2026-09-13 was 117%. After the 2019 ETC 51% attack, Gate said the platform would cover the loss; in 2025, MEXC faced a controversy over freezing a user’s funds, which it later unfroze and apologized for. Neither is registered in Taiwan, so if something goes wrong, there’s no Taiwanese complaint channel.
Which gives a bigger referral code rebate?
Both cap the rebate for invitees at the same 20%, and after the rebate, MEXC still costs less for the same volume. Gate’s fees are higher, so the same percentage returns a larger amount, but your actual cost is still higher. On the rules, Gate’s rebate has no time limit for as long as the referral relationship lasts and is credited after every trade; MEXC calculates it on net fees after the MX discount and pays it the next day, and invited users can’t join MEXC VIP.
This site’s MEXC referral code currently gives a rebate of 20%.
This site’s Gate referral code currently gives a rebate of 20%.
For both exchanges’ referral codes and how to sign up, see the MEXC referral code and the Gate referral code; for fee details, see the MEXC fees guide and the Gate fees guide; if you already have an account and want a different referrer, see the MEXC referral switch guide and the Gate referral switch guide. What you actually pay on each exchange after rebates is compiled in actual fees after referral rebates, and other exchanges’ referral codes and automatic rebates are in the exchange referral code overview.
Sources: this article was checked against both exchanges’ official pages on 2026-10-11. Fees are based on the MEXC fee overview, the MEXC announcement on changes to the MX fee discount and the Gate fee page; rebates and adding a referrer later on the MEXC affiliate FAQ, the MEXC guide to self-service referrer binding, the Gate referral rules and the Gate announcement on invitee rebates; identity verification on the MEXC KYC FAQ and the Gate identity verification FAQ; Taiwan registration status on the Securities and Futures Bureau’s “virtual asset service providers” section; restricted regions on the MEXC terms of use and the Gate user agreement; and reserves on the MEXC proof of reserves page and the Gate reserves page. Listing counts come from both exchanges’ official public APIs, and the details of incidents were also checked against reporting by Cointelegraph, CoinDesk and The Block. USDT transfer fees are the figures on both exchanges’ official fee pages on 2026-10-12.