EarnBitcoin.co › Where to Buy Bitcoin
The safest way to buy bitcoin is through a regulated exchange or broker app: create an account, verify your ID, pay by bank transfer or card, and withdraw the bitcoin to a wallet you control. You don’t need to buy a whole coin — everything below sells fractions, counted in sats, from a few dollars up.
Country guides are rolling out — if yours isn’t listed yet, the availability pill on each card below tells you where it works.
Sorted roughly by how gentle they are on a first-timer. All of them ask for ID — that’s the regulation talking, not the company.
A clean bitcoin-only app built on the Lightning network. Buy with a bank transfer at a transparent tiered fee (recurring buys are free after the first week), then send or withdraw instantly for pennies. Covers all 50 US states and 95+ countries.
Why it’s here: The app we'd hand a beginner who plans to actually use their sats, not just hold them.
If you're in the US, this app is probably already on your phone — and it sells bitcoin. Recurring buys and buys over $2,000 are fee-free; small one-off buys carry a fee that shrinks as the amount grows. Withdraw over Lightning or on-chain.
Why it’s here: For millions of Americans there's no new account to create — the shortest path from curious to holding sats.
The stock app millions already have also sells bitcoin — commission-free with the cost built into the price, in every US state and territory plus most of Europe. Coins can be withdrawn to your own wallet (on-chain only, no Lightning).
Why it’s here: Already on millions of phones — the shortest path from stocks to first sats.
The mainstream exchange — publicly traded, licensed where it operates, with local-money buying in 45+ countries (in ~50 more it's crypto-to-crypto only). The simple buy button costs ~1.5% plus spread; the Advanced Trade screen on the same account drops that under 0.6%.
Why it’s here: The safe, boring on-ramp — a household name that answers the "is this legit?" fear.
A NYDFS-chartered US exchange with a strong security record, serving every US state plus a short international list — it closed its UK, Europe and Australia accounts in April 2026. Simple buys show their fee at order time; the ActiveTrader screen is cheaper.
Why it’s here: The largest signup bonus on this page — worth it if you were going to buy anyway.
A bitcoin-only US platform built for steady stacking: recurring buys are fee-free after the first week, withdrawals are free, and support answers the phone. Not available in New York or Nevada.
Why it’s here: Set up a weekly buy once and the zero fees quietly compound in your favor.
Buy bitcoin inside SoFi's banking app — the first nationally chartered US bank to offer crypto trading, at roughly 1% per trade. The big caveat: withdrawals to your own wallet aren't supported yet ("coming soon", says SoFi), so your sats stay in the app for now.
Why it’s here: The best percentage bonus here — $25 on a $50 buy — if you're okay with the sats staying put for now.
A Swiss bitcoin-only app, now MiCA-licensed across Europe: every purchase settles into a wallet only you control, so there's no exchange balance to remember to withdraw. About 1% plus spread per buy; cards cost ~3% more. One quirk: verification needs citizenship of a served country — residency alone doesn't qualify.
Why it’s here: Self-custody by default — the step most beginners skip is the one Relai won't let you skip.
A Canadian bitcoin-only exchange, now licensed across Europe and serving parts of Latin America, that never holds your coins — every buy pays straight out to your own wallet, Lightning included. Not available in the US.
Why it’s here: You can't leave coins on the exchange even if you try — the biggest beginner mistake made impossible.
A multi-asset app serving the US, UK and Europe — by its own count 100+ more countries, though we list only what we've confirmed (Canada isn't served). Commission-free with the cost in the spread, about 1.8–2% on bitcoin; coins withdraw to your own wallet.
Why it’s here: The one signup bonus here that's open outside the US.
A veteran exchange, running since 2011, serving 190+ countries and every US state except New York and Maine. Instant Buy costs ~1.5%, but the same account unlocks Kraken Pro at 0.25–0.4% — and Lightning withdrawals are free.
Why it’s here: The cheapest all-in route on this list, if you're willing to learn a real exchange screen.
Private, but not beginner-easy: you’re trading with another person, prices run above market (a couple percent on some venues, 10%+ on others), and support is a forum, not a help desk. Start with the list above unless privacy is the point.
A Swiss peer-to-peer app where you buy directly from another person, the bitcoin held in multisig escrow until you've paid. No account, no ID, up to roughly 1,000 CHF a day. Payment methods are Europe-centric; not available in the US.
Why it’s here: The gentlest of the no-ID options — it feels like an app, not a trading floor.
A P2P marketplace running since 2018: no ID at any trade size, every trade locked in 2-of-3 multisig escrow where you hold one of the keys. Works from any browser — though its terms bar US residents since 2026.
Why it’s here: No ID at any amount — and holding an escrow key means the trade can't move without you.
The decentralized old-timer: software that trades over Tor with no company behind it at all. The newer Bisq Easy mode is far friendlier, but sellers there charge a real premium — often 10% or more — as the price of its reputation-based security.
Why it’s here: The most censorship-resistant way to buy there is — you pay for that in the premium, not in fees.
An entirely Lightning-based P2P exchange reached over Tor. Fees are tiny and trades settle in minutes — but you'll need a Lightning wallet and the Tor browser before you can start.
Why it’s here: For the already-comfortable: the cheapest private sats on the internet.
Every platform above follows the same four beats. Knowing them ahead of time turns a nervous first purchase into a ten-minute chore.
That’s what the selector at the top is for. Availability is set by regulators, not by the apps — so the list really does differ from country to country, and there’s no trick to unlock a platform that doesn’t operate where you live.
Regulated platforms must check who you are before taking your money — the same rules banks follow. Expect to photograph a government ID and sometimes your face. Approval usually takes minutes, occasionally a day. It’s tedious, but it’s normal: an exchange that skips it is the red flag, not the one that asks.
A bank transfer is almost always the cheapest way in; cards are instant but add a few percent. Ignore the headline “fee” and look at one number instead: how much bitcoin you’re quoted for your money. That final quote includes any spread the platform hides in the price — it’s the only honest basis for comparison.
The bitcoin you buy sits in the platform’s custody until you send it to your own wallet — and moving it is the step that makes it genuinely yours, beyond the reach of a frozen account or a failed exchange. Leaving a few dollars’ worth on the platform while you learn is fine. Meaningful savings shouldn’t live there. Before you withdraw, check the platform’s withdrawal fee — and whether it supports Lightning, which makes small withdrawals cost pennies instead of a chunk of your purchase.
A few dollars. Bitcoin divides into 100 million sats per coin, and every platform on this page sells fractions — $10 buys you roughly 10,000 sats at a $100,000 bitcoin price. Nobody buys a whole coin their first time. Run any amount through our USD to sats calculator to see what it gets you at the live price.
On a regulated exchange or broker, yes — identity checks are required by the same laws that apply to banks, and there is no trick around them. If privacy matters to you, peer-to-peer marketplaces let you buy from another person without an account or ID. The trade-off is real: P2P prices run a few percent above market and the tools assume more experience.
A bank transfer into a low-fee exchange, all-in costs around 1% or less. Card purchases are instant but typically cost 2–4% once the spread is counted, and bitcoin ATMs can run past 10%. The honest comparison is never the advertised fee — it's how many sats your money is quoted for at the final confirmation screen.
Often, yes — PayPal sells bitcoin in the US and lets you withdraw it to your own wallet, and Revolut sells it across the UK and Europe. The catch is the details: fees sit at the high end, Revolut's withdrawal support varies by country and plan, and neither app is built around bitcoin the way the platforms above are. Fine for a first taste — but confirm you can withdraw where you live before putting real money in.
Small amounts while you learn — fine. Meaningful amounts — no. Bitcoin on an exchange is an IOU from that company: if it freezes withdrawals or fails, your sats are stuck in the queue with everyone else's. Withdrawing to a wallet whose keys you hold is what makes bitcoin actually yours, and it's a ten-minute skill worth learning early.
Almost certainly. Regulated platforms now cover most of the world between them — pick your country in the selector above to see which ones serve you — and the peer-to-peer marketplaces on this page work nearly everywhere, no exchange required. Countries with heavy restrictions are the rare exception, not the rule.
They solve different problems. Buying is instant and scales with your budget; earning is slower but risks none of your money — surveys, cashback, and apps that pay in sats. Plenty of people do both: buy a base, then let the legit earning sites stack sats on top. This whole site exists for the earning half.
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