Last Updated: March 2026
SoftwareSift earns money through affiliate commissions. We’re telling you this upfront — on its own page, in plain language — because we think you deserve to know how this site works before you trust our recommendations.
Here’s exactly how it works.
What Affiliate Links Are
Some of the links on SoftwareSift are affiliate links. That means if you click one of those links and go on to sign up for or purchase a product, we may receive a commission from the company behind that product.
The commission comes from the company — not from you. You pay the same price whether you use our link or go directly to the vendor’s website. The only difference is that we get credit for the referral.
What Types of Affiliate Programs We Participate In
We work with two main types of affiliate programs:
Recurring SaaS Commissions
Many SaaS companies offer ongoing commissions for the lifetime of a referred customer’s subscription. For example, if a tool pays a 20% recurring commission and you subscribe at $50/month, we might earn $10/month for as long as you’re a customer. This structure means we have an incentive to only recommend tools that people will actually keep using.
CPA (Cost Per Acquisition) Programs
Some programs pay a flat one-time fee when a referred user signs up, starts a trial, or makes a purchase. These are common in e-commerce and larger software platforms.
We participate in affiliate programs run directly by software companies and through major affiliate networks. The presence of an affiliate relationship has no bearing on how we review or rank a tool.
What Affiliate Commissions Do NOT Influence
This is the most important part of this page:
Affiliate commissions do not influence our rankings, scores, or recommendations — ever.
We have given poor reviews to tools that offer generous affiliate programs. We have named top picks tools that have no affiliate program at all. Our rankings are determined by hands-on testing and scored criteria. Revenue is a byproduct of good advice, not a replacement for it.
Specifically:
- Vendors cannot pay us to improve their ranking or score.
- We do not accept payment to publish positive reviews.
- We do not give preferential placement based on commission rate.
- A tool’s affiliate status is not a factor in our editorial process.
If we ever started letting commission rates drive recommendations, we’d be useless to you — and you’d eventually figure that out. Our business only works if the advice is genuinely good.
How to Identify Affiliate Links on Our Site
We disclose affiliate relationships at the top or bottom of every page that contains affiliate links. In some cases, we use a small notation (such as “*” or “Affiliate link”) next to specific links.
If you’re ever unsure whether a link is an affiliate link, assume that it might be. When in doubt, you can go directly to a vendor’s website rather than clicking through our link — we’d rather you make the right software choice than click our link for the wrong one.
FTC Compliance
This disclosure is made in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s guidelines on endorsements and testimonials (16 C.F.R. Part 255). SoftwareSift maintains this disclosure in good faith and works to ensure affiliate relationships are clearly communicated throughout the site.
Questions?
If you have questions about our affiliate relationships or editorial standards, reach out at contact@softwaresift.com.
You can also read: