Revenue & disclosure
How Toolradar makes money
Most software-comparison sites quietly take money to move tools up rankings. Toolradar doesn't — and this page exists so you can hold us to it. Below: where the money comes from, where it doesn't, and what to do if you spot a violation.
Where the money comes from
Newsletter sponsorships (Dupple network)
Toolradar is part of Dupple, the publisher of 5 industry newsletters: Techpresso, MarketingShot, Devshot, Cyberpresso, and Finpresso, with a combined 550K+ readers. Brands pay to appear as sponsored sections inside those newsletters. This is the largest revenue source by far. It does not affect Toolradar editorial coverage.
Sponsored placements on Toolradar
A small number of placements on Toolradar are paid: the "Sponsored" ribbon at the top of category pages, sponsored newsletter spots, and the "Featured" section on /advertise. Every paid placement is labeled Sponsored or Ad at the placement itself. If it isn't labeled, it isn't paid.
Premium directory listings & dofollow links
Vendors can pay a one-time fee for a verified company profile with a dofollow link to their site (see /advertise/dofollow-backlinks). This is a directory upgrade — it does not buy editorial coverage, change a tool's editorial score, or move it up any "best of" list. The link is marked as a paid placement in the page's schema.
What we don't do
- ×We don't take money to add a tool to a guide's top picks. Top picks are chosen by the editor based on testing and research, not on who pays.
- ×We don't take money to raise a tool's editorial score. Scores are derived from a public methodology — see /how-we-rate.
- ×We don't take money to remove negative coverage. Vendors disputing claims should send evidence to editorial@toolradar.com — facts win, not invoices.
- ×We don't run traditional affiliate links across the catalog. The dofollow links from premium listings are paid placements, not commission-based, and they are disclosed.
- ×We don't insert pay-to-play paragraphs in editorial content. If a guide mentions a tool that also sponsors a Dupple newsletter, the disclosure is at the top of the relevant section.
Conflicts of interest
When a tool covered editorially on Toolradar also sponsors a Dupple newsletter that month, the relevant tool page and any guide that recommends the tool carries a disclosure: "X sponsors a Dupple newsletter. Editorial coverage is independent — see /how-we-make-money." We log these overlaps internally and audit them quarterly to make sure the disclosure actually appears.
Toolradar staff hold no equity in the tools they cover. If that ever changes for a specific tool, the relevant author's bio will declare it on every page mentioning that tool.
Why we publish this page
Software comparison content has a credibility problem because most of it is paid placement dressed as editorial. Toolradar gets a lot of B2B SaaS traffic from buyers researching purchases — and that audience deserves to know exactly how we make money before they trust a recommendation. This page is part of how we earn that trust. If you find a place where reality doesn't match this policy, that's a bug, not a feature — please tell us.
Report a violation
Suspect a placement isn't labeled? Think editorial coverage looks bought? Email editorial@toolradar.com with the URL and what you saw. We respond within 48 hours and publish the resolution if the issue is real.