I trade actively and I’m thinking about something that might sound a bit ambitious, but bear with me. Most broker comparisons I see online are either totally biased or focus on just one factor like spreads. But real trading success depends on multiple things working together: actual cost, how reliable the platform is, how fast it executes, and how well the support backs you up.
What if we built a simple scoring system that takes all of those into account? Not some complicated formula, just clear metrics that active traders actually care about.
Like, a broker might get points for low spreads but lose points if their platform crashes during volatile hours. Or they might have great rebates but lose points if withdrawals take forever. The idea would be that you could actually compare IC Markets against other brokers using real data instead of wishful thinking or marketing.
I’ve been thinking about what metrics would matter most: actual cost per trade including everything, execution reliability during volatility, withdrawal speed, support response time, and maybe platform stability. But I’m not sure if that’s the right way to think about it or if I’m missing something important.
Has anyone here actually tracked this kind of data? If you were going to score brokers on a point system that helped you decide who to trade with, what would you measure?
Cost gets 50% weight. Reliability gets 30%. Support gets 20%.
Track one metric. Find what matters most first.
I’ve built scoring systems for broker selection. Here’s what works:
Weight your categories by impact on your trading. Cost should be roughly 40 to 50% because it directly affects profitability. Reliability (downtime, slippage, execution quality) should be 30 to 35% because one crash during a live trade can cost more than months of spread savings. Support and withdrawal speed should be 15 to 20% combined.
For cost, measure: average spread plus commission minus rebate equals your real cost per lot. Do this across your typical trading pairs during your typical trading hours.
For reliability, track: number of connection issues per month, average slippage in live trades versus model prices, execution time from click to fill. IC Markets typically shows 95 to 99% uptime with minimal slippage.
For support, measure response time to actual questions and solution quality. Track whether they solve your issue or just respond.
For withdrawal, record: how many days from request to money in your bank account.
Score each 0 to 10 based on your standards. Apply weights. Total score tells you which broker is actually better for your specific situation.
The biggest insight: your scoring system won’t match another trader’s because we all have different priorities. A scalper cares much more about execution speed than someone holding trades overnight.
I started tracking broker performance after reading something similar to what you’re describing.
I created a simple spreadsheet with columns for cost, support response time, platform stability, and withdrawal speed. Every month I’d rate IC Markets on a simple 1 to 10 scale for each.
After three months, the pattern became clear. Some weeks support was slower, some weeks spreads were tighter. Seeing the trends helped me understand when problems actually existed versus when I was just having a bad trading week.
It’s not complicated science, but it works. You can see what’s actually changing and what’s just noise.
Tracking helps. Spreadsheet with weekly scores works fine.
I’ve been running a scoring system for broker performance for about two years now. Started simple and refined it based on what actually mattered to my trading.
Cost tracking: I export my trades weekly and calculate real cost including spreads, commissions, and rebates. IC Markets averages around 1.8 pips real cost for EUR/USD across my typical trading times. Lower during calm periods, higher during news.
Reliability: I track connection drops, delayed order execution, and slippage. IC Markets rarely has issues. Maybe one disconnect every two months and slippage is usually under 0.2 pips on normal market conditions.
Support: When I contact them, I log the time and how long until resolution. They’re consistently within 24 hours. Not the fastest but reliable.
Withdrawals: Consistently 2 to 3 business days. Good enough.
The system helps me see patterns. I noticed IC Markets spreads widen predictably during Asian overnight, which helps me adjust my trading times.
My ranking: I weight cost at 40%, reliability at 35%, and support at 25%. This matches my trading style as an active trader who values execution quality over everything.
For you, figure out what loses you the most money when it goes wrong, and weight that highest. That’s your real priority.