How we rate forex brokers

We rank brokers on the SpreadScout Score — a weighted average across six pillars. We open and fund live accounts, place real trades, and time real withdrawals. Rankings are never for sale.

The six pillars

What the score means

How we test — step by step

1. Open and fund a live account. We deposit real money with each broker and trade it. Demo accounts do not reflect real spreads, slippage or withdrawal behaviour.
2. Verify regulation at the source. Every licence number is checked against the regulator's public register (FCA, ASIC, CySEC and others) — not taken from the broker's marketing.
3. Sample real costs. Spreads and commissions are recorded on major pairs during the London and New York sessions, then converted to an all-in cost per trade.
4. Test execution. We measure fill speed, slippage and re-quote behaviour under live conditions, including around news releases.
5. Time a real withdrawal. We request a payout and record how long the money actually takes to arrive.
6. Score, weight and publish. Each pillar is scored 0–5, weighted, and combined into the SpreadScout Score. Reviews are re-checked every quarter.

Why you can trust our ratings

We may earn a commission when you open an account through our links, but this never affects a broker's score or position. Commercial relationships and editorial scoring are kept strictly separate — no broker can pay to change a rating, a ranking or a word of a review.