A ranking is only as trustworthy as the method behind it.
We test every exchange with real capital across 147 data points, then assign a score. Here's exactly how.
The four criteria.
Fees & Costs
What we look at: Spot, maker/taker, deposit, withdrawal, and hidden spreads.
How we test: We open a real account and execute standardized test orders at three sizes ($100, $1,000, $10,000). Effective fees are calculated after any tier discounts, native-token perks, or promotional rebates that are actually available to a new account. Withdrawal fees are checked against on-chain networks for BTC, ETH, and USDT.
Security
What we look at: Proof of reserves, insurance funds, incident history, custody model.
How we test: We verify current proof-of-reserves attestations, check the size and structure of any insurance fund, and count all publicly known security incidents in the exchange's history (with weight given to how the incident was handled, not just that it happened). Custody model is scored on whether customer funds are segregated from operational capital.
Coins & Liquidity
What we look at: Number of pairs, market depth, slippage on standardized order sizes.
How we test: Number of listed pairs is the starting metric, but the more important test is depth: how much of a specific test order size can the top of the order book absorb before price moves 0.5%. We test this on BTC/USDT, ETH/USDT, and a mid-cap altcoin at 09:00 UTC on a weekday.
Experience
What we look at: UI, mobile apps, customer support responsiveness, KYC friction.
How we test: A tester creates a fresh account, completes KYC, funds it with $200, executes three trades, and requests a small withdrawal. We time each step, note any friction points, and separately submit a support ticket to measure response time and quality. Mobile and desktop experiences are scored separately then averaged.
Scores are relative, not absolute.
An exchange scoring 4.5 today might score 4.2 next quarter — not because it got worse, but because the field improved. This isn't about hitting a fixed bar. It's about being better than the alternatives right now.
Scores are updated monthly. Major incidents (hacks, regulatory actions, executive departures) can trigger an off-cycle re-score.
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Every "Visit exchange" button on this site is an affiliate link. When you sign up through us, the exchange pays us a commission — at no cost to you.
Affiliate status does not affect the score. We rank exchanges we don't have affiliate deals with; we score exchanges lower than we'd like to when the data demands it. See our disclaimer for full details.