About CompareFX
CompareFX is an independent forex broker comparison website operated by Michalvi Empire LTD (registration number HE 493986, Cyprus). Our mission is to help EU retail traders choose regulated brokers by providing clear, factual, and current information on trading conditions, fees, and regulatory standing.
We are not a broker. We do not provide investment advice or recommendations to trade. Every review and comparison is produced for informational purposes only. All broker information is sourced from publicly available data and direct broker documentation.
No broker has paid CompareFX to appear on this site, receive a particular score, or be ranked in a specific position. Brokers that have affiliate programmes appear alongside brokers that do not. Our scores are determined solely by the criteria described below.
Our scoring system
Every broker reviewed on CompareFX receives an overall score out of 10, calculated as a weighted average across eight criteria. Scores are rounded to one decimal place. A broker scoring below 5.0 is not recommended for EU retail traders.
| Criteria | Weight | What we measure |
|---|---|---|
| Regulation & safety | 25% | CySEC, FCA, ASIC, or equivalent Tier-1 regulation; investor protection fund membership; client money segregation; negative balance protection for EU retail accounts |
| Trading costs | 20% | EUR/USD spread (raw and standard accounts), commissions, financing/swap fees for overnight positions, deposit and withdrawal fees |
| Platform quality | 15% | MetaTrader 4/5 availability, proprietary platform usability, mobile app, charting tools, order types, execution speed (market order slippage data where available) |
| Range of instruments | 10% | Forex pairs available, CFDs on indices/commodities/shares/crypto, EU-restricted instruments correctly excluded |
| Account conditions | 10% | Minimum deposit, EU leverage limits applied (ESMA: 30:1 major pairs, 20:1 minors, 10:1 commodities, 5:1 indices, 2:1 crypto), swap-free account availability, demo account |
| Deposit & withdrawal | 10% | Payment methods accepted, processing time, withdrawal fees, EUR deposits accepted, no-fee threshold |
| Customer support | 5% | Live chat availability, response time, English and European language support, dedicated EU support line |
| Research & education | 5% | Market research quality, economic calendar, trading signals, educational resources for retail traders |
Sub-scores within each criteria are collected via a standardised assessment sheet and normalised to a 0–10 scale before weighting. Where a broker does not offer a feature (e.g. no research tools), that sub-score is set to 0 within its criteria weight.
Review criteria in detail
Regulation and safety
We only list brokers that hold an active licence from a Tier-1 or Tier-2 regulator. We check licence status directly against the regulator's public register before publishing and before each annual review update. Brokers regulated exclusively by offshore authorities (Seychelles, Vanuatu, St. Vincent, etc.) are excluded from our main listings.
Trading costs
We collect spread data from each broker's published spread sheets and, where possible, from live account verification. All spreads quoted are for the EUR/USD pair during London session hours (08:00–17:00 GMT) as this represents the most liquid and representative trading period for EU retail traders.
Swap/financing fees are assessed separately — see the swap fee methodology section below for full detail.
ESMA leverage limits
All EU-regulated brokers are required under ESMA to apply the following leverage limits to retail accounts. We verify compliance and flag any broker that claims to offer higher leverage to EU retail clients:
- Major currency pairs (EUR/USD, GBP/USD, USD/JPY, etc.): 30:1 maximum
- Minor and exotic currency pairs: 20:1 maximum
- Gold and major indices: 20:1 maximum
- Non-gold commodities and minor indices: 10:1 maximum
- Individual shares: 5:1 maximum
- Cryptocurrency: 2:1 maximum
Swap fee methodology
Overnight financing fees (swap rates) are one of the least transparent costs in retail forex trading. A trader holding a position for multiple days or weeks can pay significantly more in swap fees than in spread costs. CompareFX collects, normalises, and publishes swap rate data to help traders understand the true cost of holding positions.
A swap (or overnight financing charge) is applied when a forex CFD position is held open beyond the daily rollover time (typically 22:00 GMT). The charge reflects the interest rate differential between the two currencies in the pair, plus the broker's markup. Long and short positions are charged differently. Wednesday triple-swap days apply (where three days of financing accrue due to the weekend settlement cycle).
Data collection
We collect swap rate data using the following process:
- Primary source: Broker-published swap rate tables (downloaded directly from broker websites or trading platforms — typically found in MetaTrader via the contract specification window)
- Secondary source: Live account verification — we verify published rates against actual charges on active accounts where possible
- Collection frequency: Monthly or whenever a broker announces a rate change
- Storage: All swap rate snapshots are stored in our Supabase database with timestamp, source method, and verification status
Swap fee scoring criteria
Swap rates are set by brokers and can change daily. The rates shown on CompareFX are indicative only, based on the most recently collected data. Always verify current swap rates directly in your broker's platform (MetaTrader: right-click instrument → Specification → Swap long/short) before placing a trade that you intend to hold overnight.
Swap-free (Islamic) account assessment
For brokers offering swap-free or Islamic accounts, we note: (1) whether the swap-free status is genuine or replaced with an equivalent admin fee, (2) which instruments are included, and (3) any time limits applied before admin fees kick in. We do not independently verify compliance with Islamic finance principles.
EU compliance standards
CompareFX serves EU retail traders and applies the following editorial standards in all content:
MiFID II and ESMA requirements
The EU's Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID II) and ESMA product intervention measures set mandatory standards for retail CFD products. All broker data and editorial content on this site is produced with these rules in mind:
- ESMA leverage limits applied (see above) — we do not present higher leverage as available to EU retail clients
- Risk-to-reward disclosures: where known, we include the percentage of retail accounts that lose money as published by each broker in their RTS 27/28 regulatory reports
- Negative balance protection: mandatory for EU retail accounts; we verify and display broker confirmation
- Retail vs professional account distinction: we review conditions for retail accounts only; professional accounts are out of scope
Editorial compliance rules
- No income claims, guaranteed-profit language, or "easy money" representations anywhere on this site
- No "best" or "#1" labels unless based on explicitly stated, reproducible criteria
- CFD risk warning displayed on all review and comparison pages
- Affiliate disclosure present near the top of all pages with affiliate links
- Broker-specific risk disclosure (% of accounts that lose money) displayed where published by the broker
- Regulatory status verified at time of last review — verification date displayed
Our company is registered in Cyprus (HE 493986) and operates under EU law. All content is intended for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial advice, investment advice, or a recommendation to trade.
Data sources
We use the following data sources. Where data conflicts, broker-published official documentation takes precedence over third-party aggregators.
Primary (authoritative)
- Broker websites: fee schedules, account conditions, platform specifications, regulatory disclosures
- Trading platform specifications: MetaTrader 4/5 contract specifications windows (swap rates, leverage, minimum lot size)
- Regulator public registers: CySEC, FCA, ASIC, BaFin — licence status checked directly
- Broker RTS 27/28 reports: Percentage of retail accounts that lose money (EU mandatory disclosure)
Secondary (supplementary)
- Myfxbook broker comparison data (spreads and execution statistics)
- User reviews and trader community feedback (used to identify investigation areas, not for scoring)
- Financial news sources for material regulatory or operational changes
CompareFX endeavours to keep all data accurate and current. However, broker conditions change frequently. We cannot guarantee that all data on this site reflects real-time conditions. Always verify current terms, fees, and regulatory standing directly with the broker before opening an account or placing any trade.
Update policy
We aim to keep all review data current. Our update schedule is as follows:
- Full review refresh: Annually, or when a broker makes a material change to conditions, regulation, or ownership
- Spread data: Monthly (or within 7 days of a reported change)
- Swap fee data: Monthly, stored with collection timestamp and marked if older than 60 days
- Regulatory status: Verified at each full review and whenever regulatory news warrants earlier review
- RTS 27/28 disclosure data: Annually, when brokers update their mandatory risk disclosures
Each review page displays a "Last verified" date. If you notice data that appears outdated, contact us using the address below.
Affiliate policy
CompareFX earns revenue through affiliate partnerships. When a user registers with a broker through a link on this site, we may earn a referral commission from the broker. This model funds our independent research and keeps the site free for users.
Broker scores, rankings, and editorial opinions are determined solely by the criteria described in this methodology. We do not sell improved scores, higher rankings, or editorial endorsements. A broker with an affiliate programme appears alongside brokers without one; affiliate income does not enter into the scoring calculation in any way.
Affiliate disclosures
All pages containing affiliate links include a clearly visible affiliate disclosure near the top of the page. Broker links that use our affiliate code go through /go/<broker-slug> redirects, making the affiliate nature of the link transparent in the URL.
Which brokers have affiliate partnerships?
We have affiliate agreements with a subset of brokers listed on this site. Whether or not an affiliate agreement exists does not affect whether a broker appears or what score it receives. Some of the brokers we rate highly do not have affiliate programmes; some lower-rated brokers do.
Contact and corrections
If you have found an error in our data, believe a review is outdated, or want to submit feedback about our methodology, contact us:
- Email: michalvi@michalvi.com
- Company: Michalvi Empire LTD — HE 493986 — Cyprus
We respond to factual correction requests within 5 business days. If a correction is warranted, we update the page and add a change note.