How We Make Money
Full transparency about our revenue model, editorial independence, and why you can trust our reviews.
Affiliate Commissions
When you click "Visit Broker" links on our site and sign up for an account, we may earn a commission from the broker. This is our primary source of revenue. The commission comes from the broker — you never pay anything extra.
These partnerships allow us to keep the site free and continue investing in thorough, hands-on broker testing. Without this revenue, we simply couldn't do what we do.
Does This Affect Our Ratings?
Absolutely not. Our editorial team operates independently from our commercial partnerships. Brokers cannot pay for higher scores, better placement, or more favorable language in their reviews.
Every broker goes through the same evaluation process regardless of whether they have an affiliate relationship with us. We have turned down partnerships with brokers that didn't meet our quality standards, and we have given low scores to brokers we have commercial relationships with when they deserved it.
Our reputation depends on honest reviews. If traders stop trusting us, our business doesn't work. It's that simple.
Our Testing Process
Every broker is tested with real money. We open accounts, deposit funds, execute trades, and withdraw. This process takes weeks per broker and covers:
- Account registration and verification speed
- Deposit and withdrawal methods, fees, and processing times
- Spreads, commissions, and execution quality during live market conditions
- Platform stability on desktop and mobile
- Customer support responsiveness across all channels
- Regulatory status and fund protection measures
We don't rely on broker-provided marketing materials. We test everything firsthand, and we re-test brokers periodically to keep our reviews current.
What We Don't Do
- No pay-for-placement. You can't buy a #1 ranking on The Broker Report. Rankings are determined by our scoring methodology.
- No fake reviews. Every review is based on real testing by our editorial team. We don't publish AI-generated filler or regurgitated marketing copy.
- No hidden sponsorships. If a broker is a commercial partner, we disclose it. There are no secret deals influencing what you read.
- No suppression of negative findings. If we find problems during testing, we report them — regardless of the broker's affiliate status.
Questions?
If you have any questions about how we operate, our revenue model, or our editorial standards, we're happy to talk. Reach out at our contact page or email us directly at contact@thebrokerreport.com.