How FriendsWithTools Review Makes Money
We earn through affiliate commissions when you purchase tools through our links. This revenue funds our research and editorial work. Our commissions never influence our reviews or recommendations.
Affiliate commissions
Our comparison and review section helps you choose the right tools. When you click a link to Amazon, Home Depot, Lowe's, or another retailer on our tool comparison pages and make a purchase, we earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.
You pay the same price either way. The retailer pays us for the referral. That commission helps us invest in research, fact-checking, and editorial work to keep our reviews accurate.
Why affiliate income doesn't influence our ratings
This is the critical part: our affiliate income does not influence which tools we recommend or how we rank them.
Here's how we keep it separate. Our comparison criteria are built on:
- Manufacturer specifications — published by the makers
- Aggregated user reviews — from major retail platforms like Amazon and Home Depot
- Published test results — from independent labs and trusted sources
- Price and availability — verified on the date each review was published
Commission rates from different retailers have no impact on our rankings. A tool that earns us 1% commission gets the same fair treatment as a tool that earns us 10%. What matters is how it performs against our criteria.
Our editorial team reviews and updates every comparison. When a tool no longer meets our standards, we remove it—even if we're losing affiliate income.
What this means for you
When you read our tool comparisons, you're reading honest research. Our affiliate relationships are transparent, disclosed on every product page, and have no bearing on our editorial judgment.
You should make buying decisions based on what's best for your needs—not what earns us the most. If a competitor's tool is genuinely better for your situation, we'll say so.
Full transparency
Want all the legal details? Check out our Affiliate Disclosure page. It lists every affiliate network we work with, explains our cookie policy, and confirms that we meet all FTC disclosure requirements.
If you have questions about our business model or spot something that doesn't feel transparent, reach out. We take this seriously.