Methodology
How rankings and scores work
Rankings come from verified user ratings. The Trust Score measures licence safety with formula v1, in effect from 2026-11-01.
How rankings work
Review integrity →Ranking score = (v ÷ (v + 10)) × R + (10 ÷ (v + 10)) × C
v = number of verified reviews, R = the broker’s average verified rating, C = the average rating across all brokers. Brokers with few reviews are pulled toward the average, so a handful of 5-star reviews can’t put a broker at the top.
- Only reviews from verified clients count toward the ranking.
- A broker needs an active licence, no regulator warning and at least 10 verified reviews to be ranked.
- Reviews older than 24 months count half.
- One review per person per broker. An update replaces the old review.
- Brokers may invite clients to review only through one link sent to every client, not just happy ones. Those reviews are labelled “Invited by broker”.
- Groups of reviews from the same device, network or payment details are held for manual checks.
The Trust Score below measures licence safety. It appears on every profile but does not decide the ranking.
The five parts
| Part | weight | What we measure | Data source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regulation strength | 45% | Best active licence tier, plus 0.5 for each extra active licence. | Regulator registers |
| Transparency | 20% | Five disclosure checks, 2 points each: legal entity named, licence numbers shown, physical address, client agreement and execution policy published, full fee schedule. | Broker website and legal documents |
| Client protection | 15% | Segregated funds 4, negative balance protection 3, compensation scheme 3. | Registers and client agreements |
| Risk signals | 10% | Starts at 10. Minus 4 per regulator warning and 0.5 per unresolved complaint (up to 4). | Warning lists and complaints |
| Track record | 10% | One point per year since the first licence, up to 10. | Regulator registers |
Licence tier values
| Tier | Value | Regulators |
|---|---|---|
| Tier 1 | 9 | ASIC, BaFin, CBI, CIRO, CNMV, FCA, Finanstilsynet, FINMA, FSA (JP), MAS, NFA, SFC |
| Tier 2 | 7 | CMA (KE), CySEC, DFSA, FMA, FSCA, FSRA, SCA |
| Tier 3 / offshore | 4 | CBCS, CIMA, FSA (SC), FSC (MU), FSC (BVI), FSC (BZ), SCB, VFSC |
Caps
Some facts outweigh everything else. When one applies, the total cannot go above the cap.
3.0A licence is suspended or revoked.
2.5No valid licence found.
2.0A regulator has warned about this firm.
When scores change
Scores are recalculated as soon as a licence status changes, and once a day for every broker. Every calculation is stored, so any score can be traced back to its inputs.
Scores and ranking positions are never sold. Sponsored placements are always labelled and sit outside the ranking.