Every score on this site is a weighted sum of named criteria. Nothing is scored by feel, nothing is written by hand, and changing one criterion updates every page that shows the score. This page is generated from the same file the scoring engine reads, so it cannot fall out of date.
Why exactly four
Four picks, four roles, one product per role. A category that does not have four products worth recommending does not get a ranking. We would rather publish nothing than pad a list to hit a number.
- Best Overall
- The right choice for most people in the category. Not necessarily the cheapest and not necessarily the most capable.
- Best Value
- The best ratio of what you get to what you pay. For the reader who does not want to overpay for capability they will not use.
- Best Free or Best Budget
- The best free option, or the cheapest usable entry point when the category has nothing free. The role label on the page says which.
- Best for a named situation
- The best choice for one narrow case, always named on the page: best for teams, best for beginners, best for EU shipping.
The criteria and their weights
The set is chosen by what the product is, never by which category page you arrived from. That is why a score means the same thing across the whole site.
| Capability | 30% | What the tool actually does versus what it promises. |
|---|---|---|
| Usability | 20% | How fast you can get real work done in it. |
| Value | 20% | What you get for the money against the alternatives. |
| Integrations | 10% | Fit with the rest of your stack, and API access. |
| Support | 10% | Documentation, response times, available channels. |
| Trust | 10% | Company stability, security, pricing transparency, data handling. |
| Performance | 25% | Speed and reliability under real load. |
|---|---|---|
| Usability | 20% | How quickly you can ship something usable. |
| Value | 20% | Total cost of running it, including fees and add-ons. |
| Scalability | 15% | What happens when traffic or catalog size grows. |
| Support | 10% | Documentation, response times, available channels. |
| Ecosystem | 10% | Apps, themes, integrations, available expertise. |
| Price level | 25% | Price against competitors for comparable goods. |
|---|---|---|
| Selection | 20% | Breadth and depth of the catalog. |
| Delivery | 20% | Speed, reliability, cost, customs handling. |
| Buyer protection | 20% | Returns, claims, who pays return shipping, dispute handling. |
| Experience | 10% | Site and app, search, checkout. |
| Trust | 5% | Seller vetting, transparency, track record. |
| Content quality | 30% | Depth, accuracy and currency of the material. |
|---|---|---|
| Practicality | 20% | How much of it you can apply the next day. |
| Instructor credibility | 15% | Track record of the people teaching. |
| Value | 15% | Hours and outcomes for the money. |
| Platform experience | 10% | Player, mobile, progress tracking, offline. |
| Credential value | 10% | What the certificate is worth to an employer. |
| Outcome quality | 35% | Quality of the delivered result. |
|---|---|---|
| Value | 25% | Result for the money against alternatives. |
| Reliability | 20% | Deadlines kept, consistency over time. |
| Communication | 20% | Clarity, responsiveness, reporting. |
What the numbers mean
Without calibration every product ends up between 8.5 and 9.5 and the score stops carrying information. At most one product per ranking sits in the top band.
- 9.0 to 10Category leader. Best in class. At most one entity per ranking sits here.
- 8.0 to 8.9Strong choice. Strong pick with minor reservations.
- 7.0 to 7.9Solid. Solid for a specific use case.
- 5.0 to 6.9Average. Average. Better options exist.
- under 5.0Not recommended. We do not recommend it.
We never use stars. Stars imply user reviews, and this site does not host any.
How the money works
- Commission never appears in any scoring formula. It is not a field the scoring engine can read.
- A product with no affiliate programme can take any slot, including first. The link then points at the vendor site and looks identical to a monetised one.
- We run an automated check that compares the average score of products that pay us against those that do not. A gap wider than 0.5 points is flagged for review.
- We do not sell leads, and we never pass your details to a vendor. Full disclosure.
How often this is re-checked
- Prices: every 90 days. Past that, the page says the price may have changed.
- Facts and specs: every 180 days.
- Whole rankings: every 180 days, or sooner when the market moves.
- Affiliate links: checked for a working destination every 30 days.
If we got something wrong
Prices change and vendors ship features without telling anyone. If a number on this site is wrong, tell us through the contact form and we will re-verify it against the vendor page and update the date.