EditorialFox is free to read and costs real money to produce. Like most independent publications, we may fund the work partly through advertising and affiliate commissions — and this page states exactly how that works and the rules that keep the money from steering the advice.
Affiliate links, explained
An affiliate link is a tracked link to a merchant: qualifying purchases made through it pay us a small commission from the merchant’s margin — your price never changes. Programs we may participate in over time include Amazon Associates (as an Amazon Associate, we would earn from qualifying purchases) and the programs of relevant software, hardware, and service companies.
Where they appear
Product and service mentions across our guides may carry affiliate links; many links never will — official documentation, government resources, libraries, and the free tools we so frequently recommend pay nothing, because usefulness is the criterion. Articles with affiliate links carry disclosure, with this page as the standing site-wide statement.
The five rules
- Verdict first, link second. Recommendations are decided on merit, then linked if a program exists — never the reverse. When the honest answer is the free option, we say so; our archive is full of guides whose advice costs nothing.
- Commissions cannot buy conclusions. Higher payouts purchase no rankings, no softened criticism, no placement.
- Disclosure stays visible — here, in the Editorial Policy, and on the pages themselves.
- No pay-to-play, period. Coverage is not for sale, and any sponsored content we ever run will be labeled beyond all ambiguity.
- The reader outranks the revenue. A publication’s only durable asset is being believed; we do not spend it on commissions.
Advertising
Display ads served by networks such as Google AdSense may appear, visually distinct from editorial content and without influence over it. Cookie mechanics and personalization controls live in the Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy.
Your choice
Use the links and the commission quietly supports more research and more guides — appreciated, never required. Navigate directly to any merchant and the advice serves you identically. Either way, the job here does not change: sharpest honest answer, first.
Hold us to it
If any recommendation ever seems to violate this page, we want to hear urgently: hello@editorialfox.com. Readers enforcing our rules is a feature, not a complaint.