Perpetual futures, or perps, let you trade an asset’s price with leverage and no expiry date. They have only recently become legal to offer to U.S. customers through regulated exchanges, and the list of apps is growing fast. This page compares the five U.S. options we found: Robinhood, Kalshi (where perps are often called Kalshi Invest or Kalshi stocks), Coinbase, Kraken and Crypto.com. We compare fees, leverage, which markets each app lists, and the sign-up offers we have.
BonusMaxxing is independent and not affiliated with any of these companies. Last checked: November 7, 2026. Perps are leveraged products that can lose money quickly, and this is not financial advice.
Perpetual futures apps compared (November 2026)
| Platform | Fees | Max leverage | Code | Sign-up offer |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Robinhood | 0.01% per trade through 2026* | 10x BTC and ETH, 3x the other six* | Link only | Free stock with our link |
| Kalshi | 0.05% maker, 0.12% taker at the base tier† | BTC about 6x, ETH about 5x, most other coins 2 to 4x* | oh0vtd9k | 10% off perps fees for 3 months after you trade $50 in perps* |
| Coinbase | From 0.02%† | 10x† | — | — |
| Kraken | $0.15 per contract per side, plus exchange and clearing fees* | Not stated* | — | — |
| Crypto.com | Not published | Up to 5x* | — | — |
* The platform’s own site, help center or public data. † A third-party reviewer, not confirmed by the platform. A dash means we have no code or confirmed offer. Kalshi’s leverage figures are its own estimates, not fixed limits, and they change. Polymarket opened perps in September 2026 but blocks orders from the U.S., so it isn’t in this table.
Which markets does each app offer?
All five platforms offer crypto perps. Kalshi (Kalshi Invest) and Coinbase go further, with stocks, metals and index perps. Here are the crypto markets by platform.
| Market | Robinhood | Kalshi | Kraken | Coinbase | Crypto.com |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bitcoin (BTC) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | † |
| Ethereum (ETH) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | † |
| Solana (SOL) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | † |
| XRP | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | — |
| Dogecoin (DOGE) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | — | — |
| Cardano (ADA) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | — | — |
| Chainlink (LINK) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | — | — |
| Hyperliquid (HYPE) | ✓ | ✓ | — | ✓ | † |
| Litecoin (LTC) | — | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | — |
| Bitcoin Cash (BCH) | — | ✓ | — | ✓ | — |
| BNB | — | ✓ | — | ✓ | — |
| NEAR | — | ✓ | — | ✓ | — |
| Zcash (ZEC) | — | — | — | ✓ | † |
| Sui (SUI) | — | ✓ | — | — | — |
| Aave (AAVE) | — | ✓ | ✓ | — | — |
| Shiba Inu (SHIB) | — | ✓ | † | — | — |
| Avalanche (AVAX) | — | — | ✓ | — | — |
| Hedera (HBAR) | — | — | † | — | — |
| Tezos (XTZ) | — | — | † | — | — |
| Stocks, metals, indexes | — | ✓ | — | ✓ | — |
✓ Confirmed from the platform’s own page or public market list. † Reported by a third party and not confirmed. A dash means we found no listing, which can also mean we couldn’t find it. Robinhood lists eight markets, Kraken 16 (we have identified 13), and Kalshi dozens, including single stocks and metals such as gold and silver. Coinbase’s list includes a gold-token perp and several index perps. Crypto.com hasn’t published a contract list, so its column comes from news coverage. Lists change often. We re-check them each month.
Details that change what you keep
- Fees are charged on position size, not on the cash you put up. Kalshi says this explicitly: $50 of margin at 5x leverage is a $250 position, and the fee applies to the $250. Check how each app charges before you compare headline rates.
- Robinhood’s 0.01% fee is a promotion that runs through the end of 2026. We didn’t find a published rate after that. Leverage also steps down as a position grows: BTC and ETH allow 10x on positions under $1 million, and the other six markets allow 3x on smaller positions.
- Kalshi keeps perps (often called Kalshi Invest or Kalshi stocks) in a separate account from its prediction markets. You have to apply for margin access, and not everyone is approved. Funding payments move between long and short holders every 8 hours. Your perps margin can be liquidated without touching your predictions balance.
- Kraken’s price is a flat $0.15 per contract per side, plus exchange, NFA and clearing fees. Collateral is USD only at launch, and funding settles once a day. If you trade only perps, a liquidation costs $10. You also need to unlock futures trading on Kraken Pro first. Reviewers report it isn’t available in New York or Maine†.
- Coinbase’s fee and leverage figures come from reviewers†, mostly written around the July 2025 launch of its U.S. perps. Check the current numbers in the app before you trade.
- Crypto.com’s perps run through OG.com’s exchange and launched on October 27, 2026. They use isolated margin, which limits a loss to the margin on that one position. Reviewers report it isn’t available in New York†.
- Referral credits and perps balances often can’t be mixed. Kalshi says its referral credits can’t move between predictions and perps, and they can’t be withdrawn, though winnings from trading with them can be.
Our sign-up offers
We have offers for two of these platforms:
- Kalshi: use perps referral code oh0vtd9k (the Kalshi Invest or Kalshi stocks code) to get 10% off your perps fees for 3 months after you trade $50 in perps. See our Kalshi perps referral code page for the steps. Kalshi also has a separate $25 trading credit offer for event contracts (see our Kalshi referral code page). Each new user can redeem only one referral offer, so pick the one that matches what you want to trade. If you want to refer friends yourself, note that in our experience Kalshi didn’t let us refer anyone until we had traded $25 on predictions and $50 on Kalshi Invest (perps).
- Robinhood: new accounts that sign up through our link can claim a free stock. See our Robinhood free stock page. It’s a general sign-up offer, not a perps offer, and perps may not be open to every account yet.
We don’t have codes for Coinbase, Kraken or Crypto.com, and we couldn’t confirm a current official sign-up bonus for any of them, so we’ve left those rows blank.
How to choose a perpetual futures app
- Start with the market you want. If you only trade BTC or ETH, all five platforms work. If you want a specific altcoin, a stock or gold, use the matrix above, because only a few platforms list them.
- Compare fees on the size you’ll actually trade. A percentage fee and a flat per-contract fee can come out very differently depending on the coin and the position size.
- Look at the leverage you’ll realistically use. Higher limits mean closer liquidation prices. Most of the platforms here cap leverage well below offshore exchanges.
- Check availability in your state and whether you need a separate application for margin or futures access.
Are perpetual futures risky?
Yes. Leverage magnifies losses as well as gains, and a position can be closed out automatically when the market moves against you. Funding payments add a recurring cost or income to every open position. Keep these in mind:
- Don’t trade more than you can afford to lose to qualify for a sign-up offer. Fee discounts are small compared to the cost of a bad trade.
- Fees, leverage limits, available markets and promotions change often. Confirm the current terms in each app before you trade.
- Winnings from trading may be taxable.
This is not financial advice. Read each platform’s own terms and risk disclosures before you sign up.
Frequently asked questions
What is a perpetual future?
A perpetual future is a contract that tracks the price of an asset, such as bitcoin, and has no expiry date. Traders can go long or short with leverage. Periodic funding payments between longs and shorts keep the contract price close to the real price.
What are Kalshi Invest and Kalshi stocks?
Kalshi’s perpetual futures are often called Kalshi Invest or Kalshi stocks. They are separate from Kalshi’s prediction markets, with their own account balance and their own referral offer. See our Kalshi perps referral code page for the details.
Which perpetual futures app has the lowest fees?
Robinhood’s 0.01% per-trade fee is the lowest rate we found, but it is a promotion through the end of 2026. Kraken charges a flat $0.15 per contract per side plus exchange and clearing fees, and Kalshi’s base rates are 0.05% for makers and 0.12% for takers, per a third-party review. The cheapest option depends on the coin and the size of your position.
Are perpetual futures available in every state?
No. Availability varies by platform and state, and some require extra approval. Reviewers report that Kraken isn’t available in New York or Maine and that Crypto.com isn’t available in New York. You’ll see your eligibility when you sign up.
Can I trade Polymarket perps from the U.S.?
Not at the moment. Polymarket opened perps to the public on September 3, 2026, but it blocks orders from the United States.
How often is this comparison updated?
We re-check the fee, leverage and market data on each platform every month and update the date at the top of this page.
Sources
Items marked * come from the platforms themselves. Items marked † come from third parties.
- * Robinhood: perpetual futures collateral tiers by contract
- * Robinhood: HOOD Summit 2026 announcement
- * Kalshi: what are perpetual futures
- * Kalshi: perps fees explained
- * Kalshi: perps promotions, bonuses and credits
- * Kalshi: public perps market list
- * Kraken: US perpetual futures
- * Kraken: announcing US perps
- * Coinbase: public futures products list
- * Crypto.com: OG.com and Crypto.com perpetuals launch
- † Datawallet: best regulated perpetual exchanges in the USA
- † CryptoSlate: Coinbase US perpetuals
- † The Block: Crypto.com and OG.com US perps
- † OneBullEx: OG.com and Crypto.com perps launch
- † The Defiant: Polymarket opens perps trading
