About
How do we compare software?
Short answer
We read each vendor's own pricing and plan pages, record the same fields for every tool, store each price next to the vendor's own words, and stamp every page with the date we checked. We do not test tools hands-on and we do not give star ratings.
What do we record for every tool?
- Free plan and its limit, or the free trial length
- Every plan: price billed yearly and monthly, in USD
- How it is priced: per seat, per account, per server, one-time or usage
- Minimum seats, renewal prices and extra fees the vendor lists
- Platforms and apps
- The features the vendor lists
How are tools ranked?
By a score out of 7, computed from published facts only:
| Signal | Points |
|---|---|
| Free plan (or a free trial) | 2 (1) |
| First-year cost of the cheapest paid plan, against the others in the category | up to 3 |
| Three or more paid plans | 1 |
| Mobile apps | 1 |
First-year cost = the cheapest paid plan for 12 months; for tools priced per seat, for 5 users. Ties keep our editorial order.
What is "first-year cost"?
The cheapest paid plan for 12 months, billed yearly where offered: 5 seats for per-user tools, one account or server otherwise, the licence price for one-time purchases. Usage-priced APIs are not given one.
What if a price changes?
Prices change often. Every page lists its sources and the date we checked them, and we re-check every month.