Methodology

Depending on the asset, we may use anonymised first-party telemetry, explicitly cited public datasets, vendor disclosures, or a structured survey. Each published study must state which inputs it actually used, its date range, sample limitations, and source links. We do not use scraped private data or unverified leaks.

• First-party telemetry: aggregated, never personally identifiable.
• Public datasets: government statistics, academic research, public filings.
• Vendor disclosures: pricing pages, product docs, regulatory filings.
• Surveys: methodology and sample size disclosed alongside any chart.

A comparison is eligible to be indexed as an evidence-backed comparison only when it publishes its decision criteria, sources, pricing date, and limitations. Our legacy /compare/ templates do not yet meet that bar and are being contained while they are rebuilt; they should not be interpreted as scored rankings.

• Criteria must be published before a page is approved for indexing.
• Every material cell must link to a source and record when pricing or product data was checked.
• Unverified capability claims are omitted or labelled as vendor claims.
• Affiliate or partnership relationships, when present, must be disclosed and cannot affect scoring.

We do not currently treat a legacy template or AI-generated list as an independently tested ranking. A future ‘best X for Y’ page may be called a ranking only when it publishes the weighting profile, evidence, and limitations. We do not accept payment to alter an editorial ranking.

• Each ranking page declares the use-case profile it scored against.
• Ties are broken by the criterion most relevant to the named use case.
• Vendor mentions in rankings are independent of any commercial relationship.

The generator enforces automated structural floors before publication — a minimum word count, required section structure, FAQ coverage, and keyword and statistics thresholds — and logs gate failures for editorial follow-up. This is a structural gate, not proof that every statement is correct. First-party data studies are the exception: they remain drafts until a human verifies the aggregated numbers. Synthetic statistics are not permitted. Legacy posts without adequate evidence are candidates for correction, consolidation, noindex, or removal.

Some honest limitations of our work, so readers can decide how much weight to give it.

• Most of our customer telemetry comes from Southeast Asia — global generalisations are calibrated against public data.
• Pricing screenshots age fast — always confirm current pricing on the vendor's site before purchase.
• We do not run independent benchmarks on hardware/software — vendor-supplied numbers are labelled as such.
• AI-drafted articles can lag breaking news by hours; check the dateModified.