Advertising and transparency
Last updated: 20 September 2026 · The version published at /legal/transparency/ is the one that applies.
How this site earns money
From the companies it writes about. Providers pay for an editorial review, a badge, and optionally three days of placement. That is the entire revenue model. There is no advertising network, no affiliate programme, and no paid links beyond the labelled ones described here.
What is paid for, and what it looks like
| Item | Price | How you can tell |
|---|---|---|
| Basic | free | No badge; outbound link rel="nofollow". |
| Verified | USD 39 | Verified badge on the listing; outbound link rel="sponsored". |
| Verified + Featured | USD 99 | Verified badge on the listing; outbound link rel="sponsored". Featured slots carry a visible "Ad" label. |
| Express review | USD 25 | Review within 24 instead of 72 hours. |
| Category sponsor | USD 199 / month | Exclusive. One sponsor per category, clearly marked as advertising. |
What payment does not buy
- The score. It comes from 5 published criteria and a dated detector-panel run.
- A position in any list. Order is editorial level, then score, then recency.
- Publication. We reject tools, and refund in full when we do.
- Removal of an accurate statement.
- A dofollow link. Paid links carry rel="sponsored" without exception.
The sort function in the codebase reads neither the tier nor the payment status of a listing, and an automated test fails the build if that ever changes.
Labelling
Paid placement is marked with a visible Ad chip on the listing card and a notice at the top of the listing page. It is never disguised as an editorial recommendation, and a featured tool cannot appear inside an editorial ranking without that label.
Conflicts of interest
Selling reviews to the reviewed is a structural conflict of interest. We do not think it can be argued away, only bounded and disclosed. The bounds are above. If you believe a listing crosses them, say so - that report gets an answer within five working days.
No tracking
No third-party analytics, no advertising pixels, no cross-site tracking. Logos and screenshots are served from our own domain rather than hot-linked, so opening a page does not hand your IP address to a vendor. There is no cookie banner because there is nothing to consent to. See the cookie statement.