About CompareForexBrokers

How we test brokers

Scores come from a documented model with eight weighted criteria, led by trading costs at 25%. Each review states the basis behind its claims: a live UK account opened at the broker’s FCA-authorised entity, funded in GBP and traded. Most brokers now show a tested modal spread recorded on a live UK account in July 2026, and a few whose UK spreads are dynamic or unpublished stay at the advertised rate; the review says which applies, so you can see what kind of evidence sits behind a rating rather than taking “we tested it” on trust. Trading costs, FCA status, FSCS cover and UK minimum deposits are always UK-sourced. The full process and the weights are set out on the methodology page.

How we choose which brokers to include

Inclusion is a rule, not a favour. A broker appears on this site only if it has a verifiable UK FCA retail entity and a review we can link to. We check the firm’s authorisation and Firm Reference Number on the FCA register before it earns a place. A global name that serves UK clients through an offshore arm, or has no UK retail permission, is left off rather than presented as a UK option. That is why some brands you might expect to see are absent: they could not be confirmed as FCA-authorised for UK retail.

Editorial independence

Affiliate commission pays for the site. It does not buy a ranking. A broker’s position is the output of the scoring model, applied the same way whether or not we have a commercial relationship with that firm. The people who test brokers and write reviews are kept separate from the people who manage those relationships, so a partner cannot quietly lift its own score. Where a partnership exists, we disclose it. The detail sits on the advertiser disclosure page, and the standards behind it on why trust us.

FCA, FOS and FSCS regulatory context

UK retail traders sit inside a specific framework, and it shapes everything on this site. The FCA authorises every broker we rank and publishes a Firm Reference Number for each, which you can verify on the FCA register. Retail accounts get capped leverage, negative balance protection and a 50% margin close-out under PS19/18. If an authorised broker fails, the Financial Services Compensation Scheme covers eligible claims up to £85,000 per person, per firm. For disputes short of insolvency, the Financial Ombudsman Service handles complaints once the broker’s own process is done.

The site itself is not an FCA-authorised firm and does not give advice. That position is set out in full on why trust us.

Pages in this section

• Meet the team: profiles of Justin Grossbard, Noam Korbl and David Levy, the people who test, write and fact-check the site.
• Why trust us covers editorial standards and our honest regulatory position.
• Methodology documents the testing model and the live UK account basis behind every review.
• Advertiser disclosure explains how the site earns and how that is kept out of the rankings.
• Risk disclaimers sets out the trading risks and the legal position.
• Contact is how to reach the team.

Get in touch

Questions, corrections and complaints go through the contact page. Messages reach a monitored inbox read by the team, not an outsourced support desk.

Justin Grossbard co-founded Compare Forex Brokers in 2014 and has traded forex since 1998. He owns the rating model and is the final reviewer on broker scores. David Levy fact-checks and signs off the site’s content.