This is the full editorial policy for WhichRanks — the standards, independence safeguards, and disclosure rules that govern every page on this site. If a single line in this document gets crossed, the content doesn't ship. Period.
WhichRanks exists to help people make smarter buying decisions, faster. We do that by testing brands ourselves, publishing current pricing, and writing the verdict the way we'd tell a friend. This editorial policy is the operating contract behind that mission.
Every piece of editorial content on this site — including reviews, head-to-head comparisons, category rankings, top picks, and blog articles — must meet the standards below before publication. These standards are owned by the Editor-in-Chief and reviewed quarterly by editorial leadership.
For the broader story of how WhichRanks operates, see our About page. For the testing process that produces our verdicts, see Our Methodology.
Editorial independence is the asset we can't replace. If readers stop believing our verdicts reflect honest testing, the entire site stops mattering. This section spells out the firewalls that keep commercial pressure from touching editorial output.
Brands are welcome to engage with WhichRanks through several legitimate channels:
WhichRanks earns revenue through three channels: affiliate commissions, sponsored content, and display advertising. This section describes how each is disclosed — so readers can always tell what's editorial, what's promotional, and what's paid placement.
When you click certain "Get Deal," "Try Free," or "Visit Site" buttons on WhichRanks, we sometimes earn a small commission if you make a purchase — at no additional cost to you. This is how we fund the site. Affiliate links are clearly marked with the Ad label or the rel="sponsored" HTML attribute.
Affiliate revenue depends on which brands run affiliate programs and what commission rates they offer. Our rankings are not adjusted to favor brands with higher payouts. If a lower-paying brand is the better pick, we say so — and we link to them anyway.
Sponsored content is editorial work where a brand has paid for placement of specific content (typically an article or feature). Sponsored content on WhichRanks follows three rules:
Banner ads and promo banners appear in clearly marked locations across the site. These carry the Ad label visibly. The brands buying these placements cannot influence editorial rankings — display ads and editorial coverage are completely separate.
Most links on WhichRanks are purely editorial — citations, internal navigation, references to category pages, or brand websites for reader reference. These carry the Editorial treatment (no sponsored attribute, standard link styling). They generate no revenue for us.
Conflicts of interest aren't always commercial — sometimes they're personal, professional, or financial holdings unrelated to advertising. This section defines what we consider a conflict and how we handle each type.
Every member of our editorial team submits a quarterly disclosure listing:
When a conflict is disclosed, the affected editor is removed from coverage of that brand. The category lead and Editor-in-Chief review all disclosures and assign alternative reviewers where needed.
For practical reasons, we sometimes accept review samples — particularly for high-cost physical goods where retail purchase isn't feasible for every brand in a category (e.g., comparing 12 different mattress brands). When we accept samples, these rules apply:
For hotel, flight, and travel-related coverage, our policy is stricter: we pay our own way. No comped flights, no comped hotel stays, no comped meals. Travel reporting that wouldn't survive a paid customer's experience isn't reporting we want to publish.
Every fact published on WhichRanks must trace back to a verifiable primary source. This section defines what counts as a primary source, how we cite, and how facts get verified before publication.
Every price on every page is cross-checked against the brand's official site within 30 days. Automated checks flag any price quoted from a source older than its 30-day window. Where introductory pricing differs from renewal pricing — common for VPNs and web hosting — both rates are listed.
Direct quotes from spokespeople or executives are attributed by name and role. We don't fabricate quotes. We don't anonymously paraphrase brand positions to make them sound stronger or weaker than they are.
Before any review or comparison ships, three independent reviewers sign off:
If any reviewer flags a concern, publication is held until the issue is resolved.
AI tools are everywhere in publishing. We've thought carefully about which uses are acceptable, which are not, and where the line sits for WhichRanks readers in 2026.
When AI played a substantial role in a piece (beyond drafting assistance), we disclose it. Look for an "AI assistance: [description]" note at the bottom of any such article. Our long-form pieces — most comparisons and reviews — are written and edited by humans throughout.
We make mistakes. Every publication does. The question is whether we correct them openly — or quietly update and pretend nothing happened. We do the former.
Where we accept user-submitted content — reader reviews, comments, ratings, suggestions, or community contributions — we hold it to a different but still meaningful standard. Reader voices are valuable. Reader voices being used to manipulate rankings are not.
When readers submit ratings or short reviews of brands we cover, those submissions are clearly attributed to readers (not editorial staff), and they're aggregated separately from our editorial scores. Reader scores are influence — never a replacement — for our independent rubric-based scoring.
Readers can submit:
Good rankings reflect the full landscape — not just the brands that already get the most coverage. This section describes how we work to ensure our coverage reflects a wider set of brands, businesses, and reader needs.
We work to build an editorial team that reflects our readership across demographics, geographies, and lived experience. Our hiring is intentionally outbound — we recruit from communities outside the traditional tech-media pipeline. Open roles are listed on our careers page.
Policies only work if there's a named owner, a clear escalation path, and a public way for anyone to call out a violation. This section is the structural side of editorial integrity.
If you believe WhichRanks has violated this editorial policy, you can reach us through several channels — and we take every report seriously:
This policy is reviewed every quarter by the Editor-in-Chief and the Editorial Advisory Board. Significant changes are versioned (current version: 3.2, as of May 2026) and historical versions are available on request. The last full rewrite was in March 2026.
For questions about this policy, contact us via our contact page. For the broader story of how WhichRanks operates, see our About page.
Three direct channels for readers, brands, and journalists. Every message is read; every credible concern is investigated. Editorial concerns route to the Editor-in-Chief, not the commercial team.
Found a factual error in a review, comparison, or category page? We process verified corrections within 48 hours and publicly date every change.
Submit CorrectionWe can't cover everything yet — but we read every brand suggestion. If we're missing a major player in a category, let us know which one and why.
Suggest BrandBelieve we've crossed a line in this policy? Our Editorial Advisory Board reviews every credible report. Anonymous reporting is available.
Report IssueThis document describes the rules. The way to verify those rules are being followed is to read what we publish. Start with our methodology, browse the comparisons, or check the top picks of 2026.