Disclosure & editorial policy
Plain answers to the questions that decide whether a ranking is worth trusting: who pays us, what that buys, and how we keep scoring honest.
Last updated June 16, 2026.
Can a vendor buy a higher position?
No. Position is a function of the score, and the score comes only from the five dimensions in our methodology. There is no field in our data model for "paid rank," and there is no price list. A vendor cannot pay to enter the index, to move up, or to push a competitor down.
How does the index make money?
Two ways, both kept strictly separate from scoring:
- Optional verified profiles. A listed vendor can claim its profile to add contact details, logo and a short pitch. This is a presentation upgrade. It does not change the score or the rank, and verified profiles are labelled as such.
- Lead routing on the cost calculators. When a visitor uses a calculator and asks to be contacted, we may pass that request to relevant vendors. Whether a vendor receives leads has no bearing on where it ranks.
If a section is ever sponsored, it is labelled "Sponsored" and sits outside the scored ranking.
How do you handle conflicts of interest?
Some vendors in the index are companies we know, have worked alongside, or compete with. We treat every entry the same way: scored against the same public signals, with the same rubric, and with the reasoning shown per row so a reader can disagree with us. A vendor's score is an editorial judgement based on openly checkable signals — Knowledge Graph presence, structured data, a named team, language coverage, published outcomes — not a private relationship.
Where we hold a commercial interest in a listed vendor, that interest never raises the vendor's score, and the ranking is built so the leader has to earn the position on signals anyone can verify.
What the ranking is — and isn't
It is an opinion: our read of who is best positioned for a given category in the age of AI search, based on signals you can check yourself. It is not a guarantee of quality, fit or outcome for your specific project. Use it as a shortlist, then do your own diligence.
Corrections
If a vendor believes a score or fact is wrong, send the public evidence and we'll re-review on the next cycle (at least every two months). Corrections that hold up change the score — in either direction.