Koinly Review: A Cleaner Interface for Crypto Tax Reporting

After wrestling with cryptotrader.tax and hitting a wall with Gemini transactions, I needed a fresh start. That's when Koinly kept popping up in my searches, so I figured I'd give it a shot.

The onboarding is straightforward—you create an account and land on an "Add your wallets" screen. From there, you can search for and connect every exchange you've used. The platform supports a massive number of exchanges, which is exactly what you need when your crypto history spans multiple platforms.

Two Ways to Connect Your Exchanges

Koinly gives you two options for importing your transaction data: auto-sync or manual file import.

For auto-sync, you'll need to generate an API key from your exchange and paste the credentials into Koinly. This method works beautifully for platforms like Celsius, Gemini, and Coinbase Pro. Coinbase is even easier—you just log in directly and grant access, similar to connecting any other financial app.

Manual file import is your backup option. I needed it for BlockFi, Abra, Nexo, and Voyager. You download a transaction history file from each platform and upload it to Koinly. Simple enough, though slightly more work than the API route.

Platform Quirks Worth Knowing

Not every integration is perfect. OKCoin technically supports API connections, but there's a catch—the API only pulls one month of transactions. Completely useless if you've been trading for a year or more. I had to fall back on manual downloads for that one.

Binance US has its own issue: FIAT purchases don't show up when using the API. This left me with missing cost basis information on a couple of transactions, which isn't ideal when you're trying to calculate accurate gains and losses.

If you're dealing with similar API limitations or missing transaction data, 👉 you'll want a platform that can handle messy crypto histories and help you piece together accurate tax reports.

The Transaction Screen Changes Everything

Here's where Koinly really shines. The transaction interface is leagues ahead of what I'd seen elsewhere. You get a complete view of everything—every buy, sell, transfer, and fee. You can filter, sort, and drill down into specific issues.

Missing purchase history? It flags it right there. Cost basis problems? You'll see them highlighted. The level of detail and transparency is genuinely impressive. Someone put serious thought into making this interface actually useful rather than just functional.

Even better, you can edit and add transactions manually. If you're missing a buy or sell, you can add it yourself using sent/received transaction types. It's not unlimited flexibility, but it covers the most common gaps in your data.

Getting to the Tax Report

The Tax Reports screen is your final destination. Here you'll see everything that needs review, a summary of your gains, and what you potentially owe. The platform calculates everything using the cost basis methods you've selected.

At this point, you can dive back in and make adjustments if certain flagged items would significantly increase your tax burden. In my case, the numbers looked reasonable enough that I left things as they were.

Pricing and Final Thoughts

The pricing tiers are based on transaction volume. I ended up on a higher tier than I'd hoped because I'd made a lot of trades throughout the year. The plans range from a free tier for basic reporting to several hundred dollars for unlimited transactions.

One gap I noticed: there's no direct export to H&R Block, which is what I use for my overall tax filing. That might be a dealbreaker for some people, though most major tax software options are supported.

Despite that limitation, 👉 Koinly handles complex crypto portfolios better than most alternatives I've tried. The interface is clean, the platform clearly handles edge cases well, and you can tell this is a mature product that's been refined over multiple tax seasons.

If you're managing transactions across multiple exchanges and need something that won't make you want to throw your laptop out the window, this is probably your best bet. The platform will only get more robust as it continues to evolve.