Every site on Tested.gg receives a Trust Score between 0 and 100. The score blends our editorial assessment of a site with four data-driven factors, each measured on a 0-100 scale and weighted to adjust the final number. Scores are calibrated relative to other sites in the same category and recalculated daily.
The four factors
| Factor | Weight | What it measures |
|---|---|---|
| User Reviews | 40% | Ratings from the community and established external platforms |
| Security & Trust | 25% | The protections and safeguards a site offers |
| Popularity | 20% | Monthly visitor volume from third-party traffic data |
| Transparency | 15% | How long and how openly the site has operated |
User Reviews (40%)
This is the largest factor. It reflects the average star rating across a site's reviews, weighted by how many reviews there are - a site with hundreds of reviews provides a more reliable signal than one with a handful.
The factor combines reviews written by the Tested.gg community with verified ratings aggregated from established external platforms such as Trustpilot and Google. When a site has no reviews yet, this factor stays neutral rather than helping or hurting the score.
Security & Trust (25%)
This factor reflects the protections a site offers. The strongest weight goes to core safeguards:
- Two-factor authentication
- Identity verification (KYC)
- Anti-money-laundering (AML) checks
- Buyer protection
Other features - such as SSL, manual item verification, DMCA compliance, and provably fair systems - are listed on the site profile so you can see them, alongside the core safeguards above that carry the most weight.
Popularity (20%)
Popularity is based on a site's monthly visitor volume, drawn from third-party traffic data. Higher, sustained traffic indicates an active user base that keeps coming back.
Traffic is read relative to a site's standing in its category, so a busy niche service is not unfairly compared with a major marketplace. Traffic alone does not guarantee quality, which is why it is one factor among four.
Transparency (15%)
Transparency reflects how openly and how long a site has operated. A site that has run under the same identity for years is easier to hold accountable than a brand-new, anonymous operator, so operating history is the main measurable signal here. Our editorial assessment also considers how clearly a site presents its business information.
How the score comes together
Each site starts from an editorial baseline set by our team. The four factors above adjust that baseline up or down within limits, and the result is kept inside a sensible range for the site's category. This keeps automation honest: fresh data can move a score, but it cannot invent a verdict on its own.
Daily recalculation
Trust Scores recalculate once every 24 hours, picking up new reviews and the latest data. You can check any site's current score on its profile page.
Score changes are usually small between updates. Larger moves typically mean a batch of new reviews arrived or a site's protections or standing changed.