Our honesty contract
We only earn in ways that don't bend what we tell you. Here's exactly how — in the open, because your trust is the entire point of this place.
The one rule
No brand can pay to rank higher, to earn a better verdict, or to pass our authenticity check. Not for any price. When we tell you where to buy something for the best value, that answer is never for sale.
These things never are:
Our rankings · Our "is it worth it" verdicts · The authenticity gate · The earned Tuesday Plug · Plug Verified · Your reviews
Four honest ways — none of them touch your rankings.
Affiliate commissions
When you buy from the best-value authentic source we point you to, we may earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes the pick: if a cheaper authentic option pays us nothing, that's still the one we recommend. Every affiliate link is labeled.
The Plug Studio
Our studio makes photos, social posts, and launch creative for brands. That's us selling our craft, on the brand's own feeds. It never touches your rankings, and a Studio client is ranked exactly like a brand that's never paid us a cent.
Clearly-labeled sponsorships
A brand can pay for a labeled spotlight or a slot in our newsletter. It's always marked "Paid partnership / #ad," it's always kept separate from our editorial picks, and it never earns a ranking or a verdict. We also won't sell attention we haven't earned yet.
Brand tools & reports
Brands can buy reports and a dashboard drawn from their own pricing and market data. It's their mirror — it has nothing to do with how we rank products for you, and it can't change a listing's position or authenticity status.
If a Studio client or a Sponsored brand also appears in the comparison tool, their ranking is unchanged — and we disclose the relationship on the product.
Every affiliate link is disclosed, right where you see it — never buried.
Every paid placement is labeled "Sponsored / Paid partnership / #ad."
Every price is stamped with the date we checked it — prices change often.
Featured ≠ ranked. A paid feature never earns a spot in the rankings.
Plug Verified is earned, never bought — and it's revocable.
Our independence isn't what we sell. It's the whole reason we're worth trusting.
No spam · No pay-to-rank