How does FXStreet review brokers?

At FXStreet, we aim to provide our readers an honest and impartial look at certain brokers that you might be interested in trying. We analyze every aspect a trader might consider when going through the process of selecting a broker to open an account and start trading.

Every trader is different and not everyone looks at the same features when picking a broker, so our reviews evaluate closely different categories of a particular broker – account conditions, trading settings, tools available, trust, customer service and overall user experience. Our broker reviews aim to save you the tedious and risky process of setting up an account with an unknown brokerage, with your own time and funds, before finding out if it is the right fit for you.

All Broker reviews are researched and written by FXStreet and follow our editorial values – which include, among others, being accurate, objective, trader-centered and transparent. Brokers pay to be reviewed by FXStreet, but our researchers and writers act with full autonomy when doing these reviews, and their work is unaffected by any pressures from brokers or commercial interests.

As an independent financial media company since our foundation, FXStreet takes the view of the traders in every editorial decision we make.

How does FXStreet score brokers

At FXStreet, we avoid providing an overall score on the whole review as we believe there are different types of brokers for different types of traders. This makes it inaccurate, inadequate and unfair to provide an overall number for a broker, as there might not be any weighing that accurately averages every broker feature for any type of trader.

Instead, we evaluate different categories and provide individual scores for each of them. Every category gets a score based on the evaluation of different subcategories belonging to it.

These are the categories reviewed, how each subcategory is rated and how much it weighs on their major category score:

ACCOUNT CONDITIONS

Account types - 10 points

Providing a demo account gets 4 points, while we also evaluate if brokers have Percentage Allocation Money Management (PAMM) – or copy-trading – accounts (3 points) and a swap-free account compliant with Islamic rules (3 points).

Minimum deposits - 10 points

If a broker has a no-minimum deposit policy, it gets the full 10 points of this category. Brokers asking minimum deposits up to $500 can access up to 5 points here, while the ones that ask for deposits up to $5,000 get no points at all.

Costs and fees - 40 points

An in-depth analysis of the spreads, costs and fees associated with conducting regular trades on the broker reviewed. This is the most important part of this section and thus, it gets much more weight on the category scoring.

Bonus and promotions - 15 points

Getting a headstart on your trading is important, particularly for newbies and traders opening accounts with small capitals. Therefore, the scoring here rates higher brokers for giving out healthy bonuses and other promotions that make the initial steps of a trading journey a bit easier.

Depositing ease - 5 points

The less time it takes to have your funds ready to trade after depositing them and the more payment means (cards, bank transfers, crypto wallets, PayPal, etc) the broker accepts for deposits, the higher the rating will be.

Withdrawing ease - 20 points

This is a crucial factor for traders when picking a broker. Can you trust it to get your money back as soon as possible after requesting it? How long does it take to get it back for each payment mean? The longer it takes and the more restricted the payment means are, the worse the rating.

TRADING SETTINGS

Instruments - 5 points

Having access to as many trading instruments as possible – CFDs, ETFs, futures and even other derivatives like options – is a plus for traders looking into different ways to open positions in the market. Brokers will score a point for each type of instrument available.

Assets - 5 points

Similar to the previous point, the more assets (and asset classes) available a broker has, the more likely it is going to be that any kind of trader will find its niche. Therefore, having as many currency pairs, commodities, indices & stocks, cryptocurrencies, bonds, you name it, as possible will help the score in this category, with brokers missing an asset class losing one point for each one not available.

Lot sizes - 5 points

How flexible is the reviewed broker in allowing traders to adjust their stakes on their trades? By allowing trades with minilots, brokers give more options to traders. Limiting fees and spreads for each lot size, to avoid penalizing multiple small trades, is also crucial here. Both factors will be taken into consideration for this subcategory score.

Leverage - 15 points

This is one of the features traders have looked at more closely usually when picking a broker, as having bigger leverages available will allow traders the chance to make bigger money if they succeed in their trades, while also incurring in bigger risks. Maximum leverages allowed diverge for each regulation area, so brokers regulated in multiple areas might allow more options and score higher in this subcategory. Besides, some brokers might offer different leverage levels to different types of users, depending on your experience (more experience, more leverage) or the assets you trade. Allowing the maximum leverage allowed in each regulation area will help the score in this area.

Execution quality - 70 points

In this category, we go through the actual process of executing different types of trades on the different instruments and asset classes available, with different lot sizes and targets, while also opting for different order types, including limit and market orders. The score in this category will depend on our reviewer’s experience, with the broker losing points every time we experience any hiccup when entering or getting out of a trade, while also looking for no slippage or delays in the execution.

TOOLS AND RESOURCES

Trading Platform - 25 points

Traders look for ease of use and familiarity when entering their trading setup, which allows them to concentrate on their strategies. Therefore, brokers that offer trading platforms widely accepted as the reference in online trading – like MetaTrader 4 and 5 – will definitely score higher in this category. Having access to professional charting platforms like TradingView and the type of charting platforms will also help the scoring here.

Trading Tools - 75 points

While having a good trading platform is considered a “must” for any good broker to provide a reliable environment where to trade, what might make the difference is how well it is equipped to help traders gain that extra advantage needed to be successful in their journey. Having access to tools and materials like good educational content, a decent signals service to set up social trading strategies, a timely and accurate economic calendar or a relevant news feed are elements that can make the difference when it comes to picking the right broker. The quality and actionability of each of these products will be more relevant to the score than just having a long list of products with limited usefulness.

OVERALL USER EXPERIENCE

Overall experience - 100 points

A review of the overall experience simulating all the different steps of a trader’s journey. This score is purely based on the reviewer’s experience and will highlight potential strengths and pain points from the signup process until the withdrawal of funds. The score will entirely be based on this experimental basis.

TRUST

Regulation tiers - 60 points

Based on our user feedback, one of the most important elements for picking a broker is how much it can be trusted. In this section, we look for which regulations the reviewed broker has been approved by. Brokers approved by more than one regulator from major financial areas like the United States, the United Kingdom, the European Union, Japan or Australia, among others, will get the maximum score. Only getting one approval from these major regulators will get the broker a maximum of 40 points. Brokers regulated in second-tier areas like major emerging markets (BRICS countries, MENA, SE Asia, Mexico, Kenya) will top at 20 points maximum. The ones that are regulated by non-trusted regulators or not regulated at all will get no points.

Reputation - 40 points

The score of this category is based on the average rating the broker has from user reviews in ForexPeaceArmy, the go-to website for user reviews on forex brokers.

CUSTOMER SERVICE AND SUPPORT

Languages available - 25 points

Having dedicated teams to help traders with potential problems is crucial in providing a good user experience, so for each non-English language a broker has customer support available they will get 5 points towards a maximum of 25 points in total.

Support schedule - 15 points

How many hours of support service does the reviewed broker offer? We give a point for every 90 minutes fraction of customer support available

Time to reply - 25 points

Even more importantly, when you submit a ticket with a query for the customer support service, how long does it take to get an answer? Answers within the first 5 minutes of a query will get you the full 25 points, and from there, the score goes down to no points for brokers that take more than one hour to answer a trader's questions.

Usefulness of service - 35 points

This category will be rated on an experimental basis, with our reviewer using the customer service multiple times and rating it depending on how useful the answers are in providing a real solution to the problem faced.