Bybit vs Binance welcome bonus: which pays more in 2026

Updated 2026-09-03

Both exchanges pay new users for signing up through a referral link, and both advertise the top of their range rather than the typical result. This page puts the two programmes side by side using only figures published on the exchanges' own pages, checked on the date shown at the bottom, so the comparison holds up when you read the small print yourself.

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The headline numbers

Bybit's welcome programme is capped at $30,020. That is a stack of separate rewards: a $100 sign-up bonus, 10 USDT for a first deposit and 15 USDT for a first trade, a mystery box of up to 1,000 USDT, and a five-rung deposit bonus ladder that runs from $50 to $30,000. Bybit itself says over 80% of users get $100 or more, which is a statement about the sign-up bonus, not the ladder.

Binance's Friends Referral programme (the Lite version most links use) is capped at $1,100 for the referred friend. That is two vouchers: up to $100 for a first crypto purchase and up to $1,000 for reaching a trading-volume target. Both are trading-fee rebate vouchers, not a balance credit.

So on the cap, Bybit is roughly twenty-seven times larger. Caps are the least useful number in this comparison, though, and the next two sections are where the decision actually gets made.

What a normal new account actually receives

Strip away the tiers that need six-figure deposits and look at what someone who opens an account, verifies, deposits a few hundred dollars and trades a little walks away with.

On Bybit that is the $100 sign-up bonus, which needs registration and the starter tasks in the rewards hub, plus 10 USDT for a deposit of at least 100 USD in the first seven days and 15 USDT for 500 USD of trading volume in the first thirty. The first ladder rung ($50) needs a $500 deposit and $100k of cumulative turnover, so it is reachable for an active trader but not automatic.

On Binance that is a voucher of up to $100 for buying crypto worth $50 or more with fiat, a card or P2P (crypto deposits do not count), and a voucher of up to $1,000 once cumulative Spot or Convert volume passes $100. The "up to" matters: the voucher face value is set by Binance at distribution, and a $100 trading-volume target does not release a $1,000 voucher for everyone who crosses it. Vouchers arrive within 48 hours, must be activated within 7 days, and expire 14 days after activation.

The shape of the two programmes is different. Bybit pays small fixed amounts early and holds the large sums behind large deposits. Binance pays nothing fixed, but its two tasks are the easiest in the industry to complete: a $50 purchase and $100 of turnover is a single afternoon.

Form of the reward, which decides its real value

A fee-rebate voucher is only worth what you would otherwise have paid in fees. If you make two trades and stop, a $1,000 voucher offsets a few cents of fees and then expires. Binance's vouchers are also Spot-only, so futures traders get nothing from them. The programme is generous in proportion to how much you trade on Spot within a two-week window and worth close to zero otherwise.

Bybit's rewards go to the rewards hub as trading bonuses, coupons and the mystery box, each with its own short terms and expiry. They are usable across more products but they are not withdrawable cash either; the claim guide walks through what appears where.

The honest summary: neither exchange hands you money. Bybit gives more reward for a given amount of capital and activity; Binance gives a faster, smaller reward that only helps active Spot traders.

Deadlines

Bybit: deposit within 7 days of registration for the deposit bonus; trading volume within 30 days for the trade bonus and the mystery box.

Binance: no deadline is stated for completing the two tasks, but each voucher must be activated within 7 days of receipt and used within 14 days of activation, which in practice compresses the whole thing into about three weeks from the first purchase.

Availability

Bybit does not serve the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, the European Economic Area, Singapore, Hong Kong, Japan and a set of sanctioned territories, and our affiliate link is closed in several more; the availability guide has the list. Our button checks your location before it redirects.

Binance runs separate regulated entities in many countries, and the referral programme's terms vary by entity. Check Binance's own site for your country; we do not verify Binance availability here.

Which one to pick

If you are choosing an exchange on the bonus alone, Bybit's programme is larger at every level of activity we can compare, and its early rewards are fixed amounts rather than "up to" vouchers. If you already trade Spot heavily and want a rebate on fees you would pay anyway, Binance's vouchers are a reasonable add-on. If you are opening a first account and are not sure how much you will trade, the sign-up bonus and the two small fixed bonuses on Bybit are the only rewards on either exchange that do not depend on trading volume, and that is usually the deciding fact.

The referral code page has the full Bybit ladder with every condition, and the fees guide shows what you pay once the bonuses are used up, which matters more than either bonus after the first month.

Frequently asked questions

Which bonus is bigger, Bybit or Binance?
On the headline number, Bybit — its welcome programme is capped at $30,020 against Binance's $1,100. On what a typical new account actually receives, the gap is smaller — Bybit's $100 sign-up bonus plus 25 USDT for the first deposit and trade, against Binance's vouchers of up to $100 for a first purchase and up to $1,000 for trading.
Is the Binance bonus real money?
No. Binance pays trading-fee rebate vouchers that only offset Spot trading fees, must be activated within 7 days and expire 14 days after activation. Bybit's rewards land in the rewards hub and follow their own terms, which also are not free cash.
Can I claim both?
Yes, they are separate exchanges with separate programmes. Each one applies only to a new account opened through a referral link or code; an existing account cannot be moved under a code afterwards.
Which one is available in my country?
Neither serves the United States, and both restrict a number of other places. Our Bybit link checks your country before it redirects, so a blocked location gets an explanation rather than a dead sign-up form. Binance availability is a separate check on Binance's own site.

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