Methodology

Verified: Fee inputs last reviewed 2026-10-15 (America/New_York). Source links on each platform row and compare page show the access date.

Default homepage scenario: $100 weekly DCA for 1 year. Head-to-head pages also show $25, $100, $500/week for 52 weeks.

What “all-in” means

All-in cost is the dollars you lose to platform buy fees, estimated spread, and modeled custody over one year of weekly DCA — before Bitcoin network miner fees. We do not model price appreciation, taxes, payment-card cash-advance fees, or FX.

Formula

invested = weekly × weeks
          = weekly × 52

# Platforms with free DCA after first buy (Strike, River weekly):
buyFees = weekly × standardBuyFeePct
        + weekly × buyFeePct × (weeks − 1)

# Everyone else:
buyFees = weekly × buyFeePct × weeks

spreadPaid = weekly × spreadEstimatePct × weeks

avgBalance ≈ invested / 2   # linear DCA into custody
custodyPaid = avgBalance × custodyMonthlyPct × 12

allInCostUsd = buyFees + spreadPaid + custodyPaid
allInPct     = allInCostUsd / invested

Example (Strike at $100/wk): buy fees $0.89, spread $11.44, custody $0.00 → all-in $12.33 (0.24% of invested).

Head-to-head pages

Every unique pair among the six platforms gets a compare URL (15 pages). The “winner” is whoever has the lower modeled all-in cost at that weekly amount — never by affiliate status. See all comparisons.

Path choices

We pick the retail DCA path each platform markets (recurring / Auto Invest), not the absolute cheapest pro desk unless that is the default UX.
Swan is modeled with auto-withdrawal on so Swan Safe custody is waived.
Coinbase Simple Buy % is estimated — Coinbase shows exact fee+spread only at order preview.
Kraken spread is estimated; documented trading fee on Instant/Recurring is 1%.
Cash App uses Auto Invest (0% fee / 0% spread per Cash App), not Market Buy (2% at $100 + possible spread).
Strike recurring waives the trading fee after the first weekly buy, but Strike's fee FAQ targets an all-in spread of ~0.22% on every fill — we model that as an ESTIMATE (actual may vary).

Confidence labels

documented means the number appears on a public fee page we linked. estimate means the platform discloses a variable range or only shows the figure in-app — we state assumptions in each row.

What we leave out

On-chain / Lightning network fees (vary by mempool; noted qualitatively).
Opportunity cost of withdrawal holds (e.g. ACH hold periods).
Subscription products (Coinbase One, Kraken+) unless noted in row notes.

This is not financial advice. Fees change. Verify with each platform before you buy or withdraw.