FX-Brokers.eu
Menu

Transparency

Our Methodology

How we research, test, and score every forex broker on our platform.

How We Score Brokers

Every broker on FX-Brokers.eu is evaluated across 8 distinct categories, each weighted according to its importance for EU retail traders. The overall score is a weighted average of these category scores, each rated on a scale from 1.0 to 10.0.

We prioritize fees and regulation equally (20% each) because for EU traders, both low-cost trading and strong regulatory protection are essential. Execution and platform quality follow at 15% each, reflecting their direct impact on trading outcomes.

Scoring Categories & Weights

Fees & Spreads

20%

We measure real trading costs including raw spreads, commissions, swap rates, deposit/withdrawal fees, inactivity fees, and currency conversion charges. We use live spread data captured across multiple sessions during different market conditions.

Regulation & Safety

20%

We evaluate the regulatory licenses held, the strength of each regulator, client fund segregation practices, investor compensation scheme coverage, company financial stability, and years of operational history.

Execution Quality

15%

We test order execution speed, slippage frequency and magnitude, requote rates, and order fill quality. We place real trades during both normal and volatile market conditions to assess execution under realistic circumstances.

Trading Platforms

15%

We assess the range and quality of trading platforms offered, including charting tools, order types, mobile experience, API access, and third-party integrations such as MetaTrader, cTrader, and TradingView.

Customer Support

10%

We contact each broker's support team via live chat, email, and phone at different times and days, measuring response times, knowledge accuracy, and language availability relevant to European traders.

Education & Research

8%

We evaluate the depth and quality of educational resources, research tools, market analysis, webinars, and learning pathways available to traders at different experience levels.

Instruments & Markets

7%

We count and categorize the total number of tradable instruments across forex pairs, indices, commodities, stocks, ETFs, bonds, and cryptocurrencies, assessing the breadth of market access offered.

EU Compliance

5%

We verify ESMA compliance including proper leverage limits, negative balance protection implementation, risk warning display, bonus restrictions, and the clarity of EU-specific disclosures.

Our Testing Process

Our review process involves hands-on testing with real accounts, not just desk research. Here is what we do for every broker:

  1. Account opening: We open a real account (not demo) to evaluate the onboarding process, KYC requirements, and deposit experience from an EU perspective.
  2. Deposit and withdrawal testing: We deposit funds using multiple methods available to EU traders and test withdrawals to measure processing times and fees.
  3. Live trading: We place real trades across multiple sessions during different market conditions to capture accurate spread, execution, and slippage data.
  4. Platform evaluation: We test all available platforms including desktop, web, and mobile versions, evaluating usability, features, and stability.
  5. Support testing: We contact customer support via all available channels at different times, asking pre-defined questions to assess response quality and language support.
  6. Regulatory verification:We verify all claimed licenses directly with the relevant regulators and confirm ESMA compliance by reviewing the broker's terms and conditions.

Update Schedule

Broker reviews are not a one-time effort. Markets, fees, and platforms change constantly. Our update schedule ensures information stays current:

  • Quarterly reviews: We re-test spreads, fees, and execution data every quarter to capture seasonal and structural changes.
  • Event-driven updates: When a broker changes its fee structure, adds a new platform, changes its regulatory status, or undergoes any material change, we update the review within one week.
  • Annual deep dives: Once per year, we conduct a full re-evaluation of every broker, re-running the entire testing process from scratch.

Every review page shows the date of its last update so you know how current the information is.

Editorial Independence

FX-Brokers.eu is editorially independent. While we earn revenue through affiliate partnerships with some of the brokers we review (see our About page for details on our business model), affiliate relationships have absolutely no influence on our scores, rankings, or recommendations.

Brokers cannot pay for higher scores. All reviews follow the same methodology regardless of whether we have a commercial relationship with the broker. We regularly feature brokers with whom we have no affiliate arrangement if their product quality warrants it, and we have given low scores to affiliate partners when the data justified it.

Our editorial team operates independently from the commercial team. No review or score can be changed as a result of a commercial discussion.