Some links on TopickZ are affiliate links. That means when you click them and sign up for a paid plan, we earn a commission from the vendor. This is one of the ways we fund the editorial team and keep the site running.
This disclosure is here because FTC guidelines require it, and also because you deserve to know.
What this means in practice
When you see a button that says “Try HubSpot” or “Start with Apollo” on a review page, there is a good chance that link has our affiliate tracking attached. If you sign up through that link, the vendor credits us a commission. The commission does not change the price you pay.
Not every link is tracked. Some tools we cover do not have affiliate programs. Some tools do have programs but we have not joined them yet. We do not turn down covering a tool because it has no affiliate program.
What this does not mean
It does not mean our rankings are shaped by commission rates. The testing happens before anyone looks at commission structures. The reviewer writes the review. The editor sets the rankings. Neither person is looking at a spreadsheet of commission rates when they do their job.
It does not mean we only recommend tools we have affiliate deals with. There are tools in our top 10 lists that pay us nothing. We recommend them because they performed best.
It does not mean we hide the affiliate relationship. Affiliate links are disclosed at the top of every review and listicle that contains them. The disclosure is not buried in the footer, it is at the top of the article.
How we chose our affiliate partners
We join affiliate programs for tools we have already reviewed and would recommend anyway. We do not review a tool because it has a lucrative affiliate program. That said, if we are covering a category and the best tool in the category has a good affiliate program, we are not going to leave money on the table by not joining it.
We have rejected affiliate programs from tools we would not recommend. The commission for sending people to a bad product is not worth the credibility cost.
Questions
If you want to know whether a specific link on a specific page is affiliate-tracked, email transparency@topickz.com and we will tell you.