Affiliate Disclosure
In accordance with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) guidelines (16 CFR Part 255) and equivalent consumer-protection rules in the UK, EU, and Australia, this page explains how GearCrafted is funded.
The short version
How affiliate links work
Some of the links in our reviews and comparison pages are "affiliate links." If you click one of these links and then purchase the product (or in some cases, sign up for a free trial that converts to a paid plan), the merchant pays us a small commission. The price you pay is exactly the same — affiliate commissions come out of the merchant's marketing budget, not your pocket.
Which programs we participate in
We currently maintain active affiliate accounts with the following networks and may add more over time:
- Awin — independent affiliate network covering SaaS, hosting, and software tools.
- ShareASale — independent affiliate network with a strong roster of AI and productivity tools.
- CJ Affiliate (Commission Junction) — large network covering major SaaS brands.
- Impact — affiliate platform used by many direct-to-consumer SaaS companies.
- Amazon Associates — limited to physical hardware and book recommendations on adjacent product pages.
A complete, current list of programs is available on request via our contact page.
How this affects our reviews
It doesn't. Three things we promise:
- We always buy the product first (or use the free tier honestly) before accepting any affiliate relationship.
- Tools that fail our tests don't get linked, regardless of commission rates.
- If a vendor offers us extra commission to feature them, we decline — and we tell you when that happens.
What we don't do
- We don't accept payment in exchange for a positive review or higher placement.
- We don't accept free products in lieu of paid purchases for testing (we buy them or use the public free tier).
- We don't write "sponsored posts" labeled as reviews. Sponsored content is always labeled as such and kept separate from editorial reviews.
- We don't promote tools we haven't personally used for at least 30 days.
Material connections
Some AI tool vendors we review may have affiliate, referral, or partnership programs that pay GearCrafted when readers sign up. Per FTC rules, we treat any such payment as a "material connection" that requires disclosure. This page serves as that general disclosure for all such relationships.
Questions?
If you have questions about a specific affiliate relationship, want to know whether a particular review includes affiliate links, or want a fuller breakdown of how GearCrafted makes money, please get in touch.