How we review
Our reviews are comparisons built from research. This page explains exactly what that means, so you can judge how much weight to give what you read here.
What we base comparisons on
- Official pricing and feature pages. We take prices and plan limits directly from each vendor's own site and show the date we checked them.
- Public documentation. Help centres, API docs, changelogs and security/compliance pages, linked wherever we rely on them.
- Free trials and free plans, where we ran them. If we signed up and used a product, we say what we did. Hands-on testing is the exception rather than the rule, and we do not imply otherwise.
When we have not used a product
We say so explicitly. Each product section states whether our assessment comes from hands-on use or from documentation and published information only. We never write "I tested" or "we tried" about something we did not test.
Drawbacks are always included
Every product we cover gets a list of real drawbacks, including the ones we recommend. A review with no downsides is an advert, and we do not publish those.
How affiliate links fit in
Some links are affiliate links, and we may earn a commission if you sign up through them, at no extra cost to you. We choose what to cover and what to recommend first, then add affiliate links where a programme exists. A product being unavailable through an affiliate programme does not stop us recommending it, and a high commission does not earn a product a better ranking. Links that earn us money are marked with a sponsored attribute and covered by the notice at the top of every article. Full detail: affiliate disclosure.
Keeping pages current
Software pricing changes often. Every article shows a "Last updated" date, and we update pages when we notice pricing or feature changes or when readers report them. If a price on a vendor's site differs from ours, trust the vendor's site, and please let us know at hello@smallteamcost.com.
Independence
Vendors do not review or approve our articles before publication, and we do not accept payment in exchange for coverage or rankings. If that ever changes, we will say so clearly on the affected page.