Broker Scoring & Audit Methodology
The Vibe Check
"Most review sites copy marketing talking points and award 5-star badges to whoever pays the highest referral bounty. Our methodology is fundamentally different: **we measure actual dollar drag**. We calculate exact bid-ask slippage, FX conversion markups, margin borrowing interest, and how much money you lose to uninvested cash haircuts. If a platform hides costs in the fine print, our scoring model penalizes it immediately."
1. The 6 Scoring Pillars & Category Weights
Every brokerage audited on BrokerSearch.net receives an overall score out of 5.0 stars, calculated across six core quantitative categories:
| Category | Weight | Primary Benchmark Metrics |
|---|---|---|
| Trading Commissions & Spreads | 25% | Equities/ETF ticket fees, option contract fees, EUR/USD & cross spreads, and DMA price improvement. |
| Cash Sweep Yield & Idle APY | 20% | Default uninvested cash yield compared to central bank benchmark rates (4.50% baseline reference). |
| Platform, Tooling & Execution | 20% | Order routing speed, PFOF vs. DMA transparency, options chain tools, mobile stability, and advanced order types. |
| Safety, Regulation & Custody | 15% | Tier-1 regulatory oversight (SEC, FINRA, FCA, CBI, ASIC, BaFin), fund segregation, and statutory insurance coverage. |
| Non-Trading Costs & Fee Traps | 10% | Inactivity fees, account maintenance, wire transfer fees, dividend withholding handling, and hidden markups. |
| Deposit, Withdrawal & Support | 10% | Same-day withdrawal turnaround, non-USD funding tolls, and response latency across live support channels. |
2. How We Test Platforms in the Real World
Our audit desk executes real transactions to verify how marketing claims hold up against live market conditions:
Empirical Testing Protocol
- Account Opening: We complete standard KYC onboarding to measure verification speed and friction.
- Live Trade Execution: We place market and limit orders during regular and extended sessions to measure fill speed and slippage.
- FX Conversion Audits: We deposit non-base currencies to track exact pip spreads and conversion markups.
- Withdrawal Stress Testing: We request full and partial capital withdrawals to test processing time and hidden release fees.
Automatic Scoring Penalties
- Bank Sweep Haircuts: Brokers defaulting idle client cash to < 1.00% APY lose up to 1.5 score points in the Cash category.
- Undisclosed Inactivity Fees: Monthly dormancy charges automatically trigger a mandatory Fee Trap warning box.
- Offshore Licensing: Brokers without Tier-1 regulation are automatically capped at a maximum 3.0 / 5.0 rating.
- PFOF Surcharges: Platforms routing orders through high-rebate wholesalers receive lower execution marks.
3. Quarterly Recalibration & Data Updates
Broker terms and interest rates are dynamic. Our research desk updates our database continuously:
• Interest Rate Sync: As central bank benchmark rates shift, we recalibrate cash sweep scores and margin interest penalties across all broker profiles.
• Python Data Scrapers: We run automated schedule checkers to detect unannounced adjustments to commission schedules, platform subscription tiers, or withdrawal thresholds.
Valerie's Methodology Guarantee
"Our mathematical scoring model cannot be modified by commercial partnerships. Whether a broker is an affiliate or not, their score is generated strictly from raw numbers, execution benchmarks, and regulatory compliance data. If they improve their rates, their score rises; if they introduce new fee traps, their rating drops."
Our Promise:
Objective data points, live account verification, and zero paid rating inflation.
Suggest a Metric:
Have ideas for new testing parameters? Contact our quantitative team at editorial@brokersearch.net.