MEXC vs Phemex

MEXC collects new coins, Phemex collects leverage and contracts. Different jobs, usually done on different venues.

SpreadRadar editorial · pryanik.io · · about authorship and sources

Compared by the numbers

Collected straight from the exchanges. Volume is deliberately left out: venues count it differently, and on some the top of the list is tokenised equities. The last row is our advertisement scanner’s coverage, not the venue’s full currency list, which is wider.

MEXC Phemex
USDT pairs1,505150
Futures contracts1,077123
Networks for USDT16—
Cheapest USDT withdrawal0.0001 AVALANCHE—
P2P currencies in our scanner52 currencies—

In short: the difference

What MEXC is: an early-listing venue. On the market since 2018, jurisdiction: Seychelles, its own MX token.

What Phemex is: a derivatives terminal. On the market since 2019, jurisdiction: Samoa.

What MEXC gives you

The terminal is strong on contracts, but MEXC has its own ground: The early-listing venue: fifteen hundred spot pairs and over a thousand perpetuals, among the broadest we cover. New coins land here before they reach the majors. There is P2P, savings and staking, Kickstarter launches and copy trading. The spot maker fee is zero, and USDT withdrawals on Plasma are free.

Strong sides: a zero maker fee, free withdrawals on Plasma, early listings, 1500 spot pairs.

What Phemex gives you

Against an early-listing venue, Phemex plays a different game: A derivatives venue founded by people from bank trading desks. A hundred and fifty spot pairs and a hundred and twenty perpetuals, each with its own funding rate. There is savings, copy trading and trading bots. The book is even and the data is served openly, which makes its prices sound to compare with other venues.

Strong sides: an even book, open data, the funding interval stated per contract.

What decides it

  • Jurisdiction. MEXC sits in Seychelles, Phemex in Samoa. It shapes both the checks you pass and what the venue has to disclose.
  • Native token. MX on MEXC cuts fees and opens launches; Phemex has no such lever.
  • Strengths side by side. MEXC: a zero maker fee, free withdrawals on Plasma, early listings, 1500 spot pairs; Phemex: an even book, open data, the funding interval stated per contract.
  • Which job. MEXC is for anyone chasing new coins and working from a wide list, while Phemex is as an additional venue in cross-exchange routes and funding.
  • Worth remembering. MEXC: among thousands of pairs many are very thin: check the book before size. Phemex: a narrow listing next to the Asian venues.

Which one fits you

MEXC — for anyone chasing new coins and working from a wide list.

Phemex — as an additional venue in cross-exchange routes and funding.

What people ask most

MEXC: Can I trade without verification? Spot is available with daily withdrawal limits. Lifting them, and P2P, require verification.

MEXC: Is MEXC good for arbitrage? For same-venue arbitrage, yes, thanks to the zero maker fee. For cross-venue you must watch volume: on thin pairs a visible price gap is often unfillable.

Phemex: Why is Phemex absent from your transfers section? It publishes the network list but not withdrawal fees — its directory has no field about cost at all. Showing networks without the price of moving is pointless.

Phemex: Does Phemex take part in your spot arbitrage? Yes. It serves the book for every pair as one list, so comparing its prices with other venues is sound.

Phemex: How many pairs and contracts does Phemex have? Around a hundred and fifty USDT spot pairs and a hundred and twenty-three perpetuals. It is one of the smaller venues we cover.

Both at once

Keeping both costs less than it seems: signing up is free, and a choice of two quotes usually beats one. The coin is bought where it already trades, moved across and shorted with a contract on the other — that locks the price while the transfer runs.

Live numbers

Everything in the table above is recomputed together with the rest of the site — pairs, contracts, P2P, networks and the withdrawal fee. MEXC and Phemex can be compared on facts rather than promises.

What the numbers say

Spot is wider on MEXC: 1,505 USDT pairs against 150, a gap of 10×. On perpetual contracts MEXC is ahead — 1,077 to 123. We can price the USDT withdrawal on MEXC alone — 0.0001 over AVALANCHE. Our scanner reads P2P on MEXC only — 52 currencies.

Snapshot from 30 September 2026; on the page the figures refresh on every visit.

MEXC ↗Phemex ↗

Other comparisons and walkthroughs

Binance or MEXCDepth and ecosystem against early listings and a zero maker fee. A look at when each one pays off.MEXC or GateThe two exchanges with the widest coin selection. A look at how they differ when both listings are enormous.OKX or MEXCA dense book and a Web3 wallet against a zero maker fee and coins before everyone else. A look at which matters more in your case.MEXC or LBankBoth live off coins the top three do not yet carry. A look at how they differ from each other.Binance vs PhemexAn all-rounder against a terminal: Binance has the deeper book and wider service set, Phemex the smoother contract trading.Bybit vs MEXCYou go to MEXC for new listings and to Bybit for leverage. Picking one is rarely necessary — people keep both.Bybit vs PhemexBybit and Phemex play the same game. The difference shows up in transfer costs and in where a position is calmer to hold.OKX vs PhemexPhemex is built for contracts; OKX also covers earn, bots and launches. It comes down to what you need more often.How to trade on MEXCThe venue where new coins appear first and the spot maker fee is zero. Here is who benefits from that.How to trade on PhemexA derivatives venue founded by bank derivatives traders: a fast engine, a tidy listing and an exact funding interval per contract.