How We Rate

Last checked November 2026.

Most software advice is written for companies with an IT department, and most review scores are one number pretending to fit everyone. Ours work differently.

The ten measures

Every full review scores a tool out of 10 on: ease of use, setup effort, feature depth, value for money, support quality, time saved per week, tools replaced, integrations, pricing fairness as you grow, and exit with your data. The first five are what the big review sites measure. The last five are the ones owners actually feel, and the ones nobody else publishes.

Fit by size and trade

Every tool is then rated separately for seven kinds of business: solo, micro team (2 to 5), growing (6 to 20), mid sized (21 to 100), agency, online seller and creator. Downsides are written as fit: who a tool is not built for, and who it is perfect for. There are no blanket verdicts here. If a tool is wrong for your size, we say so for your size only, and show you the one that is right.

Experience labels

Every review is labelled: Used it (run in a real business), Trialled it (tested hands on against a real task), or Research only. Tools are never given a first hand verdict on research alone.

Money, in the open

Some links earn us a commission and some recommendations earn us nothing. Where a verdict is genuinely close, we do not pretend the commission does not exist. Where a tool is wrong for you, we say so, commission or not. That is the whole business model, and it only works if you trust it.