How We Rank Products
The goal of ExpertChoice is simple: help you pick faster, with fewer regrets. This page explains how we score products, how we handle affiliate and sponsored relationships, and how you should interpret our recommendations.
On this page
How to use our guides
We design guides to be useful even if you never click an outbound link. The fastest way to use the site is to:
- Define the job: what outcome do you want (and what does “good enough” look like)?
- Skim the criteria: find 3–5 factors that actually change the decision.
- Pick finalists: choose 2–3 options from the shortlist, then compare price, return policy, and current features where you plan to buy.
- Check trade-offs: the right pick is usually the one with the fewest “gotchas” for you.
You can see this pattern across guides like Password Managers and AI Writing Tools.
Principles
- User value first: we prefer products that solve the job well, not products with the highest commission.
- Clear trade-offs: every pick should state who it’s for and who should skip it.
- Transparency: we disclose affiliate links and label sponsored placements.
- Freshness: when categories change quickly, we prioritize recent pricing and feature reality.
- Defensive thinking: we look for common failure modes, not just “best case” demos.
Scoring rubric
Different categories need different weights, but most good buying decisions come down to the same handful of questions. Here’s the baseline rubric we start from.
When a category has a dominant constraint, we reweight. For example: for password managers we weigh recovery, security posture, and cross‑platform autofill more heavily; for content tools we weigh workflow fit and pricing predictability more heavily.
| Criteria | What it means | What to look for |
|---|---|---|
| Performance | Does it reliably do the job? | Consistent results, fewer “edge case” failures, predictable behavior. |
| Durability / Reliability | Will it still work in a year? | Warranty, support reputation, repairability, update cadence (for software). |
| Usability | How easy is it to adopt? | Time-to-first-success, UX clarity, sensible defaults, good docs. |
| Value | Is the price justified? | Transparent pricing, real differentiation, low regret if you upgrade later. |
| Trust | Should you trust the company? | Privacy posture, clear policies, responsive support, sane refund handling. |
What we look at
We aim to be practical and verifiable. Our inputs vary by category, but the questions stay consistent: does it work, will it keep working, and are the incentives aligned with the user?
- Public specs, docs, and vendor claims (checked for consistency and omissions)
- User feedback patterns (not just star ratings; we look for repeated failure modes)
- Pricing structure (gotchas, usage-based surprises, meaningful free trials)
- For software: export options, security posture, account recovery, and support responsiveness
We also prefer comparisons you can reproduce yourself: in software categories, a short trial and a realistic “day one” test often reveals more than a long feature checklist. For an example, see the “How to test” section in AI Writing Tools.
Affiliate & sponsored content
ExpertChoice may earn a commission when you click certain links and make a purchase. Sponsored placements may also appear on the site. When something is sponsored, we aim to label it clearly.
Some outbound links go through short redirect paths (for example, /go/) to keep links stable and
preserve attribution parameters. These redirect pages are marked noindex and are not intended to
rank in search.
If you’re a brand, you can reach us via For Brands. Submitting a product does not guarantee coverage.
Updates & corrections
Products change. If a claim looks wrong or a link is broken, let us know via the contact form. We take corrections seriously.
When we update a guide, we try to note what changed (pricing model, feature set, reliability issues, or better alternatives). If you’re making a time‑sensitive purchase, verify details on the vendor site.
FAQ
Do you test everything hands-on?
Not always. Some categories can be evaluated quickly in a trial; others require longer-term usage. When we can’t replicate something directly, we rely on documentation, repeatable user-reported patterns, and conservative recommendations that prioritize low regret.
Can affiliate links influence rankings?
They can create bias incentives, which is why we disclose them and prioritize buyer-first criteria. Treat our shortlists as a starting point and use the rubric above to judge whether the pick matches your needs. Details: Disclosure.
How often do you update guides?
It depends on category volatility. Fast-changing categories (AI tools, subscriptions) get reviewed more often than evergreen checklists. Every guide includes a “Last Updated” timestamp so you can judge freshness.