OUR METHODOLOGY

How we review

Every score on this site comes from the same repeatable process: our own money, our own accounts, documented tests, and criteria we publish in full below. Here's exactly how it works.
1

We buy it ourselves

Products are purchased at retail. When a company sends a review unit, we say so in the review — and it never affects the score.
2

We use it for real

Exchanges get real deposits, buys, and withdrawals. Wallets hold our own sats for 30+ days. No spec-sheet reviews, ever.
3

We break things on purpose

Seed-recovery drills, support tickets, locked accounts, fee edge cases. A product earns its score when something goes wrong.
4

We re-test on a schedule

Exchange fees re-verified monthly; wallets re-tested quarterly or on major firmware. Every review shows its last-updated date.
SCORING What the numbers mean
Exchanges — five criteria, equally weighted
Ease of useonboarding to first buy, measured in minutes
Securitycustody practices, 2FA, track record
Feesreal cost of a $500 buy + withdrawal
Payment methodsbank, card, wire, recurring options
Supportour ticket's actual response time
Wallets — five criteria, equally weighted
Securityair-gap, secure elements, open source
Ease of usesetup and daily signing workflow
Build qualitymaterials, screen, buttons, durability
Recovery experiencefull wipe-and-restore drill result
Valuefeatures per dollar vs. the field
9.0–10
Exceptional — we use it ourselves
8.0–8.9
Excellent — recommended with minor caveats
7.0–7.9
Good — right for specific needs
Below 7
Not recommended — we say why
INDEPENDENCE The rules we don't break
✓Affiliate links are marked on every page and tagged as sponsored in code, per Google's guidelines.
✓Sponsored content is labeled as such — visually distinct from editorial.
✓Corrections are made visibly, with a note explaining what changed.
✕No payment ever buys a score, a ranking, or a "best of" placement.
✕No company previews or approves a review before publication.
✕No price predictions, no "signals," no trading tips — education only.

See the methodology applied

Every review links back to this page — and this page links to the reviews it produced.