Editorial policy

These are the rules the desk works to. They exist so a reader can trust a ranking they did not watch us make.

Independence

A vendor cannot buy a place in a ranking, a rating, or a kinder verdict. Our rankings are decided before any commercial relationship is considered, and an affiliate relationship never changes where a tool places. Where we earn a commission, we disclose it plainly on the page.

Sources and facts

A tool's features, pricing and trial come from the vendor's own site, recorded with the date we checked. What a tool is like to live with comes from long-term user reports. When a review site or a thread disagrees with the vendor's current pricing, the vendor's page wins, because it is the live source.

No invented anything

We never invent a quote, a source, a statistic, a price or a person. Quotes are verbatim and link to a page you can open. If we do not have a number, we say we do not have it rather than estimate one and present it as fact.

Naming the downside

Every tool we recommend gets its real drawback stated plainly, including our top pick. A recommendation with no stated cost reads like an advertisement, and it usually is one. The named negative is how you know the rest is honest.

Corrections

We fix errors quickly and note the change in the page's changelog. If something here is wrong, tell us.