How & Where to Buy Bitcoin in 2025 Without Getting Scammed

There are so many websites promising to sell you Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies and it is hard to figure out how and where to buy Bitcoin.

Some of these websites have massive hidden fees, some will not give you your Bitcoins at all. In this article, we will give you a list of trustworthy and reliable websites and methods to buy Bitcoin safely.

There are 3 main sources that you can use to buy Bitcoin:

If you would like to know more about buying Bitcoins then keep reading.

Coinbase has been around for a while, founded in 2012, based in San Francisco, U.S. Coinbase is backed by multiple known investment firms and has raised $500 million over 9 rounds of investments. Coinbase claims that they have over 15 million users.

In our opinion, Coinbase is one of the easiest, if not the easiest, cryptocurrency exchange to use. Their interface is clear and simple to use even for a person, who has not traded before.

Coinbase has 2 different websites: the main website and Coinbase Pro. While Coinbase Pro has smaller transaction fees you also have to manage the trades yourself (you can find Coinbase’s fee structure below). If you create an account on the main Coinbase website, a Coinbase Pro account will be created automatically for you. You can instantly transfer funds between the two accounts without any transaction fee.

Furthermore, Coinbase has insured all customer accounts for up to $250,000 (per individual) in case they get hacked. This makes Coinbase an extremely viable option ever for storing your cryptocurrencies for longer periods.

Coinbase has the following fee structure:

Coinbase Pro only charges 0.50% per transaction.

You can buy and sell the following cryptocurrencies on Coinbase:

Coinbase allows people to trade from over 100 countries. You can check if your country is supported by clicking here.

Coinbase allows deposits and withdrawals using the following methods:

Overall we think that Coinbase is the best option for someone looking to start investing in Bitcoin (and other cryptocurrencies). They even offer free cryptocurrencies if you complete their guides and tutorials about cryptocurrencies. This way you can get a small number of cryptocurrencies for free while learning more about different cryptocurrencies and how they work.

Kraken is one of the old dogs in the game. Founded in 2011, based in the U.S., Kraken has stood the test of time - being one of the few exchanged that has never been hacked. Kraken has received investments from various known investment firms. With over $100 million raised by Kraken, we can definitely say that Kraken is one of the most trustworthy exchanges around.

Kraken has two features, which makes it different from many other exchanges. First of all, they offer an OTC (over-the-counter) desk for clients with more funds (transaction size over $100,000) and secondly they have a margin (leverage) trading option. You can use up to 5x leverage on Kraken.

Kraken’s user interface has seen improvements over the years, but it is still difficult to use for someone who has never traded before. That’s where our last reviewed exchange (Coinbase) really shined.

Kraken’s fee structure depends on the volume of your transactions, the trading pair you are trading and whether your order is a maker or taker.

Kraken’s fees range between 0% and 0.26% per transaction, with 0.26% being the default transaction fee when you first sign up. As you trade more on Kraken, the fees will get lower.

Kraken supports the following cryptocurrencies (21):

The only countries disallowed from using Kraken are:

Kraken supports the following payment methods for deposits and withdrawals:

You can expect withdrawals and deposits to take from 1 to 5 days.

Overall Kraken is a great choice if you are somewhat familiar with trading (know about different order types and how they work). If you are someone completely new to trading and cryptocurrencies I would look somewhere else - Coinbase is a great option.

Bitstamp, founded in 2011, is one of the most reliable, well-respected and trustworthy exchanges around. Over the years Bitstamp has been a victim of many hacking attempts and have since improved their security measures a lot.

Bitstamp was the first fully regulated exchange on the cryptocurrency market. It was approved by Luxembourg authorities in 2016 to act as a payment institution.

Bitstamp's user interface is easier to use than Kraken’s user interface, but still not as easy and beautiful as Coinbase’s user interface.

The other downside to Bitstamp is that user verification procedure (KYC) can take a couple of days to complete. Fortunately, you only have to do it once.

Bitstamp has a base fee of 0.50% per transaction. As you trade more volume on Bitstamp the fees get lower. For the whole fee schedule of Bitstamp - click here.

Bitstamp supports the following cryptocurrencies (5):

Bitstamp allows traders from every country in Europe and 50 other countries outside of Europe.

The most significant countries outside of Europe are:

Bitstamp processes deposits and withdrawals using the following payment methods:

Bitstamp is a good choice if you are looking to buy and sell only the 5 cryptocurrencies supported on their exchange. If you need a larger variety of different cryptocurrencies another exchange (like Binance) would be perhaps more suitable.

Over the past few years, a lot of companies have installed Bitcoin ATMs that you can use to buy Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies conveniently.

The only downside to using a Bitcoin ATM is that they usually charge a hefty transaction fee compared to using an exchange. If you decide to use a Bitcoin ATM, make sure that you carefully read through the fees they charge and understand how much Bitcoins you will get for your money.

You can check if there are any Bitcoin ATM in your area by using CoinATMRadar.

The third option for buying Bitcoins is meeting a seller (or buyer) in-person. The most popular website that facilitates this kind of meetups is Localbitcoins.

When going to the Localbitcoins website you can choose a location and your preferred payment method. After filtering the results you will be able to see all the buyers (and sellers) available in your area.

Be careful when doing an in-person Bitcoin purchase. There have been a lot of instances where a person gets robbed of their Bitcoins or their money. Make sure you always meet in a public place and check the seller’s or (buyer’s) reviews before making a transaction with them. Better safe than sorry.

Hopefully, our article has helped you decide how and where you want to buy Bitcoins. Here’s a summary of the most popular methods.

The most cost-effective option to buy Bitcoin is definitely using an exchange. If you are a person that has not traded before, we recommend using Coinbase. If you are experienced with making trades and handling your own orders then you can try Kraken and Bitstamp, as they have cheaper fees and more cryptocurrencies available.