Ahad Waseem – Page 2 – Management Library

September 16, 2022November 23, 2022

The Ultimate Guide to People Operations

People operations empower your employees to become productive and fulfilled in the workplace. It’s essential for you to invest time and effort in people ops because your workforce is the backbone of your business. Although the term “people operations” is relatively new, it’s a traditional concept that is closely related to human resources (HR).

What Is People Operations?

People operations is a business function that humanizes business operations to improve employee experience. This people management model boosts the work efficiency and job satisfaction of your staff members through training, engagement, and retention. In practical ways, it highlights the importance of your manpower, not merely as people who are paid to do tasks, but as valuable members of your organization.

The term “people operations” was coined by Laszlo Bock, formerly the Senior Vice President (SVP) of Google’s People Operations department from 2006 to 2016. Through his book Work Rules!, Bock popularized the concept of people ops in the tech industry and beyond. He motivated employers, not just to protect the self-serving interests of the company, but the best interests of the employees as well.

People Operations vs HR: What’s the Difference?

People operations and human resources (HR) are similar in some ways but are also different in crucial ways. Both people ops and HR are people management models. However, conventional HR departments focus on the welfare of the company as an organization, while people operations teams concentrate on the professional and personal well-being of individual employees.

Check out the chart below for an overview of the main differences between people ops and HR:

Purpose

Employee value enhancement

Compliance enforcement

Priority

Supporting existing manpower

Hiring new staff members

Employee Participation

Active

Passive

Company Coordination

Collaborative

Mostly independent

Problem-Solving

Proactive

Responsive

System

Employee database + Rewards system

Employee database

Style

Holistic

Limited

Purpose

The main purpose of a conventional HR department is to enforce compliance with company policies and minimize the liability of the organization. In contrast, the goal of the people operations team is to maximize the value of the staff members in a systematic way.

Priority

On one hand, the top priority of an HR team is to interview and hire new additions to the company to fill up job openings. On the other hand, the people ops department gives importance to providing professional support to current employees to reduce turnover rates within the organization.

Employee Participation

An HR department usually shares information with the staff members about the latest decisions made by the management which affect the whole company. However, the people operations team gives rank-and-file workers the chance to actively participate in decision-making processes through open discussions.

Company Coordination

In general, the HR team works independently on its tasks, only consulting with other departments whenever necessary. In comparison, the people ops department makes it a habit to collaborate with other teams within the company to keep tabs on the workers’ situation.

Problem-Solving

The HR department typically solves problems as they arise on a case-to-case basis. In contrast, the people operations team proactively implements innovations to improve operations and prevent work issues.

System

The HR team maintains an employee database by inputting the latest payroll data and professional information. In addition to this, the people ops department also builds a rewards system to inspire staff members to work hard and stay loyal to the company.

Style

Overall, an HR department follows traditional, limited protocols in supervising the manpower of a business. Even better, the people operations team employs a holistic, flexible style to enhance the work experience of all the employees.

If you are currently practicing the old-school HR approach in your business, you may consider transitioning to the modern people ops approach to make your business more staff-friendly and well-rounded.

What Do People Ops Workers Do?

The people operations department plays a pivotal role in helping employees reach their full potential within the company. Let’s discover what the duties of the team are and who leads the people ops workers.

What Is the Role of the People Ops Team?

The people operations department assists employees beginning from their hiring and onboarding, continuing throughout their stay with the company, and ending with their exit from the organization.

Here are some examples of the common responsibilities of people ops workers:

Facilitating the interview and onboarding procedures of new hires for a smooth transition
Granting all employees access to the tools and technology they need to be productive at their jobs
Ensuring that staff members receive health benefits and employment perks
Providing venues for career development and educational training to enhance the skills and knowledge of employees
Answering the questions of workers related to company policies and employment terms
Listening to suggestions and feedback of staff members and taking the necessary actions
Creating a rewards system to acknowledge employees with stellar work performance, commendable work ethics, and company loyalty
Promoting a sense of belonging for all staff members within the corporate community
Organizing events to engage employees and spark team spirit
Streamlining outmoded HR systems to enhance efficiency
Selecting the right payroll software that suits the requirements of the business
Monitoring HR metrics like hiring periods and turnover rates
Handling offboarding processes for exiting staff members
Increasing overall job satisfaction of current employees by considering them as internal customers

Who Leads the People Operations Department?

The people ops team is typically supervised by two key leaders within the department:

People Operations Director

The people operations director is the head of the people ops department. He or she creates or improves the people ops strategy while aligning it with the mission and values of the organization. The director collaborates with the managers of other departments to boost interoffice relations and resolve employee issues.

People Operations Manager

The people operations manager oversees the day-to-day work activities of the team. He or she makes sure that the department reaches its goal of supporting the employees of the company through onboarding, offboarding, compensation disbursement, benefits administration, time-off approval, event planning, and system improvements. Also, the manager serves as a bridge between the people ops workers and the executive management.

Under the leadership of the people ops director and manager, all the people ops workers in the department fulfill their individual tasks.

What Types of Organizations Need People Ops?

Most organizations can benefit from people operations, whether they are big or small, private or public. These are the various types of organizations that can create a people ops team or perform related practices:

Sole Proprietorship

A sole proprietorship, which is owned by a single individual, is one of the most basic forms of business. Due to its small size and budget, it typically doesn’t have a separate people ops department or a dedicated employee to handle this function. However, sole proprietors can still apply people ops principles on a small-scale level to motivate their employees.

Partnership

A partnership is formed by two or more owners who agree to run the business together. It may have a people ops team or not, depending on the size and resources of the organization. Either way, all the active partners should coordinate on how to implement people ops practices for the sake of the workforce.

Corporation

A corporation is a company that exists as a separate entity from its shareholders. It’s generally bigger and more complex than small businesses. Due to the sheer number of staff members, it can be challenging to nurture everyone who works in the different divisions of the corporation.

For instance, the leading 500 Fortune companies boasted from 302,394 up to 2.2 million employees in 2019. Nevertheless, corporations usually have enough resources and manpower to establish and run a full-scale people operations department.

Limited Liability Company

A limited liability company (LLC) is a business structure that provides personal liability protection to its owners from business debts and claims. It may have a people ops team or not, based on the size and budget of the LLC. Like other businesses, it can take advantage of the people ops approach for the sake of the workers.

Non-Profit Organization

A non-profit organization, or 501c3 non-profit, operates for the sake of a social cause or public good. Unlike for-profit businesses, its main purpose isn’t to generate income for the owners. Since the compensation is usually lower or non-existent compared to regular businesses, the leaders should make an extra effort to inspire paid employees and unpaid volunteers via people operations practices.

Government Agency

Government agencies are directly part of the federal, state, or local government of the U.S. These public organizations typically prioritize the well-being of their staff members through people ops. For example, the Office of Personnel Management oversees the civil service of the federal government. It’s responsible for coordinating the recruitment of new hires. Plus, it handles the health insurance and retirement benefits programs of existing employees.

How Can You Practice People Operations in Your Business?

No matter what size or type of business you have, you can carry out people operations practices in your organization. Just follow these simple steps:

Step 1: Make a Strategic Plan

First of all, create a plan on how to apply people ops principles to your business. If your organization is big enough, you may conceptualize how to establish a people ops team. If your business is fairly small, you can strategize how to apply people ops practices in small-scale ways. Either way, make sure that your plan is in sync with the vision and mission of the company.

Step 2: Form a People Operations Department

If your company is new, you can build a people ops team from scratch. In case your organization already has an existing HR department, you may gradually convert the team into a people ops department. Based on your requirements, you can hire new people as people ops workers or assign some of your current employees to fill certain roles in the department.

It’s a good idea to handpick professionals with diverse backgrounds for your people ops team. After all, you can benefit from their different skills, including people relations, problem-solving, and data analytics. Plus, they can connect with a wider range of employees because of their varied work experience.

Step 3: Develop a People Ops System

There’s no strict formula on how to create a people ops system so you can develop one that works well for your business. In general, you can begin by setting up an employee database and payroll system or improving the existing one of your HR team.

Even more importantly, you should establish a rewards system so that the workforce will have attractive incentives to level up their work performance. Finally, confirm that your system allows you to effectively monitor and analyze data so you can make future company decisions based on these statistics.

Step 4: Implement Positive Changes

Make a difference in the professional lives of your employees by gradually applying changes for the better. Ensure that your staff members have health benefits and employment perks. Plus, be generous in offering career training and educational opportunities to everyone in the company.

Provide real-life and online venues to promote open discussions and honest conversations among the employees and the management. Overall, take practical measures to turn your office into a physically and mentally conducive place to work.

What Can People Ops Teams Do to Create a Positive Employee Experience?

The people ops department can take active steps to improve the overall experience of employees in the workplace. Here are some ideas which you can carry out in your organization:

Hire staff members with different nationalities, cultural backgrounds, and employment specializations to promote diversity in the office.
Build online group forums where members can share work ideas and discuss hot topics that can make an impact on company decision-making.
Encourage employees to reach sales or productivity quotas through financial rewards.
Invite staff members to attend face-to-face or virtual classes to sharpen their leadership skills and knowledge.
Acknowledge the strengths of staff members through awards with matching prizes like gift cards and travel packages.
Host real-life and online community events to help employees get to know each other and interact with one another.
Give current staff members priority when job openings become available within the organization so they can have the opportunity to move up in their present department or transfer to another one for the sake of professional growth.
Organize team-building activities to strengthen the spirit of cooperation and collaboration within the company.

Aside from these ideas, the people ops leaders and workers can also brainstorm together to create unique incentives to make the organization a better place to work for employees.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for People Operations

People operations is a relatively new people management model compared to the conventional HR model. That’s why we have compiled the answers to basic questions on people ops so you can understand this concept better.

What’s the Difference Between People Operations and Operations Management?

People operations is a business function that’s designed to boost the value of the manpower of an organization. Operations management aims to supervise the production and distribution of the products and services of the business. In short, people operations focuses on the workforce, while operations management concentrates on the commodities offered by the company.

What Is People Operations vs HR?

The people operations team works towards the professional growth and satisfaction of the employees of the business. The HR department safeguards the welfare of the organization by making sure that staff members follow company rules. While both people ops and HR oversee the manpower of a business, they differ from each other in terms of purpose, priority, employee participation, company coordination, problem-solving methods, management systems, and working styles.

What’s a Good Crisis Management Strategy for the People Ops Department?

The people ops department should develop a crisis management plan for continuing operations in a crisis. On one hand, expect to divert a major portion of your manpower and resources in case your company encounters financial troubles, legal issues, or natural disasters. On the other hand, assign key persons, utilize modern technology, and allot funds beforehand so that the people ops processes can be carried out in a minimal way even in the middle of challenging times.

Bottom Line on People Operations

People operations encourage your employees to become the best they can be so they can give their best for your business. It’s definitely worth making an effort to switch from a traditional HR style to a revolutionary people ops approach for the sake of your workforce and your organization. Now that you’ve read our ultimate guide, we hope you’re now ready to start transforming your business through the best people ops practices.

September 15, 2022March 6, 2023

Client Support Services Definition: What is it & How Does it Work?

Customer support is a trained team of people aiming to help customers with a product or service issue. In other words, it is to ensure that customers have successfully solved their problems with your company’s products and/or services. In this article, we’ve listed why client support services are important, how it works, and the difference between customer support and customer success.

What Is Client Support?

Competition is getting tighter among businesses, especially in a digital-first world. How companies can differentiate themselves will be a key element to how customers will react – will they stay, will they look for a competitor? Or will they stay loyal to your brand?

One of the main ways to increase customer satisfaction, loyalty, and retention is through customer support services. As opposed to what it used to be a decade ago, customer support is omnichannel, so it can be done through email, social media, phone, and instant messaging apps.

The faster, more efficient, and more effective a customer support team is, the higher the chance that customers will be happy with your service or products. Hence, increasing your customer lifetime value. But what is customer support, anyway?

Client – or customer – support is a team of people offering a range of client support services in order to assist customers and address their issues. In general, the team helps customers to solve a problem related to a company’s service or product.

Why Client Support Is Important

Offering a good client support service is just as important as developing and selling good products and services. Shopping – in all of its forms, whether it’s online, offline, a product, or a service – is half customer experience and half transaction.

If customers aren’t well assisted, they might leave. So, when organizations question if providing extra resources and budget are worth it to set up a customer support team or customer success team, the answer is an absolute yes.

A top-notch client support service adds value to products and services, increases loyalty and customer retention, adds value to your brand, sets your business apart from competitors, boosts sales, and even helps business owners and managers to make better business decisions.

Customer Success Vs Customer Support

Difference between customer success and customer support

Customer success and customer support may sound like it’s the same thing but it isn’t. Despite some similarities, these two services (and teams) operate in different ways. Having a deep understanding of both concepts, you can better strategize improvements in both areas that will benefit your business.

Customer success is a set of procedures and processes that aims to help a company’s clients with their own success. In other words, the customer success team will reach out to their customers proactively to anticipate their questions and challenges. Also, customer success helps customers to accomplish their business goals and maximize the values they get from your product or service.

Customer support is at the customer forefront – the team is customer-facing and it’s the connection between clients and the organization. The team deals directly with customers and is responsible to solve their problems related to a company’s business – product or service.

For instance, customers might have a specific question about a product before purchasing or they might run into an issue with a product and need support – here’s where client support comes into play.

Client-Driven Focus but Different Departments

Despite these two services being quite different, the confusion between them happens because customer support team members and customer success managers are generally well-skilled and have customer service best practices. In general, customer success and customer support play important roles in the overall customer experience.

Overall, these two are complementary services and the companies that understand the connection between them and put these two teams to work together – which isn’t often the case – can create more impact for their customers and the business, as opposed to siloing the two as stand-alone functions or departments.

Types of Customer Support Services

There are many ways to offer customer support services and the right type of service will depend mainly on business needs and customer demands. We’ve listed the top types of customer support services.

Phone support

One of the most traditional ways to tend to customers’ needs and troubleshoot their problems is through telephone support. And it is, still to these days, a powerful way to do it. Complex issues can be quickly solved in a matter of minutes, whereas, if compared to other customer support services such as email, it may take longer. It’s one reason why call center software is vital to customer support teams.

Chat support

The number of customers wanting to communicate with companies using the same tools they talk to their friends and family has increased over the years. Less personal than phone support, chat is still quite convenient.

Chat support can happen in many forms, and the most popular ones are automated chatbots (interactions with automated bots jumped 81% in 2020), instant messaging apps such as WhatsApp, and social media messaging.

Email support

Another traditional form of contacting a company’s customer service is using email. Using an effective email management system and customer relationship management (CRM) software, companies can easily organize, prioritize and solve customer support issues in one place.

Self-service support

Self-service support primarily exists in the form of frequently asked questions (FAQs) published on a company’s website, a dedicated customer support page, or an online community. For customers searching for product reviews and comparing services or prices on their own, this tool works quite well for them.

Self-service support offers less friction and less interaction when compared to the others and it can also increase a company’s efficiency and help deliver faster resolutions.

Omnichannel Approach

As seen above, there are various types of customer service your business can offer. However, it doesn’t cut it to just offer one channel. Customers want different ways to reach out to companies, especially if their first option didn’t work.

The new solutions offer a customer experience across different channels and make them interact with each other. For example, if a customer sends an email or talks to a customer support agent on a live chat, they might expect a phone call to pick up exactly where they left off.

Client Support & Customer Success Roles

Customer support starts at the top with customer service management, but CS jobs embrace any job involved in customer service, support, success, and experience. There are some skills and qualifications for those interested in working in one of these areas.

Soft skills, for example, may include empathy, patience, persuasiveness, friendliness, clear communication, and emotional intelligence. Regarding hard skills, qualifications, and requirements, it will depend specifically on the job itself. Within a customer support team, the main roles are:

Customer support representative
Customer support specialist
Customer support supervisor
Customer support manager

The structure of a customer success team involves multiple job roles to fulfill all the responsibilities of developing and maintaining customer relationships, similar to customer support roles.

Some useful skills for members of the customer success team include communication, the ability to analyze and interpret data, and problem-solving. The key roles in a customer success team are:

Customer success management team lead
Customer success operations manager
Digital success manager
Customer success analyst
Customer success manager

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for Client Support Services Definition

Customer support and customer success may sound like it’s the same thing and it may cause some confusion. We’ve wrapped up the main questions about customer support services.

Which are the customer support services?

There are many ways to offer customer support services and the right type of service will depend mainly on business needs and customer demands. The main ones are telephone support, live chat support, in-person support, self-service support, and email support.

What does customer support do?

A customer support team is a group of people responsible for troubleshooting any issue customers may have regarding a company’s products or services. It’s ultimately about making sure customers are successful in solving whatever issues they came to your business to help solve.

What are the seven qualities of good customer support?

There are a few skills and qualities that a customer support applicant should possess, such as problem-solving skills, clear communication, empathy, friendliness, patience, persuasiveness, and emotional intelligence.

What’s the difference between customer support and customer success?

Despite some similarities, these two services (and teams) operate in different ways. Having a deep understanding of both concepts will let you better strategize improvements in both areas that will benefit your business.

Customer support is at the customer forefront – the team is customer-facing and it’s the connection between clients and the organization. The customer support team is more “reactive” to problems that customers bring to them.

On the other hand, the customer success team will reach out to their customers proactively to anticipate their questions and challenges. Also, customer success helps customer to accomplish their business goals and maximize the values they get from your product or service up to date.

Bottom Line on Client Support Services

Some managers and business owners may question some kind of investment (whether high or low) in a customer support team or customer success. If you are one of these people, we strongly advise you to think twice. That’s because both customer support and customer success team are vital for companies expanding and wanting to thrive.

Competition is fierce in the digital-first era and organizations willing to put extra customer effort score to attend and give special attention to their customers increase their chances of success.

Customer support is a way to help clients to solve any problems, questions, or concerns they have regarding a company’s products or services. Whereas, customer success proactively helps their customers with their challenges and issues so that they can achieve their business goals.

August 2, 2022February 16, 2023

10 Best Countries for Cryptocurrency – Crypto Laws, Taxes & Adoption

Cryptocurrency has been around for long enough that almost every country has passed legislation on it. While some of the best countries for cryptocurrency took a more relaxed approach and allowed it to thrive, other countries have imposed strict crypto regulations. A few, including China, Egypt, and Qatar have even outright banned cryptocurrency.

The 10 Best Countries for Cryptocurrency in 2023

If you’re an investor or looking to start a business in the crypto sector, you’d ideally want to be located in a crypto-friendly country. We’ve studied regulatory laws, taxes, adoption rates, and other facts and figures from different countries as part of our methodology.

Here are the 10 best countries for cryptocurrency:

El Salvador
Singapore
Slovenia
Portugal
Switzerland
Germany
Malta
Estonia
The Netherlands
Canada

But what makes these countries best for crypto? The table below summarizes some of the most important facts and figures to consider.

El Salvador

No taxes for foreign investors

60%

212

BTC accepted as legal tender

Singapore

No capital gains tax

22%

8 (temporarily closed)

Crypto companies are regulated

Slovenia

No capital gains tax or VAT on crypto

10%+

Ljubljana named the most crypto-friendly European city of 2022

Portugal

No capital gains tax or VAT on crypto

2.5%

Golden Visa program for crypto investors

Switzerland

No capital gains tax for private investors

11%

149

Zug named as Crypto Valley

Germany

No long-term capital gains tax

Views crypto as private money

Malta

No long-term capital gains tax

N/A

Binance is based in Malta

Estonia

No VAT on crypto

Crypto-friendly legislation

The Netherlands

Crypto taxed as an asset

FATF-approved crypto regulation

Canada

Crypto taxed as an asset

3.2%

2525

Crypto-friendly banks

Now that you have an overview of what makes these countries ideal for crypto trading, investing, and businesses, let’s take a deeper look at each one of them.

1. El Salvador

The Central American nation is the first in the world to adopt Bitcoin as a legal tender. This means all businesses within the country must accept payment in BTC. This has also inspired several other countries to move toward accepting crypto as legal tender, however, it comes with its limitations.

El Salvador - a woman stands in front of a Bitcoin vendor

El Salvador also hopes to transform its digital economy by attracting crypto businesses and investors. Foreign investors don’t have to pay any capital gains or income tax on crypto. So if you’re based outside the country and are looking to avoid taxes on crypto, El Salvador might be the perfect place for you.

The country has a pro-crypto leadership under President Nayib Bukele who aims to take the small Central American forward in this sector. With BTC adopted as legal tender, the country has more than 4 million crypto users which are approximately 60% of its total population.

2. Singapore

Singapore is one of the most developed Asian economies and is an attractive destination for crypto investors from around the world. Not only is the Southeast Asian country a global fintech hub, but its openness to cryptocurrency makes it a great place to start a certified crypto business.

Singapore has no capital gains tax which means you don’t have to pay crypto taxes on trading profits. Not only that, crypto transactions are seen as barter trade and are not taxed in the country. That said, you still have to pay income tax if you earn in cryptocurrency.

Singapore’s central bank has a positive outlook on crypto. It states the blockchain ecosystem be closely monitored to prevent illegal activity but innovation should be welcomed. This is why it’s a great place to establish a legal crypto or blockchain company that’s supported by regulatory bodies.

3. Slovenia

The small Central European country has emerged to be a crypto haven with tax write-offs on cryptocurrency trading and no VAT on mining. You can even consider it the most crypto-friendly European country as its government officially encourages the transition to blockchain tech.

Slovenia has the highest market capitalization of crypto and other blockchain projects per capita, representing a high success rate of blockchain startups in the country. The government has eased crypto regulations to a large extent which is a welcoming gesture for crypto companies and investors from around the globe.

The Alpine country is also home to the most crypto-friendly European city of 2022, Ljubljana, Slovenia’s capital and largest city. The city has hundreds of vendors accepting crypto payments. Europe’s largest crypto-based shopping, leisure, business, and innovation center, BTC City is a classic example of Slovenia’s trend toward crypto adoption. The shopping center has 500+ stores accepting cryptocurrency payments.

While the country has no capital gains tax and no mining VAT, you still have to pay a significant 25% income tax if you mine crypto. Still, Slovenia is arguably the most attractive destination for crypto enthusiasts and investors in Europe.

4. Portugal

It wouldn’t be wrong to say that Portugal is the best crypto tax haven in the world right now. The country has no capital gains tax on crypto trading as long as you’re not a professional trader. So whether you trade crypto-crypto or crypto-fiat, you’re exempt from taxes.

Portugal’s crypto tax-free environment and progressive laws like the 2020 Digital Transitional Action Plan are attracting businesses and investors from around the world. Not only that, the country has also initiated a Golden Visa program whereby non-EU residents can gain a residency permit and a Portuguese passport if they make a qualifying investment.

5. Switzerland

Switzerland is world-renowned for its low-tax, high-privacy banking system. However, it has also stepped up in the world of crypto with very relaxed regulations for crypto companies and investors.

Town of Zug in Switzerland crypto valley

Switzerland is not the most crypto tax-free country on this list, but it’s still fairly friendly when it comes to cryptocurrency tax rates. The country sees crypto as an asset and BTC is recognized as legal tender in some areas. If you’re interested in cloud mining, the thriving Swiss crypto mining industry is an excellent market to start.

If you’re trading crypto privately and not on a professional level, you don’t have to pay any capital gains tax. However, crypto income through professional trading is taxed.

Switzerland is also home to Zug, a small city named Crypto Valley for its high concentration of blockchain businesses. Companies including the Ethereum Foundation and other fast-growing cryptocurrency companies like Cardano, Dfinity, Bancor, and Tezos are based in Zug.

6. Germany

Germany stands out for its unique approach toward cryptocurrencies. Unlike most other countries on this list, Germany doesn’t recognize crypto as an asset but rather as private money.

German flag - German is one of the best countries for cryptocurrency

If you’re a long-term investor, there’s no better country for you as Germany has no long-term capital gains tax. This means if you hold cryptocurrency for more than a year, the capital gains tax on it is waived. You still have to pay income tax and short-term capital gains tax.

The German capital, Berlin, is also a crypto hotspot being home to several blockchain companies including blockchain operating system, EOS, and cryptocurrency IOTA. It was also one of the first cities to accept crypto payments.

7. Malta

The small island nation of Malta has gained popularity in the realm of crypto for its openness toward blockchain technology. With its progressive legislation, the country has managed to attract a range of crypto companies including one of the best crypto exchanges, Binance.

Blockchain island in Matla - Best countries for cryptocurrency

Investors won’t have to pay a long-term capital gains tax on their crypto holdings. However, they still have to pay crypto income tax depending on what bracket they fall in. The Maltese government has passed several bills aimed to make the country an even more attractive destination for cryptocurrency businesses.

8. Estonia

Estonia aims to revolutionize its economy by attracting tech companies from all over the world with relaxed regulations and pro-privacy laws. It’s one of the few countries where crypto companies can operate legally with sound regulations. Moreover, the country is also looking at launching a national cryptocurrency, Estcoin.

Estonia isn’t a great choice if you’re looking to avoid taxes as crypto gains and income are taxed the same way as any other business activity. The country’s finance sector is also pro-crypto. Estonian LHV Bank was one of the first in the world to start working with blockchain technology.

9. The Netherlands

The Netherlands has always taken a positive approach towards new concepts, and cryptocurrency adoption is no exception. It’s one of the most welcoming European countries for crypto investors and organizations as it doesn’t hold any strict regulations against virtual currencies.

The Dutch government has ensured they follow FATF (Financial Action Task Force) guidelines in regulating crypto. This makes the Netherlands a great place to establish a blockchain organization if you prefer international certification.

10. Canada

Canada is home to a strong Bitcoin community. The country has always had an open approach toward cryptocurrencies and there’s no legislation that objects or restricts the use of crypto. Although recent laws have tried to centralize the Canadian crypto market, the government still welcomes the technology and acknowledges it as the way forward.

Canada, one of the best countries for crypto

Crypto companies are classified as Money Service Businesses (MSBs) in Canada. Such entities must register themselves with the Financial Transaction Analysis and Reporting Center of Canada (FINTRAC) to operate legally in the country. Although this presents a hurdle, it allows blockchain companies to work legitimately in Canada.

That said, Canada has one of the highest numbers of BTC ATMs in the world which represents the large scale at which the country’s moving towards virtual currencies. Not only that, several Canadian banks allow crypto transactions which makes life much easier for investors and businesses alike.

All Countries Where Trading Crypto is Illegal

Cryptocurrency has its pros and cons. One of the latter is that not all countries welcome it. Due to its volatility, decentralized, and anonymous nature, some governments see the new technology as an easy way to launder money and other criminal activities. This is why you’d come across countries that heavily restrict or completely ban the use of crypto.

Countries with Legal Restrictions on Crypto

The following countries restrict or implicitly ban crypto trading. In such states, financial institutions are restricted from dealing with crypto wallets and exchanges.

Bahrain
Burundi
Cameroon
Central African Republic
Gabon
Georgia
Guyana
Hong Kong
Kuwait
Lesotho
Libya
Macao
the Maldives
Vietnam
Zimbabwe

Countries with Absolute Bans on Crypto

Here’s the list of countries that have placed complete bans on crypto trading.

Algeria
Bangladesh
China
Egypt
Iraq
Morocco
Nepal
Qatar
Tunisia

Why are Developing Countries Leading the Race to Crypto Adoption?

If you look at the Global Crypto Adoption Index, you’ll be surprised to find that more than 90% of the top 20 countries are developing economies. Nigeria leads the way with India and Pakistan in second and third spots.

Not only that India has the highest number of crypto holders in the world at around 100 million. Nigeria, Brazil, Ukraine, Pakistan follow close behind. Pakistan has a staggering 9 million crypto users which represents more than 4% of its total population. This begs the question, why do developing economies lead the way in crypto adoption rather than the US and European countries?

A Lack of Alternative Investment Opportunities

Countries like Nigeria, Pakistan, and even Afghanistan are among the top 20 countries in crypto adoption. A lack of alternative investment opportunities is one glaring reason why these developing economies have such a large share of crypto investors.

Crypto is an international market and gives investors from around the world equal investment opportunities. Investors from underdeveloped countries see it as a chance to trade on the same market as traders from highly developed economies operate on.

Crypto as a Hedge Against Inflation

A significant proportion of countries leading in crypto adoption are also facing very high inflation. Digital assets, especially deflationary cryptocurrencies, are seen as a good way for investors to retain their net worth.

Note that the countries with the highest percentage of crypto users or countries leading in crypto adoption aren’t the most crypto-friendly either. India, for example, plans to introduce a law that might completely ban crypto use. Similarly, Nigeria doesn’t have a very pro-blockchain government either.

How We Ranked the Best Countries for Cryptocurrency – Methodology

Not all the facts and statistics we needed to rank the best countries for cryptocurrency are readily available. This made our evaluation a bit more difficult, but we managed to gather the required statistics from different sources. We accounted for several implicit and explicit factors in our methodology. These include:

Regulatory laws: Laws passed on cryptocurrencies are the most important factor when it comes to evaluating the crypto-friendliness of a country. While countries like El Salvador pass legislation to recognize BTC as legal tender, other countries illegalize trading and holding digital currencies.

Crypto taxes: Some countries allow crypto traders and companies to operate tax free. You don’t have to pay any capital gains tax or VAT on crypto transactions in some countries, making them a crypto haven and an attractive destination for businesses and investors. On the other hand, countries with higher crypto taxes are ranked lower on the list.

Crypto users: Cryptocurrency users as a percentage of the total population helps you gauge the overall crypto scene in a country. Countries with a high percentage are more likely to have businesses that accept virtual payments.

Crypto adoption rates: This marks the speed at which a country is moving toward the blockchain revolution. A high crypto adoption rate increases the chances of the country passing more friendly laws.

BTC ATM locations: Although a vague measure, the number of BTC ATMs lets you gauge how active the market is in a country. A high number of Bitcoin ATMs also means more accessibility to crypto for the general population.

Bottom Line on the Best Countries for Cryptocurrency

Different countries have different reasons for being crypto-friendly. While developing economies like El Salvador rank top for recognizing Bitcoin as legal tender, other countries like Switzerland and Germany offer a well-regulated crypto industry.

If you invest in crypto on a personal level and want to avoid taxes, destinations like El Salvador, Slovenia, and Portugal are a good option. On the other hand, if you want to establish a crypto business and are looking for a place to run it legally, Malta, Singapore, Estonia and The Netherlands are good options.

July 27, 2022March 22, 2023

Ultimate Guide to the Most Undervalued Crypto in 2023

CoinMarketCap reports the total number of cryptocurrencies in the world reaching a whopping 20,000. There’s bound to be a bunch of undervalued crypto coins, as well as overvalued ones, among the thousands of new and old projects.

Smart investors know the art of identifying undervalued assets and holding on to them for incredible returns in the long run. If you too are trying to find promising crypto projects for a long-term investment, this guide has all you need to know. Find out how to determine whether a cryptocurrency is undervalued, how to find such coins, and the most undervalued crypto on the market right now.

What is an Undervalued Crypto?

Undervalued crypto is any cryptocurrency that’s being bought and sold on the market at a price lower than what is probably its true, long-term worth. To put it differently, the larger market has not yet realized the actual value of a digital currency, hence its demand, and by extension, its price is not as high as it should be.

It’s not just new cryptocurrencies that can be undervalued. Even the oldest tokens like Bitcoin and Ethereum can be undervalued. As the BTC to USD chart below shows, the digital currency alternates between highs and lows. The lows, encircled in red, are the points where the crypto has been undervalued over the last couple of years.

Screenshot of BTC to USD chart for 2014-2022 from CoinMarketCap — *Source: CoinMarketCap*

Typically, undervalued cryptocurrencies are the best to invest in. They will eventually rise in value, yielding lucrative returns for investors who got in early. However, such investments work best if you commit to them for the long term. This might mean dedicating your capital for at least a couple of years. This is not to say that short-term investments won’t work at all, they just won’t be as profitable.

Just as some coins can be undervalued, others can be overvalued. This usually results from a hype investment, which is a characteristic of the crypto market.

People tend to follow trends and jump into a fast-growing cryptocurrency often without analyzing its technical soundness. This results in it getting overvalued temporarily until eventually the bubble bursts and the price plummets down to what it should’ve been. Exactly like what happened to Dogecoin in 2021.

Why are Cryptocurrencies Undervalued?

There can be several reasons behind a crypto’s price being below its true value. If it’s a freshly launched project that promises great utility and a unique application, it’s only natural to be undervalued initially. The reason is that the market takes some time to build confidence in a new project and start to see the actual value it brings to the table.

The wider community usually waits for expert traders and bigger names to endorse a crypto coin before they get their feet wet too. This brings us to another important aspect of digital assets being over or undervalued: marketing.

Good marketing can make a coin incredibly overvalued and vice versa. Even a promising currency with a comprehensive white paper can’t really get the ball rolling unless it markets itself properly.

When it comes to older projects, undervaluation usually comes down to the technicalities of crypto trading. Every tradable asset alternates between highs and lows which are typically fuelled by market sentiment.

Top 10 Undervalued Crypto Coins on the Market

Here’s a quick look at the top undervalued cryptocurrencies out there. Continue reading as we analyze why these cryptos are undervalued.

Decentraland (MANA)
The Sandbox (SAND)
Lucky Block (LBLOCK)
BNB (BNB)
ApeCoin (APE)
The Graph (GRT)
Algorand (ALGO)
Polygon (MATIC)
Ethereum (ETH)
Bitcoin (BTC)

You may not find all of these on some top crypto exchanges. Instead, we recommend you look for them on the crypto exchanges with the most coins as they’re more likely to have all of them.

1. Decentraland (MANA)

Decentraland or MANA is the crypto token from the virtual Decentraland ecosystem. Players use the crypto to buy real estate holdings in the game that has developed quite the market lately. With Decentraland plots selling for as much as $2.4 million, the virtual world’s native token clearly has a lot of utility to offer.

As giants like Meta have introduced the idea of developing virtual worlds, already existing virtual ecosystems like Decentraland have experienced a boost in popularity, users, and investment. The crypto hit an all-time high price of $5.5 in 2021’s bull run. With reasonable demand, sound utility, a credible team behind it, and availability in almost all major markets, MANA is indeed a great long-term investment.

2. The Sandbox (SAND)

Just like MANA tokens from Decentraland, SAND crypto comes from The Sandbox, a virtual world where players can create, own, and customize their virtual experience the way they want. It’s a 3D metaverse where players can connect, create their 3D games, and buy, and trade in-game assets.

SAND is the native cryptocurrency the game uses. With a max supply of 3 billion tokens, it’s a deflationary cryptocurrency. With 900 million tokens already in circulation, the price of each SAND token will only go up once it nears its supply cap. Still, it has great utility, and with its all-time-high value at $8.4, which was much higher than MANA’s, The Sandbox has solid potential to grow in value in the future.

3. Lucky Block (LBLOCK)

Launched in 2021, Lucky Block aims to disrupt the lottery industry by introducing its revolutionary decentralized lottery app. Players from all over the world can participate whereas the lottery itself will be completely decentralized and run on its own on the blockchain. This ensures players that the drawing process will be 100% random with no possibility of rigging.

Since the LBLOCK token will be the primary means of participating in Lucky Block games, the token has emerged to be one of the most useful cryptocurrencies. Moreover, all LBLOCK holders also receive a 10% share of winnings which means all investors have a chance of earning a passive income.

On top of that, Lucky Block cryptocurrency has quite a few amazing stats under its belt which make it an attractive undervalued crypto token to invest in. It’s the world’s fastest digital currency to hit a market cap of $1 billion with more than 50K investors in the first three months of its launch. Plus, if you’re an LBLOCK holder, you enter the daily jackpot free, making it an attractive cryptocurrency with great utility for the common person.

4. BNB (BNB)

When a crypto coin is backed by the world’s largest crypto exchange, you have to accept how strong it is. Binance is the world’s most popular crypto trading platform with the highest trading volume and liquidity. You can never take it out of the equation.

BNB is the exchange’s native token housed on the Binance Smart Chain. Note that other undervalued cryptocurrencies like Lucky Block, Uniswap, Chainlink, and Avalanche are also based on the same infrastructure.

What makes BNB a great long-term investment is the rock-solid support it has from the crypto exchange. BNB transactions are charged less by Binance which makes it a very useful asset to hold for Binance traders.

5. ApeCoin (APE)

ApeCoin is from the team behind Bored Ape Yacht Club, one of the best NFT projects to buy. The undeniable success of the project in the NFT area makes its governance token, APE, a good option for investors.

The primary purpose of the ApeCoin was to function as a governance token whereby holders can have a say in how the NFT project is run. However, it has also emerged to have great investment potential with a relatively stable price even when the rest of the market was crashing.

6. The Graph (GRT)

Launched in late 2020, The Graph is a relatively new virtual currency that’s making its mark when it comes to providing utility. As it happens, extracting data from different blockchains and using it hasn’t always been easy. But GRT is here to solve that problem as it gives consumers access to open APIs from blockchains.

This solves a long-standing problem in the industry which makes The Graph one of the most useful, and undervalued cryptos out there. Since its launch, GRT has continued to expand its horizons and works with more and more blockchains. Some have even dubbed it, ‘the Google of blockchains.’

7. Algorand (ALGO)

While Bitcoin is based on the Proof of Work mechanism, Algorand is a Proof of Stake cryptocurrency which is a much more efficient alternative to the former. ALGO was originally designed to beat Bitcoin in terms of speed and efficiency and has been doing fairly well. Although it’s not as popular as the industry-leading BTC, it’s growing fast and garnering more attention as it partners with a range of blockchain companies.

8. Polygon (MATIC)

While some may confuse Polygon to be an actual cryptocurrency, it’s a decentralized Ethereum scaling platform that lets developers build decentralized applications (dApps). MATIC is the native crypto token used on Polygon which also helps to govern and secure the network through staking.

With several market-leading companies and other tech giants using the Polygon network, its native crypto token is bound to go up in value. As of now, MATIC has quite a low price compared to its significant trading volume.

9. Ethereum (ETH)

You might expect a list of the most undervalued crypto to be full of hidden gems. However, even some of the most popular cryptocurrencies can be undervalued. Take Ethereum, for example. It’s only the second most popular crypto after Bitcoin and it’s severely undervalued for the massive range of applications it’s connected to.

Ethereum is arguably the highest utility cryptocurrency out there. The Ethereum blockchain houses several other cryptocurrencies and also powers technologies like smart contracts and dApps. Considering the utility and massive market cap of the ETH, it’s worth a lot more than its current price.

10. Bitcoin (BTC)

Last but not least, Bitcoin is also one of the most undervalued crypto tokens, especially right now (2022 bear market). Although it’s the largest cryptocurrency by market value and price, Bitcoin is at the very core of crypto technology.

Experts believe the token to be the ‘gold standard’ of the crypto world and rightly so. It’s the single cryptocurrency that inspired the creation of thousands of others and remains to be a flagship asset when it comes to looking at crypto as a financial market.

Bitcoin has some drawbacks too. As it’s based on a Proof of Work mechanism, BTC is not the most efficient when it comes to being a mode of exchange. The crypto has turned out to be more of an investment asset with the higher market cap out of all tokens. It reached an ATH of $68,780+ in 2021 but its price has significantly dropped since then, making it all the more undervalued.

How to Determine a Crypto is Undervalued?

Just like undervalued crypto, there are overvalued cryptocurrencies too. If you’re stepping into the crypto market, it’s best for you to know how to identify undervalued crypto.

In traditional financial markets like stocks, finding undervalued stocks comes down to companies’ balance sheets, financial performance, and business and industry research. On the other hand, determining undervalued crypto assets is a little different. Here you can either make decisions based on advertising and hype or on market research and technical analysis.

If you’re thinking about investing in a token, here are some steps you should take to ensure it’s an undervalued cryptocurrency.

Identify the team behind the crypto project: An experienced and trustworthy founding team is one of the most important factors you should consider when investing in a project. The names behind a cryptocurrency are what give it credibility and help it earn investors’ trust.

Identify the project’s backers: Trustworthy projects often have well-known investors that pour in the capital early on. Check out for credible angel investors or VC funds as they often invest in projects that will likely deliver great returns.

Study the charts: When it comes to identifying undervalued assets, studying charts is as simple as identifying highs and lows. If you see that the current value of a cryptocurrency is lower than what it usually is, you can say that it’s currently undervalued. However, this is only true if the crypto meets other requirements including having a credible team, strong backing, and offers utility.

Consider max circulating supply: Deflationary cryptocurrencies are those that have a maximum circulating supply limit or reduce supply over time. This results in an increase in value as there is a limited supply. In other words, cryptocurrencies with a maximum circulating supply limit are more likely to be undervalued than those that don’t limit supply.

Consider the crypto’s utility: Last but not least, a digital asset’s value comes down to the utility it provides to users or investors. Assets like Ethereum, Lucky Block, Algorand, and Polygon allow users to avail of different services which give them inherent value. As a result, the higher a cryptocurrency’s utility, the more undervalued it is.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for Most Undervalued Crypto

Here are some of the most frequently asked questions about the most undervalued crypto.

Which cryptocurrency has the lowest supply?

Bitcoin is the best cryptocurrency with the lowest supply with a max circulating supply of 21 million tokens. Algorand is also an undervalued crypto asset with a low supply of 10 billion.

Is Twitter a good place to find undervalued crypto?

Twitter is a good source of information when it comes to crypto market insights and important news that can influence upward and downward movements in the crypto market. There are several Twitter profiles that frequently share information on undervalued assets and large capital movements that you can use to predict price movements.

Can an undervalued cryptocurrency go down in value?

Yes, it can. A crypto asset that’s already undervalued can further decrease in value based on market forces. However, you can always expect the value to bounce back and increase in the long term.

Bottom Line on Undervalued Crypto

With thousands of cryptocurrencies being traded in the market, you will find several undervalued, as well as overvalued cryptocurrencies. The key to finding undervalued crypto is the utility it provides to users and investors. It gives it an inherent value that cannot be artificially changed in the long term.

Other factors like a credible founding team and strong backing also contribute to a digital currency’s value over time. That said, we recommend you always make investment decisions based on market research and sound technical analysis. If you want to invest, go for top crypto exchanges like Binance, Kraken, or Coinbase that give you accurate prices and swift order fulfillments for a promising crypto investing experience.

July 20, 2022November 23, 2022

How to Buy and Flip NFTs Like an Expert in 5 Simple Steps

The Web 3.0 revolution has introduced several means of making money online. Buying and flipping NFTs is one of them. Know that NFT trading volumes in 2022 are not riding the same high as in 2021, but that doesn’t mean they’re no longer a viable asset to flip. These digital assets are definitely here to stay.

If you want to learn how to buy and flip NFTs and earn profits, read this guide to the end. We’ll explain everything there is to flipping non-fungible tokens in layperson terms and discuss tried-and-tested strategies that’ll help you flip for a profit.

What is NFT Flipping?

Before we get to the step-by-step guide on how to buy and flip NFTs, let’s understand what exactly is NFT flipping? Flipping is a recently coined term that refers to buying an asset and selling it quickly for a profit. It’s not limited to non-fungible tokens only, you can flip any valuable asset including trading cards, cars, real estate, or antiques.

When it comes to NFTs, to flip just means to buy low and sell high. It usually refers to a short-term trade. If you hold an asset for a long time before selling, that’s not exactly flipping.

Graphic representation of exchange between NFT and Ethereum cryptocurrency — *Source: Pixabay*

There’s always a risk when you invest in any asset. Flipping is a relatively riskier means of earning money, but if you strategize, it can help you make a handsome amount of money in a short period of time. Remember that it’s not a sure-fire way to make money, but you’re likely to succeed if you tread carefully and follow a strategy.

How to Buy and Flip NFTs In 5 Steps

Is it possible to buy a non-fungible token in the morning and sell it at the end of the day and make a profit? Yes, absolutely. The key is to analyze the market properly and pick the right project before you buy. The entire process is really simple theoretically.

Screenshot of trending NFT projects on OpenSea — *Source: OpenSea*

Experience is an important ingredient of success when it comes to NFT flipping. Ask any successful flipper and they’ll tell you that some things only come with experience. Remember to start small and work your way up to more expensive non-fungible token projects.

This guide will focus on “true” flipping. We won’t focus on creating NFTs, buying early, or minting non-fungible tokens because that can be a whole lot of trouble for starters. Although minting is more profitable, we will focus on buying and selling on a secondary platform like OpenSea or Rarible, which is flipping in the true sense.

Step 1: Pick the Right Time to Buy NFTs

Just like the crypto trading market, the NFT market can either be going up (bullish) or be going down (bearish). You can easily analyze the market trend by looking at the week-by-week NFT trading volume on any credible website.

The best time to buy is when the market has bottomed out. In other words, when charts indicate that trading volumes have hit a record low and the trend starts moving up, that’s the best time to buy. This is because you are more likely to find non-fungible tokens at lower prices.

NFT trading volumes 2021-2022 — *Source: CRYPTOSLAM*

The key underlying principle is liquidity. When the market is trending upwards, it has higher liquidity, which in simple terms means higher demand. The higher the demand, the more likely you are to sell your digital assets at a profit. All in all, buy when the market has bottomed out and sell when the market is going up.

Step 2: Choose the Right NFT Project to Flip

The next step is to pick one or a few credible NFT projects. You’ll need to do your fair share of research, analysis, and decision-making to shortlist the best ones to flip. Here are a handful of factors that’ll help you choose a promising NFT project.

Number of NFTs in Circulation

You need to look at the basic rules of demand and supply here. Projects with a limited supply tend to have a higher value and hence, are more likely to earn you profit.

Floor Price

The floor price on a project is the lowest price you can purchase an item on. This should give you a general idea of how much each token costs and help you rule out projects that are out of your budget. If the floor price is above or near your investment budget, investing in that project isn’t financially viable. When you’re looking for new projects to flip, try to find a combination of a low floor price and a limited supply.

Utility

Does a project offer perks or special benefits to its buyers? For instance, some NFT holders get special discounts at select coffee shops while others get a chance to meet a celebrity. Such perks add to the credibility of projects and also make them more valuable.

Team Behind the Project

Best stay away from anonymous NFT sellers. A professional and trustworthy team behind a project adds to buyers’ confidence. This is much better than anonymously-run projects that run a much higher risk of loss or scam.

Quality of Art

Last but not least, every non-fungible token is essentially a piece of art. The more unique and high-quality the art, the greater its value.

Step 3: Buy Rare or Undervalued NFTs to Flip

Now that you’ve shortlisted projects to work with, now is the time to decide which NFT you are going to buy exactly. Purchasing is fairly simple. All you have to do is connect your cryptocurrency wallet to the NFT marketplace.

Note that you must have a compatible cryptocurrency to make a purchase. For instance, OpenSea works mainly on ETH. Most other non-fungible token platforms use any of the fastest-growing cryptocurrencies which makes the market more stable.

But things get complicated when it comes to deciding which to flip. Here are a few strategies to find the best NFTs to buy.

Explore the Trending NFTs Page

The trending page won’t always have the exact NFT you would flip but it gives you an overview of what projects are hot and what prices are tokens being sold at. If you’re lucky enough, you can stumble upon a good flipping opportunity right on the trending page. But in most cases, you will have to do your searching to make profits.

Screenshot of Top NFTs trending page on OpenSea — *Source: OpenSea*

Find Undervalued NFTs

This is where you need to know that flipping NFTs is not a get-rich-quick scheme. You’ll have to spend tons of time on project pages and scrolling through hundreds of items a day to find potential NFTs. Essentially, you are looking for undervalued items or tokens that you think will increase in value in the near future.

The best strategy is to first set the price filter from Low to High. This will display the cheapest NFTs on the project first. Not all tokens will be up for sale so click on Buy Now to see which ones are up for grabs.

Screenshot of Bored Ape NFTs page - How to find undervalued NFTS

Now scan the entire page to find outliers, items that are priced lower than others in the same project. For instance, if you see that the first couple of items cost 0.5 ETH and all the next ones cost either 0.9 ETH or more than 1, you have a chance at flipping 0.5 ones for a higher price. You could sell them at 0.89, for instance.

Sort NFTs by Traits

Here’s another method to find which NFTs to flip. Traits or Properties define how rare a non-fungible token is and hence determine its value. If less than 100 NFTs share the same trait, they are likely to cost higher than most other NFTs. Similarly, if you’ve spotted an undervalued item, always check out its traits to identify a specialty.

Suppose you see a Bored Ape NFT with a trait that less than 50 other items share, go to that trait page and see the prices of other items with the same rare trait. This will help you decide on a good selling price for your rare token.

Step 4: Set a Price

Buying the right article is only 50% of the job. Now you must set a reasonable price to make a profit successfully. For your digital asset to sell quickly, you want to price your item lower than the others while still making a profit.

Take the marketplace buying and selling fees into consideration when deciding the price. You don’t want to lose all your profit in fees. Use psychological pricing to increase the chances of selling as quickly as possible.

For example, if you want to sell something at 1.0 ETH, price it at 0.99 ETH. While this may look like a futile effort to you, charm pricing has pronounced effects. For starters, the value of 0.99 ETH is virtually the same as 1.0 ETH, but technically, the 0.01 margin helps you NFT appear before all the 1.0 ETH ones on an NFT marketplace. You want your item to appear as high on the left side of the page as possible when the price is set from Low to High.

Step 5: Flip!

If you follow the right pricing tactics and the market conditions are right, it won’t be long before you receive a buyer’s request. Until then you need to keep your digital assets in your NFT wallet. You can sell on the same day, but it can take up to 3 days for your NFT to sell at your asking price.

Best NFT Marketplaces for Flipping

As mentioned above, liquidity is the key to NFT flipping. You want to buy and sell your tokens on marketplaces that have a high enough demand so you can keep circulating and making profits. For this, you need to choose the right platform for flipping. Take a look at the top two NFT marketplaces and see which one you should work on.

OpenSea

Visit

Blockchain: Ethereum
Monthly trading volume: $5 billion+
Fees: 2.5% of every sale
Collection: 1,000,000+ assets

OpenSea is by far the best NFT marketplace for liquidity and security. It also has one of the most extensive NFT catalogs with almost every credible project present on it. As one of the largest marketplaces in terms of trading volume and asset collection, OpenSea is any NFT flipper’s first choice.

However, you must also note that since this is a popular marketplace, you will find a lot of competition. Almost every experienced flipper uses OpenSea to filter out promising assets so you may find it hard to find tokens to flip.

OpenSea is built on the ETH blockchain so you’ll find most tokens on it priced in Ethereum. However, it accepts more than 150 cryptocurrencies for payments.

Rarible

Visit

Blockchain: Ethereum, Flow, Tezos
Monthly trading volume: $1.56 million+
Fees: 2.5% of every sale and purchase
Collection: 400,000+ assets

Rarible is a newer NFT marketplace that gives emerging artists a chance to share their work in a new way. The platform features a vast range of digital assets including digital art, photography, music, games, domains, and metaverse assets.

It’s one of the more expensive marketplaces as it charges a 2.5% fee on every transaction from both the buyer and seller. The good thing about Rarible is that it’s supported by multiple blockchains including Ethereum, Flow, and Tezos. Its strongest selling point is that it lets users buy tokens directly with their credit or debit card. But this may involve a lot of fees and is not recommended for NFT flippers.

Rarible is not as big a market as OpenSea as of now. The platform aims to be a decentralized autonomous organization (DAO) which means it wants its users to have control over Rarible’s decisions and governance. This is something that sets it apart from the top marketplaces and may even give it the growth it needs to compete head-to-head with giant players like OpenSea.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for How to Buy and Flip NFTs

Here are some of the most common questions new NFT flippers have when they start buying and selling non-fungible tokens.

Can you make money from buying and selling NFTs?

Yes, you can. You can make a handsome amount of money from buying and selling NFTs, also known as NFT flipping. However, you can only successfully make profits if you have knowledge and experience in flipping. The goal is to buy rare and undervalued tokens and sell them off at a higher but attractive price and make a profit on them almost immediately.

What kind of NFTs sell best?

Rare NFTs with high utility, a credible team behind them, and high-quality art sell best. Projects with a limited supply always have a high demand and can easily earn you a profit. The credibility and trustworthiness of the team behind a project is also an important factor that contributes to its demand.

Are NFTs safe to invest in?

Like every other investment, NFTs have their risks and rewards. NFTs are definitely here to stay but whether a particular investment would be profitable or not depends entirely on the project.

When investing, choose a project that has a limited supply of tokens because scarcity drives demand, and hence the value up. The team running the project should be credible and trustworthy. If you make your decision after proper consideration, your NFT investment is likely to be safe.

Bottom Line on How to Buy and Flip NFTs

Flipping non-fungible tokens sounds like an easy way to make a lot of money. But it’s crucial for you to remember that there’s no such thing as a free lunch. You will have to research and spend the majority of your time finding promising projects and NFTs to flip. But yes, it’s a fun way to make money and will get easier with time as you gain more experience.

Start small and work your way up to minimize risk. Even if you do end up in a loss, you can still start over and try to avoid making the same mistake.

July 19, 2022November 23, 2022

7 Best Life Insurance Companies – Cost, Policy Types & Ease of Application

Best life insurance company's policy form on a desk with a calculator and pen

Buying life insurance is a key component of financial planning. However, it’s tough to choose the best life insurance with so many companies offering various policy types and features. If you’re looking to buy life coverage, look no further because we’ve got it all summed up for you.

7 Best Life Insurance Companies

State Farm – Best Overall
Banner Life – Best for Low-Cost Insurance
Bestow – Best for Ease of Application
Nationwide – Best for Customer Satisfaction
Lincoln Financial – Best for Term to Universal Policy Conversion
Haven Life – Best for Same-day Coverage
Northwestern Mutual – Best for Financial Stability

We considered several different factors to evaluate and rank the best life insurance companies. We considered the cost of insurance, offered policy types, ease of application, third-party ratings, and reputation in the process. Go through the methodology section for an in-depth look.

State Farm

$54.79

A++

1st

Term, Whole, Universal

Banner Life

$46.63

A+

N/A

Term, Universal

Bestow

$56.00

A+

N/A

Term

Nationwide

$59.94

A+

2nd

Term, Whole, Universal

Lincoln Financial

$57.81

A+

12th

Term, Universal

Haven Life

$81.16

A++

N/A

Term

Northwestern Mutual

N/A

A++

3rd

Term, Whole, Universal

*Sample monthly cost is for a healthy 35-year-old female for a $1 million coverage policy on a 20-year term. The sample cost gives a comparative overview of life insurance costs from different providers. The exact cost for you might be a lot different from the ones quoted here.

State Farm: Best Overall

Cost of Insurance: Low

AM Best Rating: A++

★★★★★

4.9

Visit

State Farm is best known for its car and home insurance products but its life insurance policies are also at the very top of the competition. With top-of-the-line customer satisfaction, several policy types, sound financial strength, and low premiums, it’s our Best Overall pick for Life Insurance companies.

State Farm holds an A++ rating from AM Best which is sound evidence of its financial health. On top of that, the coverage provider ranked No. 1 on J.D. Power’s Customer Satisfaction ranking, which is a very strong indicator of its high-quality service.

Although its premiums are not the lowest in the industry, it offers policies at affordable prices. You may find its term insurance more costly than other options, however. The provider currently doesn’t operate in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Also, to purchase a State Farm plan, you have to connect with an official company agent.

Why we chose it: State Farm has an A++ rating from AM Best and has ranked No. 1 on J.D. Power Customer Satisfaction rankings which makes it the most credible insurer. This along with its low cost of insurance makes it our top best life insurance pick.

Affordable life insurance
Offers term, whole, and universal policies
Universal insurance available for ages up to 85 years

Policies can only be purchased from a State Farm agent
Not available in Massachusetts and Rhode Island
Most policies require medical exams

Cost of Insurance

State Farm is not the cheapest life insurance provider but its premiums are still on the lower end of the spectrum. Some may find its term coverage policies to be very expensive, especially if you’re in poor health.

Offered Policy Types

The insurer provides term coverage for 10, 20, and 30 years. It also offers whole life coverage which includes Limited Pay Whole Life and Single Premium Whole Life where you pay the entire premium once. State Farm’s universal life insurance includes Survivorship and Joint Universal Life.

Ease of Application

While online tools are available for all policies, you’d have to connect with an official State Farm agent to purchase some policies. You can easily check whether you can apply online for a plan on the website. State Farm’s site also has a premium calculator that lets you see what term insurance will cost for you after you input some information.

Banner Life: Best for Low-Cost Insurance

Cost of Insurance: Very Low

AM Best Rating: A+

★★★★★

4.8

Visit

Banner Life insurance now operates under the name Legal & General. It offers term and universal insurance policies at some of the lowest rates in the market. The same monthly cost, which is for a healthy 35-year-old woman, is only $46.63 for a $1 million coverage on a 20-year term. It’s the lowest monthly premium out of all our top picks.

This insurance company also enjoys a strong A+ AM Best rating. It wasn’t ranked by J.D. Powers in its Customer Satisfaction Index Ranking. However, some other credible sources suggest Banner Life has a low number of complaints, which means a high level of customer satisfaction.

Since it operates along with William Penn Life Insurance under the Legal & General umbrella, Banner Life covers all 49 states except New York, which is covered by Willam Penn. It has limited rider options which means there’s little space for customization. You may also find the website to be a bit old-fashioned and difficult to navigate, especially compared to other insurance providers.

Why we chose it: Banner Life has the lowest premiums for term life insurance policies. The low cost paired with its high customer satisfaction makes it an excellent option.

Very low-cost term coverage
Terms up to 40 years
Low number of complaints

Limited rider options
Low coverage for universal life insurance
Website tough to navigate

Cost of Insurance

As mentioned above, Banner Life is a very low-cost insurance provider, especially when it comes to term insurance policies. Note that getting a quote is a little tough and you might need to get an agent on call to acquire one.

Offered Policy Types

Banner Life only offers term and universal insurance policies. It offers a wide range of terms which start from 10 years and can go up to 40 with 5-year intervals.

Ease of Application

Banner Life, or better yet, Legal & General’s website is a bit old-fashioned but it does offer online tools for its coverage policies. You can’t buy insurance online and will have to get in touch on the phone to get an accurate quote and move things forward.

Bestow: Best for Ease of Application

Cost of Insurance: Low

AM Best Rating: A+

★★★★★

4.6

Visit

If you’re looking for a speedy and convenient life insurance application process and don’t want to be poked with needles for medical tests, Bestow is a good option for you. The company only sells term insurance policies and you can apply and buy a plan within minutes from the comfort of your home.

Bestow offers coverage of up to $1.5 million which is much higher than most other medical exam-free alternatives. However, it’s not flexible with its plans and has an applicant age limit of 60.

It’s a great option if you’re young and looking to buy insurance hassle-free. But if you’re a senior, Bestow’s premiums can get really expensive. It also offers very limited riders so there’s little space for customization.

Why we chose it: Bestow stands out for its fast and convenient online application process. You can apply and buy a plan in no more than a few minutes. It’s an excellent choice for young applicants who want to skip the bother of medical exams.

Medical exam-free coverage of up to $1.5 million
Speedy online application process
30-day trial

No riders
Offers only term life insurance policies
Enrollment age limit of 60

Cost of Insurance

Considering the convenience and quality of service offered by Bestow, its cost of insurance is quite affordable. However, as with any insurer, premiums go up with age. But since there’s an enrollment cap at 60 years of age, we don’t get a chance to see very high insurance premiums on Bestow’s site.

Offered Policy Types

The company only offers term policies from 10 to 30-year periods and has no riders. This is a major drawback for customers who prefer a wider range of options or may want to convert from term to universal later on.

Ease of Application

The ease of application Bestow offers is one of its strongest selling points. Bestow claims the entire application and purchasing process doesn’t take more than a few minutes which is attractive to busy individuals.

Nationwide: Best for Customer Satisfaction

Cost of Insurance: Lower than average

AM Best Rating: A+

★★★★★

4.5

Visit

Ranking second on the J.D. Power Customer Satisfaction Index, Nationwide offers a range of life insurance policy types including term, whole, universal, and variable options. The insurer is a well-established name in the finance industry for its wide variety of services.

Nationwide offers a range of other insurance and financing options from business insurance, and business banking services to auto and pet insurance products. Apart from its exceptional financial strength and customer satisfaction ratings, the insurer offers a lot of flexibility when it comes to policy types.

On top of that, it even offers medical exam-free policies with up to $5 million in coverage, arguably the highest in the insurance sector. You can also get discounter premiums on Nationwide’s auto or homeowners insurance if you are a life insurance customer.

Why we chose it: Nationwide is the only insurer after Banner Life with the highest customer satisfaction. Along with a wide range of policy types and riders, its incredible set of features makes it one of the best companies on this list to buy insurance from.

High customer satisfaction ranking
Medical exam-free coverage of up to $5 million
Discounts available if bought together with auto or homeowners insurance

Limited eligibility
Lacks live chat
Limited online quotes

Cost of Insurance

The cost of insurance from Nationwide is around or below the industry average. While the price factor doesn’t make Nationwide a particularly attractive option, its additional features and riders for different illnesses make it worth the cost.

Offered Policy Types

Nationwide’s wide range of policy types and additional riders make its product range one of the most comprehensive ones out there. It offers term, whole, universal, and variable policies. Term policies come in 10, 15, 20, and 30-year periods.

Ease of Application

You can get quotes online, but not for all policies on the insurance provider’s website. To apply, you need to get in touch with Nationwide or an insurance agent. You can’t buy a plan online but it does offer other conveniences like digital document processing and delivery.

Lincoln Financial: Best for Term to Universal Policy Conversion

Cost of Insurance: Lower than average

AM Best Rating: A+

★★★★★

4.2

Visit

Lincoln Financial offers flexible life insurance packages with high coverage caps and some no-medical-exam policies. It offers affordable premiums but is not the cheapest insurance provider out there.

All in all, the company is a great choice for anyone looking for term or universal life insurance or who would consider converting a term policy into a universal one in the future. Especially, if you’re a boomer (ages 57-72), Lincoln’s universal policies give you more time to build cash value and term policies offer higher maximum ages for guaranteed renewability or conversion to universal insurance.

The company has an A+ rating from AM Best so it’s good to go with on the financial strength front. But when it comes to customer satisfaction, Lincoln Financial ranks lower than the industry average. Its below-par performance on this front can easily dissuade a potential customer.

If you’re looking to buy insurance over the phone, you can expect a smooth and expedited policy buying experience. Through Lincoln Financial’s Tele-App process, an advisor meets with you over the phone and helps you purchase a suitable policy. You’re likely to qualify for a medical exam-free policy if you’re under 60 and want coverage less than $1 million.

Why we chose it: Lincoln Financial stands out for its flexible offerings for senior applicants, especially when it comes to term-universal policy conversion. That along with its exceptional over-the-phone application process makes it an insurer worth considering.

Affordable term life insurance
No medical exam policies available
Term policies can be easily converted to universal

Doesn’t offer whole life policies
Application process involves working with a Lincoln Financial professional
Low Customer Satisfaction ranking

Cost of Insurance

You’ll find affordable term life insurance policies from Lincoln Financial, however, its universal ones aren’t as low cost. That said, there are cheaper options available on the market.

Offered Policy Types

The company offers term and universal life insurance. The term policies include Lincoln TermAccel® and Lincoln LifeElements® which are available in 10,15, 20, and 30-year options. Permanent policies include Universal, Indexed Universal, and Variable Universal.

Ease of Application

Lincoln Financial offers online tools for all its policy types. On top of that, its Tele-App process makes the insurance application process a cakewalk.

Haven Life: Best for Same-day Coverage

Cost of Insurance: High

AM Best Rating: A++

★★★★★

4.0

Visit

Haven Life is an online-first insurance company that offers high coverage caps for online applications and medical exam-free options. It was established in 2014 which makes it a new addition to the insurance sector but with an A++ rating from AM Best, we can trust its credibility.

Haven Life isn’t a part of the J.D. Power ranking as it’s an online service primarily powered by MassMutual which ranks seventh. It has much fewer customer complaints than the industry average.

The coverage company stands out when it comes to speed of service, convenient application process, and the possibility of same-day coverage. However, since it doesn’t offer any other policy type other than term, customers have limited options. Also, there’s an applicant age limit at 64 years, which is still higher than Bestow’s limit at 60.

Why we chose it: Haven Life is powered by MassMutual, an industry giant that ranks 7th on the J.D. Power customer satisfaction index. However, the best part about it is the company’s quick service which also makes it possible for customers to get same-day coverage.

Apply online for up to $1 million in coverage
Offers same-day coverage
Very few customer complaints

Offers only term life insurance
Limited riders
Applicant age limit at 64

Cost of Insurance

Haven Life’s premiums are higher than most other companies on our list. The sample monthly cost lies at a high $81.16 compared to Banner Life’s $46.63 or State Farm’s $54.79. The prices may also increase exponentially if you’re a smoker or have any other health condition.

Offered Policy Types

It only offers term life insurance policies which include Haven Term and Haven Simple. Haven Simple offers coverage up to $500,000 and requires no medical exam. But if you want higher coverage of up to $3 million, you’d have to go with Haven Term which mostly comes with medical exams.

Ease of Application

Haven Life is a digital insurance company which means it pays importance to a seamless online application process. You can apply online for coverage up to $1 million. The company also claims to have a quick approval process that can give you same-day coverage.

Northwestern Mutual: Best for Financial Stability

Cost of Insurance: N/A

AM Best Rating: A++

★★★★★

3.8

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Northwestern Mutual is one of the most well-established insurers out there. It was established in 1857 and has been serving in the American finance and insurance market even since. Its years of experience also make it the largest seller of life insurance in the country.

The provider isn’t very transparent with quotes which is a huge drawback for any insurance provider. Unlike other companies on this list, Northwestern doesn’t have a premium calculator and you have to get in touch with an agent to see how much insurance will cost. This can take a day or two in back and forth compared to getting an instant quote on their site.

Northwest ranks third on J.D. Power’s Customer Satisfaction Index which makes it the best in the industry after State Farm and Nationwide. But it has its drawbacks too. Unlike modern insurance providers like Bestow and Haven Life, you can only purchase a plan through agents.

Why we chose it: Northwest Mutual is one of the oldest insurance companies and has an A + + rating from AM Best which means it’s very stable financially. On top of that, it has a high customer satisfaction ranking making it an option worth considering.

Highest financial strength rating
High customer satisfaction
Multiple policy options

Limited pricing information on website
Plans can only be purchased through an agent
Most options require a medical exam

Cost of Insurance

Northwestern Mutual offers no information on its premiums at all. You will have to contact an agent in person to get a quote.

Offered Policy Types

This company offers term, whole, universal, and variable universal life insurance. It also offers a range of optional riders, more than other insurers on this list, so you can easily access benefits under special circumstances.

Ease of Application

Ease of application is one area Northwest Mutual lacks in. You can’t get a quote online and will have to get in touch with an agent, whereas State Farm offers online tools. Most insurance options require you to take a medical exam. Note that not all life insurance products are available in all states which makes things more complicated than they need to be.

Methodology for the Best Life Insurance

Picking an insurer for life insurance can be very difficult given the variety of factors you need to consider and the countless options available. However, we at Management Library use our research and industry expertise to help you make the right decisions. We carefully considered data from multiple sources on several different factors to come up with this list of life insurance providers. Here are the criteria we considered when ranking the best life insurance companies:

Cost of insurance: The price factor most often weighs the heaviest when it comes to making any financial decision. The insurance providers that offer the same or higher value coverage for a lower premium rank higher than those with higher premiums.

Offered policy types: Customers don’t want to have limited options to choose from. Plus, they also want the freedom to switch between different policies in the future. Companies that offer more policy types and freedom rank higher than those with limited options.

Ease of application: Convenience and speed of service are important factors. Customers prefer seamless online application and approval. Plus, no medical exam alternatives are preferred over those that require it.

AM Best rating: AM Best is a credit rating agency that ranks insurance companies for financial strength on a scale of A++ (superior) to D (poor). We only chose the companies with a rating of A or higher to include in our list.

J.D. Power Customer Satisfaction Index ranking: J.D. Power releases an annual study on the top life insurance providers and ranks them according to the customer complaints and satisfaction statistics it compiles from authentic sources. The ranking is a valuable measure of how well an insurance company performs on the customer satisfaction compared to the industry average.

Bar chart representing J.D. Power 2021 US Individual Life Insurance Customer Satisfaction Index Ranking

Reputation: Last but not least, we considered the historical reputation of each company. This includes how long they’ve been in business, any significant problems they’ve had over the years, and their performance when it comes to other services in the financial and insurance industry.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for Best Life Insurance

Here are some of the most commonly asked questions about the top life insurance companies.

What is the most reputable life insurance company?

Northwest Mutual and StateFarm are two of the most reputable life insurance companies. Both have an AM Best rating of A++ and rank third and first respectively on the customer satisfaction ranking. Both companies have been operating for quite some time too.

What is the average monthly cost of life insurance?

The average monthly cost of insurance primarily depends on your age, gender, and health conditions plus the coverage and insurance term period you need. If you’re a 35-year-old female in good health looking for $1 million in coverage over a 20-year term, you can expect the average monthly cost to be $43.

What’s an insurance policy rider?

A rider is an additional coverage feature you may add to a life insurance policy. More often than not, it comes at an additional cost. Insurance policy riders help you cover life events or bring benefits for critical health conditions that the standard policy does not.

Bottom Line on the Best Life Insurance Companies

You have quite a few very good options to choose from. While different insurance companies suit different needs, State Farm is our best overall choice for its very low cost of insurance and strong third-party ratings. But if you’re looking for a lower cost, you can go with Banner Life.

However, the cost is not the only factor. You must also consider the insurer’s financial stability, customer satisfaction rating, and the policy types it offers. We’ve ranked each of the best life insurance companies according to what they’re best for to make your choice simpler.

July 18, 2022February 7, 2023

The 6 Best Background Check Services in 2023

A young woman using a magnifying glass to illustrate the best background check services

When you need in-depth information about someone, a background check is the simplest and quickest way to access the information you need. The best background check services can reveal criminal history, education, financial standing, and a lot more about an individual.

The information attained through a background check is culled from public records. This means it is technically possible to find the information you need on your own. However, people typically find that the time, effort, and money it requires to perform this type of research independently is extensive, making a professional background check service the better option.

Choosing the best background check services can be challenging. This guide gives you the facts you need to know to make an informed choice.

6 Best Background Check Services

Truthfinder – Best Background Check Service Overall
Intelius – Best for Single Reports
Instant Checkmate – Best for Criminal Activity Reports
Spokeo – Best for Ease of Use
PeopleFinders – Best for Personal Use
BeenVerified – Best for Tracking New Information

In researching background check services, we focused on the essential elements that contribute to the usefulness and reliability of each company and the features they offer. We looked at factors like pricing, the accuracy of results, customer support, delivery time, and comprehensiveness of results to prepare this buyer’s guide. Read our complete methodology below.

Truthfinder

$4.99 – $27.78

4.8

Yes

Intelius

$0.95 – $39.95

4.8

Yes

Instant Checkmate

$35 Standard/

+$19.95 per report for Premium

4.5

Yes (+$1.99)

Yes

Spokeo

Searches limited by price, which varies widely:

$24.95 – $119

4.0

Yes

PeopleFinders

$1.95 – $29.95

4.0

BeenVerified

$26.89

4.0

Yes

Truthfinder – Best Background Check Service Overall

$4.99 – $27.78

★★★★★

4.8

Visit

Truthfinder – Best Background Check Service Overall Review

Truthfinder earns its place as the best of the best background check services by offering a full slate of features. This service returns reports that give information on a subject’s current location, financial status, educational history, close acquaintances, and social media accounts.

With Truthfinder you can choose everything from a simple people search and reverse phone lookup to a detailed background check, including criminal history. The service will check the sex offender registry and even give results from the dark web.

Scans the dark web
Color-coded mobile app
Checks social media accounts
User-friendly reports
Membership includes unlimited searches

Search can be slow
Cannot purchase single reports

Accuracy

Even the best background check services cannot guarantee that their results are 100% accurate. A service can only report the information that is held in the public records they are mining.

Truthfinder produces reports containing the most accurate and current information available within its databases. Truthfinder has earned an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau based on its business transparency, compliance with the law, and relentless efforts to solve customer complaints.

Customer Support

Truthfinder customer support is available by phone from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Pacific Standard Time. For customers living in other time zones or in need of support outside of phone hours, you can contact the service through email.

Truthfinder balances this shortcoming by providing an extensive amount of information on its site. Many customer questions may be answered without the need for customer support personnel.

Delivery Time

Truthfinder delivers a report to users within an average time of five minutes. This is not as quick as some services with nearly instantaneous response times; however, when you consider the comprehensiveness of this service’s reports, it is reasonable. The best background check services must balance speed with the depth of information.

Price

Truthfinder is completely membership-based. It does not offer individual or one-off searches or background checks.

Its membership prices are competitive within the industry with a monthly cost of $27.78. It is worth noting that this fee includes unlimited access to all of Truthfinder’s search and background check features for the month of membership.

It does offer a separate lower-cost membership for those only seeking a simple people search. That cost is $4.99 and includes unlimited searches throughout the membership period.

Comprehensiveness

Truthfinder reports are extensive and provide a great depth of information. While other services offer a selection of features, Truthfinder shows itself to be one of the best background check services by providing a one-stop option for multiple background check categories.

Whether you are seeking to reconnect with an old acquaintance or find yourself needing extensive information on an individual, Truthfinder has the tools to answer your most pressing questions.

Additionally, Truthfinder keeps its customers’ privacy intact by offering the ability to perform deep web scans and institute caller identity checks on its smartphone app.

Intelius – Best Background Check Service for Single Reports

$0.95 – $39.95

★★★★★

4.62

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Intelius – Best Background Check Service for Single Reports Review

Intelius has been in business for 15 years, making it one of the most established best background check services on this list. They have many purchase options, including a people search, background checks, and the opportunity to subscribe to identity protection.

Intelius is one of the few background check services that gives customers the option to purchase a single background check rather than signing up for a membership. For those needing a greater volume of checks, they have multiple membership plans.

Single report purchase option
Identity protection available
Comprehensive database
Reverse phone and address lookup

Confusing site navigation
Confusing price structure
Limited customer support

Accuracy

Intelius made a change in its platform a few years ago. Customer response has not been completely positive. There have been numerous complaints of reports containing inaccurate or dated information.

The company does have an A rating from the Better Business Bureau, which is an improvement over their ratings in the past. This positive rating indicates a high level of business transparency and integrity.

Customer Support

Intelius customer support is available on weekdays by phone from 7 a.m. until 5 p.m. Pacific Standard Time. Beyond this, customers can email the customer support department with questions. The company states that emails will be answered at the earliest opportunity.

Delivery Time

Given the variety of service plans that Intelius offers, their turnaround time on completed reports vary slightly. The simplest people searches and email lookups will take approximately five minutes. More intensive reports including criminal record searches and full background checks can take up to 30 minutes to complete.

Price

Intelius’s premier plus membership gives customers unlimited access to most of their services and runs $29.95 a month. Identity theft protection is an added service that costs an additional $20.00 monthly.

Unlike many of the best background check services, Intelius customers have the convenience of forgoing a membership if they only need to look into a single person, but the pricing here can get confusing.

A simple people search will reveal basic information and costs $0.95. If you want to add an email lookup or a social network search, the cost jumps to $6.95. A single criminal record search costs $29.95, while a single full background check runs $39.95.

Considering that not all the lower-tier services are included in the price of the upper-tier services, ordering the type of search you want can be both pricey and confusing.

Comprehensiveness

Intelius has grown into a massive data bank over the years and now pulls information from more than 20 billion public records. This enables them to offer their customers a myriad of services including people search, background checks, social media monitoring, educational achievements, and criminal records.

Some users have complained that the company’s many levels of service are confusing, however. There isn’t a clear all-inclusive subscription. Customers must choose between doing a people search, a separate social media search, or yet another search for property records. Moreover, all of these are separate from a background check.

Additionally, customers can pay an extra fee to add an identity protection component to their services. Although Intelius offers a wide range of services, the choices might be overwhelming to casual users.

Instant Checkmate – Best for Criminal Activity Reports

$35 Standard/+$19.95 per report

★★★★★

4.4

Visit

Instant Checkmate Review

Instant Checkmate was founded in 2010 and is an established and widely used background check service. It offers a simple interface that customers find easy to use.

Unlike many of the best background check services, Instant Checkmate does not require additional fees for a detailed criminal history. This info is included in the standard subscription price.

Criminal background checks included with a standard membership
Sex offender mapping
Full-featured mobile app

Slow loading reports
Overly promotional FAQs and knowledge base
Misleading paywall

Accuracy

Instant Checkmate provides accurate information; however, customers have complained that reports are sometimes limited in scope. On its site, Instant Checkmate claims that it utilizes a minimum of two reputable information sources that are checked against one another for accuracy.

Customer Support

Customer service hours are limited. Customers can reach help agents during working hours only via phone or email. Instant Checkmate has a limited FAQ page and knowledge base for customers looking to solve problems independently.

Delivery Time

Report generation typically takes five minutes or more, which is standard among the best background check services. However, users must remain at the computer during report generation as Instant Checkmate utilizes a series of pop-up questions throughout the process to refine results.

Price

Instant checkmate offers one of the simplest pricing plans of all the best background check services. Their standard membership runs $35 a month and includes a robust criminal records check. While this price is somewhat high, the ease and inclusivity of the subscription plan are appealing.

To obtain information on property ownership and liens, you need to upgrade to a premium service, which costs an additional $19.95 per report. If you need this type of information, and especially if you need it for several individuals, this added cost could make the price prohibitive for some.

Comprehensiveness

Customer reviews in this area are somewhat mixed. While users report that general information is sometimes shallow, it is notable that the information pertaining to criminal records is extensive.

Instant Checkmate stands out among the best background check services for the thoroughness of its criminal records check. This service goes beyond reporting criminal charges and convictions and will often find details about the crimes that are invaluable to the search, such as case numbers and sentencing.

Instant Checkmate also does a good job related to sexual offender identification. Reports may include maps and even pictures of known offenders within a certain geographic area.

Spokeo – Best for Ease of Use

$24.95 – $119

★★★★★

4.3

Visit

Spokeo – Best for Ease of Use Review

Spokeo started out as a site that specializes in checking information on social media sites. It has grown steadily since then and now offers many of the industry-standard features that are common with the best background check services.

Spokeo is known for its intuitive interface. It also offers some unique services that other best background check services do not, such as a family tree feature to identify genealogical connections.

Phone app gives push notifications
“Insights” feature offers interesting details
Simple user interface

Pulls from a relatively small database
Reports are not in-depth
Reveals limited financial information

Accuracy

Spokeo garners its information from public resources such as real estate listings and social media. As a background check service is only as accurate as its database, there are sometimes issues of Spokeo searches returning inaccurate or out-of-date information.

Customer Support

Spokeo customer service is available by phone or email every day from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. You can also utilize their live chat feature Monday through Friday from 8 a.m to 5 p.m.

Delivery Time

Spokeo is one of the fastest services on our list of the best background check services. Spokeo typically compiles a complete report within one to five minutes. Customers state that searches are often completed in an even shorter amount of time.

Price

For the individual user, Spokeo offers a monthly membership for $24.95. This plan is limited to 100 searches throughout the month. If you want to upgrade, it will cost an additional $21 per month.

For businesses, Spokeo offers memberships with a wide range of fees that depend on the number of searches needed per month. Subscriptions start at $35.95 a month for 200 searches and increase to $119.95 for 1,000 searches.

Outside of its membership plans, Spokeo offers one-time, simple people searches for $0.95 each.

Comprehensiveness

Although Spokeo offers many of the same search types as the other best background check services, the information its reports provide does not tend to be expansive. In particular, criminal record checks and financial information are likely to be minimal.

However, Spokeo offers niche services that are hard to find elsewhere. It continues to excel at social media mining and uncovers interesting miscellaneous facts such as hobbies and dating patterns. It is also the only one of the best background check services to offer a family tree builder feature.

PeopleFinders – Best for Personal Use

$1.95 – $29.95

★★★★★

4.2

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PeopleFinders – Best for Personal Use Review

PeopleFinders has an impressive database of over 40 billion records and 6,000 data sources that it pulls from. As the name would suggest, this contender for the best background check services excels at simple people searches. It is a go-to resource for individuals looking to reconnect with out-of-touch family and friends.

Individual searches or memberships available
Choice of simple search or full background check
Rapid results

Doesn’t investigate social media
Doesn’t check employment history
The website is not intuitive

Accuracy

PeopleFinders is careful to point out on its website that even the best background check services cannot offer a full guarantee that all information is accurate. The service does pull information from over 6,000 resources.

Customer Support

PeopleFinders’ customer support hours are limited to weekdays 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Pacific Standard Time and weekends from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.PST. You can also reach out to customer service agents via email.

Delivery Time

Like many of its competitors, PeopleFinders has a report compilation time of about five minutes or less.

Price

PeopleFinders offers users both memberships and single report options. Their premium level monthly subscription cost is $29.99. For single reports, a basic people search costs $1.95 and a full report runs $9.95.

Comprehensiveness

PeopleFinders is great for personal uses such as locating and contacting old friends or distant family members. When it comes to background checks, PeopleFinders does not report on some details that are common with many of the other best background check services.

It does not reveal any employment history, nor does it give results from any social media resources.

BeenVerified – Best for Tracking New Information

$26.89

★★★★★

4.1

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BeenVerified – Best for Tracking New Information Review

BeenVerified ranks in multiple top 10 lists for best background check services. This company has been around for over a decade. They are known for compiling consistently sound reports that are well-organized and easy to interpret.

Well-organized reports
Information tracking features give instant alerts
App includes incoming number identification

Lack of details prior to purchasing
No option to purchase single or specific reports
No demo report
Knowledge base and customer service are lacking

Accuracy

The accuracy of BeenVerified’s reports is in line with many of the best background check services on this list. The service gives customers notice on their website that their accuracy will be impacted by the public sources they use to compile reports.

BeenVerified currently has a B rating with the Better Business Bureau. Although it does appear that the service is responsive to customer complaints, this is still the lowest BBB rating of all services on this list.

Customer Support

The customer service team at BeenVerified is available during business hours on weekdays only. Unfortunately, the FAQ and knowledge base are not well developed, so customers have no viable customer support option when phone support is not available.

Delivery Time

BeenVerified has a wait of five minutes or less while a purchased report is being compiled.

Price

BeenVerified has a refreshingly simple pricing strategy. It offers all its services for a monthly membership fee of $26.89. If you choose to make a three-month commitment, the membership fee drops to just $17.48.

While its simplicity in pricing is welcome, it is unfortunate that BeenVerified does not allow for the purchase of single reports.

Comprehensiveness

BeenVerified is a solid choice for those looking for the best background check services. Its well-organized reports include basic information as well as financials and detailed criminal history. Its information tracking feature assures that you always have the most current information.

Methodology for the Best Background Check Services

Reputation for providing accurate information
Comprehensiveness of report types offered
Affordability
Availability and quality of customer support
Ease of use
Additional services offered

Although we used a straightforward rating system, it is important to note that any one of these excellent companies may be the best choice for a particular customer.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for Best Background Check Services

It can be stressful deciding which of the best background check services is right for your needs. Most people have unanswered questions about what a background service entails. Here are answers to some of the most common questions about these services.

Will People Be Notified if I Run a Check on Them?

When you subscribe to one of the best background check services, there is no public record of your activity. The people you are looking into will not be aware that you have used the service or of what information you gained through the report.

Is it Legal To Use a Background Check Service?

Background check services like those listed in this guide pull their information mainly from resources that are open to the public. Public records are accessible to anyone who has the time to do the research and the knowledge of where to look.

Even a lot of information we commonly think of as sensitive, such as criminal and court proceedings, is part of public record unless the court has sealed the records.

Reports generated by the best background check services do not reveal legally private information such as health records. Therefore, it is legal for them to reveal what information they offer you upon your request.

How Reliable is the Information From an Online Background Check?

Each of the companies within this guide has a history and reputation for providing accurate information to their customers. However, their accuracy is impacted by the databases from which they are working. They can only report the facts that are provided to them.

The best background check services use large databases and multiple resources to obtain information. They also cross-check information to produce a report with the most accurate and up-to-date information available in the public sphere.

Can I Run a Background Check on Myself?

Yes, and it’s a great idea. Although you are intimately aware of all the details of your life, it’s hard to know which pieces of your past have become a part of the public record. Running a background check on yourself ensures that you’re aware and prepared to respond to any regrettable or inaccurate information.

Why Would I Want To Use a Background Check Service?

There are myriad reasons you may feel the need to know more about someone. The world is full of people you need to be sure you can trust.

Parents could have concerns about their child’s fiance. You may have a new neighbor that you want to make sure has a clean criminal record. You might be considering a new roommate and want to be sure they are financially stable. Perhaps you simply want to reach out to an old friend or family member you’ve lost touch with.

A simple background check has the potential to address all of these concerns within minutes.

How Do I Decide Which of the Best Background Check Services to Use?

Choosing the best background check services depends on the reason behind the search. Your goals will determine the type of features that will best suit your needs.

Added features like dark web scanning and other identity protection measures may not be of concern to the average customer. For businesses dealing with sensitive information, though, it could be crucial. In these instances, services like Truthfinder or Intelius might be the optimal choice.

Individuals focused on reconnecting with classmates or finding distant relatives may not require the expansive services offered by a background check service like Intelius. Services that focus on simple people searches such as Spokeo or PeopleFinders could be a perfect fit.

Not every background check service includes a search of finances, educational achievements, or robust criminal records reviews. If such details are important for you to know, choosing a background check service that specializes in this type of information will deliver the best results.

The Best Background Check Services Offer Convenience and Peace of Mind

Much of the information you wish to obtain about the people in your life can be found within public records. However, accessing and sifting through this mountain of data can take time and resources you do not have.

The best background check services offer a simple, fast and affordable way to pinpoint the information you’re looking for. You need only supply basic details about a person of interest, and they can search millions of public records and utilize thousands of resources to deliver a comprehensive report to you within minutes.

July 15, 2022February 16, 2023

Why You Should Learn How To Use a VPN

Person learning how to use a vpn on a smartphone

Learning how to use a virtual private network, or VPN, is a good idea if you value privacy online. A VPN is a type of network that gives you more security as you use the internet, regardless of what type of connection you use.

How To Use a VPN in 3 Steps

VPNs are created using special software installed on whatever device you want to keep safe. These programs are often free, with the option to pay for the service for premium features. Free versions of VPNs usually have data caps, meaning you can only use them for so long before they no longer function.

Step 1: Choose a VPN Software

Choose a service based on your needs. VPNs are good for more than just privacy, so if you expect to use one for a purpose such as accessing international content, the server’s location might be important to you. There are many things to consider when learning how to use a VPN.

While prices for VPNs are often similar, there are differences in quality that you should consider. For example, no matter what type of information you’re transmitting, a VPN with a large number of servers tends to be faster than one with fewer servers. If you’re handling large files or streaming HD content, you may find your VPN unable to keep up if its speeds aren’t up to par.

The location of those servers matters, too. Even if the service has a large number of servers, if they’re far away, you may find their speeds lacking.

Looking To Bypass Censorship? Consider the Server’s Location

On the other hand, if you’re learning how to use a VPN so you can access international content, you may want servers that are located in other countries. If you live in a country that censors its internet, using a VPN residing in a country that doesn’t will allow you to access the content you otherwise couldn’t.

Many streaming services also have different content, depending on where their own servers are located. Even if you’re in a country that doesn’t have censorship laws, international licensing issues might mean some content is unavailable to you. Connecting to a VPN located in the country in which the content is available will allow you to access that country’s content.

Do You Want a VPN For Your Mobile Devices? Make Sure the Service Supports It

Not all services support mobile devices, such as cell phones or tablets. If you want to use a VPN on these types of machines, make sure the VPN you choose allows it and supports whatever operating system the device is using.

Step 2: Learn the Basics of Your VPN Software

While the experiences across different VPN software vary, the software options tend to be fairly similar in how they work. When learning how to use a VPN, understanding one generally means you can use others as well.

When you launch the software, you’ll likely need to log in to an account. At one point or another, you’ll run into the service’s Terms of Use. You may wish to read these, as some services require you to install third-party applications or view ads. Be wary of any terms that include collecting information from you in exchange for using the service.

Connect to a Server

Your VPN will probably ask you what server you want to connect to. If you’re interested in protecting your privacy while accessing public WiFi, you’ll likely want to choose a server that’s close to you to optimize speed. On the other hand, if you’re using a VPN to access international content, you can pick a server located in whatever country you want to access content from. Click the connect button, and you’ll be using a VPN.

This is how you get started learning how to use a VPN. If you’re an advanced user, you may wish to change some settings such as using specific protocols, using split tunneling, or altering the encryption method, but you probably won’t need to worry about these settings if you’re just starting.

Step 3: Know What Else You Can Do With a VPN

We’ve mentioned the most common uses of VPN software, but these aren’t all you can do.

One use might be to hide your activity from your ISP. If you’re connected to a VPN, your activity is hidden from your ISP. You may wish to do this if your ISP forbids certain activities, such as downloading torrents.

Maybe you want to hide your browsing activity completely. On a regular network connection, your browsing habits are at least partially visible to one party or another. A VPN can serve as an iron curtain that protects your browsing activity from being viewed by anyone. When learning how to use a VPN, it’s important to know what you can and can’t do with one.

How Cybercriminals Steal Your Information

One of the most common methods a cybercriminal uses is a “Man-in-the-Middle” attack, which is when a third party directly intercepts communications between two entities. A variant of this is called the “Evil Twin,” which is when a fake public WiFi network is displayed using an access point. When your device connects to the malicious WiFi network, the party on the other end can see everything you’re doing and all information you input.

You can sometimes spot an Evil Twin if you see two public WiFi networks with similar names. If you can identify where the network is coming from, notify the staff.

If you’re learning how to use a VPN to prevent your information from being stolen, understand that such a service can prevent you from being a victim.

VPNs Are Not Perfect Solutions

It’s not just cybercriminals after your data. Big data companies and governments naturally see VPNs as the enemy of their business models or interests, and they’ve created countermeasures against VPN traffic. Advertisers have also become more sophisticated, and can sometimes break through a VPN’s wall of anonymity.

The capacity for these services to spoof locations, unblock streaming, and bypass censorship has been lessened, as companies and governments are discovering ways to detect and block VPN traffic or compromise the security of these services. Learning how to use a VPN is dependent on knowing its limitations.

While VPNs are far from useless and still work well for these tasks, they are not impervious to external threats. You can never be invincible when using the internet, no matter which VPN you’re using.

The Cons of Using a VPN

VPNs have numerous benefits, but they also carry some inherent issues.

Expect a loss of performance when using a VPN versus when not using a VPN. These services manipulate your data traffic to travel to other places before coming back to you, which will slow down how fast you can transmit and receive data. In addition, these programs take up hardware resources, such as processor speed and memory, so your device may feel sluggish when a VPN is in use.

Some countries have made VPNs illegal. China, for example, has strict control over its internet and relies heavily on censorship. If you’re caught using a VPN in a country that doesn’t permit its use, you may be subject to criminal penalties.

Finally, decent VPNs cost money. While you can often get discounts on monthly rates if you choose longer plan periods, expect to pay a fair amount if you want to use one for a long time.

VPNs Are Usually Legal, But Using Them for Criminal Acts Isn’t

Countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and most democracies allow the use of VPNs. However, while a VPN is typically used for the sake of privacy, you still aren’t allowed to abuse that privacy to commit illegal acts. Using a VPN to protect yourself from the law doesn’t mean you can get away with anything. You may not use a VPN to download copyrighted or illegal content, for example.

You shouldn’t expect a VPN to shield you from the judicial system. Law enforcement has sophisticated technology that can catch you, even if you attempt to use a VPN to hide your activity.

In addition, it is against some streaming platforms’ terms of service to use a VPN to access content that is not available in your country. If you’re caught doing so, you may be banned from using the platform.

VPNs Have Evolved From Their Original Use

The peer-to-peer tunneling protocol, or PPTP, is the precursor to the VPN. PPTP was a way to connect a computer to the internet with added privacy. As the internet has evolved, the need for security and privacy has always been a constant. Certain services such as antivirus software were one way to prevent issues at the end-user level, but soon it became necessary to protect the connection itself.

The very first VPNs allowed for a remote connection to a home network. While ostensibly for security, early VPNs were highly vulnerable to attacks that could disrupt the flow of data. They were also far slower than the services of today, which limited their use for end-users.

VPNs originated as a tool for businesses and governments. Learning how to use a VPN in the early days was mostly about protecting corporate or sensitive data. By using VPNs, they could ensure that their internal data was protected from external threats. However, after massive data breaches occurred in the early 2000s, everyday users started to want that protection for themselves.

Choosing a VPN With the Right Protocol

Not all protocols are created equal, and some are more secure or speedier than others. Therefore, you’ll want to make sure your VPN supports protocols that accommodate the tasks you want to do.

Consider this question: Do you want L2TP/IPsec or OpenVPN TCP for streaming movies? This matters because protocols can vary in both speed and security; some protocols are designed for speed, and some are designed for security. Depending on why you’re learning how to use a VPN, you’ll want to use a protocol that suits your needs.

OpenVPN

OpenVPN is a newer protocol that has several things going for it. This protocol is open-source, meaning its developer code is made public. This is a good thing for you, as it means anyone can look at the code and spot vulnerabilities in it before cybercriminals do.

OpenVPN is very secure, by VPN protocol standards. It has military-grade, AES-256-bit encryption, 2048-bit RSA authentication, and a 160-bit SHA1 hash algorithm. All you need to know about these terms is that it means the protocol is exceptionally secure, so if you’re learning how to use a VPN for security purposes, OpenVPN might be the protocol you want in your service.

There are two varieties of OpenVPN: OpenVPN TCP and OpenVPN UDP. The TCP variety is designed to ensure a steady and reliable stream of data. The UDP variation, on the other hand, is geared more toward speed over reliability.

Speed is more important than reliability when streaming video, so OpenVPN UDP is better suited for this task. By contrast, reliability is more important than speed when handling sensitive information, so if you’re doing any sort of banking activity or handling other important information, the TCP variety might be the ideal choice, if that’s why you’re educating yourself on how to use a VPN.

L2TP/IPsec

L2TP, or Layer 2 Tunneling Protocol, and IPsec are two separate protocols. L2TP has no encryption whatsoever, and so has little use by itself. IPsec, on the other hand, does have strong encryption properties. It also has the bonus of having no known vulnerabilities or loopholes to be exploited.

Put together, these two protocols create a highly secure combination. They’re compatible with many different devices and platforms, and are user-friendly.

This security and versatility come at the expense of speed, as L2TP/IPsec is not a particularly fast protocol, making it generally ill-suited for gaming or streaming. If that’s why you’re learning how to use a VPN, you can do better.

SSTP

Microsoft created the SSTP protocol, which stands for Secure Socket Tunneling Protocol. This particular protocol has been included in every version of Windows since Windows Vista.

SSTP is an especially secure protocol, combining 256-bit SSL keys for encryption and 2048-bit SSL/TLS certificates for authentication. Despite being designed for Windows systems, SSTP also works on macOS, Android, iOS, Linux, and BSD, making it a highly versatile protocol that is used on a wide variety of devices. However, while SSTP will work on these other non-Windows platforms, it will function best in its native Windows habitat. If you’re learning how to use a VPN for a Windows device, SSTP may be the ticket.

IKEv2

The Internet Key Exchange version 2 protocol combines stability, speed, and security. However, it is meant as a tunneling protocol, not an encryption protocol. This means it is rarely used alone, and is typically combined with something like IPsec to make up for its innate lack of encryption.

Despite these advantages, IKEv2 is not an especially popular protocol for use with VPNs, as it can be blocked by firewalls relatively easily.

PPTP

Although it was created back in 1995 and has been all but replaced by newer protocols, PPTP is still used in some VPN systems today because of its blazing-fast speed. What it has in speed, however, it lacks in security. It’s thus less suitable for handling sensitive data, but can be exceptionally useful for streaming or gaming. If you want to know how to use a VPN for gaming or streaming, PPTP might be ideal.

SoftEther

This protocol is well-regarded for its versatility. In addition to running on macOS, Linux, Windows, and Android, it also works with FreeBSD and Solaris. It’s also friendly to use in conjunction with many of the other protocols mentioned on this list.

SoftEther is open-source, and it can bypass many types of firewalls. It’s faster than many other protocols, but also not as secure. It’s also a relatively new protocol, so it lacks extensive real-world testing. If you’re just now starting out educating yourself on how to use a VPN, SoftEther might be a little riskier than other protocols because of its newness.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for How To Use a VPN

VPNs can be relatively simple services, but there are nuances about them that you might want to know.

What Sort of Information Can Be Viewed Over a Public Network?

Both your browsing habits and private information can potentially be compromised. All a cybercriminal has to do is be connected to the same public network, and he or she might be able to see what you’re doing. If you want to know how to use a VPN for security purposes, you should know what is and isn’t protected before jumping in.

How Does a VPN Protect My Privacy?

The key thing a VPN does is provide encryption to everything you send out. While using a VPN, you’re browsing on an encrypted server that keeps your data anonymous. This makes it extremely difficult for cybercriminals to catch your data and use it for malicious purposes.

What Exactly Does a VPN Hide?

Your browsing history, IP address, physical location, and web activity are all concealed while you’re connected to a VPN. While you’re using the service, you’re not using your IP address at all, but instead are using the IP address of the VPN. Since VPNs often have servers all over the world, it’s virtually impossible to tell where your connection is coming from. This might be why you want to know how to use a VPN, as they are suitable for protecting your privacy.

Why Else Should I Choose One VPN Service Over Another?

Your VPN service should have a no-log policy, meaning that they don’t keep track of what you’re doing online. It should offer the newest protocols to ensure your information is kept safe. It needs to support whatever operating system or systems you’ll be using.

It should support all of your devices at once if you plan to use more than one at a time. It should offer a “kill switch” in case your connection drops, to instantly disconnect you from the internet before you accidentally reconnect to another public network. Regardless of why you want to know how to use a VPN, you should choose one that has these basic features.

Can I Get By With a Free VPN?

Data caps aren’t the only ways free VPNs are limited. Free services often offer less secure connections. Some don’t have no-log policies, meaning they can keep track of and sell your data. The “free” part in a free service means they have to earn a profit another way, so you’ll generally find a superior service in one you pay for.

Can a VPN Completely Protect Me From Identity Theft?

No service can completely shield you from cybercriminals. Even if you’re learning how to use a VPN to access a website or service, you’re still entering information into that platform, and data breaches are an unfortunate reality of the internet. If a data breach happens on a service you use, your personal information could be out in the open, and a VPN can’t protect you from that.

Bottom Line on How To Use a VPN

Educating yourself on how to use a VPN can be as simple or as complicated as you want it to be, depending on your needs. While there is no such thing as complete security online, these services can greatly enhance your safety. If you want an extra layer of privacy to access international streaming content or bypass censorship, a VPN can help you accomplish all of these things. If VPNs sound like a solution that could suit your purposes, contact us for more information.

July 15, 2022November 23, 2022

ClickUp vs Monday: Features, Pricing & Support

Managing projects isn’t getting any easier. Thanks to a global pandemic, many businesses now allow workers to work from home full-time. The right project management software may be the only way to keep everything organized and moving in the same direction while having a grasp on how far along your team is on each project. To make that decision easier, we’ve gone through and compared two of the industry-leading apps, ClickUp vs monday.com, so you can see how they stack up against each other.

Quick Comparison: ClickUp vs monday.com

File Sharing

5/5

3/5

Time Tracking and Time Management

4/5

3/5

Customization

4.5/5

4/5

Gantt Chart

5/5

4/5

Task Management

4/5

Collaboration

3.5/5

3/5

Customer Support

3/5

2.5/5

Pricing

3/5

Overall Rating

3.5/5

★★★★★

3/5

★★★★★

ClickUp vs monday.com: In-depth Analysis

These days, project management software will have all the tools you need to keep things running smoothly. When putting monday.com vs ClickUp, there are some project management tools both offer as core features. However, there are a few distinct features that separate them, as well as having different ways of making themselves user-friendly.

Project management (PM) is a complex topic and the associated tools tend to reflect that complexity. As a result, comparing monday.com and ClickUp feature-by-feature might be a bit overwhelming.

To keep it simple, we’ve boiled things down to a few key points of comparison. Each point touches on key aspects of project management, so you can get a clear idea of how each option operates.

File Sharing

File storage and sharing in the cloud is a standard part of business, so any good PM software has to offer options along those lines. Both options allow integrations with Google Sheets, Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive, and other common cloud storage options. As a result, there are some basic file-sharing functions that both can fulfill equally well.

Additionally, both offer document editors within their apps. Monday describes their work docs as “virtual whiteboards,” which is fairly accurate. It’s possible to bring most project information into a workdoc and even create a Powerpoint-like sort of presentation. Workdocs also allow real-time editing with multiple team members. ClickUp offers a similar notepad, though much simpler and with fewer functions.

There is one aspect that does set ClickUp apart, which is that every pay tier offers unlimited storage for files. monday.com scales storage with cost and it might be surprised how quickly 5, 20, or even 100 GB are used up.

Time Tracking and Time Management

Managing time is a critical aspect of project management. Due dates determine schedules while being able to track time goes a long way toward making budget management easier. Both options allow you to track work time. However, that function is reserved for the Pro tier on monday.com. ClickUp offers most of the time tracking functions even on the free plan.

Additionally, both offer integrations when tracking time devoted to weekly tasks, team collaboration, and other aspects of your team’s work.

If you were to make a comparison of monday.com vs. Microsoft Project or ClickUp vs. Microsoft Project, both Monday and ClickUp would rate as affordable options with less robust time tracking. When comparing the two to each other, it’s clear ClickUp comes out ahead on affordability.

Read: Here are our individual review articles on ClickUp and monday.com.

Customization

Every project has to be approached on its own terms. As a result, project management tools have to be adaptable. Both ClickUp and Monday allow for a fair degree of customization, as users are initially offered a blank workspace to build out to their needs. Those boards can be assembled with custom statuses, recurring tasks, and private boards.

Both have customizable project templates and other tools to make them user-friendly. However, the heart of most customization these days is bringing third-party applications in through integrations. It’s tough to say which has more integrations, ClickUp or monday.com. Likewise, both offer APIs so that users can create their own integrations as well.

While both have similar customization, ClickUp comes out ahead again. monday.com reserves a lot of custom functions for pricier tiers.

Gantt Chart

Gantt charts are a classic tool for project planning. They allow you to visualize multiple aspects of a project at once, as well as identify critical task dependencies. They are an important part of many workflow apps as a result, for example allowing you to coordinate progress for both product releases and the associated marketing campaigns at once.

Both apps offer Gantt views, which translate task information into a Gantt chart. Additionally, there are several features that both share, such as tracking progress, mapping dependencies, and assigning team members.

However, the Gantt view might be a more helpful aspect of ClickUp process management simply because it’s more available. As with other features, Monday reserves the Gantt view for the more expensive options. ClickUp allows some use of Gantt charts even at the free tier.

See how the winner matches up against dedicated Gantt chart apps in our ClickUp vs GanttPRO and ClickUp vs TeamGantt reviews.

Task Management

In practical terms, a lot of project management is actually task management. Perhaps as a result, both ClickUp and monday.com are task-focused. They offer a method to create different tasks, track progress, and monitor your team’s work. This is also one case where Monday is just as affordable, as both platforms offer unlimited tasks even at the free tier.

Tasks are highly customizable, so they can be used to manage projects as diverse as your own personal goals, the HR teams’ search for new team members, or bug-tracking progress in your latest piece of software. Seeing each piece progress can be invaluable when it comes to project scheduling.

Workflow automation is also possible, helping to minimize micromanaging. For example, completing a checklist may trigger a notification, so you don’t have to worry about tasks stalling through inattention.

Both options make checklists available. With monday.com, that’s handled through the work doc feature. ClickUp regards checklists as simpler subtasks, so you can do things like creating checklist templates.

Collaboration

Team collaboration can be difficult to foster, particularly with remote teams. However, it may be a critical aspect starting with project planning, for example with Agile teams. Again, in this area, ClickUp might pull ahead, due to offering a few more critical features at a lower cost.

Like most modern project management software, collaboration tools come as part of the basic package, including things like commenting on tasks and even an inbox. Monday also touts its work docs as a collaborative space, allowing multiple users to view and edit at once.

However, a lot of collaboration is going to happen in other apps, so integrations become important. ClickUp offers a lot of helpful native integrations, such as Zoom, Slack, and Microsoft teams so everything can happen in the same space. Integrations are sharply limited with monday.com.

Additionally, ClickUp allows guests to view projects and allows more project members at a lower cost than monday.com.

Customer Support

The flipside of all the excellent adaptability offered by both ClickUp and monday.com is complexity. There will definitely be moments managing projects when you’re not sure how to set something up. When your business is at stake, just clicking around and figuring it out may not be very attractive.

A good customer support team can come to the rescue in those situations. However, with both apps, the majority of support consists of video tutorials and help docs. Both also offer 24/7 support, though with monday.com that consists of a form to fill out.

ClickUp users, on the other hand, can schedule a free call with a coach who can help. ClickUp also offers to connect you with consultants, experts who can help for a fee. However, all that has to be scheduled rather than offering on-the-spot help.

If you’re hoping for dedicated support, in either case you’re going to have to spring for the Pro/Business or Enterprise packages.

Pricing

The pricing models for these services tend to be fairly similar. There is a free plan with a small amount of functionality best suited for a small team. The price increases as you add features, from options suitable for small businesses to those for multiple projects or large teams.

ClickUp may be a better option for small teams, even though you get unlimited users on the free tier. You simply get more for your money at the lower tiers. monday.com is a little less expensive at higher tiers, however. Both apps can be billed annually or monthly, with small savings available when you’re billed annually. Both also offer mobile apps for free.

Read: Best 6 Free Project Management Software in 2022

Overall Winner

The overall winner is ClickUp, narrowly edging out Monday due to a bit more functionality with lower costs. Obviously, personal preference can play a role in comparing project management software, putting monday.com vs ClickUp. They come out even in a lot of ways. Both offer an easily navigable mobile app and desktop version of their service. Both offer an array of some of the best project management tools available.

However, ClickUp offers more for a lower cost, which can be a crucial factor when trying to get an entire team on one service. Additionally, ClickUp works with a wider range of other services. Perhaps most importantly, ClickUp also offers more options for support. Having someone walk you through options in real-time can make a huge difference, even if it may not be available at a moment’s notice.

monday.com may be more attractive if you’re willing to pay for the most expensive tiers, as you get more functions for a lower cost. However, even there ClickUp may offer more, particularly in some areas we haven’t discussed, such as security

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for ClickUp vs monday.com

Is there anything better than monday.com?

In our own monday.com vs ClickUp comparison, we actually found that ClickUp was a better project management software in a few different ways. The primary concern was cost, as there are lots of core features that are only available on Monday at pricier tiers. ClickUp, on the other hand, offers some degree of functionality in each area at almost every payment tier.

Additionally, ClickUp works natively with a bunch of popular apps, as well as offering better support options if you run into trouble.

Why is ClickUp so cheap?

ClickUp’s pricing model is actually fairly similar to any other similar project management tool. For example, while Hive has a slightly different business plan, the cost for its pay tier is right in the same window as ClickUp or monday.com.

Additionally, with tiers that have more core features, ClickUp is more expensive than some other options. Also, keep in mind that these apps charge per seat or per user. As a result, the cost can add up quickly, depending on the size of your team.

What is better than ClickUp?

It’s difficult to answer this question generally, as the best project management tool varies depending on the project and team. ClickUp offers a lot of adaptability for a reasonable cost. However, it may not have all the specific features you’re looking for.

The size of the business can also play a role. While ClickUp is affordable, other options might be better for a larger team. For those uses, comparing MS Project vs Monday might be more useful.

Which is better – Trello or ClickUp?

The two are pretty close in a lot of ways. Both offer unlimited team members at the free tier, for example. Trello is a little less expensive, as well as offering a free trial of their premium plan. ClickUp may offer more features, while Trello is somewhat simpler.

Trello is only one of several products from the same company, Atlassian. If you already use their tools, Trello might be a good choice as Atlassian offers a service to connect them. However, if the concern is getting as much functionality as possible at a lower cost, ClickUp still comes out ahead.

Bottom Line on ClickUp vs Monday

Choosing the right project management tool is only one of the dozens of critical decisions an owner or project manager has to make while operating their business. However, it’s not one that can be made hastily or without consideration and there are many factors that could sway you in one direction or another.

While ClickUp and monday.com are similar in many ways, there are a few key differences that might make the difference between a successful project and profitless waste of resources. While our choice for most people and situations is going to be ClickUp, Monday is still a great option for some businesses.

July 14, 2022March 28, 2023

7 Best Crypto Exchange with Most Coins in 2023

Crypto coins on a black background - Crypto Exchange with Most Coins

There are more than 19,500 cryptocurrencies in the world, but you will only find a small fraction of them listed on the most popular exchanges. This is because trading platforms only list a coin if it passes a thorough evaluation process. Choosing the best crypto exchange with the most coins is important, but so are fees and trading volume.

You want to have a wide variety of cryptocurrencies to invest in and trade. Some exchanges have catalogs of often no more than a few dozen coins which can sometimes be a problem. Especially when it limits your trading, and hence, profit-making opportunities. If you’re looking for a larger playing field, here are the best crypto exchanges with the most coins.

Best Crypto Exchange with Most Coins

Gate.io – Best Overall
MEXC – Best for Global Coverage
KuCoin – Best for Earning Options
Huobi Global – Best for Liquidity
Binance – Best for Trading Volume
FTX – Best for Advanced Features
Hotbit – Crypto Exchange with the Most Cryptocurrencies

Picking the top crypto exchanges with the highest number of cryptocurrencies involves counting all the coins listed on every exchange’s website. Apart from the number of cryptocurrencies listed, we also looked at the total number of markers, fees, trading volume, and liquidity as part of our methodology.

Gate.io

1459+

2920+

4.9/10

0.015%-0.20%

MEXC

1437+

1711+

5.3/10

0.014%-0.20%

KuCoin

732+

1350+

5.6/10

0.0125%-0.1%

Huobi Global

569+

1120+

4.9/10

0.07%-0.20%

Binance

395+

1673+

8.7/10

0.5%-4.5%

FTX

300+

440+

7.3/10

0.07%-0.02%

Hotbit

1549+

1932+

3.7/10

-0.50%-0.65%

*Number of coins and markets accurate as of 9th June 2022

We went through the painstaking process of manually counting the total number of cryptocurrencies on each exchange to bring you accurate estimates. Since exchanges are frequently listing and delisting cryptocurrencies, the number keeps changing all the time. Still, it should give you a clear overview of the variety of trading options you will have on each exchange.

Gate.io: Best Overall

Number of cryptocurrencies: 1459+

Fees: 0.015%-0.20%

★★★★★

4.7

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Gate.io is one of the oldest crypto exchanges on the market. Launched in China in 2013, the exchange has since undergone a rebranding and has grown immensely over the years. It takes the best overall spot for its impressive listing of fast-growing cryptocurrencies, the highest number of trading markets, and a reasonably good trading volume.

Your trading opportunities are ultimately determined by the markets available to you. With 1459 coins, Gate.io doesn’t technically have the most number of cryptocurrencies, but it does have the most number of markets. This means Gate.io offers more opportunities than any other exchange.

When you manage to find an exchange with such a high number of cryptocurrencies and trading markets, the most common drawback you’ll encounter is a low trading volume. This ultimately results in low liquidity, meaning you can’t always make the trades you want. But this is not the case with Gate.io. It has a reasonably good liquidity score of 4.9 which makes it a good choice for anyone looking to trade with a large playing field.

Why we chose it: Gate.io made it to the top of our list for its highest number of trading markets out of all crypto exchanges. That coupled with low fees, high security, and additional trading features make it one of the best crypto exchanges out there.

Second-highest number of cryptocurrencies
Highest number of trading markets
Relatively low fees

Limited fiat support
Not beginner-friendly
Largely unregulated

Fees

Gate.io isn’t the cheapest exchange to trade on but its fees are relatively lower. It charges a 0.20% maker/taker fee which gradually decreases to 0.155% when you trade in large volumes. The exchange also offers a discount on fees on transactions involving its native coin, GateToken.

Liquidity and Trading Volume

This crypto trading platform has one of the highest trading volumes and liquidity scores among others offering a similar number of coins and markets. Gate.io frequently ranks among the top ten exchanges around the world when it comes to trading volume and liquidity.

Number of Markets

With more than 2920 markets, Gate.io is the single largest crypto exchange in terms of markets. With hundreds of spot, perpetual, and futures markets, it offers you the widest range of trading choices on a single platform.

MEXC: Best for Global Coverage

Number of cryptocurrencies: 1437+

Fees: 0.014%-0.20%

★★★★★

4.5

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Also known as MEXC Global, MEXC is a professional crypto exchange offering its services around the world. With 1437 cryptocurrencies, it has the third-largest coin listing in the world. The exchange has a strong founding team behind it as its members come from leading blockchain and finance companies. The team claims to be working on blockchain technology ever since its inception.

MEXC is truly a global exchange as it’s licensed to operate in the US, Canada, Australia, and more than 200 other countries and regions. It also supports several fiat currencies including the USD, TWD, PHP, AED, AUD, JPY, CAD, and the PKR.

Apart from being a leading trading platform in terms of listed cryptocurrencies, MEXC offers an all-in-one trading platform where you trade a variety of digital assets. This includes spot, margin, leveraged ETF, and futures trading services.

It’s also one of the most secure exchanges as it keeps assets safe in a cold-storage crypto wallet. The exchange hasn’t experienced any significant security lapses since its launch.

Why we chose it: MEXC has 1437 listed cryptocurrencies and 1711 trading markets, making it an excellent option if you’re looking for a wide range of trading options.

Works in 200+ countries
Offers a wide range of trading options
Secure exchange

Doesn’t partner with trading bots
Lacking customer support
Needs more transparency

Fees

MEXC charges a 0.20% maker/taker fee on spot trading. All spot trading transactions are charged at the same rate. Futures trading maker/taker fees are 0.020%/0.060% and go as low as 0.014% for trade volumes over $500 million.

Trading Volume and Liquidity

The trading platform serves over 6 million users. It has a higher average trading volume than Gate.io and also has a higher liquidity score of 5.3/10.

Number of Markets

Despite a roughly similar number of listed cryptocurrencies, MEXC has a much lower number of markets than Gate.io. It offers around 1700+ options compared to Gate.io’s 2900+ trading markets.

KuCoin: Best for Earning Options

Number of cryptocurrencies: 732+

Fees: 0.0125%-0.1%

★★★★★

4.3

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On any other list, you’d find KuCoin as the crypto exchange with most coins. But since this buyer’s guide is specifically about the best crypto exchanges with the most coins, KuCoin is a bit behind in the race with just around 730 digital currencies.

Generally speaking, KuCoin is right at the top with the best crypto trading platforms. It charges low fees and has an impressive average trading volume and liquidity score. It works in more than 200 countries. However, KuCoin is not licensed to operate in the US.

It also has a complex user interface, so it’s not the best choice if you’re just learning how to trade crypto. But it has low trading fees and a range of earning options including crypto staking, lending, and even an NFT trading platform.

Why we chose it: KuCoin is a high-quality crypto exchange with low fees, and a variety of earning options including staking, lending, KuCoin Earn, KuCoin Pool, and Cloud Mining.

Low fees
Offers a variety of earning options
24/7 customer service

Not licensed in the US
Not beginner-friendly
Low trading volumes

Fees

KuCoin charges relatively lower fees at 0.1% for each spot trade. This is much lower than other top trading platforms. The maker/taker fees decrease further as your trade volume increases.

Trading Volume and Liquidity

KuCoin lacks trading volume and liquidity when it comes to the top ten best exchanges in the market. Although its liquidity score is good at 5.6/10, it still has a lot of ground to cover to reach industry leaders like Binance, Kraken, and FTX.

Number of Markets

KuCoin has around 1350+ markets including spot and futures catalogs. It also has a separate New Listings page to keep you updated with new arrivals.

Huobi Global: Best for Liquidity

Number of cryptocurrencies: 569+

Fees: 0.07%-0.20%

★★★★★

4.2

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Huobi Global is one of the world’s most used crypto exchanges with a stronghold in the Asian market. Just like Gate.io, it was launched in 2013 and has developed a solid user base since then.

This exchange is a complete digital asset ecosystem in itself as it covers spot and derivatives trading, staking, crypto lending, and other yield-generating opportunities from crypto holdings. The best thing about Huobi is the deep liquidity you’ll find on the exchange with one of the highest average trading volumes.

Although it has a good user interface, beginners might find it tough to find their way around the large number of services being offered on the platform. Plus, like a lot of other global exchanges, Huobi doesn’t work in the US.

Why we chose it: With more than 569 coins, Huobi can be a good choice for anyone who’s looking for a combination of liquidity and yield-generating options.

One of the most liquid exchanges
Wide range of yield-generating options
Low trading fees

Not available in the US
Difficult for beginners to navigate
Reputation issues

Fees

Huobi charges a 0.2% base fee. But if you’re a Huobi Token holder, you can get a discount based on the value of your holding. The fee rate is reduced to 0.18% if you have more than 10 HT tokens. It can go down to as low as 0.07% for holdings of over 5000 HT.

Trading Volume and Liquidity

Huobi Global’s trading volume and liquidity are arguably its strongest selling points. With millions of users primarily from Asia, the exchange offers deep liquidity in BTC and ETH markets.

Number of Markets

Huobi global has a total of 1120+ spot and futures trading markets. Its BTC/USDT and ETH/USDT trading pairs are popular for their liquidity.

Binance: Best for Trading Volume

Number of cryptocurrencies: 395+

Fees: 0.5%-4.5%

★★★★★

4.0

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Usually you’d find Binance right at the top spot of best crypto exchange lists, if not in the top three. But you find it lower in this guide because, with just around 395+ coins, Binance’s list of cryptocurrencies is smaller than that of Gate.io, KuCoin, or Huobi Global.

Still, hitting around 400 coins, Binance has a considerable collection of coins available for trading. Note that while Binance’s website claims 600+ digital currencies, we found that number to be inaccurately reported when we manually counted the rows on its markets page.

Binance is the most used crypto exchange around the world with the highest trading volume of all exchanges. It boasts a liquidity score higher than others on this list which makes it a highly attractive choice for any trader. Note that Binance doesn’t work in the US either. It has a separate version for the US called Binance.US with a very limited list of coins.

Why we chose it: Binance is the world’s most popular crypto exchange with the highest trading volume and liquidity score. It also has an impressive catalog of coins with around 395+ digital currencies.

Highly liquid exchange
Advanced trading features
Offers a proprietary wallet

Not available in the US
Not beginner-friendly
Faces regulatory issues in different countries

Fees

Binance charges a 0.1% maker/taker fees on spot trades. You get a 25% discount on the fee which brings the total feel down to 0.075%. When it comes to transaction fees, you’ll have to pay up to 4.5% if you make a purchase with a debit card.

Trading Volume and Liquidity

Binance is the single largest crypto exchange in terms of trading volume. With the highest liquidity score, you can expect your orders to be filled right away.

Number of Markets

Although Binance doesn’t have more coins listed than KuCoin or Huobi Global, it has more trading markets than them. This is simply because it has the largest number of users trading in several different pairs in the spot and futures markets.

FTX: Best for Advanced Features

Number of cryptocurrencies: 300+

Fees: 0.07%-0.02%

★★★★★

3.8

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FTX is a good choice for advanced traders, even if it isn’t the top crypto exchange with most coins. It offers sophisticated products including margin and derivatives trading and has its own digital wallet to keep funds secure.

The exchange was launched in 2019 which makes it a newcomer to the space. Still, with its advanced features and quality offerings, it has quickly risen to become a popular crypto trading platform, especially for pros.

You must note that the global version of the exchange does not work in the US due to regulatory issues. Like Binance, FTX has a special US version called FTX.US.

Why we chose it: FTX offers highly sophisticated features making it an excellent choice for crypto pros looking for a wide range of digital currencies to trade.

Low fees
Advanced features
Has an NFT marketplace

Not available in the US
Not beginner-friendly
Limited customer support

Fees

Like most other exchanges, FTX follows a maker/taker fee model but it charges different maker and taker fees. Fees start at 0.02% for the maker and 0.07% for the taker and can go down to as low as 0% with trade volume.

Trading Volume and Liquidity

FTX has a high average trading volume and boasts an attractive liquidity score of 7.3/10. This is much higher than all other exchanges on this list except Binance.

Number of Markets

Similar to its cryptocurrencies catalog, FTX has the lowest number of markets on this list. This means fewer trading options than other exchanges. Still, 440 trading markets are not bad at all, especially if they come with advanced trading features such as those FTX offers.

Hotbit: Crypto Exchange with the Most Coins

Number of cryptocurrencies: 1549+

Fees: -0.50%-0.65%

★★★★★

3.0

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Hotbit Review

The only reason why Hotbit is on this list is the number of cryptocurrencies it supports. It’s not the best crypto exchange when you consider other important factors like liquidity, fees, and security. However, with more than 1549 coins, it’s the single crypto exchange with the most coins.

Apart from its weaknesses of low liquidity, trading volume, and a small user base, Hotbit covers a lot of ground in terms of coverage. Not only does it cover the largest variety of cryptocurrencies, but it also works in more than 170 countries and supports six languages including English, Chinese, Turkish, Russian, Thai, and Korean.

Hotbit doesn’t work in the US which is a huge drawback. It’s a relatively new trading platform launched in early 2018. It has good features which promise a bright future ahead, but for now, we won’t recommend it for trading. It has a very low liquidity score and trading volume which means you won’t be able to trade freely even if it offers the most number of cryptocurrencies.

Why we chose it: The only reason Hotbit is on this list is the sheer number of coins it supports. With more than 1549 tokens, it offers more coins than any other crypto exchange out there.

Largest cryptocurrency list
Works in 170+ countries
Offers lending and DeFi products

Very low liquidity
Doesn’t work in the US
Doesn’t offer margin trading

Fees

Hotbit has an interesting fee structure. It has negative maker fees ranging from -0.05% to -0.50%. This means if you’re an order maker, the exchange pays you instead of you paying it. The taker fees range from 0.20% to 0.65% depending on the market type you’re trading in.

Liquidity and Trading Volume

Hotbit is not a widely used cryptocurrency exchange. With a low number of users, the exchange has a low trading volume and liquidity. This means your buying and selling orders may not be filled right away.

Number of Markets

Hotbit has the highest number of coins but it doesn’t have the most markets or active trading pairs. With some 1932 markets, it has lower trading opportunities than Gate.io.

Methodology for the Best Crypto Exchange with Most Coins

Picking the best crypto exchanges with the most coins is a lot like picking the best crypto exchanges. It’s just that the number of cryptocurrencies and markets on each exchange is given more weightage. This is also the reason why exchanges like Gate.io and MEXC rank higher than Binance and FTX.

Number of cryptocurrencies: This is the single most important criterion we based this guide on. People prefer trading on an exchange that supports a large number of coins which gives them greater freedom to enter different trades and invest in new and growing altcoins.
Number of markets: Markets are the different spot and futures trading pairs you’ll find on an exchange. In other words, it’s just a number of the different kinds of trades you can enter on an exchange.
Fees: The trading and transaction fees you pay for trading on an exchange are just the price you pay for using its services. The lower the fees, the higher the exchange ranks.
Trading volume and liquidity: Trading volume and liquidity are very important factors when it comes to trading. The higher they are, the more freedom you’ll have to make the trades you want. Low trading volume and liquidity often mean you can’t enter and exit trades when you want.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for Crypto Exchange with Most Coins

Here are some of the most frequently asked questions about crypto trading platforms with the largest coin listings.

Which crypto exchange has the most cryptos?

Hotbit has the most number of cryptocurrencies with more than 1549 coins. Gate.io has the second-highest number with 1459+ coins.

What is the highest-rated crypto exchange?

Binance is the highest-rated crypto exchange as it has the largest trading volume and liquidity score in the market. It also offers advanced trading features and a vast listing of coins making it the overall highest-rated exchange. FTX is the second-highest-rated exchange.

Which crypto wallet supports the most coins?

Ledger supports the most number of cryptocurrencies. The website suggests you can store more than 5500 coins on the hardware wallet including all major digital currencies and emerging projects.

Bottom Line on the Best Crypto Exchange with Most Coins

Although Hotbit technically holds the highest number of coins, it’s not worth using yet for its low trading volume. Use Gate.io if you want a wide range of coins to play with. FTX and Binance are two options we always recommend as they come with everything you need to trade crypto.

What Is People Operations?

People Operations vs HR: What’s the Difference?

People Operations

Traditional HR

Purpose

Priority

Employee Participation

Company Coordination

Problem-Solving

System

Style

What Do People Ops Workers Do?

What Is the Role of the People Ops Team?

Who Leads the People Operations Department?

People Operations Director

People Operations Manager

What Types of Organizations Need People Ops?

Sole Proprietorship

Partnership

Corporation

Limited Liability Company

Non-Profit Organization

Government Agency

How Can You Practice People Operations in Your Business?

Step 1: Make a Strategic Plan

Step 2: Form a People Operations Department

Step 3: Develop a People Ops System

Step 4: Implement Positive Changes

What Can People Ops Teams Do to Create a Positive Employee Experience?

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for People Operations

Bottom Line on People Operations

What Is Client Support?

Why Client Support Is Important

Customer Success Vs Customer Support

Client-Driven Focus but Different Departments

Types of Customer Support Services

Phone support

Chat support

Email support

Self-service support

Omnichannel Approach

Client Support & Customer Success Roles

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) for Client Support Services Definition

Bottom Line on Client Support Services

The 10 Best Countries for Cryptocurrency in 2023

El Salvador

Singapore

Slovenia

Portugal

Switzerland

Germany

Malta

Estonia

The Netherlands

Canada

1. El Salvador

2. Singapore

3. Slovenia

4. Portugal

5. Switzerland

6. Germany

7. Malta

8. Estonia

9. The Netherlands

10. Canada

Countries with Legal Restrictions on Crypto

Countries with Absolute Bans on Crypto

Why are Developing Countries Leading the Race to Crypto Adoption?

A Lack of Alternative Investment Opportunities

Crypto as a Hedge Against Inflation

How We Ranked the Best Countries for Cryptocurrency – Methodology

Bottom Line on the Best Countries for Cryptocurrency

What is an Undervalued Crypto?

Why are Cryptocurrencies Undervalued?

Top 10 Undervalued Crypto Coins on the Market

1. Decentraland (MANA)

2. The Sandbox (SAND)

3. Lucky Block (LBLOCK)

4. BNB (BNB)

5. ApeCoin (APE)