How We Review Software

Most review sites rank tools by how much commission they earn. We don't. Here is exactly how we research and score every tool we review.

Our Editorial Promise

• Affiliate commissions never influence our scores or rankings
• We disclose every affiliate relationship on every page
• Tools that don't have affiliate programs still get reviewed and ranked fairly
• Our scoring criteria and methodology are public — you are reading them right now
• Every factual claim is sourced — check the sources section at the bottom of any review

What We Do (and What We Don't)

We do

• Aggregate independent third-party test data
• Manually verify all pricing from official websites
• Analyse hundreds of real user reviews per tool
• Explore free plans and trials hands-on
• Cite every claim with a traceable source
• Give honest, opinionated editorial verdicts

We don't

• Run our own email deliverability lab (we cite third-party tests)
• Copy feature lists from marketing pages
• Accept payment for higher rankings
• Hide behind vague “our experts tested” language
• Cherry-pick only positive reviews

Our Research Process

Every review follows the same four-step process. This ensures consistency across all tools and lets you compare scores fairly.

1. Independent Source Research

For every tool, we research Reddit threads, G2 reviews, Capterra ratings, Trustpilot scores, and EmailToolTester deliverability data. We read hundreds of real user experiences — not marketing pages.

2. Pricing Verification

We manually verify all pricing from the tool's actual website. We calculate cost at multiple subscriber tiers, document free plan limits, and flag any recent price changes or hidden fees.

3. Community Sentiment Analysis

We analyse patterns across review platforms. If 60% of Capterra reviews mentioning a topic are negative, we say so and cite the number. We don't cherry-pick positive quotes.

4. Editorial Review & Scoring

Each tool is scored across six weighted criteria. The final score is a weighted average. Every claim in our review can be traced back to a cited source listed at the bottom of the page.

Scoring Criteria

Every tool receives a score from 1 to 10 based on six weighted criteria. Each criterion is scored out of 5, then combined into a weighted average and scaled to a 10-point score. On our rankings page, we show the four most differentiating criteria at a glance. The full breakdown of all six appears on each individual review page.

Deliverability

20%

We aggregate independent deliverability test data from EmailToolTester and other third-party sources that send real test campaigns across Gmail, Outlook, and Yahoo. We cite specific inbox placement rates and note which test round the data comes from.

Automation

20%

We evaluate each platform's automation capabilities based on documented features, user feedback, and hands-on exploration of free plans and trials. We assess workflow builders, trigger options, conditional logic, and pre-built templates.

Ease of Use

20%

We review each tool's onboarding experience, editor quality, and learning curve based on our own walkthroughs plus aggregated user ratings from G2 and Capterra. Platforms that consistently frustrate new users in community discussions score lower.

Value for Money

20%

We compare verified pricing from each tool's actual website, calculating cost-per-subscriber across tiers. We flag hidden fees, charges for unsubscribed contacts, and pricing changes. All pricing data is manually verified and dated.

Templates & Design

10%

We evaluate the email editor, template library, and mobile responsiveness based on free plan access, documented features, and user reviews. Platforms with drag-and-drop editors and modern templates score higher.

Analytics & Support

10%

We assess reporting depth (open rates, click maps, revenue tracking) from documented features and user feedback. Support quality is scored based on aggregated Capterra/G2 ratings and community reports of response times.

Community Sentiment

Alongside our editorial scores, we aggregate real user sentiment from Reddit, G2, Capterra, and Trustpilot. We present this data separately so you can see how our assessment compares with the broader community experience. When our score disagrees with community sentiment, we explain why.

Update Policy

Software changes constantly. We aim to review and update each tool at least quarterly. When a tool makes significant changes to pricing, features, or policies, we update the affected review as soon as we become aware. Every review shows its last-updated date prominently.

Hold Us Accountable

Found an error? Think we missed something? Disagree with a score? Email us at hello@saasscored.com with the specific claim and your source. We correct factual errors within 48 hours and publish a note when we update a score.