Testing Methodology

Every review on this site follows the same practical process. We publish it so you can judge our conclusions — and so we can be held to it.

1. Define the reader and the job

Before testing anything, we write down who the tool is for and what job it must do. A code editor for a large team is judged on different things than a note-taking app for a solo student. The "Best for / Not ideal for" panel in each review comes directly from this step.

2. Build a realistic test setup

• We use the tool on real work — actual projects, actual documents, actual workflows — not toy demos.
• Where versions and plans matter, we record the exact version, plan tier, and date of testing.
• We do not accept vendor-configured demo environments.

3. Test against explicit criteria

Each review defines its criteria up front and reports against them. For example, a code editor review covers setup time, completion and refactoring quality on a real codebase, resource usage, pricing at the team level, and what breaks offline. The criteria appear in the review, so the verdict is traceable.

4. Record evidence

Observations, screenshots, and measurements are captured during testing, not reconstructed afterwards. When a number matters — latency, file size, cost — we state how we measured it and on what hardware or plan.

5. Compare honestly

Comparisons test both products on the same tasks, in the same environment, on the same days. When one product wins on a criterion, we say what the other does better somewhere else. There is rarely one winner for everyone; our job is to tell you which one is for you.

6. Re-check pricing and availability

Prices change constantly. Each review shows the date pricing was last checked. If we cannot verify a price, the review says so and links to the provider's official pricing page instead of showing a possibly-stale number.

What we do not do

• We do not publish scores before testing is complete.
• We do not inflate or suppress findings because of affiliate relationships — see our editorial policy and affiliate disclosure.
• We do not present AI-generated text as testing experience.

How you can hold us to it

If a review looks wrong, tell us via the contact page. Corrections are applied visibly and logged with an update date.