How Stacker Review scores software
Every recommendation on Stacker Review comes from the same process and the same rubric. This page documents both, so you can decide how much weight to give our verdicts.
The scoring rubric
Every product is scored from 1 to 10 on the same six criteria. The overall score is derived from this standardized framework, adjusted for what matters most in the category being reviewed.
- Ease of Use
- Setup effort, clarity of the interface, and how much ongoing admin the tool needs.
- Features
- Depth and completeness of core functionality relative to others in the same category.
- Integrations
- Native connections to common business tools, ecosystem size, and API availability.
- Support
- Available channels, published response commitments, documentation, and partner network.
- Value
- What you get at each price point, including limits, add-on costs, and transaction fees.
- Scalability
- How far the product goes as headcount, revenue, and complexity grow.
How a score becomes a recommendation
Scores rank products; they do not choose for you. A tool scoring 9.0 overall can still be the wrong pick if it is built for a business twice your size. That is why every review and guide states who a product is best for, and where it stops making sense.
- 9.0 and above: category leader. Few meaningful weaknesses for its intended buyer.
- 8.0 to 8.9: strong choice with clear tradeoffs worth checking against your requirements.
- 7.0 to 7.9: good fit for specific situations rather than a default recommendation.
- Below 7.0: only recommended for a narrow use case, and we say which one.
Our research process
1. Define the category
Before evaluating products we write the category brief: who buys this software, the jobs it has to do, and the criteria that actually change the buying decision.
2. Build the candidate list
We shortlist products that serve small and growing businesses, then exclude tools that are enterprise-only, discontinued, or unavailable in our main markets.
3. Documented research
We work through published documentation, plan limits, and pricing pages, and record hands-on notes only for products we have actually used. Where a product has not been tested hands-on, we say so on the page.
4. Score against the rubric
Every product receives the same six scores from 1 to 10. Scores are relative to the category, not across categories: an 8 for a CRM means it is strong against other CRMs.
5. Editorial review
A second analyst reviews the scoring, verdict, and any pricing claims before publication.
6. Re-review on a schedule
Categories are revisited on a rolling basis and whenever pricing, packaging, or ownership changes materially.
Editorial independence
Stacker Review makes money through affiliate commissions. Reviews and rankings are produced by the research desk, which does not report to anyone responsible for commercial partnerships, and scores are locked before affiliate links are attached.
We do not accept payment for reviews, guaranteed placements, or positive coverage. When a top-ranked product has no affiliate program, it still ranks first and links out without tracking.
Read the full affiliate disclosure for details on how tracking links work.
Corrections
If something on this site is wrong, tell us at hello@stackerreview.com and we will correct it. Substantive corrections are noted on the affected page along with a new review date.
Editorial Team
Software research desk
Placeholder author profile. Our research desk compiles pricing, feature, and support data for every product listed on the site.
Methodology questions
- Do affiliate partners pay for higher rankings?
- No. Rankings are set by the editorial rubric before commercial relationships are considered. A product can rank first with no affiliate program at all, and paying partners are not promoted above better-scoring alternatives.
- Why do you not publish user star ratings?
- Aggregated user ratings are easy to game and hard to verify. We publish our own editorial scores instead, with the rubric visible on this page so you can judge how we reached them.
- How current is the pricing shown on the site?
- Pricing indicators are checked at review time and re-checked on our update cycle, but vendors change plans often. Always confirm the current price on the vendor's own pricing page before buying.
- Can vendors request changes?
- Vendors can flag factual errors and we will correct them. They cannot request score changes, remove drawbacks, or review content before publication.