We exist because small businesses deserve better software advice.
If you’ve ever searched for the “best CRM for small business” and ended up more confused than when you started — you know the problem we’re solving.
The Problem With Most Software Review Sites
The big review platforms — G2, Capterra, GetApp — were built for enterprise buyers. Their databases have thousands of tools, most users are IT managers at mid-size companies, and the rankings are heavily influenced by which vendors pay for premium placement. For a solopreneur trying to pick between two email marketing tools, those sites create more noise than signal.
Then there’s the other end of the spectrum: blog posts written by people who’ve never actually used the software, stuffed with keywords and affiliate links, ranking tools based on how large the commission check is.
Neither of these helps a small business owner make a confident decision.
What SoftwareSift Does Differently
We only cover software built for small businesses.
We’re not trying to review every tool in every category for every possible buyer. Our focus is 1–20 employee businesses, solopreneurs, and freelancers in the US. If a tool is designed primarily for enterprise teams, we don’t cover it — or we note clearly that it’s not the right fit.
We test every tool with a real account.
No reviews based on vendor demos. No recommendations sourced from press releases. Our editorial team signs up for actual accounts, goes through real onboarding, uses the features, and contacts customer support when something doesn’t work. We pay for access when we have to.
Our rankings are editorially independent.
We earn affiliate commissions from some of the tools we recommend — and we’re fully transparent about that. But commissions have zero influence on our rankings or recommendations. We’ve given low scores to high-commission tools and top picks to tools that pay us nothing. The ranking follows the testing, not the other way around.
We update our reviews.
Software changes. Pricing changes. Features get added or sunset. We revisit our reviews on a regular schedule so you’re not making decisions based on a write-up from three years ago.
Who We Are
SoftwareSift is produced by a small editorial team that’s collectively spent years evaluating business software — as consultants, operators, and researchers. We don’t put personal names on the site because we want the work to speak for itself. What matters isn’t who’s writing; it’s whether the review is accurate and useful.
We are operated by CBEG GROUP, LLC.
What We’re Not
- We are not a software company.
- We are not paid by vendors to rank their tools.
- We are not affiliated with any single platform or ecosystem.
- We don’t publish sponsored “reviews” that are actually ads.
If a vendor reaches out to us about coverage, we evaluate their tool on the same criteria as everyone else. Being in contact with a vendor doesn’t change what we write.
Questions or Feedback?
If you think we got something wrong, missed an important tool, or have a suggestion for what we should cover next, we want to hear from you.
Contact us → | Read our methodology → | Affiliate disclosure →