Coinbase Card vs Exa Card

Coinbase Card costs less across the spending levels we test. The full fee, reward, availability and safety comparison is below.

Verdict

  • Coinbase Card leaves more money in your pocket at all three spending levels we test: $45.60 a year more at $500 a month, $99.60 a year more at $2,000 a month, $207.60 a year more at $5,000 a month.
  • Coinbase Card is a custodial card, so the provider holds your balance. Exa Card is self-custody.
  • On our safety check, Coinbase Card scores 75/100 (Good) and Exa Card scores 75/100 (Good).
  • Overall, Exa Card rates 54/100 against 40/100 for Coinbase Card, helped by its reach: it is offered in 46 countries and territories against 1 for Coinbase Card.
  • Among the 25 countries we track, both cards are offered in 1: United States.

Net value per year at $2,000 a month (20% foreign spend, one $200 ATM withdrawal a month)

  • Coinbase Card · Crypto rewards≤ $0
  • Exa Card · Standard-$99.60

≤ one fee is not published and counts as zero.

Crypto card comparison
FeatureCoinbase CardExa Card
Countries offeredUnited States only46 countries (better)
Card networkVisaVisa
CustodyCustodialSelf-custody
KYCFullFull
Top-up assetsUSDCUSDC, ETH, WBTC, wstETH, OP
Top-up or conversion fee0%0%
FX markupNot disclosed1.5%
ATM feeNo card feeNo ATM access (virtual card only)
Annual fee (base tier)FreeFree
Card issuanceVirtual Not disclosed · Physical Not disclosedVirtual Free · Physical Not disclosed
CashbackVariable, not publishedNone
Apple Pay / Google PayNot listedApple Pay, Google Pay
Safety score75/10075/100
Overall rating40/10054/100 (better)
Get the cardGet Coinbase CardGet Exa Card

Yearly cost at three spending levels

Monthly spendCoinbase CardExa Card
$500≤ $0
Crypto rewards
-$45.60
Standard
$2,000≤ $0
Crypto rewards
-$99.60
Standard
$5,000≤ $0
Crypto rewards
-$207.60
Standard

Net value per year: cashback minus conversion, FX, ATM and fixed fees. US dollars, 20% foreign spending, one $200 ATM withdrawal a month. The card cost calculator runs the same comparison with your own habits.

Where the money goes at $2,000 a month

LineCoinbase Card
Crypto rewards
Exa Card
Standard
Top-up and conversion fees$0$0
Spending fees$0$0
Foreign exchange markupNot disclosed-$72
ATM fees$0-$27.60
Annual, monthly and subscription fees$0$0
CashbackNot disclosed$0
Net per year$0-$99.60

Fees

Coinbase Card charges 0% to convert or top up and Not disclosed on spending in a foreign currency. Exa Card charges 0% and 1.5%.

ATM withdrawals: Coinbase Card no card fee; Exa Card no atm access (virtual card only).

A virtual card costs an undisclosed fee with Coinbase Card and nothing with Exa Card. A physical card costs an undisclosed fee and an undisclosed fee. Neither card has an annual fee on its base tier.

Cashback and rewards

Coinbase Card cashback: Variable, not published. Exa Card cashback: None.

Coinbase Card tiers: Crypto rewards: rate not published.

Exa Card tiers: Standard: 0%.

Coinbase Card: Rewards are paid in a crypto you choose from a rotating list. Coinbase describes the rate as variable and shows it only in the app.

Exa Card: The Exa Card has no cashback program. Visa Signature benefits apply instead (purchase protection, car rental cover, Visa Airport Companion with pay-per-use lounges, concierge). Idle balances earn a variable yield in Exactly Protocol. Pay Later splits purchases into up to 8 fixed-rate installments paid in USDC, and the interest rate is set at purchase.

Availability and KYC

Coinbase Card is offered in one country, including United States. Available in every US state except Hawaii.

Exa Card is offered in 46 countries, including Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Malaysia, Mexico, Philippines, Singapore, South Africa, United Arab Emirates and United States. US residents only in 31 listed states (not, for example, Georgia, Ohio, Washington or Oregon). No EU, EEA or UK countries are eligible. Nigeria is left out because the eligibility page says it "requires conditional approval" while the prohibited-countries list (15 January 2026) bans it. Exa's own help center also claims the card is "available in 180+ countries", which the published list does not support. In the US the card is also offered through Uphold.

Coinbase Card needs full KYC and Exa Card needs full KYC.

The card finder checks both cards against your country, KYC level and must-have features.

Limits, wallets and card types

Coinbase Card does not publish fixed spending or ATM limits.

Exa Card publishes ATM withdrawals of up to $1,000 a day.

Coinbase Card does not list Apple Pay or Google Pay support, and Exa Card works with Apple Pay and Google Pay. Exa Card issues a virtual card you can use straight away.

Custody and safety

Coinbase Card scores 75/100. Licensing: issued by a bank or e-money institution regulated in a tier-one jurisdiction. The card is issued through Pathward, N.A.. 2025-05-15: Overseas support staff bribed by criminals copied customer data for under 1% of monthly transacting users. Coinbase said no passwords, private keys or funds were exposed. The user agreement says customer digital assets are held for customers, are not property of Coinbase and are not subject to claims of Coinbase's creditors.

Exa Card scores 75/100. Licensing: holds a licence or registration outside the tier-one list (Card issued by Nimbus LLC dba Third National, licensed as a Money Transmitter by the Commissioner of Financial Institutions of Puerto Rico (licence TM-0207, NMLS 2612780). Exa Labs S.A.S. is the program manager and says it "does not issue or manage payment instruments"; its help center gives Rain's legal address as the card's billing address.). The card is issued through Nimbus LLC dba Third National. 2023-08-18: Exactly Protocol, which runs the card's credit and yield, was exploited through its DebtManager contract on Optimism. 117 accounts lost a combined $7,612,038 and the protocol was paused. Exa Labs S.A.S. is a Uruguayan company. The card is legally a credit card with no set credit line, and the issuer's terms say it has no relationship with Exactly Protocol. Your wallet is a passkey-secured smart contract account on OP Mainnet with no seed phrase. In Pay Later mode each purchase is a loan against your deposited crypto, which can be liquidated if its value falls. The 2023 exploit hit the protocol's leverage feature, not the card, which launched later. No regulator warning or enforcement action against Exa Labs or Exactly Protocol was found.

Full reports: Coinbase Card safety check and Exa Card safety check.

About each card

Coinbase Card is a custodial Visa card from Coinbase. It tops up with USDC.

Exa Card (Exactly) is a self-custody Visa card from Exa Labs S.A.S. (Exa Card program). It tops up with USDC, ETH, WBTC, wstETH and OP.

Which card fits you

Coinbase Card fits if

  • You live in United States, the only market it serves.

Exa Card fits if

  • You want to keep crypto in your own wallet until each payment.
  • You spend in foreign currencies often, since its FX markup is lower.

Read more: Coinbase Card fees and details · Exa Card fees and details

Coinbase Card vs Exa Card: questions

Which is cheaper, Coinbase Card or Exa Card?
At $2,000 a month with 20% foreign spending and one $200 ATM withdrawal, Coinbase Card leaves $99.60 more per year. The result can change with your spending, so the comparison above lets you enter your own amount.
Can I use Coinbase Card and Exa Card in the same country?
Yes, in 1 of the 25 countries we track, including United States.
Is Coinbase Card or Exa Card safer?
Coinbase Card scores higher on our safety check (75/100 against 75/100). The score looks at licensing, custody, fund segregation, proof of reserves and incident history.
Which card has better cashback, Coinbase Card or Exa Card?
Coinbase Card pays variable, not published and Exa Card pays none. Caps, tier rules and fees decide what you keep, which is why the yearly figures above include both.

Sources

  1. Coinbase Card: fees · checked September 24, 2026
  2. Coinbase Card: availability · checked September 24, 2026
  3. Coinbase Card: cashback · checked September 24, 2026
  4. Coinbase Card: safety · checked September 24, 2026
  5. Exa Card (Exactly): fees · checked September 28, 2026
  6. Exa Card (Exactly): availability · checked September 28, 2026
  7. Exa Card (Exactly): cashback · checked September 28, 2026
  8. Exa Card (Exactly): safety · checked September 28, 2026