Affiliate disclosure
We believe in transparency. You deserve to know exactly how we make money, what relationships we have, and how those relationships affect, or more importantly, don't affect, what we publish.
This page covers how our affiliate links work. Got questions after reading it? Feel free to reach out. We’re glad to clear up anything that’s confusing.
What is an affiliate relationship?
We run affiliate links on this site. When you click one and buy something from the partner, we get a cut. It’s pretty standard stuff online, and honestly, it’s how we keep the lights on.
We’ve done the legwork on LLC formation services, and we link to the ones we’ve actually checked out. Click through and sign up, and we might get a small cut. That comes from the service’s marketing budget, not your wallet. So you won’t pay extra just because we’re affiliates.
Does this affect our editorial content?
No. This is the thing we need you to get most.
Our affiliate relationships don’t shape what we write. We won’t take money for a good review. And we don’t promise coverage. Affiliate partners never get to see or sign off on our stuff before it goes live.
We decide what to cover, how to evaluate it, and what conclusions to draw, all on our own. Our researchers and writers don’t face pressure from affiliate partners or anyone else. They’re judged only on the quality, accuracy, and usefulness of what they produce.
We review plenty of services we have no ties to. We often point folks toward those, too, when we think they're the right fit for a specific need. And yeah, sometimes we call out services we're actually connected with.
How do we ensure independence?
We have a few safeguards in place to keep our editorial independence solid.
- Editorial Separation: Our editorial team works on its own, totally separate from our commercial ties. The folks writing our reviews have nothing to do with how affiliate deals are handled.
- No Pre-Approval: No affiliate partner sees our content before it's published. We don't let them review, edit, or approve anything we write.
- No Guarantees: We can't promise any specific rating, recommendation, or placement for any service. Our reviews come from our own research, not from any commercial deals.
- Diverse Coverage: We review services we aren't affiliated with. We include these in our comparisons and recommend them when they make sense.
Why we participate in affiliate programs
Running a research and content site isn’t cheap. We pour hundreds of hours into digging through services, testing checkout flows, and writing deep reviews. We cover our own accounts, our own subscriptions, and all our testing costs.
Affiliate commissions help us cover these costs and keep doing what we do. They also let us keep our content free for you.
We're proud of what we do, and we think it genuinely helps our readers. Those affiliate partnerships let us keep it going without hitting you with a paywall.
What we do with affiliate revenue
Affiliate revenue goes straight back into the site. It pays for:
- Paying our research team to run deep evaluations.
- Subscribing to services so we can test them ourselves
- Hosting and maintaining the site
- Creating new content and updating what’s already there.
- Improving our tools and resources
What we don't do
- We don't accept payment for positive reviews. We've been offered, and we've declined.
- We don't accept free products or services in exchange for coverage. We pay for our own accounts so we get the same experience you do.
- We don't have money tied up in any of the services we review. Our only financial link is through affiliate commissions.
- We don't let affiliate partners steer our editorial calendar. We pick what we cover, and when.
How we label affiliate links
We clearly mark our affiliate links, so you’ll know exactly when you’re clicking one. You’ll see text like “we earn a commission,” and every page with those links has a disclosure notice right there.
We also have a disclosure box at the bottom of every page that spells out our affiliate ties in plain English.
Our commitment to you
We’re upfront about our affiliate ties. Trust comes from honesty, and that’s how we want to earn yours.
- We will always tell you, right up front, about our affiliate relationships. No hiding that.
- We will never let affiliate relationships influence our editorial content.
- We will always tell you when we might be biased, even if we're not.
- We’ll keep reviewing services we aren’t tied to.
- We will keep calling out services we are tied to when they deserve it.
Our affiliate relationships exist to fund our work, not to control it. We’re committed to honest, independent research that puts our readers first. If we ever slip up on that, we want to hear about it. Please contact us if you’ve got concerns.
Frequently asked questions
No. The commission comes out of the service's marketing budget, not your pocket. You pay the same price whether you click our link or head straight to the service's site.
We clearly label affiliate links. And there’s a disclosure notice at the bottom of every page that has them.
Yes. We review and recommend plenty of services we have no ties to. Our picks come from what we think helps you, not what pays us.
Yes. We keep our editorial independence strict. Our affiliate deals don’t touch our reviews. We’ve got several safeguards so our content stays honest and objective.