How We Review Crypto Exchanges

Where our data comes from

Where an exchange offers a public API (Binance, Kraken, Coinbase, KuCoin, Bitstamp, Gemini, Poloniex, Crypto.com, Luno), we check data directly through that API. For the rest (eToro, Wirex, NiceHash, OKX, Bybit), we verify data through the platform's own official sources. We never copy unverified data from other comparison sites.

Star rating (1-5)

The rating shown for each exchange combines the criteria above into a single number — high fees, a documented security incident, or thin liquidity all pull the rating down, regardless of whether we have an affiliate relationship with that exchange. This rating (1-5) also reflects broader editorial judgment (incident history, support quality) — it isn't a purely mechanical average of the four score-breakdown metrics below.

Score breakdown (0-5 per criterion)

On every review and comparison page, we also publish four metrics on the same 0-5 scale as the overall star rating, computed directly by an open formula from the same data shown elsewhere in the review — not hand-picked per exchange:

• Fees — 5 × (1 − average maker/taker fee ÷ 0.5%), capped to the 0-5 range. An exchange with a 0% fee scores 5; one at 0.5% or higher scores 0.
• Security track record — 5 if no documented major hack, 2.5 if unverified, 0 if a major hack is documented; an additional −1 (floor 0) if the exchange currently carries an active regulatory note.
• Coins supported — 5 × (number of supported coins ÷ 500), capped to 0-5.
• Trading liquidity — 5 × (approximate daily volume in USD ÷ $50 billion), capped to 0-5.

We apply the same formula to every exchange — you can verify it yourself using the data shown in the “Score breakdown” section on each review page.

Score breakdown for DEXs

We review decentralized exchanges (DEXs) against a different set of four criteria — there's no security track record or trading-volume figure comparable to a centralized exchange's, since a DEX is a protocol, not a company holding funds. Instead, we calculate:

• Fees — 5 × (1 − representative fee ÷ 1%), capped to 0-5; 2.5 for protocols with no single own fee (aggregators, perpetuals platforms).
• Security — 5 for a confirmed independent audit, 2.5 if unverified, 0 if no audit is confirmed.
• Liquidity (TVL)— 5 × (TVL in USD ÷ $3 billion), capped to 0-5, sourced from DefiLlama; aggregators (1inch, Jupiter) get a flat 4 — they don't hold their own liquidity by design, so low own-TVL isn't a weakness signal here.
• Network reach — 5 × (number of supported blockchain networks ÷ 10), capped to 0-5.

dYdX, as a leveraged perpetuals platform, always sits at the bottom of our DEX ranking regardless of its numeric score — that's a fundamentally different risk profile than a simple token swap on an AMM, which we warn about directly on its review page.

Editorial independence

We earn most of our revenue from affiliate commissions on signups through links on this site — details are on our about page. That commission doesn't affect an exchange's rating or ranking position. If an exchange has a serious trust problem — such as a major security incident — we report it plainly, even at the cost of an affiliate relationship.