How we test
The bar a piece has to clear before we call it a review, and what we will not accept money for.
Most live MorningStacks pieces are sourced operator briefings and comparisons, labeled as such. They are not production tests. This page is the bar for a real review. If a review does not live up to what is described below, tell us and we will fix it or pull it.
What counts as tested
A published review, and only a published review, meets one of two thresholds:
- Production use. The software has been used in real work for at least one full pricing cycle, typically 30 days. For team tools, that is 30 days with at least three people.
- Structured trial. When production use is impractical, we run a 30-day structured trial against a published checklist for that category. The trial uses a representative use case, not an idealized one.
The last-tested date on a review is the last day the software was used in earnest. If it is older than nine months, we re-test before we promote the piece again.
How we score
Ratings are out of 5.0, in increments of 0.1. They are a judgment, not an average of sub-scores. A 4.0 means we would recommend the tool in the right context. A 5.0 means we would recommend it in any context. There is currently nothing on the site at 5.0.
We do not publish scores out of 100. Software is judged, not benchmarked. A high score is a recommendation, not a measurement.
What we will not accept money for
- Reviewing a product. We review what is worth reviewing.
- A higher score on an existing review.
- Including a product in a roundup.
- Removing a competitor from a roundup.
- Letting a vendor review a piece before it publishes. We may share a fact-check excerpt. We do not share the whole piece.
We accept affiliate commissions, paid by the vendor when a reader buys after clicking through. The commission rate has no influence on scoring.
Corrections
When we get something wrong (a feature, a price, a product that changed), we update the piece and add a dated correction note. We do not silently rewrite published reviews.
Conflicts
If the writer has a personal investment in, advisory role with, or significant financial relationship to a vendor, that writer does not write the review. If you spot a conflict we missed, tell us.