Koinly vs TradeLog NZ: Which One Do NZ Traders Actually Need?

Last reviewed 27 September 2026. Koinly details are from Koinly's own New Zealand guide (updated 6 January 2026) and its pricing page.

The short answer

Koinly and TradeLog NZ aren't really competitors. They do different jobs.

• Use Koinly if you buy, sell and swap crypto on exchanges or on-chain. Its job is working out the cost base: which coins you sold and what you paid for them. That's the hard part of crypto tax, and TradeLog NZ doesn't do it.
• Use TradeLog NZ if you trade forex, CFDs, metals or shares through a broker. It converts each trade to NZD, keeps your journal, and puts the year through NZ income tax: the brackets, ACC, provisional tax and loss carry-forward.
• Use both if you do both. Plenty of NZ traders run a crypto exchange account alongside a forex or CFD broker, and it all goes on one IR3.

What each tool is built for

Koinly is crypto tax software. It connects to exchanges and wallets through APIs and CSV files, reconstructs your transaction history, and matches each disposal back to the coins you acquired. It handles transfers between your own wallets, staking and mining rewards, airdrops and a lot of DeFi activity. Its New Zealand guide gets the basics right: crypto profits here are taxed as income at your marginal rate, not as capital gains.

TradeLog NZ is a trading journal with an NZ tax engine. It imports closed trades from brokers and platforms: MT4 and MT5 statements, cTrader and OANDA connections, Interactive Brokers, TradingView and others. It converts each trade to NZD at the Reserve Bank rate for its close date. Your trades, costs and other income then go through NZ tax rules, giving one set of figures for your return.

The difference comes down to one question: does your broker already tell you the profit on each trade?

• A forex or CFD broker does. The position opens, it closes, and the statement shows the P&L. The tax work is converting it, netting it, and applying NZ rules. That's TradeLog NZ.
• A crypto exchange doesn't. You bought 0.3 BTC in March, 0.2 in June, swapped some for ETH in August. Before there's any profit to tax, someone has to work out the cost base of what you disposed of. That's Koinly.

Side by side

Where Koinly is the better choice

It's worth being clear, because picking the wrong tool here gets expensive.

• You buy and hold crypto on exchanges and sell over time. Working out the cost base is the whole job, and Koinly does it. TradeLog NZ doesn't: if you import raw buys and sells, the figures won't be right, and the app tells you so.
• You move crypto between wallets, stake, or use DeFi. Transfer matching, staking rewards and liquidity positions are what Koinly is built around.
• You only trade crypto. You don't need a forex journal.

One thing to get right in Koinly if you're in New Zealand: pick FIFO or average cost and use it consistently every year. Koinly offers other methods, like LIFO, because other countries allow them. NZ doesn't.

Where TradeLog NZ is the better choice

• You trade forex, CFDs, gold or indices. Koinly doesn't cover them, and they're the bulk of what most NZ retail traders do.
• You trade shares, NZ or overseas, and need the overseas-shares FIF question answered each year.
• You want the NZ tax picture on the whole year, not one asset class. Your trading profit stacks on top of your salary, so the tax depends on your total income. TradeLog NZ works that out, along with ACC if you trade as a business, whether you're into provisional tax, and a loss carry-forward that follows you from year to year.
• You want a journal, not just a tax report: tags, notes, R-multiples, performance by time of day, and a record of how you actually trade.

When you need both

A common setup: crypto on Easy Crypto or Binance, forex or gold CFDs on MT5. Here's how to handle it:

1. Run your exchange history through Koinly and get your net crypto gain or loss for the tax year, in NZD.
2. Import your broker statements into TradeLog NZ for the forex, CFD and metals side.
3. Give your accountant both sets of figures. Everything goes on one IR3, and the tax is worked out on your combined income. That's what decides your marginal rate.

Don't import raw exchange history into TradeLog NZ as well. Its crypto figures are only right when the source already reports a realised gain on each trade.

Frequently asked questions

Does Koinly work for New Zealand crypto tax?

Yes, for crypto. Koinly's New Zealand guide treats crypto profits as income taxed at your marginal rate, which is correct, and it supports the cost base methods NZ allows. New Zealand isn't on its list of countries with a dedicated tax report, so you get its general report. Choose FIFO or average cost and keep the same method each year.

Does Koinly handle forex, CFDs or shares?

No. Koinly is crypto tax software. Forex, CFD, metals and share trades from a broker need a different tool, such as TradeLog NZ, or your own spreadsheet.

Does TradeLog NZ calculate crypto cost basis?

No. TradeLog NZ uses the realised profit or loss your source reports for each closed trade. That's right for brokers and CFD platforms that close positions and report P&L. It isn't right for raw exchange buy, sell and swap history, where the cost base has to be worked out first. Use Koinly or a crypto-experienced accountant for that.

Can I use Koinly and TradeLog NZ together?

Yes, and if you trade crypto on exchanges as well as forex or CFDs through a broker, that's the sensible setup. Koinly gives you your net crypto result; TradeLog NZ covers the broker side and the NZ income tax picture. Both go on the same IR3.

What's the best Koinly alternative in NZ?

It depends on what you trade. For spot crypto, the alternatives are other crypto tax tools or an accountant who specialises in crypto. If most of your trading is forex, CFDs, metals or shares, you don't need a Koinly alternative at all. TradeLog NZ is built for that.

---

This is general information, not tax advice. Everyone's situation differs and the rules change. Talk to a qualified NZ accountant before filing. TradeLog NZ takes no responsibility for errors in your return.

Sources: Koinly NZ crypto tax guide · Koinly pricing · IRD: cryptoassets · RBNZ exchange rates

Related: How forex trading is taxed in NZ · Do I pay income tax on crypto gains in NZ? · Crypto-to-crypto swaps and tax · Best trading tax software in NZ · Free NZ trading tax calculator