How we test brokers: one scorecard, no guessed scores.
Most reviews say a broker was “tested” and never show how. Ours use the same seven categories, the same weights and the same caps for every broker, and they say plainly what we haven’t verified yet.
7
scored categories
1–5
scale, defined per row
3
hard caps on the score
0
guessed scores
Binary options are high-risk. You can lose your whole stake on every trade, and most retail traders lose money. They’re banned for retail traders in the EU, UK and Australia.
Four steps, always in this order
Skipping straight to the hands-on part is how reviews end up praising a broker nobody can legally use. So checks come first.
Identify and verify
Who owns and operates the broker, where it’s registered, and what each license is actually worth.
Read the rules
Terms, payment policy, bonus conditions, fees and restricted countries, read in full and quoted accurately.
Test hands-on
Platform, payouts, withdrawals and support, each logged with dates, amounts and results.
Score and re-check
Apply the scorecard and caps, show the working, then re-verify on a schedule.
Seven categories, fixed weights
The weights follow what can hurt you most. Losing access to your money comes first; a weaker chart tool comes last.
Share of the overall score
Each category is scored from 1 to 5, and both ends of the scale are defined, so a “4” means the same thing in every review.
| Category | 5 means | 1 means |
|---|---|---|
| Regulation & safety | Tier-1 or tier-2 license verified on the regulator’s register, no warnings | Unregulated, with active regulator warnings |
| Withdrawals | Received in under 24 hours, no friction, no fee | Delayed over 7 days, obstructed or failed |
| Payouts & costs | Observed payouts match advertised, top of market | Observed payouts far below advertised |
| Platform & app | Stable, fast, good charting | Freezes or missing basics |
| Assets & expiries | Wide choice of real-market assets | Mostly OTC or synthetic prices |
| Bonus fairness | No bonus, or clear, low-turnover, opt-in | Hidden turnover that locks funds |
| Support | Live reply in under 5 minutes, correct answers | Hours or days, scripted or wrong |
“Regulated” is a claim we check, not a word we repeat
Regulation carries the most weight because it decides whether you have anyone to complain to when something goes wrong.
For country-specific answers, see whether Pocket Option is legal and whether Quotex is legal where you live.
What we check, every time
- The register first. We name a regulator and license number only after finding it on the regulator’s own public register, and we link to it.
- Offshore isn’t regulated. Registrations in places like the Comoros or St. Vincent, and memberships such as the IFMRRC or the Financial Commission, aren’t investor-protection regulation and score that way.
- Warning lists. We search the FCA, CFTC, CONSOB, SEC Nigeria, RBI and ASIC lists. A warning goes in the review and affects the verdict.
- Country rules. We state the local rules that apply and don’t recommend a broker where it’s prohibited.
If it isn’t logged, it didn’t happen
A hands-on test only counts toward a score when it’s recorded in enough detail that someone else could repeat it. We don’t publish withdrawal times, payout screenshots or support quotes we can’t back with a record.
| Test | What we do | What we log |
|---|---|---|
| Platform | Trade on demo and live, on desktop and mobile | Glitches, freezes, chart tools, execution problems |
| Payouts | Compare advertised payouts with what the platform shows on the same assets and expiries | Asset, expiry, advertised vs. observed payout |
| Withdrawals | Request a withdrawal through a supported method | Amount, method, request and received dates, fees, friction |
| Support | Ask a real question by live chat or email | Time to first human reply, and whether the answer was right |
Every fact says how strong it is
Four labels cover everything we state about a broker. An untested category is shown empty and left out of the average, and the review says how much of the scorecard its score covers.
We did it ourselves and logged the result.
Confirmed at the source, such as a regulator’s register or the broker’s published policy, and linked.
Others say so, but we haven’t confirmed it. We name who reported it.
We haven’t checked it. The row stays empty instead of getting a flattering guess.
A deal-breaker can’t be averaged away
A great platform shouldn’t hide a failed withdrawal. Three caps stop that, and the verdict label follows from the score and the caps. Almost every binary options broker is offshore and on at least one regulator’s warning list, so a warning doesn’t end a review. It limits the regulation score and decides where we won’t point readers.
Regulator warning
Named and linked in the review. Regulation & safety can’t score above 2, and we never recommend the broker to readers in that regulator’s country.
Failed or obstructed withdrawal
The overall score is capped at 2.0 and the verdict is “Not recommended”.
No withdrawal test yet
The row says “not yet tested” and the verdict box says so. We don’t assume it went fine.
The strongest choice in a mostly offshore market: withdrawals tested and working, fair terms, strong scores. Not a claim that it’s safe or regulated.
It works, but key rows such as withdrawals aren’t tested yet, or the terms carry real risks you should weigh first.
A failed or obstructed withdrawal, or problems serious enough that we’d tell a friend to stay away.
Check our arithmetic on any review
The overall score is each category’s score times its weight, added up. Here’s a made-up broker to show how it works.
Illustrative example · not a real broker
Overall = Σ (score × weight)
3×25 + 4×20 + 4×15 + 5×10 + 3×10 + 4×10 + 4×10
= 375 ÷ 100 = 3.8 / 5
If Support and Withdrawals were untested, we’d drop both rows and divide by the remaining 70. The review would then say it covers 70% of the scorecard.
How we keep reviews honest over time
Commissions don’t touch the score
- Same scorecard for every broker, whether or not we have an affiliate relationship with it.
- Warnings and bad results stay in, even when they cost us a click.
- Promotions are labeled and kept away from the scorecard, with a risk warning.
- Disclosed. Our disclaimers page explains how we earn money.
Re-checks and corrections
- Last verified date on every review, and the body matches the figures in it.
- Yearly re-checks of regulation, warnings and country rules, sooner when something changes.
- Title years move only when the content was verified again.
- Corrections in the open. We fix errors in the article, not quietly.
See the scorecard at work
Read a review with this method applied, or send us a documented experience that contradicts one.