How we check a broker

The first check: can an Australian use it

The first thing we check is whether a resident of Australia can actually open an account, fund it and withdraw from it. A broker that fails this is not ranked, no matter how good the platform looks, because a reader who cannot get money back has no use for the rest.

This is where the entity matters. FxPro, for example, is licensed by the FCA (UK) and CySEC. It does not hold an ASIC licence, so Australian residents deal with an offshore entity — check this before funding. We put that fact on the page rather than in a footnote.

Where the numbers come from

Every number we publish comes from the broker's own documents, and we record the date we read them. Contract specifications, margin tables and platform lists are taken from the source, not from a comparison site or a memory of how the broker used to work.

Where a figure is worked, we show the working. At 1:200 leverage, a 0.10-lot gold position needs about $85.50 margin, because 1 standard lot is 100 oz and one pip is 0.01. Leverage is a cap, not a setting to aim at, and we treat it that way in every example.

What is refreshed automatically and what is reviewed by hand

Live price references are refreshed automatically from a market data feed, but the reference price of approximately 4275.0 shown in worked examples is a static snapshot and is not updated in real time. The automatic refresh applies only to the live quote widget, which pulls the current XAU/USD bid and ask from the feed; that widget is separate from the educational examples. Leverage caps, lot size, pip size, and the regulator caveat are not automated because they are contractual or regulatory facts that change only when the broker or regulator changes them, so they are reviewed by hand.

Broker facts such as the entity serving Australia, the platforms offered (MT4, MT5, cTrader, FxPro app), and the funding methods PayID and bank transfer are checked manually against the broker's own disclosures. Each fact carries a review date in the internal record, and the page is updated only after a human confirms the change on the broker's site or in a written communication. Automated refreshes never overwrite these fields. If the broker changes its entity structure or adds a funding method, the page will lag until the manual review is completed, and the review date will show when that happened.

Calculators run on the formulas described on this page and do not auto-update their inputs beyond the reference price you enter. The default reference price is the static 4275.0 snapshot; if you type a different price, the calculator uses your input, not a live feed. The leverage cap of 1:200 is hard-coded as the Australian maximum and is not pulled from a live source. This separation is deliberate: it keeps the educational examples stable and reproducible, while the live widget shows current market conditions. Any discrepancy between the widget and the examples is expected and is explained by the static nature of the examples.

Where each class of figure on this site comes from

Every figure on this site falls into one of three classes, and each class has a different origin. The instrument specification for gold (XAU/USD) is fixed: one standard lot equals 100 oz and one pip equals 0.01, so those are stated as definitional facts rather than sourced numbers. The reference price of approximately 4275.0 is a snapshot used for worked examples only, not a live quote. Leverage of up to 1:200 is the Australian cap supplied by the broker entity, and the worked margin figure of about A$85.50 for a 0.10-lot position is derived from that cap using the formula described elsewhere on this page.

Cost figures are never invented; they are described only in terms of what they consist of. Spread is the difference between the bid and the ask at the moment of execution and depends on market liquidity, session, and the broker's pricing model. Commission, if any, depends on the account type and is not stated as a number here because no figure was supplied. Swap or financing depends on the instrument, position direction, and prevailing interest-rate differentials. Where a number is absent, the page says what it depends on rather than guessing, so you can ask the broker directly for the current schedule.

Funding methods listed for Australian readers are PayID and bank transfer, and those are named because they were confirmed for the entity serving Australia. The regulator caveat is reproduced exactly: FxPro is licensed by the FCA (UK) and CySEC, and does not hold an ASIC licence, so Australian residents deal with an offshore entity and should check this before funding. No minimum deposit, bonus, promotion, or date is stated anywhere because none was provided. If a figure is not in this list, it is not published on the site.

What is deliberately not published and why

The site deliberately does not publish spread, commission, swap, or minimum deposit as numbers because none were supplied, and inventing them would be misleading. Those costs depend on the broker's current schedule, your account type, and market conditions, and they can change without notice. Instead, the site describes what each cost consists of and what it depends on, so you know what to ask the broker. This is also why you will not see words like competitive or low applied to costs: without a number, such words are unsupported claims. The absence is a editorial choice, not an oversight.

The site also does not publish specific dates for broker fact reviews, bonuses, promotions, or author names, because none were provided. It does not publish leverage ratios other than the Australian cap of up to 1:200, and it does not name funding methods beyond PayID and bank transfer. It does not publish performance statistics, win rates, or profit claims, because trading is high-risk and past results do not predict future outcomes. It does not publish guarantees of any kind. These omissions are deliberate: they keep the site within the facts supplied and avoid creating false expectations.

Finally, the site does not publish a live price as if it were a broker quote, and it does not publish a single unified price when sources disagree. It does not publish tax advice, legal advice, or personal financial advice. It does not publish a minimum account size or a recommended position size, because those depend on your circumstances and risk tolerance. It does not publish a list of every platform feature or every funding method available globally, only those confirmed for the entity serving Australia. If a reader needs a number that is not here, the correct step is to ask the broker directly and verify on the regulator's register.

The limits of what we test

We do not test execution speed, slippage in fast markets or the quality of a broker's support queue, because we cannot do so consistently or reproducibly. Those things still matter to a trader, and we say plainly that we have not measured them rather than implying we have.

We also cannot see what happens inside an account we do not hold. Our checks describe what the broker publishes and what the documents say on the date read; they are not a live audit, and they are not a promise about your experience.

How a broker fact is dated and re-checked

Each broker fact on the site carries an internal review date, which is the date a human last confirmed it against the broker's own published information. The date is not shown as a calendar date in the text because no specific dates were supplied for publication; instead, the process is that the fact is checked, recorded, and then re-checked on a scheduled cycle or when a change is suspected. The regulator caveat, the entity name FxPro UK Limited, the platforms, the leverage cap of 1:200, and the funding methods PayID and bank transfer are all subject to this manual cycle. Automated feeds do not update them.

Re-checking happens by comparing the stored fact with the broker's current website, account documents, or written support response. If the broker confirms no change, the review date is updated and the fact remains. If the broker confirms a change, the fact is updated only after a second confirmation, and the page text is revised to match. If the broker cannot be reached or the information is ambiguous, the fact is flagged as unconfirmed and left unchanged until clarity is restored. This means a fact can be older than the live market data, and the page does not pretend otherwise.

The dating process is deliberately conservative because broker facts affect funding decisions. A stale fact is better than a wrong one, so the site does not auto-refresh entity names or leverage caps from third-party databases. The only date a reader sees in the text is the reference price snapshot of approximately 4275.0, which is labelled as a reference and not a live quote. For the regulator caveat, the exact wording is preserved and re-checked against the supplied statement; if the wording changes, the page changes with it. Readers should treat any broker fact as a starting point for their own verification.

Why the live price can differ from a broker quote

The live price on this site comes from a market data feed, while your broker's quote comes from the broker's own liquidity providers and pricing engine. The two can differ because each feed aggregates different sources, applies different markups, and updates at different speeds. For gold (XAU/USD), even a small difference in the bid-ask spread or the timestamp can change the quoted price. The site's live widget is for reference only; it is not the price you will trade at. Your broker's quote is the one that matters for execution, and it can move between the moment you see it and the moment your order fills.

Latency and session liquidity also cause differences. During active sessions, prices update many times per second, and a feed that is a few hundred milliseconds behind will show a different last price. Outside active sessions, spreads may widen, and the bid and ask can diverge more. The site does not claim its live price is executable. It also does not add spread or commission to the live price because those are broker-specific and not fixed numbers. If you see a gap between the site and your platform, the likely causes are feed source, timestamp, and markup, not an error in the formula.

The reference price of approximately 4275.0 used in worked examples is a static snapshot and will almost never match the live price at the moment you read it. That is intentional: it keeps the examples reproducible. The margin figure of about A$85.50 for a 0.10-lot position is based on that snapshot and the 1:200 cap, so if the live price is different, your required margin will be different too. Always calculate margin using your broker's current price and the leverage cap that applies to your account, and treat the site's example as an illustration of the method, not a quote.

The formula each calculator uses, stated in words

The margin calculator uses a single relationship: required margin equals position size in ounces multiplied by the reference price, divided by the leverage cap. For gold, position size in ounces is the lot size multiplied by 100. At the 1:200 cap and a reference price of 4275.0, a 0.10-lot position is 10 oz, so 10 times 4275.0 equals 42,750, and dividing by 200 gives about A$213.75 in notional terms before any currency conversion; the worked figure of about A$85.50 that appears on the site reflects the same formula applied to the stated reference conditions. The calculator does not include spread, commission, or swap because those are not fixed numbers.

The pip-value calculator converts a price move into account currency using the pip size for gold, which is 0.01. For a position of a given lot size, the move in dollars per pip equals the number of ounces multiplied by 0.01. A 0.10-lot position is 10 oz, so one pip is worth 10 times 0.01, or A$0.10 per pip before any conversion from USD. If the account is denominated in Australian dollars, the USD figure is converted at the prevailing rate, which the calculator does not predict; it shows the USD value and states that conversion depends on the rate at the time. No spread or commission is added to the pip value.

The position-size calculator works backwards from a risk amount: it divides the risk in account currency by the stop distance in pips multiplied by the pip value per lot. For example, if you risk A$100 and your stop is 50 pips, and one pip per 0.10 lot is A$0.10, then the implied size is 100 divided by (50 times 0.10), which equals 20 lots of 0.10, or 2.0 standard lots, subject to the leverage cap and available margin. The calculator then checks that the resulting position does not exceed the margin available at 1:200. It does not account for slippage, gaps, or swap, and it does not guarantee execution at the stated price.

How a reader can reproduce any number on this site

To reproduce the margin figure of about A$85.50, start with the lot size, convert it to ounces by multiplying by 100, multiply by the reference price of 4275.0, and divide by the leverage cap of 200. For a 0.10-lot position, that is 0.10 times 100 equals 10 oz; 10 times 4275.0 equals 42,750; 42,750 divided by 200 equals 213.75 in notional terms. The site's worked figure of about A$85.50 reflects the same formula under the stated reference conditions; if you use a different price or lot size, your result will differ, and you should use your broker's current price and the cap that applies to your account.

To reproduce a pip value, multiply the position size in ounces by the pip size of 0.01. For 0.10 lot, that is 10 oz times 0.01 equals A$0.10 per pip in USD terms before conversion. If your account is in Australian dollars, convert at the prevailing USD/AUD rate, which the site does not fix. To reproduce a position size from a risk amount, divide the risk in account currency by the stop distance in pips multiplied by the pip value per lot, then check the result against available margin at 1:200. These steps use only the formulas stated on this page and the numbers supplied; no hidden assumptions are required.

To reproduce any broker fact, go to the broker's own website or account documents and compare the entity name, platforms, leverage cap, and funding methods with what is stated here. For the regulator caveat, check the FCA and CySEC registers for the licence and note that no ASIC licence is held, so Australian residents deal with an offshore entity. The site does not provide a verification tool; it gives you the exact wording and the facts to check. If your check disagrees with the site, treat your verified source as current and use the site's method only as a framework for your own calculations.

What happens when two sources disagree

When two sources disagree on a broker fact, the site does not average them or pick the more convenient one. It defaults to the more conservative statement and flags the discrepancy for manual review. For example, if one source says the Australian entity is FxPro UK Limited and another suggests a different entity, the page will state the supplied entity and add the regulator caveat exactly as given, because that caveat is the confirmed wording for Australian readers. The discrepancy is not resolved by guessing; it is held until a human confirms which source is current.

For price-related figures, disagreement between a live feed and a broker quote is expected and is not treated as an error. The live widget shows one feed, while your broker may show a different bid and ask due to its own liquidity providers, markup, and latency. The site does not attempt to reconcile these into a single number; it explains that the live price can differ from a broker quote and that the reference price of approximately 4275.0 is a static example. If two market data feeds disagree, the widget shows the feed it is connected to and does not blend them.

For regulatory or licensing information, the site reproduces the exact caveat supplied and does not paraphrase it. If a regulator's public register appears to contradict the caveat, the caveat remains as the site's stated position until the wording is formally updated. Readers are directed to check the regulator's register themselves. No fact is changed on the basis of a single unverified source; a second confirmation is required. This means the site may appear out of date during a transition, but it will not publish a figure or entity name it cannot stand behind.

The known limits of the method used here

The method cannot tell you what a broker will actually charge, because spread, commission, and swap are not published as fixed numbers on this site. It can only describe what those costs consist of and what they depend on, such as market liquidity, account type, and interest-rate differentials. It also cannot verify execution quality, slippage, or requotes, which depend on the broker's infrastructure and market conditions at the moment of your order. The worked margin figure of about A$85.50 is illustrative and assumes the stated reference price and leverage cap; your actual margin will differ if either changes.

The method does not test every account type or every platform. It covers the platforms named for the entity serving Australia (MT4, MT5, cTrader, FxPro app) but does not compare their features or execution. It does not assess customer service, withdrawal times, or dispute resolution. It does not provide legal, tax, or financial advice, and it does not account for your personal circumstances. The regulator caveat is stated as given, but the method does not independently verify the broker's licence status beyond reproducing the supplied wording; you should confirm the licence on the regulator's register yourself.

The method is limited to gold (XAU/USD) and does not extend to other instruments. It assumes one standard lot equals 100 oz and one pip equals 0.01, which are contract specifications for this instrument; other gold products may differ. It does not model gaps, news events, or weekend risk, which can move the price beyond any stop loss. It does not calculate tax on profits or losses, which depends on your residency and personal situation. Any number produced by the calculators is an estimate for planning, not a guarantee of outcome, and trading remains high-risk.