Affiliate disclosure
We earn commission on some links. Here is the constraint that keeps that from bending the numbers.
The disclosure
Some links here are affiliate links. If you sign up for a product through one, we may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. Affiliate links carry rel="sponsored" and the disclosure appears on the page itself, above the point where you would click.
The rule that matters more than the disclosure
A disclosure tells you a bias could exist. It does not stop one. So there is a harder constraint on the calculators:
A calculator that feeds a recommendation must return the honest answer even when the honest answer costs us the commission.
The clearest case is the S-corp breakeven tool. For many freelancers, the S-corp election does not pay off once payroll service fees, an extra return and state fees are counted. When that is true for your numbers, the tool says so — and says it before mentioning any product.
This is enforced by a test in the codebase, not by good intentions. A case where the honest answer is "do not do this" has to return that answer or the build fails.
Why we hold that line
Because the calculators are the only reason to come here. A tool people trust is worth vastly more over time than any single referral, and a tool quietly tuned toward a payout is worth nothing the moment anyone checks.
What we do not do
- Rank by commission. Ordering reflects the computation, not the payout.
- Hide the relationship. If a link earns, the page says so.
- Recommend anything we would not use. Categories with nothing worth recommending get no recommendation.