How we score every tool from 0 to 10

A score is a promise. When we put a number next to a tool, we are telling you we did the work so you do not have to. That only means something if you know how the number was built, so here is the whole method with nothing hidden.

We research the tool the way you would choose it

We do not score from a feature sheet alone. We read the official documentation and pricing, follow how the product is meant to be used on a real project, and look at the public record of how it holds up for the people who rely on it. We pay attention to what decides whether you keep a tool or abandon it: how costs scale, what you own, and where it gets in the way.

Five things go into the number

• How well it does the core job it promises.

• How quickly a new user becomes productive.

• Whether the pricing is honest at real usage, not just the teaser tier.

• What you own, and how easily you can leave.

• How it holds up once the novelty wears off.

Three things never do

• Whether the company pays us. Affiliate relationships never move a score.

• How loud the marketing is.

• How much we happen to like the founders.

If a score cannot survive us publishing the catch alongside the praise, it is not a score worth publishing.

Why the verdict always states the catch

Every review names the reason you might walk away, not just the reasons to buy. A tool with an eight and a clearly stated weakness is more useful than a nine with nothing but applause. Honesty is the only thing that makes the number worth reading.

When you see a score on this site, that is what stands behind it.