How we score vendors
The score counts what a vendor publishes on its own website. It is a measure of how much a buyer can check before a sales call.
What the score is not
We have not used these products or hired these companies, and the score does not claim to measure results, product quality or customer service. A vendor with a low score may do excellent work and simply publish very little. A vendor with a high score has made it easy to see its prices and terms. That is all the number says.
How it is calculated
Each vendor is put through a list of yes or no checks, grouped into five sub-scores. A sub-score is 5 times the share of its checks that passed. The overall score is the weighted average of the five, shown to one decimal place.
A check passes only when the fact is on the vendor's own website and we can link to the page. On every profile, "Show all checks" lists each check with a link to the page where the answer was read.
Some checks only make sense for some kinds of vendor, and those are left out for the others. An agency is not marked down for lacking a help center, and a device maker is not marked down for lacking month-to-month terms.
The checks
Pricing transparency (25% of the score)
- Publishes a price
- States how it charges
- States setup or onboarding fees (software, agencies, service firms only)
- States extra costs such as add-ons or ad spend (software, agencies only)
- Lists what each plan or package includes (software, agencies, service firms only)
Terms and commitment (20% of the score)
- States the minimum term (software, agencies, service firms only)
- Offers month to month (software, agencies only)
- Publishes cancellation or return terms
- Offers a free trial, demo, audit or consultation
- States who owns accounts and assets (agencies only)
- States how you get your data out (software only)
Med spa fit (20% of the score)
- Has a page for this industry
- Names this industry as its only or a core market
- Shows a named client or case study in this industry
- Lists services or features built for this industry
- States that it supports HIPAA compliance or offers a BAA (software only)
Proof and track record (20% of the score)
- Publishes a case study with a stated result
- Names its leadership or team
- Publishes its founding year
- Has a third-party review profile with 10 or more reviews
- Names clients
Support and onboarding (15% of the score)
- Lists how to reach support
- States support hours
- Describes onboarding (software, agencies, service firms only)
- Has a public help center or documentation (software only)
Where the facts come from
Every fact comes from the vendor's own website: its pricing page, terms of service, about page and so on. We save the page, record the exact words, the link and the date, and show the link next to the fact. Third-party review ratings (such as G2 or Capterra) are shown with their source and date, and are never mixed into our score.
If we cannot find a fact, the profile says "Not published". We do not estimate prices or guess at terms.
Dates
"Last checked" is the date we last read the vendor's pages. It only changes when the pages are read again. Prices and terms change, so confirm them with the vendor before you buy.
Ranking
Category lists are sorted by overall score, and ties are sorted by name. Nobody can pay to change a score or a place in the ranked list. A paid Featured listing appears in its own labelled position above the ranked list and has no effect on either.
Companies owned by the publisher
Gabe Meierotto, who publishes this site, owns two companies listed here. Both carry the label "Owned by the publisher of this site" wherever they appear, go through the same checks, and are sorted by the same rule. See the disclosure.
Corrections
If your site has changed, or we missed a page, tell us and we will read it again. A correction is free and does not depend on any paid listing.