How we measure and check
Every figure on this site is one of two kinds. This page explains both, and what each one can and cannot tell you.
Two kinds of numbers
Published figures are what a broker, exchange or regulator states on its own pages: a fee schedule, a minimum deposit, a withdrawal fee, a section of a law. We link the page we read and show the date we read it. If the venue changes the page afterwards, our figure is out of date until we check again, which is why the date matters.
Measured figures are ours. We took them from accounts we opened and funded ourselves. They are always labelled as our own measurement and carry the date, the account type and the conditions.
We never present one as the other. A venue's "from 1.4 pips" is published. Our "2.7 pips on 7 September 2026" is measured.
How we measure spreads
We read the bid and the ask on a live, funded account, on the venue's own platform, and record both prices together with the account type, the trading session and the date. The spread is the difference. We publish the two prices next to the result so you can redo the arithmetic.
One reading is a spot reading. It is not an average, and spreads widen and narrow through the day. Where we have a single reading we say so. We compare our reading with the published "from" figure for the same account type, because comparing a Standard account with a figure advertised for a premium account would flatter or punish the wrong product.
How we time withdrawals
We request a withdrawal from our own account and note when the money arrives. We record the method and the date. A withdrawal time depends on the payment method, the bank at the other end and the country, so ours tells you what happened to us on that route, not what will happen to you.
How dated snapshots work
Peer-to-peer prices and blockchain network fees move all day. When we quote them, we open the venue's public page, read what it shows, and publish it with the date. A snapshot answers "what did this look like on that day?". It is not a live quote and not a forecast. The readings themselves are on our open data page as CSV files. Our calculators let you put in your own figures.
How the daily P2P readings work
For the markets on our P2P rates pages a script reads each exchange's public advert list once or twice a day, without an account, and records prices for three order sizes on each side. An advert counts only if it accepts that order size and its advertiser shows at least 10 completed orders with a completion rate of 90% or better. We publish the single best of those adverts and a typical price, which is the middle of the ten best. Adverts an exchange promotes as "Featured" are recorded separately and never counted in the typical price. For Bybit we use the filter its own page applies by default, which shows verified advertisers only. The same reading counts the adverts, their order limits, payment methods and payment windows. We store prices, limits and payment-method names, and nothing about any advertiser. These are advert prices, not completed trades, and an advert can carry conditions the public list does not show.
Which sources we use
We go to the primary source first: the venue's own fee schedule or help centre, the regulator's own notice, the text of the law. Guides written since October 2026 list their sources at the bottom of the page, each with the date we checked it. We do not take figures from other review sites.
What "we could not confirm" means
Some things a reader would reasonably want to know are not published anywhere we can verify, or we could not reach the page on the day. When that happens we say so in a short list instead of guessing. An honest gap is more use to you than a confident number nobody can trace.
Limits you should know about
- Our measurements are small samples. They are evidence, not an audit.
- We test from our own accounts and our own bank. Your account type, country and bank can change the result.
- Nothing here is financial advice. It is information to help you check things yourself.
Corrections
If a figure is wrong or out of date, tell us. We check it against the source, correct the page and change its "Updated" date. How we write and review pages is set out in our editorial policy.
Last updated 11 October 2026.