Best Crypto Apps for Beginners: How to Simply Buy, Sell, and Trade Crypto

While DeFi is relatively young and still evolving and adapting – it has its origins before modern smartphones and apps, and many of the products and services that emerged then, carrying the legacy of their web versions. It can be difficult for crypto beginners to handle legacy and extensive features, especially in the actual rapid DeFi development that brings more and more products and services.

For this purpose, we have compiled the top beginner-friendly crypto apps, each with unique features and capabilities, but with the common goal – to bring convenient DeFi solutions for the modern user.

Ka.app

Let's start with Ka.app, a peer-to-peer crypto payment app that enables you to simply, seamlessly, and securely buy, sell, send, receive, and spend your crypto and euros in a single platform. 

Remember that most crypto platforms are centralized, store user assets, carry extensive features, and are still kinda isolated (no real-life features for directly receiving the salary, paying the bills, etc.). So Ka.app's purpose is to eliminate this and to bring crypto into your everyday use, without jumping from crypto apps to banking apps.

Ka.app bridges the gap between the crypto market and the real world, integrating traditional banking features like personal IBAN and Visa debit card to deposit/withdraw euros with the ability to seamlessly convert, as well as buy, sell, or send crypto without fees, all within one app, and right on your device. Also, since the app was originally designed with simplicity and convenience in mind, you won't see any redundant features or overwhelming interface while your assets are stored on your device and not on a centralized service.

Core Ka.app Features

• P2P Crypto Transfers via Phone Contacts or QR code. No need to manage long wallet addresses. Ka.app lets you send and receive crypto within seconds using just a phone number or QR scan. 
• Multi-Currency Wallet. Hold and manage both crypto and fiat (currently euros) in one place. The app allows swapping between cryptocurrencies and to direct EUR-to-crypto swaps.
• Crypto IBAN & Visa Card. Deposit or withdraw EUR via your personal IBAN account, and spend crypto or EUR using the Ka.app debit card globally. This bridges traditional banking with crypto – e.g. you can buy Bitcoin with a bank transfer or card in-app.
• Easy Swap. Easily convert cryptocurrency transfers to another cryptocurrency of your choice, making managing your portfolio even more convenient and efficient.
• Earn and Rewards. By holding Ka.app’s native token KASTA, you can unlock benefits like up to 8% APY interest and discounted services fees as low as 0.376% of the transaction amount. Ka.app also runs referral programs and promotions (e.g. cashback events) to reward users.
• Security. Ka.app uses Fireblocks technology and a layered security system while audited with Zokyo. Also, it is licensed in the EU (Virtual Currency License in Bulgaria, Italy, and Lithuania) and implements security features like two-factor authentication, KYC verification, and compliance with anti-fraud regulations to protect users.

Ka.app Fees

Crypto Transfers

• Sending crypto to other Ka.app users is free (no network or transaction fee).

Deposit Crypto

• No fees to receive crypto

Withdraw Crypto

• To external wallets – Incur network fees (chosen blockchain network transaction fees)

Easy Swap

• Swap Fees – Variable; standard swaps incur a small commission (embedded in the exchange rate), but users who lock up KASTA tokens get discounted rates as low as 0.376% per swap.

EUR Deposits and Withdraw

• Ka.app offers cheap EUR deposits: adding euros via SEPA transfer costs a flat €1 fee. 
• Converting Crypto to EUR. Incurs the swap fee (again, variable, but as low as 0.376% with KASTA benefits).

Ka.app’s community is growing rapidly, and the team regularly introduces new features to keep the highest simplicity, usability, and convenience of crypto transactions for users of all backgrounds and scenarios. All in all, this is probably one of the best crypto apps for beginners who want to seamlessly integrate crypto into their daily use while keeping it simple, controlled, and secure.

Uphold

Another app that, on the one hand, also merges the management of crypto and fiat but is still a bit more extensive, with a broader focus, formulating it as to trade "anything-to-anything." More specifically, a prime feature of Uphold is that you can trade not only between fiat and crypto but over 300+ currencies and commodities such as stocks, and several precious metals.

Additionally, Uphold is known for its very favorable features of crypto staking (up to 19 assets available for staking) and even an FDIC-insured USD account that earns interest (in the U.S.)​.

Uphold also places a huge emphasis on transparency and legality of its operations. In particular, the platform publishes its assets and liabilities in real-time (updated every 30 seconds) on its website, never lends out customer funds, keeps a 100% reserve for all user holdings, and holds licensing in the U.S., U.K., and EU and KYC requirements.

Core Uphold Features

• Multi-Asset Wallet & Trading. Enable you to hold crypto, fiat, stocks, and metals in one wallet and trade between any of these assets. For example, you could convert USD to Bitcoin, then Bitcoin to Euro, then Euro to gold – all in a few taps. 
• Broad Asset Support. Supports around 250+ cryptocurrencies, 27 fiat currencies (USD, GBP, JPY, etc.), and 4 precious metals (gold, silver, platinum, palladium), and, in some regions, Uphold provides access to U.S. equities and other assets. 
• Staking and Yield. Currently offers staking on 19+ digital assets with competitive APYs up to 14.5%. It also has an interest-bearing USD account – U.S. dollar balances on Uphold can earn around 4–5% APY (with FDIC insurance on deposited funds via partner banks)​. Notably, these yields have no lockups; funds remain liquid while earning interest​.
• Uphold Debit Card. Uphold provides a crypto-enabled debit card in certain regions like the U.S. and U.K., enabling you to spend your crypto or fiat balances at any Mastercard-compatible merchant. Also, it offers 2% cashback on some crypto purchases and charges 0% foreign transaction fees​. 
• AutoPilot. This feature enables dollar-cost averaging (enabling recurring buys of crypto on a schedule). It offers price alerts and a robust mobile app for on-the-go trading. 
• Security. Among security features, you will find two-factor authentication, and the option of using a multi-signature self-custody Vault.

Uphold Fees

Trading Fees

• 0% – Uphold does not charge a separate commission on trades. Instead, they make money on the spread (the difference between buy and sell prices), and spreads built into the price. 
• Stablecoins. ~0.2%
• Major fiat FX pairs (e.g., USD/EUR). ~0.25% 
• Bitcoin (BTC) & Ethereum (ETH). ~1.4-1.6% 
• Lower-liquidity altcoins & precious metals. ~1.9-2.95%
• Fees may be higher in some regions (e.g., ~1.8% for BTC/ETH outside the US, UK, and EU). For small trades under $500 – an additional $0.99 small transaction fee applies.

Deposit Fees

• Bank Transfers – Free (ACH in the US, SEPA in the EU, Faster Payments in the UK)
• Debit/Credit card deposits 3.99% fee
• No custody fees

Withdrawal Fees

• Crypto withdrawals – Network fees apply (vary by blockchain)
• Bank withdrawals – Free in the UK/EU (for SEPA/Faster Payments), free ACH withdrawals in the US
• Instant withdrawals to a card or bank in the US. 1.75% fee (minimum $1
• Withdrawing fiat (crypto to bank transfer) – mostly free, except for a $3.99 fee in some cases (when converting crypto to fiat before withdrawal).

Speaking in general, at first glance, it may seem that Uphold is not very suited as one of the top crypto apps for newbies because of its extensive functionality and not the smallest fees. But still, it deserves your attention as it is indeed one of the best mobile apps for crypto trading, with many beneficial options and strong security. Also, if you are already trading FX and Stocks, and now you want to dive into crypto but without an additional platform for it – then you can move your trading journey to Uphold and all that on the way.

By the way, if you are interested in a single platform for trading everything from crypto to FX, stocks, and commodities with an even wider selection of assets, and you are more comfortable with a desktop platform as your main platform while a mobile one as an add-on, we highly recommend you to check out Phemex.

Additionally, they're offering a $100 position voucher through their Rewards Hub when you complete a few tasks. This is a limited-time deal, so act fast before it's gone!

eToro

Let's look at another one of the beginner-friendly crypto apps, which also offers a wide range of assets like stocks, ETFs, commodities, etc., but also has unique features – especially valuable in the case of crypto investing for beginners. First of all, eToro positions itself as a social trading and multi-asset investment platform and offers such branded features as Social Trading, CopyTrader, CopyPortfolios (now called Smart Portfolios), Demo Trading, and more. 

You may say that many features like Copy Trading and Demo Trading are standard for most crypto platforms, at least the big ones, and you would be right. But details make a difference because most of them add those features to not miss newcomers, while eToro focuses on them, adds more social interaction with other traders, and implements gamification elements to make it easier and faster for those who have no experience in crypto and investing in general to learn, labeling it as "millions of users trade together."

Core eToro Features

• Social Trading. eToro's platform includes a social news feed for each asset and for each user, where they can post status updates, market opinions, or questions, and other users can like or comment – essentially creating a social community of investors. 
• CopyTrader. Then it seamlessly goes to eToro's Copy Trading, where you can see the trader's past performance, risk assessment, portfolio breakdown, and overall profile and trading history, and then decide to copy their actions automatically.
• Smart Portfolios. It also seamlessly leads to another proprietary feature – eToro curated investment portfolios, which allows you to copy all portfolios at once for specific categories like CryptoEqual (which may hold equal allocations of top cryptos) or DeFi Portfolio, etc, as well as thematic portfolios like tech stocks, renewable energy, etc. Yes, you did not seem to, it's somewhat similar to ETFs, but of course, it's not, although we'll get to that next.
• Multi-Asset Investing. As we mentioned earlier, eToro is also one of the simple crypto trading platforms, but it offers a very wide range of assets, among which you will find 100 different cryptocurrencies that can also be traded as CFDs (according to jurisdiction) and other assets like stocks, ETFs, commodities, indices, and FX.
• Security. eToro has multiple licenses to operate globally – it is regulated by FINRA in the US, FCA in the UK, ASIC in Australia, and CySEC in Europe, adheres to AML, and requires KYC. Despite the eToro Money crypto wallet is not self-custodian – user funds are held in top-tier banking institutions, and eToro has multiple layers of safeguarding, with compensation eligibility depending on the country and amount invested. For users with larger balances, private insurance covers losses of up to 1 million EUR/AUD/USD. Regarding technical security – eToro implements classic 2FA, provides security of crypto assets with advanced signature mechanisms, and applies machine learning to analyze behavior and suspicious activity.

eToro Fees

Trading Fees

• Crypto trades. Flat 1% fee on each crypto transaction (buy and sell). This is added to the buy price and subtracted from the sell price — effectively ~2% round trip.
• Spreads. A small spread is also embedded in the price, but eToro aggregates prices from multiple exchanges to stay competitive.
• Stocks and ETFs. 0% — no ticket fees or management fees.
• Forex and commodities. Spreads vary (a few pips, e.g., on EUR/USD).
• Copy trading. No extra fee — you pay only the normal trading fees.
• Staking. No fee to join, but eToro takes a percentage of staking rewards: a 30% fee for standard members (you keep 70%); 25% for Platinum; and 15% for Diamond members.

Deposit Fees

• No deposit fee is charged by eToro. However, if you deposit in a currency other than USD (eToro's base currency), an FX conversion fee applies: ~50 pips (~0.5%) for EUR, GBP, etc.

Withdrawal Fees

• USD withdrawals. Flat $5 fee per withdrawal.
• EUR/GBP withdrawals to local banks. Free
• Minimum withdrawal amount. $30
• Crypto withdrawals. It can only be done via the eToro Money wallet. Blockchain network fees apply depending on the asset and conditions.

Other Fee

• $10/month if no login activity for 12 months and the account has a balance.
• No custody fee for holding assets.
• No extra commission for using Smart Portfolios or social trading features.

To summarize about eToro, it is safe to say that it is a unique learn crypto trading app with its focus and vision, and attaching quite a wide range of functionality to it. It offers not only to trade a wide range of assets but also to share and learn from other traders and be part of the crypto community, which can be invaluable for everyone, especially beginners.