Alfacash: instant exchangers rating breakdown
Alfacash appeared to offer the best rate of anyone — about 0.9% below mid-market. We are not publishing that as a win, because it is not one. Its endpoint returns only a RATE: it ignores the amount you asked about and deducts no network fee at all. Ranking that number against services that quote you what you will actually receive would reproduce exactly the apples-to-oranges sleight-of-hand this entire page exists to expose. It stays in the table, unranked, with the reason.
Alfacash appeared to offer the best rate of anyone — about 0.9% below mid-market. We are not publishing that as a win, because it is not one. Its endpoint returns only a RATE: it ignores the amount you asked about and deducts no network fee at all.
How the score is built
Each criterion is scored 0–10 and weighted. The median column is the middle score across every entry in this ranking, so a row reads as a position rather than a number.
| Criterion | What we measured | Weight | Score | Category median | Rank | Weighted gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Real rate vs mid-market | — | 45% | 0 | 5 | 4 of 4 | -2.25 |
| Freeze risk and AML honesty | — | 25% | 0 | 3.5 | 4 of 4 | -0.88 |
| KYC thresholds and limits | — | 15% | 0 | 4.5 | 4 of 4 | -0.68 |
| Coins and networks | — | 10% | 0 | 8 | 4 of 4 | -0.80 |
| Rate-type honesty | — | 5% | 0 | 8 | 4 of 4 | -0.40 |
Measured 14 July 2026 · weights and method · decided by real rate vs mid-market, worth -2.25 points against the median
Real rate vs mid-market: 0/10
Measured by us. We request a quote for the identical pair and identical amount from every service inside the same short window, and compare the output amount to the mid-market rate at that timestamp. The gap is the true price, expressed as a percentage — regardless of what the fee page says. Quotes only; nothing is executed, so this measurement is free and repeatable, which is exactly why we can run it monthly and nobody else does.
Scored 0 of 10 against a category median of 5, which places it 4th of 4 among instant exchangers on this criterion. At a 45% weight that is 2.25 points below the median contribution of the weighted total. The best score in the category is 8, the worst 0.
Freeze risk and AML honesty: 0/10
This category’s real danger is not the spread — it is sending coins to a no-account service that then demands identity documents before it will release them. We read the published AML policy: does it state, BEFORE you send, what triggers a hold, what is required to clear it, and what happens to your money if you refuse? A service that only discovers its KYC obligations after it has custody of your coins is marked down hard.
Scored 0 of 10 against a category median of 3.5, which places it 4th of 4 among instant exchangers on this criterion. At a 25% weight that is 0.88 points below the median contribution of the weighted total. The best score in the category is 6, the worst 0.
KYC thresholds and limits: 0/10
At what amount verification is demanded, and whether that threshold is published in advance.
Scored 0 of 10 against a category median of 4.5, which places it 4th of 4 among instant exchangers on this criterion. At a 15% weight that is 0.68 points below the median contribution of the weighted total. The best score in the category is 7, the worst 0.
Coins and networks: 0/10
Pairs that actually return a quote when asked — taken from our own measurement run, not from the marketing claim of “900+ coins”.
Scored 0 of 10 against a category median of 8, which places it 4th of 4 among instant exchangers on this criterion. At a 10% weight that is 0.80 points below the median contribution of the weighted total. The best score in the category is 9, the worst 0.
Rate-type honesty: 0/10
Fixed and floating rates are both legitimate. Presenting a floating rate as though it were a guarantee is not. We check what the quote actually commits to.
Scored 0 of 10 against a category median of 8, which places it 4th of 4 among instant exchangers on this criterion. At a 5% weight that is 0.40 points below the median contribution of the weighted total. The best score in the category is 9, the worst 0.
Other measurements
- quoted rate vs mid-market
- 0.91% (GROSS — upper bound) MEASURED
Questions about this score
Does Alfacash really have the best rates?
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Our measurement cannot say. Its quote endpoint returns a rate without accounting for the amount requested or deducting the network fee, so the 0.9% figure is not comparable with services that quote what you will actually receive. Ask for a quote on your specific amount and compare the final receivable, which is the only number that settles it.