Why try using any defi apps right now as opposed to staking ETH or other coins that earn interest on an exchange like coinbase?

With gas fees so high to use any defi apps, it seems the cheapest option to earn any interest right now is to stake ETH2/USDC/DAI/etc and wait until fees are lower in the future at some point (which could be years?). I would love to use some of these dapps like compound, yearnfinace, pooltogether but without depositing high amounts the fees are too high for me. Wondering what people's thoughts are on this?