How we rate brokers,
and why you can check it
BrokerProReview scores Forex and CFD brokers against the same four published criteria. No paid placements, no hidden adjustments, and every claim traceable to a source you can verify yourself.
Three rules we do not bend
Every review and every ranking on this site is produced under the same constraints.
Rankings are not for sale
Commercial relationships never touch a score. The people who write and score reviews have no involvement in partnership negotiations, and no visibility into what any broker pays.
Sourced, not assumed
Licence numbers come from the regulator’s own register, and costs from the broker’s published terms. Where a figure is an average or an estimate, we say so rather than presenting it as fact.
The downsides stay in
Every review lists limitations as prominently as strengths — offshore entities, withdrawal friction, inactivity fees, leverage that flatters a broker’s marketing and hurts its clients.
How the score is built
Four criteria, fixed weights, one 0–10 result. The weights below are the entire formula — there is no editor’s discretionary bonus and no adjustment for commercial reasons.
Regulation and licensing 35%
Which authorities license the broker, and how much protection each licence actually gives clients.
Trading costs 30%
Typical spreads, commissions, swaps, and the fees that only show up on withdrawal or after inactivity.
Account experience 20%
Platform stability, deposit and withdrawal speed, and how clearly the terms are written.
Verified user feedback 15%
Recurring complaints and praise from real account holders, weighted against how well the broker responds.
Not every licence means the same thing
Regulation is the heaviest single input into the score, because it decides what protection you actually have if a broker fails or a dispute goes badly.
Strictest oversight
FCA (UK), ASIC (Australia), CFTC/NFA (US), FINMA (Switzerland), MAS (Singapore), JFSA (Japan), CIRO (Canada)
Client money must be segregated, leverage is capped, and most of these regimes fund a compensation scheme if the broker fails.
Solid but lighter
CySEC (Cyprus), BaFin (Germany), FSCA (South Africa), DFSA (Dubai), FMA (New Zealand)
Real supervision and segregated funds, but compensation limits are lower and enforcement is less aggressive.
Minimal protection
FSC (Mauritius), FSA (Seychelles), IFSC (Belize), VFSC (Vanuatu), SVG
Often paired with very high leverage. If a dispute goes wrong, there is usually no realistic route to recover funds.
What happens before a review goes live
The same four stages for every broker, whether or not we have a commercial relationship with them.
Verify the entity
Identify which legal entity would hold your deposit, then confirm its licence directly on the regulator’s public register — not from the broker’s own homepage.
Collect the costs
Record spreads, commissions, swaps, inactivity fees, and withdrawal charges from the published terms, and note where the advertised figure only applies to one account type.
Score and edit
Apply the four weights, then have a second person check every claim against its source before the review is written up.
Re-check on a cycle
Costs monthly, full reviews quarterly, and immediately whenever a regulator acts or a licence status changes.
How we make money
We may earn a commission when you open an account through a link on this site. Brokers cannot pay for a higher score, a better ranking, or a more favourable review — every broker is measured against the same published criteria.
We say this plainly because the alternative — an affiliate site that presents itself as neutral without mentioning it — is the single most common problem in this industry. Knowing how a review site is funded tells you which parts to read sceptically.
What that funding does not buy: a higher Trust Score, a better position in any ranking, removal of a criticism, or a review written to a broker’s brief. If a broker asks for any of those, the answer is no, and the review stands as written.
Risk warning: CFDs are complex instruments and carry a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. Most retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs. Nothing on this site is investment advice. See the full risk disclosure for details.
Frequently asked questions
What readers ask most often about how this site works.
What is the Trust Score, and how is it calculated?
Can a broker pay for a higher score or ranking?
How often is broker data re-checked?
Do you offer investment advice or signals?
See how the brokers compare
Every broker is scored against the same criteria, partner or not. The full reviews show the workings.