Section 01
How we select tools to review

We do not accept review requests from vendors, and we do not prioritise tools based on affiliate commission rates. A tool earns a review when it meets one of three criteria: it has meaningful market traction among digital agencies, it solves a specific gap we have identified in the onboarding workflow, or it has been independently requested by three or more readers in a 30-day period.

We maintain a public waitlist of tools under consideration. If a tool you use is not yet reviewed, you can submit a request via our contact page. We work through the waitlist in order of demand, not commercial relevance.

We have never accepted payment to expedite a review, prioritise a tool in rankings, or soften a score. If a vendor contacts us with such a request, we document it publicly in our editorial notes.

Section 02
Our 7 scoring criteria

Every tool is scored across 7 weighted criteria. The final score is a weighted average on a scale of 0–10. Below is a breakdown of each criterion and its weight in the final score.

01
Setup time — 20%
Time from account creation to first live client workflow, measured in hours. We use the same standardised client brief for every tool.
High weight
02
UX quality — 20%
Ease of use assessed from both the agency team's perspective and the end client's perspective. We observe real client reactions without coaching.
High weight
03
Automation depth — 15%
Quality, reliability, and flexibility of triggers, sequences, conditional logic, and third-party integrations.
Medium-high weight
04
Integrations — 15%
Native connections to tools agencies use daily: project management, CRM, invoicing, communication, and storage platforms.
Medium-high weight
05
Pricing fairness — 15%
Value delivered relative to cost at each plan tier. We test every tier, not just the most-marketed plan.
Medium-high weight
06
Support quality — 10%
Response time and resolution quality tested anonymously across three support channels over a 30-day period.
Medium weight
07
Scalability — 5%
How well the tool performs as client volume doubles. We simulate high-load conditions and measure degradation in UX and reliability.
Lower weight
Section 03
Our testing process, step by step

A standard review takes between 90 and 120 days from first access to publication. Here is what happens during that window.

1
Account setup — Week 1
We create a standard agency account without vendor assistance. Setup time starts from the moment we click "sign up" and ends when the first client workflow is live.
2
Live client integration — Weeks 2–8
The tool is integrated into at least two active client projects. We do not use dummy data or sandbox environments for this phase.
3
Support testing — Weeks 4–8
We submit three standardised support requests anonymously across chat, email, and documentation. Response time and resolution quality are recorded.
4
Scoring and peer review — Weeks 9–11
All 7 criteria are scored independently. The draft is reviewed internally before publication.
5
Publication and vendor notification — Week 12
The review is published. The vendor is notified and may submit factual corrections only — never score changes. Corrections are documented publicly.
Section 04
How and when we update reviews

Every review is refreshed on a 6-month cycle. Additionally, we trigger an out-of-cycle review update when a vendor releases a major product change that materially affects one or more scoring criteria. When a review is updated, the previous score and date are preserved in the review history section.

Score changes are never made in response to vendor requests, advertiser relationships, or affiliate commission negotiations. If a score changes, the reason is documented in the update log.

Section 05
Our affiliate policy

Some links on this site generate affiliate commissions when you sign up for a tool. We want to be direct about this: affiliate income is how this site sustains itself. However, the existence of an affiliate relationship has zero influence on a tool's score or ranking position.

Several highly-rated tools on this site have no affiliate programme. Several tools with active affiliate programmes have received low scores. The score always reflects the 90-day test result — nothing else.

If you ever notice a discrepancy between our score and your own experience with a tool, we want to know. Use the contact page to flag it. We take every reader report seriously and investigate within 14 days.