INDEPENDENT DECISIONS
Editorial & Ranking Policy
The rules separating evidence-based AI tool rankings from advertising, sponsorship and affiliate revenue.
The ranking rule
Rankings begin with user fit: task, experience, budget and stated priority. Commercial status is not a positive ranking factor. Sponsored placement, if introduced, will be visually separate from editorial results.
Core comparison criteria
- Outcome fit and practical strengths
- Total cost, free limits and plan constraints
- Ease of starting and learning burden
- Privacy, data controls and organisation features
- Integrations, export options and workflow fit
- Material limitations and conditions
- Official sources, independent signals and verification date
Evidence hierarchy
Official pricing, product, privacy and release documentation support objective facts. Independent reviews and credible research provide outside context. Customer ratings are shown only when the source and date are identified; editorial catalogue scores are labelled differently.
Revenue separation
Affiliate eligibility does not guarantee inclusion. A commission cannot change the recorded facts, comparison criteria or ranking outcome. Ads cannot be formatted to look like a tool recommendation.
Corrections
Material corrections are reviewed against dated evidence. We update the affected field, verification date and, where appropriate, an editorial note. See the corrections policy for the full route.