How we review
Every score comes from the same four weighted criteria, applied after real use with real money.
What a test involves
For an exchange we open an account in our own name, go through identity checks, deposit by card and by bank transfer where offered, buy and sell, place limit orders, and withdraw coins to a wallet we control. We note the fee on every step and the time each step took. For a wallet we set it up from new, write down and test the recovery phrase, send and receive on more than one network, and restore it on a second device. Software and research tools are used on real portfolios for at least a week.
The four criteria
- 30%Costs. Every fee we paid on real orders: trading, spread, deposit, withdrawal and subscription.
- 30%Custody and security. Who holds the keys, withdrawal controls, two-factor options and how account recovery works.
- 25%Product. Order types, coin and network coverage, app speed, and whether the core job works without friction.
- 15%Access and support. Where it is licensed and available, how verification went, and how fast support answered.
Turning notes into a score
Each criterion is scored out of ten and weighted as above. The weighted total is the score you see on the review and in the ranking, rounded to one decimal. Scores are comparable within a category; a hardware wallet and an exchange are judged on the same criteria but against different rivals.
Updates and corrections
Fees and features change. When we retest, we update the review and its date. When we get something wrong, we fix it and say what changed in a correction note at the end of the review. Readers can report errors to desk@145.223.81.23.
What a score is not
A score compares products in the same category for a typical user. It is not advice about what you should buy, and it says nothing about the price of any coin.