How we score software
ToolCandor ranks software from published, checkable facts. We do not claim to have used every product hands-on. Here is exactly what we do instead.
Where the data comes from
- Pricing, plans and free trials come from each vendor's own pricing page. We re-check prices at least every 7 days and features every 30 days.
- Features, integrations, platforms and team sizes come from the vendor's documentation and product pages.
- Every number on a page is tied to a saved source and shows the date it was last verified. If we cannot verify something, we say so instead of guessing.
How the score works
Each category has a buyer profile, for example "a team of 10 that needs a sales pipeline and Slack". Every product is scored against that profile on four criteria:
- Features (40%): share of the must-have features the product documents.
- Cost (25%): monthly cost for the profile's team size compared with the profile's budget, using the same seat count, billing period and currency for every product.
- Integrations (20%): share of the key integrations available.
- Fit (15%): platforms and team size the product supports.
A product is only ranked when at least 80% of the score is backed by current evidence and every must-have requirement is confirmed. Ties are broken by data coverage, then alphabetically.
What never affects the ranking
Affiliate commissions, whether a vendor has an affiliate program, and how much it pays are not inputs to the score. Products that pay us nothing are ranked by the same rules.
How articles are written
Our editorial system uses AI to draft articles from the verified data above, and a separate AI reviewer checks each draft. Automated checks then reject any price or trial length that does not match the evidence, any copied text, and any claim of first-hand testing. Articles that fail are not published.
Corrections
Prices and features change. When the vendor's data changes, the affected article is regenerated and checked again. Pages always show when their data was last verified.