How we test, and how we make money

Radical transparency is the product. Here is exactly how recommendations are made and how this site earns.

How we test

Every recommended tool is tested in a real trial account by a named human. We build the same scenario in each tool — a lean agency or consultancy with a sales pipeline, email follow-ups, and invoicing — and score against a fixed rubric:

• Ease of setup — time from signup to a working, realistic configuration
• Pricing honesty — does the advertised price survive contact with reality?
• Integrations — does it play well with the rest of a lean team's stack?
• Support — real response time on a real question
• GDPR posture — EU data residency, data processing terms, compliance tooling

Every review shows our own screenshots and a "last tested" date. If we haven't used a tool, we don't review it. Ever.

How we make money

When you click "try free" links on this site and later become a paying customer, the vendor pays us a commission. This costs you nothing extra (sometimes less: we negotiate reader discounts).

Three rules keep this honest: (1) commissions never decide verdicts — we recommend tools with no program at all when they're the right answer; (2) every recommendation page carries a visible disclosure; (3) we publish negative findings about tools that pay us.

Who is behind this

StackAdvise is run by a small team that tests every recommended tool hands-on before it's allowed on the site — no tool goes on a "best" list or into a comparison until someone here has actually set it up, used it, and hit its edges. More on the about page.