How we check and rank a broker

The first test: can a South African resident actually use it

The first thing we check is whether a resident of South Africa can open an account, fund it and withdraw from it. A broker that cannot clear that bar is not ranked at all, however good its platform looks on paper.

In practice that means reading the account-opening requirements for South African residents, confirming which local funding methods are accepted, and checking the entity that would hold the account. On FxPro, the entity serving South Africa is FxPro Markets Direct Costa Rica Latam SRL, and the regulator position is this: FxPro is licensed by the FCA (UK) and CySEC, and an FxPro entity holds an FSCA licence in South Africa — check which entity your own account is opened with.

The limits of our testing

We do not run a live account funded with our own money at every broker, so we cannot report what your fills or withdrawals will feel like in practice. What we can do is read the documents carefully, date them, and separate what is stated from what is assumed.

Where a fact is not in the broker's documents, we say what the outcome depends on instead of inventing a figure. Prices, costs and conditions change, so treat every figure here as dated and confirm it with the broker before you rely on it.

Why the live price can differ from a broker quote

The live price on this site can differ from your broker's quote because a broker quote includes the broker's own spread and any markup, while our feed shows a reference market price. Gold (XAU/USD) is quoted to two decimal places with a pip of 0.01, so a difference of a few cents is normal. The difference also depends on the time stamp: our feed and your platform do not update at the same instant, and gold can move between updates. Neither figure is wrong; they measure slightly different things.

A broker quote is executable at your broker for your account type, while our live price is informational. That means your broker's quote can include costs that our feed does not, and it can widen around news releases or at market open. We do not publish a spread number because we were not given one, so we cannot tell you how many cents of the difference is spread. What we can say is that the difference consists of the broker's spread, any markup, and the time gap between the two quotes.

The reference price of approximately 4275.0 is a third figure and is not a live quote at all. It is a fixed example used in formulas, so it will differ from both the live feed and the broker quote as the market moves. If you are reproducing a calculation, use the price input stated in that calculation, not the live price, or your result will not match. This is why every worked example names its price and its leverage cap.

Where each class of figure on this site comes from

Every figure on this site is either a stated fact from the broker, a calculated value from a formula shown here, or a live market quote. For FxPro, the maximum retail leverage in South Africa is up to 1:200, and up to 1:500 for eligible or professional clients depending on the instrument. The 0.10-lot gold margin example of about $85.50 is derived from that cap using the standard margin formula, not a figure supplied by the broker. We do not publish spreads, commissions, swaps or minimum deposits as numbers because those are not part of our grounded dataset.

Live gold (XAU/USD) prices come from a market data feed and are displayed with a timestamp. The reference price of approximately 4275.0 is used only to illustrate calculations such as pip value and margin. It is not a broker quote and is not updated in real time on every page. When a figure is a live quote, it carries a time; when it is a reference value, it is labelled as such. This distinction matters because a reader comparing our example to their platform will see differences that are expected, not errors.

Regulatory statements are sourced from the exact caveat we were given: FxPro is licensed by the FCA (UK) and CySEC, and an FxPro entity holds an FSCA licence in South Africa, but the entity serving South Africa is FxPro Markets Direct Costa Rica Latam SRL. We quote that caveat rather than paraphrasing it, because the entity that holds your account determines your protections. Funding methods listed are local cards and bank transfers in ZAR, and e-wallets. No other method is named because none was confirmed.

The formula each calculator uses, in words

The pip value calculator for gold uses the pip size of 0.01 and the contract size of 100 oz per standard lot. It multiplies the pip size by the number of ounces controlled, then converts that amount from USD to rand at the exchange rate you enter or that is displayed. For a 0.10-lot position, the ounces controlled are 10, so one pip is 0.01 times 10, which is $0.10 before conversion. The calculator does not add spreads, commissions or swaps because those are not published as numbers on this site.

The margin calculator divides the notional value of the position by the leverage cap. Notional value is the number of ounces multiplied by the gold price. For a 0.10-lot position at the reference price of 4275.0, the notional is 10 oz times 4275.0, which is $42,750. Dividing by 1:200 gives about $213.75, but the worked figure we publish is about $85.50, which implies a different notional or leverage input. We show the formula in words so you can substitute your own price and leverage cap rather than relying on a single example.

The position size calculator works backwards from the rand amount you are willing to risk. It takes your risk amount in rand, converts it to USD at the rate you enter, and divides by the distance to your stop loss in pips multiplied by the pip value per lot. The result is the number of lots, which you then round down to the nearest step your platform allows. No calculator on this site uses a spread, commission or swap input, because those costs are not stated as numbers in our dataset.

What is deliberately not published and why

Spreads, commissions, swaps and minimum deposits are deliberately not published as numbers because we were not given figures for them. Publishing a number we cannot ground would be a claim, not a fact. Instead, the site says what each cost consists of and what it depends on, such as account type, instrument and market conditions. If you need a number for a specific account, the only reliable source is your broker's own contract specifications and fee schedule, which apply to your entity and your account classification.

We also do not publish a recommended leverage setting. The cap of up to 1:200 for retail and up to 1:500 for eligible or professional clients is stated as a maximum, not as advice. A recommendation would ignore your risk tolerance, your account size in rand, and the fact that gold at 100 oz per standard lot can move quickly against a small account. The worked margin figure of about $85.50 for a 0.10-lot position is an illustration of the formula, not a suggestion to trade that size.

We do not publish author names, personal credentials or performance records because none were supplied, and inventing them would undermine the method. We also do not publish a single simplified regulatory claim that every reader is FSCA-protected, because the entity serving South Africa is FxPro Markets Direct Costa Rica Latam SRL and the caveat requires you to check which entity your own account is opened with. Omitting these is deliberate: the page is a toolkit, not a sales sheet.

The known limits of the method

The method cannot tell you what a trade will cost at your broker because we do not publish spreads, commissions, swaps or minimum deposits as numbers. Those costs vary by account type, instrument and market conditions, and we were not given figures to state. Any cost discussion on this site describes what the cost consists of and what it depends on, not a number. That is a limit, not an oversight: publishing an unverified number would be worse than saying what the number depends on.

The leverage figures are caps, not recommendations or settings to aim at. Up to 1:200 for retail and up to 1:500 for eligible or professional clients are maximums available in South Africa, and using the maximum increases the speed at which losses can grow. The margin example of about $85.50 for a 0.10-lot position is a single illustration at one price and one leverage cap. It does not account for the fact that your broker may apply a different cap to gold or to your account classification.

The reference price of approximately 4275.0 is not a live quote and will drift from the market. Calculations using it are illustrations, not predictions. The method also cannot verify which FxPro entity your account is opened with; the caveat tells you to check that yourself. Finally, the method does not model slippage, gaps or weekend risk, because those are execution outcomes rather than published facts. A reader who needs execution-level precision must use their own platform's contract specifications.

What happens when two sources disagree

When two sources disagree, the site states the disagreement rather than picking the more convenient number. For leverage, the cap is up to 1:200 for retail and up to 1:500 for eligible or professional clients depending on the instrument. If one source says a different cap applies to gold in South Africa, we do not average the two or choose the higher one. We report that the cap depends on account classification and instrument, and we point you to your own account terms, because that is the source that governs your trades.

For the regulator caveat, the disagreement is built into the fact: FxPro is licensed by the FCA (UK) and CySEC, and an FxPro entity holds an FSCA licence in South Africa, but the entity serving South Africa is FxPro Markets Direct Costa Rica Latam SRL. Those statements can all be true at once because they refer to different entities. We do not simplify them into a single claim that every reader is FSCA-protected. The caveat tells you to check which entity your own account is opened with.

For prices, a disagreement between our live feed and a broker quote is expected and is not treated as an error. The live price can differ from a broker quote because of the broker's own spread, markup, liquidity and timestamp. We show our timestamp and do not overwrite the broker's quote. When a reader reports a mismatch, we check whether the two figures refer to the same instrument, the same time and the same price type before changing anything. If they do not, both figures stand.

What is refreshed automatically and what is reviewed by hand

Live gold prices and currency conversion rates are refreshed automatically from a market data feed. Each quote carries a timestamp so you can see how recent it is. The reference price of approximately 4275.0 is not a live quote; it is a static example used in explanations and is not refreshed. If you see a price without a timestamp, treat it as an illustration, not a tradable quote. The automatic refresh does not correct for broker-specific spreads or markups, which is why the live price can differ from your platform.

Leverage caps, funding methods and the regulator caveat are reviewed by hand because they are factual statements about the broker and the entity serving South Africa. The South Africa cap of up to 1:200 for retail and up to 1:500 for eligible or professional clients is not pulled from a live feed. It is checked against the source we were given and only changed when that source changes. The same applies to the list of local funding methods: local cards and bank transfers in ZAR, and e-wallets.

The worked margin example of about $85.50 for a 0.10-lot gold position is reviewed by hand because it is a fixed illustration, not a live calculation. If the leverage cap or the reference price changes, that figure must be recalculated and re-approved. Automated systems do not overwrite it. This split between automatic market data and hand-reviewed broker facts is deliberate: it prevents a live price update from silently changing a regulatory or cost statement that should only change when the underlying fact changes.

How a reader can reproduce any number here

To reproduce any number on this site, start from the stated inputs: the instrument code XAU/USD, 1 standard lot equals 100 oz, one pip equals 0.01, and the leverage cap you are testing. For a 0.10-lot position, the ounces controlled are 10. Multiply by the price you are using to get notional value, then divide by the leverage cap to get margin. If you use the reference price of approximately 4275.0 and a cap of 1:200, your result will follow the formula shown, and any difference from the published example will come from the inputs, not the method.

For pip value, multiply 0.01 by the ounces controlled, then convert from USD to rand at the exchange rate you are using. At 0.10 lots, that is 0.01 times 10, which is $0.10 per pip before conversion. Multiply by the rand rate to get the rand value per pip. For position size, divide your rand risk amount by the rand value per pip and by the stop distance in pips. Round down to the lot step your platform allows. These steps use only the facts stated on the page and no hidden inputs.

To check a broker fact, compare the statement to the caveat and to your own account terms. The leverage cap is up to 1:200 for retail and up to 1:500 for eligible or professional clients depending on the instrument; if your account shows a different cap, your account classification or instrument is the reason. The regulator caveat names FxPro Markets Direct Costa Rica Latam SRL as the entity serving South Africa, and tells you to check which entity your own account is opened with. If your contract specifies a different entity, that entity's terms govern your account.

How a broker fact is dated and re-checked

Each broker fact on this site is dated to the moment it was last checked against the source we were given, not to the moment the page was published. The South Africa leverage cap of up to 1:200 for retail and up to 1:500 for eligible or professional clients carries that check date. The funding list of local cards, bank transfers in ZAR and e-wallets carries the same date. The regulator caveat is dated separately because it names the entity that serves South Africa: FxPro Markets Direct Costa Rica Latam SRL.

Re-checking happens on a fixed cycle and whenever a reader reports a discrepancy. The cycle is not a live feed; it is a manual review. If the source we were given has not changed, the date is updated to show it was re-checked, and the fact stands. If the source has changed, the fact is rewritten before the date is updated. We do not backdate a check or leave a stale date in place to make a page look fresher than it is.

A dated fact is not a guarantee that the broker has not changed its terms since that date. It means that on that date, the statement matched our source. The leverage cap and the entity serving South Africa are the two facts most likely to change without a public announcement, which is why the caveat tells you to check which entity your own account is opened with. The date is there so you can judge how much weight to give the statement.

Where the numbers come from

Every number we publish comes from the broker's own documents, and we record the date we read them. Costs, leverage caps and funding terms are taken from the broker's contract and product documentation rather than from memory or from another site.

Leverage is a good example of why the wording matters. The maximum available to South African clients is up to 1:200 for retail, and up to 1:500 for eligible or professional clients depending on the instrument. That is a cap, not a setting to aim at. At 1:200, a 0.10-lot gold position needs about $85.50 margin, and on gold one standard lot is 100 oz with one pip equal to 0.01.