Introduction
Finst is Dutch, works only in euros and charges one flat rate of 0.15 percent with no extra spread. Backpack starts lower, offers perpetuals and real equities, and holds a MiFID II licence. Data as at August 2026.
Which one for whom?
| Topic | Better | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Costs | Backpack | 0.08% / 0.10% against a flat 0.15%. |
| Spread | It depends | Only Backpack measured ($0.10 on BTC perps). For Finst we have no measurement. |
| Safety and supervision | Backpack | Neither has a filing, but Finst publishes no proof of reserves and Backpack publishes daily. |
| Products | Backpack | Spot, perpetuals and real equities against spot and staking only. |
| Yield on collateral | Backpack | Auto-lend lets collateral earn; at Finst staking is a separate choice. |
| Ease of use | Finst | Dutch-language, phone on weekdays and an account in five minutes against English-only and up to seven days. |
Finst if you buy in euros, want simplicity and a flat rate without surprises. Backpack if you steer on costs, care about proof of reserves or need more than spot.
Head to head
| Finst | Backpack | |
|---|---|---|
| Licences | MiCA (AFM Netherlands, 24 July 2025) | MiCA (Latvijas Banka) + MiFID II (CySEC 273/15) |
| Entity | Finst (DVAM B.V.), Netherlands | Trek Technologies SIA (LV) · Trek Labs Europe Ltd (CY) |
| Operating since | 2022 | 2023 |
| Spot fees (entry tier, maker/taker) | Flat 0.15% maker and taker | 0.08% / 0.10% |
| Perpetuals | No | Yes — 0.02% / 0.05% entry tier |
| Currencies | EUR pairs only | USD pairs only |
| Capital efficiency | Staking, separate from trading | Collateral earns interest while it serves as margin (auto-lend) |
| Proof of reserves | Not published | Daily |
| Hack and loss history | None | None |
| Enforcement history | No enforcement record | No enforcement record |
| Exchange score | 5.9 / 10 | 8.8 / 10 |
How the scores are built
Finst scores 5.9 / 10, Backpack scores 8.8 / 10. Supervision and safety of funds together account for half the score; the rest sits in products, costs and yield. The full weighting is set out in our methodology.
Costs
Finst charges one flat rate of 0.15 percent for maker and taker, and claims it adds no extra spread on top. That is fair and easy to understand. Backpack starts at 0.08%/0.10% and comes down further with volume. So for a maker order Finst is more expensive, and for a taker order considerably more expensive. Against that, Backpack quotes in dollars, which adds a conversion step you have to count in.
Spread
At Backpack we measured a spread of $0.10 on BTC perpetuals. For Finst we have no spread measurement — Finst offers no perpetuals and we have not checked its spot spread ourselves. Finst does charge a flat rate of 0.15% for maker and taker, which makes total costs predictable as long as you do not know what the spread is doing. What we have measured is in our spread measurement.
Safety and supervision
Both are EU-licensed and neither has a filing with a regulator. The difference is in the depth: Finst has MiCA only, Backpack has MiFID II on top and may therefore offer derivatives. The sharpest distinction is proof of reserves — Backpack publishes daily, Finst does not publish it. That weighs on Finst' score in the safety pillar.
Products
Finst does spot and staking, and nothing further. Backpack does spot, perpetuals and real equities. If you only buy and hold bitcoin and ether, that difference is not there.
Yield on collateral
Finst offers staking, separate from trading. Backpack lets the collateral itself work: through auto-lend, deposited funds earn interest while serving as margin, across 18 assets, roughly 3.87% base and up to around 6.87% for the highest tier, paid out monthly. Anyone who is at Finst for the simplicity loses nothing here, because without perpetuals there is no collateral either. Caveat at Backpack: lent-out collateral can only be withdrawn while the lending pool allows it. Check the numbers with the yield-on-collateral comparison.
Ease of use
Finst is the simplest, Backpack the richest. Finst has three order types — market, limit, stop-loss — six languages including Dutch, Dutch-language phone support on weekdays from 09:00 to 18:00, and an account that according to Finst itself is open in five minutes. Against that, Finst offers no API trading for retail customers. Backpack has REST and WebSocket, but is English-only, has only email and Discord as contact channels, and warns itself about manual reviews taking up to seven days.
Frequently asked questions
Is Finst's flat 0.15% really all of it?
Finst claims it adds no extra spread on top of the rate, and it is one of the few providers to state it that way. We take that claim as published; on a large order, always check the executed rate.
Why does Finst score lower when it has no filings?
The score looks at five pillars. Finst is clean on oversight, but publishes no proof of reserves and offers spot only. That costs points on safety and products.
Which is better for beginners?
Finst is simpler: euros in, one rate, no conversion. Backpack asks an extra step but is cheaper and offers more.
What does 'collateral that works twice' mean?
In a unified cross-margin account with auto-lend, your deposited funds keep earning interest in the lending pool while counting as margin for your open positions at the same time. So you earn interest and trade with the same money. The caveat: withdrawal is only possible while utilisation of that lending pool allows it.