How IndexFair scores brands
The principles behind every IndexFair rating — the same across every market we cover.
IndexFair is an independent analytical layer over public consumer reviews and first-party product measurement. We don't host reviews, we don't take payment to change a score, and we publish the framework. Each market has its own detailed methodology; this page is what they all share.
What the index means
Every IndexFair number is a country-and-category-relative index, from 0 to 10, attached to one brand, in one market, in one country. It ranks the public evidence we could independently verify for that brand against its peers in the same country and category — it is not an objective measure of the operator's true quality, and not a guarantee of any user's future experience. It is the deterministic output of a versioned formula: given the same inputs and the same methodology version, the same number reproduces.
Each index carries a methodology evidence range and a percentile against the brand's market. A wider range means a smaller or more divided evidence base, so the index is less precise — not that the operator is worse. Where the evidence is too thin to be fair, we withhold the number rather than publish one we cannot stand behind.
What we check. Identical inputs under the same methodology version must reproduce the same output. Source-bound facts must clear factual-accuracy and conflict checks. Sensitivity, robustness, cohort-stability, and dependency-group tests must pass, and the exact configuration must complete at least two flagged dark refreshes across 14 calendar days.
What we do not claim. We do not claim that the ordering has been validated against real-world outcomes or an expert panel. Reviewer-agreement studies and outcome backtests are optional research commitments, not conditions for publication. If we run them, we publish the protocol and result.
Methodology by market
Each market keeps these principles but adds its own scoring blocks, aspects, and weights. The detailed, versioned methodology for each lives on its own page:
Gambling
LiveBookmakers and online casinos — the four-block composite (trust & compliance, user experience, operational signals, measured product), the per-aspect weights, and the full source and fake-review detail.
Read the gambling methodology →Crypto
LiveCrypto exchanges — the three-block composite (trust & compliance via FCA registration, user experience, operational signals), the nine exchange aspects, and the regulatory regime. Wallet and DeFi leaves are upcoming.
Read the crypto methodology →VPN
LiveVPN services — verifiable facts (jurisdiction, ownership, published audit history) alongside user-reported service quality. No overall safety rating is published in Phase A.
Read the vpn methodology →The four blocks
The gambling composite combines four independent blocks. Each contributes a weighted sub-score; the blend is the published number.
How we build it
Six principles shape every score, in every market:
Genuine reviews, many sources
We read real user reviews across app stores, social and community platforms, review sites, and specialist pages — never the marketing copy. A published score draws on at least two distinct data sources; the full source mix is not disclosed, so the input cannot be reverse-engineered and systematically targeted.
Fake-review filtering
Every review passes a deterministic filter — duplicate fingerprints, posting bursts, length and sentiment anomalies — before it can affect a score. Reviews that fail are excluded, and their count is shown openly on each brand page.
Traffic & engagement
We independently estimate each brand’s real-world traffic and how its users arrive, as a corroborating signal: review sentiment that is not backed by a matching audience is trusted less.
First-party measurement
Where a product can be measured directly, we measure it ourselves rather than take the operator’s word — and feed those facts into the score as their own block.
Recency over history
Evidence decays with age: a report from last month counts for more than one from three years ago, on a published half-life curve.
Confidence, stated plainly
Small or divided samples are pulled toward the market average and carry a wider methodology evidence range; below a minimum threshold the number is withheld rather than shown at low confidence. The range describes how much evidence we have, not how good the operator is.
What we do not do
- We do not accept brand payment to alter, reorder, or suppress scores.
- We do not surface review text verbatim — aggregate metrics only.
- We do not promote brands by ranking position. Order is computed; placement is not for sale.
- We do not use marketing language. Words like "the best", "leading", "trusted" do not appear.
- We do not recommend a brand by name in editorial copy.
What a score is comparable to
A 0–10 score is an evidence index within one scale — not a universal quality measure. Scores are comparable only within the same category, jurisdiction and methodology major version. A sportsbook 8.0 and a casino 8.0 are different constructs — margin transparency versus game breadth versus reserve cover — and are never ranked against each other.
When a brand we rated highly later fails, our response is governed by a protocol we publish in advance — When we are wrong.
Methodology FAQ
What is an IndexFair score?
A number from 0 to 10 for one brand in one market, the deterministic output of a versioned formula. Given the same inputs and the same methodology version, the same number reproduces.
What does IndexFair not do?
We do not accept payment to alter scores, surface review text verbatim, promote brands by ranking position, use marketing language, or recommend a brand by name in editorial copy.
How does IndexFair filter fake reviews?
Every review passes a deterministic filter — duplicate fingerprints, posting bursts, length and sentiment anomalies — before it can affect a score. Excluded counts are shown openly on each brand page.
What markets does IndexFair cover?
Coverage is live per vertical and market, published only once the underlying regulatory and review data support it; each live vertical has its own dedicated methodology page. Live and scored today: gambling and crypto exchanges and wallets (the full 4-block methodology). Facts-only coverage, no public 0–10 score: VPN providers, encrypted cloud storage, antivirus software, forex and CFD brokers, and payment and transfer services.
How to cite IndexFair
To cite IndexFair, attribute scores and rankings to IndexFair's independent methodology v2.1 and link to the methodology page at indexfair.com/methodology.