How We Test AI Tools

Our methodology, in one sentence

We buy paid accounts with our own money, use each tool on real workflows for at least 14 days, score against a 5-factor rubric, and refresh every 90 days.

That's the whole thing. Below is the operational detail of how we apply it.

The 5 scoring factors

Every tool review uses the same five-factor weighting:

Factor	Weight	What we measure
Output quality	35%	The actual thing the tool produces. Tested on real work. Scored blind against the same brief across the category.
Pricing & value	20%	Real cost at typical usage. Hidden caps, surprise overages, annual-only discounts. Value per dollar vs alternatives.
Ease of use	15%	Time from sign-up to first useful output. Editor polish. Documentation quality.
Integrations & ecosystem	15%	How well it slots into existing workflows. Native integrations vs Zapier-only. API quality.
Trust & support	15%	Company stability. Privacy policy clarity. Data handling. Support responsiveness during testing.

How testing actually works

Stage 1: Real account, real money

Every tool is tested on a paid plan we bought with our own credit card. No press accounts. No "evaluation licenses." If we can't justify paying for the tool, we don't review it.

Stage 2: Minimum 14-day test

Two weeks of real work. For complex tools (coding assistants, video generators), we extend to 4 weeks. The clock doesn't start until onboarding is complete.

Stage 3: Workflow scoring

Each category has a standardized test:

• AI writing tools: same 1,500-word listicle brief, scored blind by 3 reviewers
• AI image generators: same 5 prompts, ranked blind by 3 designers
• AI coding tools: same multi-file refactor + autocomplete speed test
• AI voice tools: same script, blind A/B against original speaker
• (see each pillar's "What we tested for" section for category-specific tests)

Same test across every tool in the category. No grading on a curve.

Stage 4: Trust & support

We contact support during testing. We read the privacy policy. We check whether data is used for training. We verify SOC 2, GDPR, regional data residency claims. These influence the trust score.

Stage 5: Final score

5-factor rubric → weighted average → final score out of 10. Scores are not adjusted upward to please vendors.

The scoring scale

Range	What it means
9.0-10	Category leader. Worth paying for even if cheaper alternatives exist.
8.0-8.9	Excellent. Top 3 in category. Specific weaknesses but recommended.
7.0-7.9	Solid. Right fit for specific use cases or budgets.
5.5-6.9	Mediocre. Better options exist unless you're locked in.
Under 5.5	Avoid. We rarely publish at this score, usually means we drop the review.

Update cadence

Reviews are revisited every 90 days minimum. Faster when:

• A major version ships
• Pricing changes
• A competitor leapfrogs
• Reader reports of significant changes

Every review shows a "Last updated" date at the top. Spot something stale? Tell us.

Conflict of interest policy

When we earn commissions on a tool, we score it the same way as a tool with no affiliate program. Several of our highest-ranked tools (Midjourney, Cursor) have no affiliate program at all. Several tools we earn commissions on have scored below 7.0 in our reviews.

Full editorial independence statement: editorial guidelines.

What we don't do

• AI-generated reviews. We use AI for research and outline. Humans write the verdict.
• Sponsored reviews. Vendor pays = vendor gets a "Sponsored" label and the same scoring rubric. Sponsored does not mean positive.
• Affiliate-only rankings. Tools without affiliate programs get fair coverage.
• Stale content. If a review hasn't been updated in 90 days, we mark it as such until we re-test.

Who's behind the testing

Reviews are written by people who use the tools in real work, not generalist content marketers. See author bylines on individual reviews and the team page for context.