The short versionThree revenue lines, all disclosed
We earn from affiliate commissions on some software trials, from a flat referral fee when a quote request reaches a provider, and from clearly labeled sponsorships. You never pay more because you came through us.
Scores are set before any affiliate link is added. Listings cannot be bought. Both facts are enforced by how the site is built, not just by good intentions, and the next sections explain how.
Section 1Software commissions
On a ranking page, the button that starts a vendor trial may be an affiliate link. If you start a trial or subscribe, the vendor may pay us a commission. The price you pay is the same as going direct.
Not every tool we rank has an affiliate program. Some of the tools that score highest do not pay us anything, and they still rank where the rubric puts them. Every ranking page carries the same note next to the buttons, so you never have to guess which link pays us.
Section 2Provider referral fees
When you request quotes, we forward your request to up to three listed providers. Each of those providers pays us the same flat fee for receiving it. The fee does not vary with the size of your project, it is not an auction, and a provider cannot pay more to be chosen or to be chosen first.
This is the part of the business model most directories get wrong, so to be explicit: we are paid for the introduction, not for the outcome, and we are paid the same amount regardless of which providers we pick. That removes the incentive to send you to the highest bidder instead of the best fit.
Section 3Sponsorships
A vendor or provider can sponsor a placement. When that happens the placement is labeled as sponsored where you see it. A sponsor must still pass the same verification as everyone else, a sponsorship never changes a score, a star rating or a verification result, and it never reorders the unsponsored list.
Section 4Why the money does not bend the content
Good intentions are not a control. These are the controls.
- Scores come before links. The editor applies the 40-point rubric, records the score with the date, and states on the page what the score was read from. Affiliate links are added afterwards by a different step.
- The rubric is published. Every ranking page shows the criteria and their weights, so you can check whether the score follows the rubric or the revenue.
- The referral fee is flat. No provider can outbid another for your request.
- Verification is pass or fail. A provider either produced the registration, the phone call, the address, the certification proof and the contactable clients, or it is not listed.
- Corrections are public. When we get something wrong, the fix is dated on the page and logged where anyone can read it.
If you ever see a page where the score and the rubric do not add up, write to [email protected]. That is the check we most want you to use.
Section 5FTC disclosure
In line with the United States Federal Trade Commission guidance on endorsements and testimonials, we disclose that Packet Basics has material connections with some of the companies mentioned on this site, in the form of affiliate commissions, referral fees and sponsorships described above. Our opinions are our own and we publish them whether or not a company pays us anything.
Section 6How to avoid paying us anything
Nothing on this site is gated, and none of it requires you to use our links. Every software review names the vendor so you can go to them directly. Every provider profile shows the company website and phone number so you can call them yourself. The reference library will never ask you for anything at all.