Methodology · v3 · Updated May 2026
How We Rank Brokers
Our scoring, data sources, update cadence and limitations — in one place. Every weight is documented. Every data point is traceable to a public register.
On this page
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BrokerFit is a data-driven comparison service. We do not provide investment advice and we are not a broker. Our job is to aggregate publicly available data about online brokers, normalize it, and present it so a retail investor can compare like-for-like.
This page documents exactly how we score brokers, which sources we use, how often the data is refreshed, and where our methodology has limitations. If you spot an error, please contact us — corrections are published publicly.
Our scoring methodology is structurally independent of our business model. We earn affiliate commission on some brokers — see our affiliate disclosure. The rubric below is applied identically to all brokers in our database. You can verify this yourself: read the rubric, look up any broker's filings, score them, compare to our score. Same inputs → same output.
Six criteria, weighted
Scoring Framework#
Each broker receives a score on six criteria. Weights reflect what a retail investor is most likely to be harmed by — regulation risk outweighs a pretty UI.
Regulation & Licensing — 30%#
30%Active licenses from Tier-1 regulators (SEC, FCA, ASIC, CySEC, BaFin, FINMA) score highest. Offshore-only licenses (SVG, Mauritius, Seychelles) score near zero. Points are deducted for sanctions, fines, or license suspensions in the past 36 months.
Fees & Spreads — 25%#
25%Commission per trade, spread on majors, financing/swap charges, inactivity fees, withdrawal fees. Compared against the median of licensed competitors in the same segment.
Deposits & Withdrawals — 15%#
15%Supported methods (SEPA, SWIFT, cards, crypto), minimum deposit, processing time, and whether the broker accepts residents of the target country.
Instruments & Markets — 15%#
15%Asset coverage: US/EU stocks, ETFs, bonds, options, futures, FX, CFDs, crypto. More markets = higher score, but only if pricing is transparent.
Platforms & UX — 10%#
10%Web, mobile and pro platforms (MT4/5, TWS, proprietary). Reliability during volatility, order types, charting, tax-report export.
Country Availability — 5%#
5%Whether a resident of the target country can legally open and fund an account. Based on the broker's own country-access policy and applicable sanctions.
How fresh is the data
Update Cadence#
Primary sources
Data Sources#
Every data point is traceable. We prefer primary public registers over broker marketing pages.
Where we fall short
Limitations#
We do not have insider access to brokers. Some data (execution quality, support response time) comes from documented public reports and cannot cover every scenario. Scores are a decision-support tool, not financial advice. Regulation can change without notice — always verify a broker's current license on the regulator's website before depositing.
Transparency
Affiliate Disclosure#
Affiliate Disclosure
Help us improve
Corrections & Feedback#
Found an outdated fee, a wrong license number, or a broker restriction that's changed? Email us and we will investigate. Verified corrections are rolled out within 7 days and the change log is visible in the page's footer.
What each score means
We score each broker on six criteria from 1 (weakest) to 5 (strongest). Each level has explicit requirements — no subjective grading.
| Criterion | 5/5 | 3/5 | 1/5 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regulation 30% weight | Tier-1 regulator (FCA, CySEC, BaFin) + segregated client accounts + investor compensation scheme ≥ €50k | Reputable regulator + segregated accounts, no compensation scheme or limited (< €20k) | Offshore licence (St. Vincent, Belize, Vanuatu) or no segregation of client funds |
| Fees 25% weight | Below industry median on commission, FX markup ≤ 0.5%, no custody fee | At industry median (commission $3-10/trade, FX markup 0.5-1%, custody under 0.2%/year) | Above median on two or more fee categories |
| Deposits 15% weight | Local rails (SEPA / domestic ACH / e-money) available, deposits land same day, no fees | SWIFT or card available, deposits land within 3 business days, small or absorbed fees | Limited rails (crypto-only or SWIFT-only), 5+ business days settlement, fees > $20 |
| Instruments 15% weight | Stocks + ETFs + bonds + options + commodities accessible to retail | Stocks + ETFs accessible; bonds or options restricted to qualified clients | Single asset class or CFD-only access for retail |
| Platform 10% weight | Native mobile + web + third-party platform (MT5/cTrader) all available, API access | Native mobile + web only, no API, no third-party platform integration | Web-only or outdated mobile, no third-party platform support |
| Country access 5% weight | Accepts clients from 50+ countries including CIS region without restrictions | Accepts CIS clients with additional documentation requirements | Restricts CIS clients or requires special account types |
Where our data comes from and when we last checked
Independence requires fresh data. We refresh each source on a schedule. If you see something outdated, email us — we update faster on reader feedback.
| Source | Refresh frequency | Last refreshed | Next planned |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regulator filings (CySEC, FCA, BaFin) | Quarterly | 2026-04-15 | 2026-07-15 |
| Broker fee schedules | Monthly | 2026-05-10 | 2026-06-10 |
| Trustpilot ratings | Quarterly | 2026-05-07 | 2026-08-07 |
| Country access matrix | Quarterly (manual broker-support verification) | 2026-04-20 | 2026-07-20 |
What we don't measure
Trust requires us to be clear about our limits. We don't measure these things:
- —Order execution quality — we don't have access to Level 2 market data to verify slippage in real time.
- —Local-language support quality — we don't run mystery-shopper tests across 7 languages.
- —Tax outcomes for your specific situation — we summarise treaty rates, but personal tax planning needs a CPA.
- —Whether you'll like the trading platform UI subjectively — that's a free-trial decision.
Read this methodology applied
We score brokers identically — here's how it looks in practice:
How this methodology has evolved
- 2026-05Added explicit scoring rubric per criterion (1/3/5 examples).
- 2026-04Added Trustpilot live integration with manual quarterly snapshot.
- 2026-02Refined regulation scoring — now separately weights segregation, compensation scheme, and regulator tier.