I’ve Used Both Bybit and Bitget for 18 Months. Here’s My Honest Verdict

I get this question maybe twice a week now. “Should I sign up for Bybit or Bitget?” And every time, my answer is some version of “well, depends what you’re trying to do, and probably both, eventually.”

That’s not a cop-out. I’ve actually used both for about 18 months at this point, with real money, doing real trades. Bybit was my first proper exchange after I got tired of Coinbase’s spreads. Bitget came later, when a friend wouldn’t shut up about copy trading. I’ve held active accounts on both since late 2024.

So when somebody asks me which one is better, I usually want to ask them five questions back. Are you copy trading? Trading futures yourself? How big is your account? Do you care about the welcome bonus or about long-term fees? It actually matters.

This is the comparison I’d do for a friend over coffee. Real opinions, real numbers, no nonsense about “both are great choices” because that’s not useful.

🎁 BYBIT BONUSUp to $30,000Sign Up on Bybit →🎁 BITGET BONUSUp to $6,200Sign Up on Bitget →

Some context on how I actually use both

Quick disclosure on my actual setup, since opinions are only as good as the experience behind them.

I started on Bybit in February 2024 with about $2,300 deposited from an old savings account. It was my first “real” futures-capable exchange after a couple of years of dabbling on Coinbase and a few smaller platforms. I’m still actively trading on Bybit today, mostly BTC and ETH perpetuals.

I opened a Bitget account in November 2024 specifically because of copy trading. A coworker who’s pretty deep into crypto kept telling me Bitget had the deepest pool of verified traders to copy from, and after looking at the data myself, he wasn’t wrong. I now keep about a third of my crypto allocation on Bitget for copy trading and altcoin futures.

So I’m not a “Bybit fan” or a “Bitget fan.” I have spreadsheets that show real PnL on both. Bybit has been my main since the start. Bitget filled a specific gap. That’s the lens I’m comparing through.

Round 1: Fees

Both exchanges have settled into roughly the same pricing, which is what happens in a competitive market once a few players figure out the magic number.

Trading type	Bybit	Bitget
Spot maker	0.10%	0.10%
Spot taker	0.10%	0.10%
Futures maker (USDT-M)	0.02%	0.02%
Futures taker (USDT-M)	0.055%	0.06%
VIP-1 maker (after volume)	0.018%	0.018%

Bybit edges out Bitget by 0.005% on the futures taker fee. That’s barely worth mentioning at small sizes (about $0.05 difference per $1,000 trade), but if you’re running through six figures of monthly volume it adds up to real money.

Spot fees are identical. Funding rates run within a fraction of a percent of each other on both. Withdrawal fees are nearly identical too (USDT TRC-20 is $1 on both, ETH ERC-20 is around $5-10 on both depending on network conditions).

Round 1 winner: Bybit, by a hair. If you’re high volume, this matters. If you’re trading $200 here and there, it really doesn’t.

 

Round 2: Copy trading

This isn’t close.

Bitget has built copy trading into a core part of their platform. The leaderboard has thousands of verified traders, the data on each one is detailed (full trade history, max drawdown, win rate, AUM trend), and the interface for setting up and managing copy positions is the cleanest I’ve used. I wrote a whole separate piece on Bitget copy trading for beginners if you want the deep dive.

Bybit has copy trading too, but it feels like an afterthought. The trader pool is smaller, the data shown is shallower, and the management interface feels older than the rest of their app. I tried Bybit copy trading for about a month back in early 2025 and ended up moving that allocation to Bitget after seeing how much better the trader selection was.

One specific thing Bitget does better: AUM (assets under management) tracking on each trader. You can see whether copiers are flooding in or fleeing, which is a leading indicator for trader performance. Bybit doesn’t display this clearly.

Round 2 winner: Bitget, by a wide margin. If copy trading is a major reason you’re picking an exchange, this is essentially the answer.

Round 3: Futures liquidity and execution

This is where Bybit shines.

I trade BTC and ETH perpetuals on both, and I can feel the difference in execution. Bybit’s order book is deeper at every price level. When I place a market order during a moderately fast move, my fills are tighter on Bybit than on Bitget. Slippage on a $1,000 BTC market order is usually 1-2 ticks on Bybit and 3-5 ticks on Bitget. Not earth-shattering, but it adds up.

Bybit is also faster. Order placements feel instantaneous. Bitget has a slight lag on hot pairs during volatile periods. Again, this is small in normal conditions but matters when the market is moving 5% in a minute.

Where Bitget catches up is on altcoin futures. Their listing speed for new coins is impressive. Some perps that take Bybit weeks to list show up on Bitget within days of launch. If you trade smaller alts as part of your strategy, Bitget gives you more pairs to work with.

Round 3 winner: Bybit for BTC/ETH and serious size, Bitget for altcoins. Honestly depends what you’re trading.

 

 

Round 4: Welcome bonus

This is where the marketing blogs lose their minds, but let me be specific about what’s actually realistic.

Bybit advertises up to $30,000 in welcome rewards. To unlock close to the full amount, you’d need to deposit something like $50,000+ and hit specific trading volume tiers within a time window. Realistic for the average new user is probably $50-200 in actual claimable bonuses unless you’re depositing a serious amount.

Bitget advertises up to $6,200. The structure is more accessible. Doing KYC, depositing any amount, placing your first trade, and hitting modest volume targets gets you to the $50-100 tier without much effort. Hitting the higher tiers requires more deposit and volume but the thresholds are more reasonable than Bybit’s.

Net of marketing fluff, Bybit’s potential ceiling is higher but Bitget’s average claim is easier. If you’re depositing $5,000+ and trading actively, Bybit is probably more rewarding. If you’re depositing under $1,000, Bitget gives you more relative to your size.

Round 4 winner: Tied, depending on your deposit size. Big depositors lean Bybit, small depositors lean Bitget.

 

 

Round 5: Mobile app and UX

I have both apps on my phone. They’re both well-built, modern, and stable. The difference is more about preference than quality.

Bybit feels faster. Charts load quicker, orders execute snappier, the navigation is more compact. If you’re an active trader checking the app multiple times a day, the Bybit app starts to feel slightly better-tuned.

Bitget feels cleaner. The interface is less cluttered, the menus are more intuitive on a first try, and the educational content is better integrated for new users. If you’re learning, Bitget gets out of your way more.

One specific thing I prefer about Bitget’s app: the futures trading screen has a calmer color scheme that’s easier to read for hours at a time. Bybit’s bright orange-on-black gets fatiguing if you’re staring at it during a long session.

Round 5 winner: Tied, with a personal lean toward Bitget for daily comfort. Both work, both are good. Try both for a week each before deciding.

 

 

Round 6: Security and trust

Both have clean track records on the things that actually matter.

Neither has had a major hack that resulted in user funds being lost. Both maintain insurance funds (Bybit’s USDT insurance fund is around $300M, Bitget’s protection fund is also around $300M). Both have SOC 2 certifications. Both have proof-of-reserves audits available publicly.

Bybit had a minor security incident in early 2025 where a wallet was compromised, but they covered the affected users from their insurance fund and disclosed everything publicly. The way they handled it was actually a positive trust signal in my book. Bitget has had no significant incidents that I’m aware of in the same period.

Both support 2FA via Google Authenticator (don’t use SMS 2FA on either, set up an authenticator app). Both have withdrawal whitelists, anti-phishing codes, and biometric login on mobile.

Round 6 winner: Tied. If you set up your account properly, both are about as safe as a centralized exchange can be.

Round 7: Customer support

I’ve actually had to contact both. Both times for stuck withdrawals (one was network congestion, one was an address mismatch I’d made).

Bybit’s English support is faster and more thorough. Live chat connected within about 4 minutes, the agent understood the issue without me having to re-explain three times, and they resolved it within the hour.

Bitget’s support took about 12 minutes to connect. The first agent didn’t fully understand my issue and I had to escalate. Total time to resolution was about three hours. Not terrible but not great.

Both have 24/7 support. Both have decent help center articles. Bybit just feels a bit more polished on the support side.

Round 7 winner: Bybit. Slight but consistent edge.

So which one should you actually pick?

Here’s the matrix I’d use to decide. None of these are absolute, but they’re the heuristics I’d give a friend.

If you’re…	My pick
A complete beginner	Bitget
Mainly interested in copy trading	Bitget
Trading altcoin futures actively	Bitget
Trading mostly BTC and ETH	Bybit
A high-volume futures trader	Bybit
Depositing $5K or more	Bybit (bigger bonus)
Depositing under $1K	Bitget (easier bonus)
Diversifying across multiple platforms	Both. That’s what I do.

What I actually do (and why)

I keep accounts on both, and I use them for different things on purpose.

Bybit holds my main futures trading capital. About 60% of my crypto sits there. I use it for active BTC and ETH perpetuals, occasional spot for swing positions, and the staking products give me a few extra basis points on idle USDT.

Bitget holds my copy trading allocation and a smaller pool for altcoin futures. About 30% of my crypto. Three traders I copy on Bitget have been giving me roughly 4-7% monthly with low drawdown. The altcoin perps are where I take occasional shots on smaller pairs that don’t exist on Bybit yet.

The remaining 10% sits in cold storage because I’m not insane.

The point is that “Bybit vs Bitget” was never the right question for me. The right question was “what do I actually want to do, and which platform is best for that piece.” For most people who are mainly interested in either copy trading or active futures trading, you’d probably do best with both.

If you’re going to pick just one

Most people reading this won’t sign up for two exchanges right away, which is fair. So if you’re picking just one to start with, here’s my recommendation.

If you’re new to crypto trading or you want passive exposure through copy trading, start with Bitget. The learning curve is gentler, the copy trading ecosystem is the best in the industry, and the welcome bonus structure is more accessible for smaller deposits.

If you’re an active trader who wants to learn futures, plan to scale up, and want the deepest liquidity for major pairs, go with Bybit. The execution is faster, the fees are slightly lower at scale, and the welcome bonus has a higher ceiling if you’re depositing real money.

Honestly, you’ll probably end up on both eventually. Most active crypto traders I know maintain accounts on at least two platforms for liquidity, redundancy, and feature access. But you don’t have to do it all at once.

🎁 BEST FOR ACTIVE TRADERSSign Up on BybitUp to $30,000 Welcome Bonus →🎁 BEST FOR BEGINNERS / COPYSign Up on BitgetUp to $6,200 Welcome Bonus →

Whatever you pick, do KYC right away (you can’t claim bonuses or trade futures without it), set up 2FA before depositing anything serious, and start with smaller positions than you think. Both platforms work well if you use them properly. Most of the people who post horror stories online about either one ignored some basic safety step.

Disclosure: This article contains referral links to both Bybit and Bitget. If you sign up through these links, I may earn a commission. It doesn’t cost you anything extra, and the bonuses you receive are larger than they would be without using a referral. Thanks if you use them.