Netcoins Vs Shakepay: Which Is Better For Canadians In 2026?

How Do Netcoins And Shakepay Compare, Fact By Fact?

Every row below comes from each company’s own pages and the Canadian registries, checked October 2026. Where a row has no fair winner, it says so.

What Are The Key Differences Between Netcoins And Shakepay?

How Do You Fund And Cash Out Netcoins And Shakepay In Canada?

Neither accepts: paypal.

Not verified Shakepay joined Interac e-Transfer as a Participant in July 2026, so e-Transfer now runs on its own connection. Bank-side sending limits and name matching still apply. Weekend timing: Not published.

What Does It Actually Cost To Buy On Netcoins And Shakepay?

Netcoins: Netcoins states no separate trading fee and an all-in price; the spread percentage is not published (2026-10-03). The old 0.5% flat fee is gone. Shakepay: Published target band of 0.5% to 2.0% over the benchmark price, which may widen by up to 1.5% in adverse conditions (help article checked 2026-10-03). Neither publishes a maker and taker schedule because there is no order book: the spread is the fee. If cost matters most, NDAX (flat 0.20%) or Kraken Pro are cheaper places to buy in Canada. Ranges reflect each platform’s published band, not a single quote. Bank and network fees are not included.

What Do Netcoins And Shakepay Offer Beyond Buying And Selling?

Netcoins Only

• Staking: Staking on ETH, SOL and ATOM while the crypto stays held by Netcoins.
• Crypto lending: Borrow CAD against crypto with same-day funding; rates and LTV Not verified.
• OTC desk: Large trades with dedicated account managers and same-day settlement.
• Referral program: Invite a friend and both earn a cash reward after they sign up and trade; the amount is Not verified.

Shakepay Only

• Shakepay Card (prepaid Visa): Issued by Peoples Trust Company, no annual fee, no credit check, free to get once fully verified. Cashback 1% at Base and Bright, 1.5% at Blue; foreign fee 3%, 1.5% or 0%. Limits $5,000 per transaction and day, $50,000 per month. Apple Pay and Google Pay supported.
• BLOC (bitcoin-backed line of credit): Borrow up to $50,000 against bitcoin through Shakepay Credit Inc. APR 11.5% Base, 10.5% Bright, 9.5% Blue. No fixed payments while LTV is 50% or lower. Terms and margin levels are shown in-app. Loan proceeds may not buy crypto. Margin notice 80%, liquidation 90% with a 3% fee and a CAD 100 minimum: Not verified on a primary page.
• Interest and USD: CAD interest 1.5% Base, 2% Bright, 3% Blue; savings 1.5%, 2% and 5% (Blue, first $100,000). The crypto page advertises 3.5% on USD. Rates are variable and not guaranteed.
• ShakingSats: Shake your phone once a day for sats. Cap by status: 10 sats a day at Base, up to 100 at Bright, up to 500 at Blue, growing with your streak.
• Referral: You and the friend each get $20 when the friend invests $100 in crypto within 30 days.

What Happens To Your Money If Netcoins Or Shakepay Fails?

Netcoins: Netcoins is a CSA restricted dealer under the BCSC, so it must follow custody, disclosure and limit conditions, but CIPF never covers crypto. Customer crypto sits mostly in BitGo cold storage and Fireblocks hot wallets, and Netcoins says it carries insurance without giving the amount or insurer. No proof of reserves was found. If Netcoins failed or was hacked, you would rely on those custodians and any insurer paying out, and you would be an unsecured creditor for the rest. The parent company changed its name to Surge Digital Inc in 2026.

Shakepay: CIPF covers the cash and USD you hold at Shakepay, advertised as up to $1 million, but crypto is explicitly not covered. Customer crypto is held in trust with Coinbase Custody (at least 80% cold) and Fireblocks and BitGo hot wallets, and Shakepay's own risk statement warns that insurance may be inadequate and points users to withdraw to a private wallet. A hack, a custodian failure or a freeze can still hit crypto balances. BLOC adds liquidation risk if bitcoin falls, and Shakepay Credit operates under time-limited exemptive relief that runs three years from April 9, 2026, not full registration.

How Are Netcoins And Shakepay Treated For Tax In Canada?

Netcoins: Buying with CAD is not a disposition. Selling, swapping and spending crypto are dispositions you report to the CRA, and staking rewards are income. Export formats were not verified.

Shakepay: Selling crypto, swapping it (including auto-swap), spending it with the card or repaying with it are dispositions; card cashback in bitcoin is income when received and your cost base starts at that value. Shakepay emails two CSVs (crypto and cash) but issues no tax slips, so you need Koinly or similar.

Selling, swapping or spending crypto is a disposition for the CRA on any platform. This is not tax advice: see my guide to crypto taxes in Canada.

Which Should You Choose, Netcoins Or Shakepay?

Choose Netcoins If

• You want a broker app with 60+ coins, free Interac funding and phone support
• You value a long-registered Canadian dealer owned by a public company
• You can accept an unpublished spread in exchange for simple all-in prices

Choose Shakepay If

• You want the simplest Interac-funded way to buy Bitcoin or Ethereum from a CIRO-registered firm.
• You want a bitcoin cashback card or a bitcoin-backed credit line in the same app.
• You will keep the account active each month to reach Bright or Blue and lower the card and loan costs.
• You do not need many coins, limit orders or Lightning.

What Are The Main Differences Between Netcoins And Shakepay?

Netcoins is a Canadian crypto platform run by Netcoins Inc., with the BC Securities Commission as its principal regulator. It is on the CSA authorized list as a restricted dealer and FINTRAC lists Netcoins Inc. as a registered money services business through October 2027. It pitches itself at beginners who want to buy, sell and hold crypto in CAD without learning an order book.

Shakepay is a Montreal-based app for buying Bitcoin, Ethereum and USDC with CAD. It was admitted to CIRO as an Investment Dealer Member effective January 8, 2025, it is on the CSA authorized list, and FINTRAC lists it as a registered money services business. It started life as a simple Bitcoin app, and it still feels like one.

The short version: choose Netcoins for a simple buy-and-hold app with free Interac and CSA registration, and Shakepay for free Interac both ways and the simplest app for Bitcoin and Ethereum. The sections below show where each one wins and where it does not, using the numbers I could verify.

How Do Netcoins And Shakepay Compare On Fees?

Netcoins Fees

Netcoins does not add a separate trading fee. Its fee page says the price you are quoted already includes Netcoins' spread, and it does not publish what that spread is. That makes the real cost hard to compare with a flat-fee platform, because you only see it by comparing the quote against a market price at the moment you trade. My advice is simple: price the same coin and amount on two platforms before you buy. On the cash side, Interac e-Transfer deposits and cash withdrawals are free. Bank wire deposits are free over $3,000, and wire withdrawals under $25,000 carry a $50 processing fee.

Shakepay Fees

Shakepay is commission-free and earns through the spread. It targets a spread of 0.5% to 2.0% over the benchmark price and says it may add up to a further 1.5% in adverse conditions, so the worst case is higher than the headline. Bitcoin withdrawals at normal speed (about 12 hours) are free because Shakepay covers the network fee. Fast withdrawals (about 10 minutes) carry fees, and the minimum is 0.00005 BTC.

I cannot declare a fee winner here. Netcoins and Shakepay does not publish a single comparable trading cost, so the honest answer is to check a live quote on both apps for the same coin and amount before you buy.

Which Is Better For Funding And Withdrawing CAD?

Netcoins

Interac e-Transfer is free both ways, which covers most Canadians. Wires are the expensive route: deposits are free over $3,000 (I could not verify the fee under that amount) and withdrawals under $25,000 cost $50. If you move small amounts, stay on Interac. If you move large amounts, the wire fee is a rounding error and the speed can be worth it.

Shakepay

This is one of Shakepay's best features: Interac e-Transfer is free in and out, with a $5 minimum and a $10,000 maximum, and funds arrive in minutes. Wires are free too (some banks charge you), but start at $10,000 and take one to two working days. Few Canadian platforms make cashing out free, so this alone saves regular traders money.

Both let you fund by Interac e-Transfer, and cash-out costs are the same on the published schedules, so funding is a tie.

Which Has More Coins?

Netcoins Coins

Netcoins lists 65 coins on its official fee page, and one of them, Bittensor, is trade-only. That is a mid-sized menu: wider than the Bitcoin-and-Ethereum apps, narrower than the biggest global exchanges. Its restricted dealer terms also apply an investment limit over a rolling 12 months to certain investors in specific jurisdictions, with exceptions for lower-risk assets listed in the decision. The dollar amount is not stated in the decision, so check your own limit in the app.

Shakepay Coins

Three coins: Bitcoin, Ethereum and USDC (which auto-converts to USD 1:1). There is no altcoin menu, no staking and no OTC desk. For people who only want Bitcoin and Ethereum that is a feature, not a flaw.

Netcoins has the bigger menu. Netcoins: 65 coins on its official fee page (Bittensor is trade-only). Shakepay: 3: Bitcoin, Ethereum and USDC. If you want altcoins, that settles it.

Which Is Safer?

Netcoins Safety

Netcoins is on the CSA authorized list as a restricted dealer, with amended decisions dated September 16, 2026, September 29, 2025, October 6, 2023 and March 24, 2022 after its original decision of September 29, 2021. It is not on the banned list. FINTRAC lists Netcoins Inc. as registered with an expiry of October 15, 2027. The September 2026 amendment added Solana to the assets exempt from the investment limit. I did not find a verified custody or insurance dollar figure, so I do not quote one.

Shakepay Safety

As a CIRO Investment Dealer Member, Shakepay sits in the top regulatory tier. USD funds are protected by CIPF up to $1M, while crypto is not covered. FINTRAC lists Shakepay Inc. as registered through October 30, 2027. Shakepay Credit Inc., its Bitcoin-backed credit arm, received its own CSA decision on April 9, 2026.

Shakepay sits in the higher regulatory tier, as a CIRO investment dealer member, while Netcoins is a CSA-registered restricted dealer. For a first-time buyer, that difference matters more than a small fee gap. Either way, crypto is not covered by deposit insurance.

Which App Is Easier To Use?

Netcoins App And Support

Netcoins keeps the experience simple: pick a coin, see a quote, buy. That suits beginners, although it gives you no charts or order book to work with. I have not run a support test on Netcoins that I would stand behind in print, so I will not rank it on support here.

Shakepay App And Support

Shakepay's app is beginner-friendly and rated 4.62 on the Canadian App Store from 24,349 ratings and 4.1 on Google Play. On support, when we tested it we received a reply in under 24 hours, and customer reviews consistently rank it among the friendliest in Canadian crypto. There is no phone channel.

I cannot compare store ratings, because I have no verified Canadian rating for Netcoins. Try both onboarding flows, which take a few minutes, and keep the one that feels clearer.

What Does A $1,000 Purchase Cost On Netcoins And Shakepay?

This is plain arithmetic on the published percentages above, not a quote. Real prices move with the market, and platforms that build the spread into the price add a cost you only see by comparing quotes.

How Do Netcoins And Shakepay Compare On Limits And Restrictions?

Netcoins Limits

Netcoins applies a rolling 12-month investment limit on purchases and sales for certain investors in specific jurisdictions, with exceptions for assets listed in the CSA decision. Solana joined the exception list on September 16, 2026. The dollar amount is not stated in the decision, so your own limit is shown in the app. Bank wires under $25,000 cost $50 to withdraw.

Shakepay Limits

Shakepay's Interac e-Transfer runs from $5 to $10,000, wires start at $10,000, and Bitcoin withdrawals have a 0.00005 BTC minimum. It has no staking and no derivatives. It also auto-swaps unsupported ERC-20 deposits at 1.5% on BTC and 2% on other currencies.

What Extras Do Netcoins And Shakepay Offer?

Netcoins Extras

Netcoins is a simple buy, sell and hold service. I could not verify staking, cards or bonuses on its official pages, so I do not credit it with any. If a feature matters to you, confirm it in the app first.

Shakepay Extras

Shakepay's referral gives both people $20 when you invest $100 within 30 days. It also offers an interest product on USD and Shakepay Credit Inc., a Bitcoin-backed credit product with its own CSA decision. Neither is staking.

Can You Use Both Netcoins And Shakepay?

Yes, and plenty of Canadians do. Nothing stops you holding an account on each. A common setup is to buy on whichever platform quotes the better price for the coin you want, then move long-term holdings to a wallet you control. If you split money across platforms, keep a simple record of every buy, sell and transfer. The CRA treats crypto as a commodity, whether your gains count as business income or capital gains depends on your situation, and clean records make tax time far easier. Transfers between your own accounts are not sales, but the fees on them can still matter.

What Are The Pros And Cons Of Netcoins And Shakepay?

Netcoins Pros And Cons

Shakepay Pros And Cons

Who Wins Each Category Between Netcoins And Shakepay?

Here is the scorecard in one place. A winner is named only when both sides have a comparable verified number. Where one side does not publish it, the answer is Depends, and where the gap is too small to matter, it is a Tie.

What Should You Do Next?

1. Decide what matters most to you: lowest cost, the widest coin menu, the strongest regulation or the simplest app.
2. Open the platform that wins your category and read its fee page in full before you deposit.
3. Start with a small first buy and a small test withdrawal, so you learn the flow with little at risk.
4. Turn on two-factor authentication, and move long-term holdings to a wallet you control.

Who Should Choose Netcoins, And Who Should Choose Shakepay?

Choose Netcoins if you want a simple buy-and-hold app with free Interac and CSA registration. It is a CSA-registered restricted dealer. Its strongest point: on the CSA authorized list as a restricted dealer.

Visit Netcoins Read My Netcoins Review

Choose Shakepay if you want free Interac both ways and the simplest app for Bitcoin and Ethereum. It is a CIRO investment dealer member. Its strongest point: free Interac e-Transfer deposits and withdrawals.

Visit Shakepay Read My Shakepay Review

Still undecided? The exchange quiz narrows it down in a minute, and my ranked list of the best crypto exchanges in Canada shows where both sit.