How we score and rank every exchange

The overall score

Each exchange receives an overall score out of 10. This is a weighted average of eight individual criterion scores. The weights reflect what matters most to the majority of crypto investors — fees and security together account for 40% of the total.

Scoring criteria at a glance

Criteria	Weight	Description
🏷️ Trading fees	20%	Maker/taker rates, withdrawal fees, tier comparison
🔒 Security	20%	2FA, cold storage, insurance, incident history
🪙 Asset range	15%	Number of coins, fiat pairs, staking availability
📱 User experience	15%	App quality, onboarding, interface clarity
💬 Customer support	10%	Response speed, channels, help doc quality
💸 Withdrawal reliability	10%	Speed, limits, historical delays, methods
⚖️ Regulatory standing	5%	Licences held, enforcement actions, jurisdiction
🏦 Deposit methods	5%	Payment options, processing times, fees

How a 10-point score breaks down

Each criterion is scored individually on a 1–10 scale based on our research findings. The weighted scores are then summed to produce the overall score. Here's what each range means:

Score range	What it means
9.0 – 10.0	Exceptional — best in class on this criterion
8.0 – 8.9	Excellent — strong performance, minor weaknesses only
7.0 – 7.9	Good — above average, some notable limitations
6.0 – 6.9	Average — acceptable but with significant trade-offs
Below 6.0	Below average — material weaknesses we recommend noting

What we never do

• Accept payment to improve a score or ranking
• Remove negative findings at an exchange's request
• Score an exchange based solely on its marketing materials
• Give a higher score because an exchange pays a higher referral commission

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