About DeskTested
An independent research desk for trading tools. No tool vendor owns us, sponsors our verdicts, or sees a review before you do.
DeskTested reviews the platforms traders actually use — charting, screeners, journaling, backtesting — by running them on a working trading desk under written, fixed-in-advance protocols. We publish the record, not just the verdict.
Who runs the desk
Anthony M.. Anthony has traded stocks, options, crypto, and forex for nearly 20 years. For him the trading is only half of it — the other half is the tech: he designs and runs the automated systems behind this desk, including the pipeline that tests every tool reviewed here and fact-checks every claim before it publishes.
How we test
Every tool review follows the same sequence:
- A protocol is written before the trial starts — what we'll do each day, for how long, and which metrics we'll record. It doesn't change mid-trial.
- The desk logs daily. Observations go into a dated log with raw numbers at full precision, so our own labels can be audited later.
- The review is written from the log. First-hand claims ("we ran", "we measured") are only allowed when a log entry backs them. Where a trial is still in progress, the page says so.
How claims are verified
Before any page is published, an editorial fact-check verifies every factual claim against its source: vendor claims (pricing, features, limits) against the vendor's live pages, market and statistical claims against our own desk records, research claims against the published literature. A page that fails verification does not publish — the check is enforced in our publishing system, not by good intentions. Pages that pass carry a Claims verified mark with their last-updated date.
How we make money
Some reviews contain affiliate links. If you subscribe to a tool through one, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Every page with affiliate links carries a disclosure at the top, affiliate relationships never change a verdict, and we link to tools we rate poorly exactly the same way as tools we rate well. We do not accept payment for reviews, sponsored placements presented as reviews, or early access to our verdicts.
Corrections
If we got a fact wrong, we want to know and we will fix it — the page's updated date changes and material corrections are noted on the page. This is educational content, not financial advice; nothing on this site is a recommendation to buy or sell any security.