How We Make Money

SMCM is a free, affiliate-supported comparison and education site. This page is our full affiliate and advertiser disclosure: what we earn, from whom, and what that money can never buy.

How compensation works

SMCM may receive compensation if you click, register or purchase through certain links on this site. Depending on the partner agreement, that compensation may be a referral fee per qualifying signup or purchase, a share of revenue, or a fixed commercial fee. Providers set their own pricing. A commission is paid by the provider and does not normally change the price you pay, but check the provider's own pricing for any specific offer.

Where affiliate links appear

Provider "Visit" buttons and similar outbound links may be affiliate links. A clear disclosure appears at the top of monetised comparison sections and provider pages, rather than being repeated under every button. Outbound clicks pass through a short redirect on our site, so partner links live in one place and can be updated or removed centrally. The redirect itself stores nothing; a click is only counted if you have consented to analytics. We do not attach your name, email address or quiz answers to the link. As with any website you open, though, the provider receives standard connection data such as your IP address.

Current partners

As of July 2026, SMCM has affiliate relationships with: FTMO, FundedNext, FunderPro, Alpha Futures, Pepperstone, Vantage, GoDoCM, RedotPay, Ledger and TradingView. We also review products we have no relationship with (for example MetaTrader 4/5, which are listed purely editorially). This list changes as partnerships change, and we update it periodically.

Reader support

Readers can also support SMCM with an optional one-off payment through Buy Me a Coffee. Support buys nothing: no content, no access, no advice, and no say over what we publish or how we describe any provider. The payment is made on Buy Me a Coffee's site, under its terms. It helps keep SMCM free and less dependent on partner links.

What compensation never buys

• A provider cannot purchase a favourable review, a higher rating, or the removal of valid criticism.
• Compensation does not change the facts we report: rules, costs, risks and limitations are described the same way for partners and non-partners.
• We do not currently sell placements. If a position is ever purchased, it will be individually labelled "Sponsored" or "Paid Placement".
• External ratings shown on SMCM (such as Trustpilot scores) come from their source and are labelled as such. They are not for sale and not ours.

How we select, verify and present providers is described in our Editorial & Ranking Methodology.

What this means for you

Affiliate revenue keeps SMCM free, but the decision and the risk are always yours. Verify current terms with any provider before paying, and read the Risk Disclaimer before acting on anything you compare here.