How We Test

Our promise · Last updated: October 2026

Every Agency Tested Score comes from real hands-on testing — inside actual agency workflows, over days or weeks, never from vendor spec sheets or sponsored demos. We buy or trial the software like a customer, build real test workspaces, and score every tool against the same five criteria and the same weights. This page documents exactly how.

The five criteria and their weights

Criterion	Weight	What we measure
Agency features	25%	Per-client workspaces or pipelines, roles and permissions, client-facing views, multi-account management
Ease of use	20%	Onboarding speed, learning curve for non-technical staff, day-to-day workflow friction
Pricing value	20%	What 5, 15, and 40-person agencies actually pay; free-tier generosity; hidden costs
Support	15%	Response time and quality on real tickets, knowledge base depth, community
Integrations	20%	Native integration breadth and depth, API quality, reliability of key connections

Each criterion is scored 1–10, then combined into the Agency Tested Score: (Agency features × 0.25) + (Ease of use × 0.20) + (Pricing value × 0.20) + (Support × 0.15) + (Integrations × 0.20). Every review publishes the full breakdown table — no black boxes.

How a test runs

• 1. Set up like a customer. We sign up for trials or paid plans exactly as an agency would — no vendor-guided demos, no seeded demo data.
• 2. Build a test agency. A multi-seat workspace with realistic client projects, pipelines, or audiences — typically 4–6 team members, several client accounts, and hundreds of test records.
• 3. Run standard scenarios. Every tool faces the same agency workflows: onboarding a retainer client, running a month-end reporting cycle, automating follow-up, handling a support issue on a deadline, and handing work to a client.
• 4. Score independently. Two team members score each criterion separately, then reconcile. Disagreements get re-tested, not averaged away.
• 5. Publish everything. The testing summary, full score breakdown, pros and cons, pricing table, and affiliate disclosure appear on every review.

What the scores mean

Score	Meaning
9.0 – 10	Exceptional — the benchmark for the category
8.0 – 8.9	Excellent — our recommendation for most agencies
7.0 – 7.9	Good — strong in places, with real tradeoffs to weigh
6.0 – 6.9	Okay — usable, but only for narrow use cases
Below 6.0	Not recommended for agencies

About the user-satisfaction figure

Alongside our expert score, every review shows a user-satisfaction percentage marked with an asterisk. This is an editorial estimate compiled from public review aggregates (G2, Capterra, and similar sources) at the time of testing — not a survey we conducted and not a precise measurement. We include it as a sanity check against our own findings: when our score and user sentiment diverge sharply, we say so and explain why.

Update policy

SaaS products change constantly, so reviews carry a “Last updated” date. We re-check pricing on every review at least quarterly, and we re-test tools when vendors ship major redesigns or pricing overhauls. A review that no longer reflects the product gets updated or retired — we do not leave stale verdicts ranking.