Shakepay and Wealthsimple Crypto are both beginner friendly apps for Canadians. However, they're very different when it comes to fees, features, coins offered and more. In this comparison, I collected 40+ data points on each platform so you can see how they verse each other.
The Bottom Line
Both platforms can be good choices for Canadians depending how you use them. Shakepay is better for earning free rewards and buying crypto since it has low fees. Wealthsimple is better for altcoins, trading stocks, and accessing more features overall.
Shakepay's total fee to buy Bitcoin was 1.03% and the spread was 2.26%. Wealthsimple Crypto had a total fee of 2.94% and spread of 3.17%. Shakepay is cheaper overall and has 2 coins but Wealthsimple has 40+ coins and more features.
Summary:
- Both platforms are beginner-friendly and have 1% cash back visa cards
- Shakepay is much cheaper and has better funding/withdrawal methods
- Wealthsimple has more features: 40+ coins, stock trading and more
About Shakepay
Shakpay is the best beginner crypto exchange in Canada. It's very easy to use, has 2 coins (BTC and ETH), a Bitcoin Visa card, free deposit and withdrawals, and fair spreads.
Pros & Cons
About Wealthsimple
Wealthsimple Crypto is inside the Wealthsimple Trade app. They are a fintech app with stock trading, crypto trading, a Visa Card and more. It's beginner-friendly and owned by a publicly traded company.
Pros & Cons
Overview
To collect this info, we used real, KYC-verified accounts. We then broke it down into 5 categories: Fees, Features, Deposit & Withdrawals, Security and Ease of Use.
RankFi tracks dozens of crypto products. Lean more about our methodology here.
Coins Offered | 2 (BTC and ETH) | 40+ |
Total BTC Purchase Fee | 1.03% | 2.94% |
Total BTC Selling Fee | 1.21% | 3.20% |
CAD Trading Pairs? | ✅ | ✅ |
CAD Deposit Fees | Free | Free |
Interac e-Transfer? | ✅ | 🚫 |
Beginner Friendly | ✅ | ✅ |
Advanced Trading | 🚫 | 🚫 |
BTC Withdrawal Fee | 0 BTC (Free) | Dynamic (network fees) |
Headquarters | Montreal, Canada | Toronto, Canada |
💰 Promotion | $30 free when you trade $100 | $50 free when you trade $100 |
Sign Up |
Features | ||
Best Features Overall | Cell | ✅ Winner |
Number of Features | 5-10 | 10+ |
Coins | 2 (BTC and ETH) | 40+ |
Mobile App | ✅ | ✅ |
Web App | ✅ | ✅ |
Beginner Trading | ✅ | ✅ |
Advanced Trading | 🚫 | 🚫 |
Staking | 🚫 | 🚫 |
Lending/Borrowing | 🚫 | 🚫 |
Other Rewards | ✅ | 🚫 |
Crypto Credit Card | ✅ (Review) | ✅ (Review) |
Margin Trading | 🚫 | 🚫 |
Futures | 🚫 | 🚫 |
OTC | ✅ | ✅ |
Native Token | 🚫 | 🚫 |
Affiliate Program | ✅ | ✅ |
24/7 Support | 🚫 | 🚫 |
Sign Up | ||
Fees & SpreadBoth platforms were tested on Mar 2, 2022 at the same time and numbers are subject to change.
| ||
Best Fees Overall | ✅ Winner | Cell |
*Total BTC Purchase Fee | 1.03% | 2.94% |
*Total BTC Selling Fee | 1.21% | 3.20% |
CAD Deposit Fee | Free | Free |
CAD Withdrawal Fee | Free | Free |
Trading Fee | Free | 1.50% "operations fee" |
Spread (BTC) | 2.26% | 3.17% |
Ref. Price Difference | Buy: +1.03% Sell: -1.21% | Buy: +1.44% Sell: -1.70% |
BTC Buy Price | $56,351 | $56,578 |
BTC Sell Price | $55,108 | $54,839 |
Reference Price (Google) | $55,774 | $55,774 |
Sign Up | ||
Deposits & Withdrawals | ||
Best Overall | ✅ Winner | Cell |
$CAD Funding Options | E-Transfer Free Instant Wire Transfer Free 1-2 days Shakepay A Friend Free Instant | Direct Bank Transfer Free $1500 instantly then up to 5 days Direct Bank Transfer (Plus Subscription) $10/month $5000 instantly then up to 5 days |
$CAD Withdrawal Options | E-Transfer Free Instant Wire Transfer Free 1-2 days Shakepay A Friend Free Instant | Direct Bank Transfer Free 1-3 days |
BTC Withdrawal Fee | 0 BTC (Free) | Dynamic (network fees) |
ETH Withdrawal Fee | 0 ETH (Free) | Dynamic (network fees) |
Security | ||
Best Security Overall | Cell | ✅ Winner |
Year Founded | 2015 | 2014 |
Uses Cold Storage? | ✅ | ✅ |
FINTRAC Regulated | ✅ | ✅ |
Insurance Policy | ✅ (Coinbase's) | ✅ ($200m) |
Any Hacks or Incidents? | 🚫 | 🚫 |
2FA | ✅ | ✅ |
Address Whitelisting | 🚫 | 🚫 |
View Login History | 🚫 | 🚫 |
Crypto Withdrawals Allowed | ✅ | 🚫 (Not all coins) |
KYC | ✅ | ✅ |
Publicly Traded | 🚫 | ✅ (PWF) |
Headquarters | Montreal, Canada | Toronto, Canada |
User Interface
Shakepay
Wealthsimple Trade
Shakepay or Wealthsimple Trade?
Both platforms are beginner-friendly and have a great user-interface. Overall, Shakepay has 2 coins, lower spreads and is cheaper. Wealthsimple has 40+ coins, stocks, and more features than Shakepay, but it comes with higher spreads and fees.
When To Use Shakepay
- If you only want to trade Bitcoin or ETH
- If you want lower spreads and fees than Wealthsimple Crypto
- If you want a 1% cash back Bitcoin visa
When To Use Wealthsimple Trade
- You want to trade stocks and crypto all in one place
- If you want Bitcoin or Ethereum ETFs in your TFSA
- If you want 40+ cryptocurrencies to trade
Sign Up:
Get $30 free when you trade $100
Get $50 free when you trade $100
