How WealthScale Makes Money
This is the WealthScale advertiser disclosure. Today, WealthScale has no partner (affiliate) links, so no provider pays us when you open an account after reading this site. Partner applications are in progress. Once partner links are live, we may earn a commission when a reader opens an account through some labelled partner links. Payment will never change which providers we include, the score we give them, their order on a list or the style of their button. Our reviewers are paid a flat fee that never depends on rankings, and there are no paid reviews or sponsored rankings.
Written by Sharad Gondaliya, CPA CPAChartered Professional Accountant, CPA Ontario No. 61040184
Our financial reviewer: Neha Gupta, CFA CFA charterholderReviews WealthScale’s investing and account pagesAt a glance
Partner links today. None. WealthScale has no partner (affiliate) links today.
What is in progress. Partner applications with providers are in progress. When the first partner link goes live, this page will be updated to say so.
How we may earn money. Once partner links are live, we may earn a commission when a reader opens an account through some labelled partner links.
How partner links will look. Each will carry a visible “Partner link” label and will be marked as sponsored in the page code.
What payment never changes. Which providers we include, their score, their order on a list and the style of their button.
Reviewers’ pay. A flat fee that never depends on which providers we rate, rank or link to.
1. WealthScale Advertiser Disclosure: Where Things Stand Today
No partner links yet. WealthScale has no partner (affiliate) links today. No provider pays us when you open an account after reading a WealthScale page, and no provider has paid for a place, a score or a position on any list.
Every link stays on WealthScale. Today, the links in our comparisons, reviews and calculators lead to other WealthScale pages. The only links that leave the site are on our two people profiles: links to the public directories that verify their credentials and to their professional profiles.
Applications in progress. We have applied to partner programs with providers, and those applications are in progress. Nothing about how we rank or describe a provider waits on, or depends on, the outcome.
Why we say so now. An advertiser disclosure is only useful if it is accurate on the day you read it. This page describes the site as it is today and the rules that will apply when partner links arrive, so you can judge our pages with the full picture.
2. How Partner Links Will Work: Our Affiliate Disclosure
What a partner link is. A partner link, also called an affiliate link, is a link to a provider that tracks when a reader opens an account after clicking it. If the provider has a partner agreement with us, it may pay WealthScale a commission for that account.
When we may earn a commission. Once partner links are live, we may earn a commission when a reader opens an account through some labelled partner links. Any commission would be paid to us by the provider.
Only some links. Not every provider will have a partner agreement with us, and not every link will be a partner link. Providers without an agreement will still be included, scored and ranked in exactly the same way.
What a commission does not buy. A commission pays for a referral. It does not buy a review, a score, a position on a list, a bigger button or kinder wording. Section 4 sets out each of those rules.
3. How Partner Links Will Be Labelled
A visible label. Every partner link will carry a visible “Partner link” label, so you can tell at a glance which links may earn us a commission.
A tag search engines can read. Each partner link will also be marked as sponsored in the page code, using the rel=”sponsored” attribute. This tells search engines the link is paid, so it is not counted as an editorial endorsement.
The same label everywhere. The label will look the same on every page: in comparison tables, ranked lists, reviews and head-to-head pages.
| What you see | What it means |
|---|---|
| A link or button with a “Partner link” label | We may earn a commission if you open an account through it |
| A link or button with no label | We earn nothing from it |
| A score shown as “4.6 / 5” | Set by our published methodology, never by payment |
4. What Payment Never Changes
Four things on WealthScale are off-limits to payment. They apply to every page, and they will apply in the same way once partner links are live.
| What | Our rule |
|---|---|
| Inclusion | Whether a provider appears on a page never depends on payment |
| Score | Set by the published methodology; a provider cannot pay for a higher score |
| Order | Lists are ordered by score; a provider cannot pay to move up |
| Button style | A paying provider gets the same button as one that does not pay |
Why button style is on the list. A larger, brighter or higher button nudges readers toward one provider even when the score says otherwise. Keeping buttons identical removes that nudge.
What else stays the same. The wording of a review, the pros and cons we list and the costs we work out are set the same way for every provider, whether or not it has a partner agreement.
5. How Rankings Are Set
A published score. Our best-of lists rank providers by a score out of 5, shown as “4.6 / 5”. The factors and weights are explained in how we rate online brokers and robo-advisors.
Order follows the score. On lists such as the best online brokers in Canada and the best robo-advisors in Canada, the provider with the higher score ranks higher.
No awards outside the score. We do not hand out stars, awards or “editor’s picks” that sit outside the published score.
Costs worked out from published pricing. Where a list compares costs, we work out yearly costs for two sample trading profiles from each provider’s published commissions and account fees, and show the arithmetic.
6. How Our Reviewers Are Paid
A flat fee. Our reviewers are paid a flat fee. Their pay never depends on which providers we rate, rank or link to, now or after partner links arrive.
Our financial reviewer. Neha Gupta, CFA is paid a flat monthly fee for her reviews. She reviews WealthScale’s investing and account pages: platforms, brokers, robo-advisors, TFSA, RRSP, FHSA, RESP and bank accounts. Tax rules, government benefits and final approval are Sharad’s. Her review line shows a date on a page only after she signs that page off.
Why it matters. A reviewer paid per sign-up has a reason to favour the provider that pays most. A flat fee removes that reason.
7. No Paid Reviews, No Sponsored Rankings
No paid reviews. No provider can pay for a review on WealthScale, and no review is written to a provider’s brief.
No sponsored rankings. No list on WealthScale is sponsored. A provider cannot pay to be added to a list, kept on it or moved up it.
No invented praise. We do not publish testimonials, made-up reader reviews or user counts, for any provider.
Providers can report errors like anyone else. If a provider’s fee or feature has changed, it can tell us through the contact page. We check the change against the provider’s published pricing, as we would for any reader.
8. What This Means When You Compare Providers
Look for the label. Once partner links are live, check for the “Partner link” label. It tells you we may earn a commission, nothing more.
Compare total cost. Use our investment fee calculator and the cost tables on our broker comparison pages to see what a platform costs for the way you invest.
Read the head-to-head pages. A side-by-side page such as Wealthsimple vs Questrade shows where each platform is stronger, row by row.
Confirm before you open. Rates and fees carry the date we checked them. Please confirm the current pricing with the provider before you open an account, since pricing can change between our checks.
9. How to Tell Us If Something Looks Wrong
What to report. A partner link without a label, a list that does not follow its scores, a button that looks different for one provider, or a fee that seems out of date.
How to report it. Please use our contact page. Include the page address and what looks wrong. We aim to reply within two business days.
What happens next. We check the page against these rules and against the provider’s published pricing. If something breaks the rules, we fix the page and update its date.
WealthScale Advertiser Disclosure: Questions and Answers
Does WealthScale earn money from the providers it reviews?
Not today. WealthScale has no partner (affiliate) links, and partner applications are in progress. Once partner links are live, we may earn a commission when a reader opens an account through some labelled partner links. Payment will never change inclusion, score, order or button style.
What is a partner link?
A partner link, also called an affiliate link, is a link that lets a provider track when a reader opens an account after clicking it. If the provider has a partner agreement with us, it may pay WealthScale a commission. WealthScale has no partner links today.
How will I know if a link is a partner link?
Every partner link will carry a visible “Partner link” label. It will also be marked as sponsored in the page code with the rel=”sponsored” attribute, which tells search engines the link is paid. A link without the label earns us nothing.
Can a provider pay for a higher ranking on WealthScale?
No. Lists are ordered by a published score out of 5, and payment never changes which providers we include, their score or their order. The scoring factors and weights are explained on our broker rating methodology page.
Will partner providers get bigger or brighter buttons?
No. Payment never changes button style. A provider with a partner agreement gets exactly the same button as one without, so the design of the page never nudges you toward a provider that pays.
How are WealthScale’s reviewers paid?
Our reviewers are paid a flat fee. Their pay never depends on which providers we rate, rank or link to. Neha Gupta, CFA, our financial reviewer, is paid a flat monthly fee for her reviews.
Does WealthScale publish sponsored or paid reviews?
No. There are no paid reviews and no sponsored rankings on WealthScale. No provider can pay for a review, a score or a place on a list, and we do not publish testimonials or made-up reader reviews.
What should I do if something on WealthScale looks paid or biased?
Please tell us through our contact page. Include the page address and what looks wrong, such as an unlabelled partner link or a list that does not follow its scores. We aim to reply within two business days.
Compare providers on cost and score, knowing that nothing on the page is paid placement.
Figures on this page were checked against WealthScale Media Inc.’s own records and partner policies on October 22, 2026. We update this page when a figure changes.
Meet the Experts Behind WealthScale
Sharad is a CPA Ontario member (No. 61040184) and a Certified Public Accountant licensed in Washington and Montana, with more than 15 years in accounting and tax, a Diploma in Banking and Finance and a Certificate in Small Business Finance. He checks WealthScale content against primary sources. WealthScale is independent of his firm, Gondaliya CPA Professional Corporation, and provides general information only, not personal financial, investment, tax or legal advice.
- Chartered Professional Accountant, CPA Ontario
- Certified Public Accountant, Washington (No. 57629) and Montana (No. PAC-CPAP-LIC-033176)
- Writing on tax and registered accounts since 2021
- Reader’s Choice Award 2025 Winner, Best Accountant (Toronto)
Neha Gupta is a CFA charterholder based in Winnipeg who has worked in financial markets since December 2005. She has published more than 2,600 investment articles and is Head of Operations and Finance at Whiteland Real Estate. She reviews WealthScale’s investing pages for accuracy.
- CFA charter, CFA Institute (awarded 2023)
- Post Graduate Diploma in Business Administration (Finance), 2008
- In financial markets since December 2005
- More than 2,600 published investment articles
General information only. Not financial, investment, tax or legal advice. WealthScale is independent and is published by WealthScale Media Inc., 55 Queen St E, Suite 1205, Toronto, ON M5C 1R6. CFA® and Chartered Financial Analyst® are registered trademarks owned by CFA Institute.