How we review

We open a real account

We sign up as a normal retail customer, from the regions the product says it serves, and go through the full identity check. We note how long verification took and what documents were asked for. Demo accounts are used only to explore a platform before funding, never as the basis of a score.

We measure what it costs

For brokers we record spreads on major pairs and gold at several points in the trading day, including the London and New York overlap and the quiet hour around the daily rollover, and add any commission per lot. For exchanges we record maker and taker fees at the entry tier and the real cost of a small market order. For bullion dealers we compare the premium over spot, storage fees and the buyback price we were quoted.

Overnight financing, inactivity fees, card and transfer charges are read from the fee schedule and checked against our statements.

We move money in and out

A product is only as good as its withdrawals. We deposit by at least one local method and request a withdrawal back to the same method, then record the days until the money arrived and any fee deducted on the way.

We check who stands behind it

We look up the licence numbers the product quotes on the regulators’ own registers, note which entity a new customer is actually signed up with, and whether client money is segregated or covered by a compensation scheme. Offshore-only regulation is stated plainly in the review.

We score it

The score out of 10 weighs five things. The weights shift slightly by desk, and each review says what mattered most:

• Costs: spreads, commissions, fees and premiums as measured
• Safety: regulation, entity, client-money protection and track record
• Platform and execution: tools, order handling, app quality and outages we hit
• Money in and out: methods, minimums and how long withdrawals took
• Support and clarity: how quickly and how accurately questions were answered

A verdict names who should use the product and who should skip it. Scores sit side by side on the rankings.

What a review cannot tell you

Our results describe our accounts at the time we tested. Spreads widen in fast markets, terms change and the entity you are offered depends on where you live. Leveraged trading carries a real risk of losing money, and a review is not personal advice.