The short answer to how StudioSift makes money from the tools it names is that it makes none. When we link to a vendor, the link goes to its own pricing page so you can check the price yourself. Every price we quote says when we checked it, and that vendor page is the evidence behind the number.
What that means for the tools we name
No vendor sees a page before it goes live. None gets to approve its entry, correct a price or ask for a better position in a table. Tools get onto a page by the method set out in our editorial policy, not because someone asked or paid.
That method includes free options and advice that earns nobody anything. If a Trello board and a shared Google Drive folder handle your three clients without requests going missing, keep them. The page will tell you to stay on the free board. Keeping a simpler setup is a valid outcome, and we would rather you kept it than paid for a client portal you do not need yet. The same rule covers every page in the software library.
If we ever take vendor money
If StudioSift ever adds a commission link or any paid arrangement with a vendor, this page changes first, before a single such link goes live. Every affected page will also say so where the link appears, not in a footer you would have to go looking for.
You can see who is behind the site on the about page.