Affiliate disclosure

Last updated: 29 May 2026

How we make money

ScoredTools earns affiliate commission when an agency signs up for a tool through links on our site. When you click a link labeled "Visit [Tool]" or "Try [Tool]" and complete a purchase or subscription, the vendor pays us a percentage (typically 10-50% of the first payment, or recurring 12-24 months).

What this does NOT influence

• Stack Score — calculated using our published rubric, independent of affiliate status
• SSI (Stack Stability Index) — calculated from public + tested signals only
• Rankings — sorted by combined score, not commission rate
• Pros & cons — written by editorial after testing, not vendor-supplied
• Risk alerts — triggered by SSI < 50 regardless of affiliate relationship

What our editorial team is required to do

• Score every tool using the published rubric before joining any affiliate program
• Test the tool for at least 30 days using a paid subscription (we pay)
• Document evidence for every dimension score (screenshots, support responses)
• Re-score quarterly regardless of affiliate status
• Publicly disclose any vendor relationships beyond standard affiliate (sponsorships, co-marketing) on the specific tool page

Tools we don't have affiliate for

We score them anyway. 14 of the 45 tools we publish have no affiliate program we can join. We include them because they are relevant. Examples: Linear (no public affiliate, scored 83/100), Anthropic Claude (no affiliate program, frequently mentioned in our reviews), Cursor, GitHub Copilot.

What we have refused

• Pay-for-placement offers — we turn them down, and we do not publish a running count we cannot evidence
• "Sponsored post" disguised as editorial (0 accepted, ever)
• Vendor-written reviews (0 accepted, ever)
• Pre-publication review by vendors (we don't share drafts with subjects of reviews)

Sponsorships (when we accept them)

Newsletter sponsorships are clearly labeled "Sponsored" in the email and on the web archive. Sponsorships do not buy editorial coverage — they buy a clearly labeled ad slot.

Found a mistake?

If we have a factual error in a review, or a tool's pricing/features have changed since our last verification, email editorial@scoredtools.com and we will investigate within 48h.

Standards alignment

This policy aligns with FTC affiliate disclosure requirements (USA), EU consumer protection directives (Italy/EU operations), and the principles of independent journalism.

Questions

Email editorial@scoredtools.com.