Every tool fact on StudioSift comes from the vendor's own documentation, and every price carries the date it was checked. We have not tested the tools hands-on and we do not say we have.
Facts come from the vendor's own pages
We read each vendor's pricing and feature pages directly and record what the page says, with the link (search results, listicles and competitor articles only help us find that page, never supply a number).
Founder figures work the same way. They come from the founder's own post or site, attributed and dated. When Brett Williams of DesignJoy wrote in his Indie Hackers AMA that he had "30+ clients", that was May 2021, so we label it 2021 rather than present it as today's figure.
Every price has a date and a currency
Every page shows the month its prices were checked, under the title. A price you read in March is six months old, so check the vendor's page before you commit to an annual plan.
We quote the currency the vendor showed us, then add an approximate USD figure in brackets. Here is what that looks like: Notion served its pricing in euros, so Plus reads as €9.50 per member a month (about $10.82). The conversion uses the mid-market rate from XE on the day we checked.
Some tools are named without a price
If we cannot read a clear number from the vendor, we name the tool and leave the price out. The usual reasons:
- The pricing page blocked automated reading or returned an error.
- The page showed different figures on repeat visits on the same day.
- The numbers only appear after a monthly or annual toggle is switched, so only one billing state was visible.
- The page was served in another region's currency and the USD price could not be confirmed.
A missing price means we could not confirm it. It does not mean the tool is expensive or hides its pricing.
No testing, rankings or client results
We read the vendor's own feature list. We do not install the tool, run a project through it or talk to its support team. If a page ever implies otherwise, that is a bug in the copy, not the method.
We do not rank tools or report client results. Worked examples, such as a studio's monthly tool bill, are labelled illustrative. The software pages apply this to each category, and the editorial independence page sets out how we keep recommendations independent.
Pages are drafted with AI and checked by separate reviewers
Pages are prepared with AI assistance. Before publication, each page is checked against a written standard by separate reviewers for accuracy, clarity and structure. The About page explains who StudioSift is for.