How we score exchanges
Every score on this site is built from published weights and shown broken down on the venue's own page. You should be able to disagree with a score and see exactly where we differ, rather than being asked to take a number on trust.
Centralised exchanges, out of 100
| Dimension | Weight | What it measures |
|---|---|---|
| regulation | 25 | Licences that actually bind the entity you trade with, not a shell in another jurisdiction. MiCA CASP authorisation carries the most weight in Europe, a NYDFS trust charter or state MTLs in the US. |
| security | 25 | Custody arrangements, proof of reserves, insurance or a backstop fund, and the incident history. A large hack is not automatically disqualifying. How they handled it matters more. |
| costs | 15 | Spot maker and taker fees at entry tier, withdrawal charges, and how quickly fees fall with volume. |
| assets | 15 | Number of listed assets, depth on the pairs people actually trade, and derivatives if offered. |
| platform | 10 | The apps, the API, charting, and whether advanced order types exist. |
| support | 10 | Reachable human support, published financials or audits, and how openly the company communicates when things go wrong. |
Last checked 2026-08-21.
Decentralised exchanges, out of 100
| Dimension | Weight | What it measures |
|---|---|---|
| security | 30 | Audit history, how long the contracts have been live holding real money, and what happened when something went wrong. Time in production with large sums at stake is the strongest signal there is. |
| liquidity | 25 | Depth on the pairs people actually trade. Thin liquidity costs you more in slippage than any fee difference. |
| chains | 15 | How many chains it runs on and whether those are chains you would use. |
| costs | 15 | Swap fee, and whether the router protects you from being sandwiched. |
| decentralisation | 15 | Who can change the contracts, whether there is an admin key or timelock, and whether the front end and code are open. |
Last checked 2026-08-21.
Grades
| Score | Grade | Reading |
|---|---|---|
| 85 to 100 | A | Excellent. No significant reservation. |
| 70 to 84 | B | Very good, with a specific weakness named on the page. |
| 55 to 69 | C | Fair. Usable for a defined purpose, not as a default. |
| Under 55 | D | Caution. Read the incident history before going near it. |
The trust verdict is separate from the score
A venue can score well on product and still carry a poor record, so the two are kept apart. Trusted means no serious unresolved concern. Mixed record means something real happened and we say what. Caution means read the history first. Binance scores respectably because the product is genuinely the best in the sector, and still carries a mixed verdict because of its regulatory history. Both readings are true at once, and collapsing them into one number would hide that.
What we cannot tell you
- Whether an exchange is solvent. Proof of reserves shows assets at a moment in time and says nothing about liabilities.
- Whether a contract has a bug nobody has found. Balancer was audited repeatedly and still lost over 100 million dollars in November 2025.
- What fees will be next month. Figures are typical and approximate, and every one should be confirmed on the venue's own site.