Affiliate disclosure

Tool Crucible is a reader-supported, independent testing lab. This page explains, in plain language, how we make money — and the firewall between that and our verdicts. It satisfies the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) guidelines on endorsements and affiliate relationships.

What an affiliate link is

Some links on this site are affiliate links. If you click one and sign up or buy, we may earn a commission — at no additional cost to you. Some of these are recurring commissions (we earn while you remain a paying customer). Affiliate links are marked, and any review containing them carries a disclosure.

The firewall: links never buy a score

A Crucible Score is computed from our published methodology and the test data behind it. Whether a tool has an affiliate program — and whether it pays well — has zero influence on its score, its verdict band, or its ranking in our comparison tables. We review tools that pay us nothing, and we publish failing verdicts on tools that do pay us.

Free vendor access

Occasionally a vendor provides complimentary access so we can run the battery. When that happens, we disclose it on the review itself. It does not affect the verdict, and we do not give vendors the opportunity to preview, edit, or approve a review before it publishes.

Sponsorship

We may, in the future, run clearly-labeled sponsorships or display advertising. Sponsorship buys exposure only — it can never buy a Crucible verdict, a score, or placement in a ranking. The badge is never for sale.

Our other business

The lab is operated alongside a services business (Basso Digital) that builds and integrates some of the tools we review. Reviews remain independent of that work; a build engagement is always separate from a verdict.

Questions

If anything here is unclear, or you believe we've gotten something wrong, we want to know — email hello@toolcrucible.com. Independence is the entire point of this site — hold us to it.