BrokerDir.

How We Cover Brokers

This page describes the process behind BrokerDir broker profiles: where data comes from, how profiles are structured, and how they are kept current. The same data-gathering and profile structure process described here applies across all three broker categories covered by BrokerDir: forex, crypto, and stocks. For detail on how that data is turned into scores and rankings, see our Methodology page.

Data sources

Broker profiles are built from a set of structured data sources rather than any single information provider. The primary sources are:

  • Official regulator registers. Licence data (issuing authority, licence number, scope, and active status) is sourced directly from the public registers maintained by regulators including the FCA, ASIC, CySEC, CFTC/NFA, MAS, and others. These registers are the authoritative record of a broker's regulatory standing and are used in preference to information provided by the broker itself.
  • Broker fee schedules and trading conditions. Spread data, commission structures, minimum deposit requirements, and financing rates are drawn from published broker fee schedules and account documentation. Where a broker publishes multiple account types, data is recorded per account type and the most representative retail account is used as the primary benchmark.
  • Platform and instrument documentation. The list of platforms a broker supports and the instruments available to trade are sourced from the broker's own product documentation and verified against the platforms themselves where possible.
  • Country availability data. Information on which countries a broker accepts clients from is sourced from broker terms and conditions and, where applicable, from regulator guidance on cross-border service restrictions.

How broker profiles are structured

Each broker in the directory has a structured profile that covers the same set of data fields regardless of the broker's size or prominence. The profile is organised into the following sections:

  • Overview. A factual summary of the broker including founding year, headquarters, and the regulatory bodies it is licensed under.
  • Regulation. A full list of active licences with issuing authority, licence number, and the scope of each licence.
  • Trading conditions. Spreads, commissions, minimum deposit, maximum leverage, and available account types.
  • Platforms. Which trading platforms the broker supports (MetaTrader 4, MetaTrader 5, cTrader, TradingView, or proprietary) and whether a mobile application is available.
  • Instruments. The range of tradeable assets across forex pairs, indices, commodities, shares, and other instrument classes.
  • Country availability. The countries in which the broker accepts retail clients, together with any country-specific restrictions on leverage or instruments.
  • Editorial score. The composite score out of 5 calculated from the four weighted categories described in our Methodology.

Update cadence

Broker data is refreshed on a rolling basis. Different data types have different refresh frequencies based on how often they change in practice:

  • Regulatory status is checked against official registers on a regular basis. Any change to a broker's licence status (suspension, revocation, or new licences granted) is updated as soon as it is detected.
  • Spreads and fees are reviewed on a cycle of approximately one to four weeks depending on the broker. Brokers that adjust their fee schedules frequently are reviewed more often.
  • Platform and instrument data is reviewed at minimum twice per year, and additionally whenever a broker announces a material change to its product offering.
  • Country availability is reviewed when regulatory changes in a given jurisdiction affect the broker's ability to serve clients there.

A “last reviewed” date is displayed on each broker profile so that readers can assess how current the information is.

Data verification

Key trading condition values, including minimum deposit requirements and commission per lot, are cross-checked against the canonical dataset on every update. Fields marked with a verified badge (✓) have passed this automated consistency check and reflect the most recently confirmed values from the broker's published documentation. A value is only shown as verified when it matches the canonical source record; discrepancies are flagged for manual review before the profile is updated.

Independence and referral disclosure

BrokerDir earns revenue through referral arrangements with some brokers listed on the site. A referral arrangement means that BrokerDir may receive a fee when a user opens an account with that broker via a link on this site. These commercial relationships do not affect the data recorded in a broker's profile, the score the broker receives, or the position the broker appears in on any ranked listing.

Scores and rankings are calculated by the same algorithmic model applied consistently to all brokers. Where a referral relationship exists with a broker, this is disclosed on that broker's profile page. BrokerDir does not accept payment to alter scores, adjust rankings, or suppress information about a broker.

For more on how scores are calculated, see our Methodology. For an overview of what BrokerDir is and who it is built for, see our About page.