Methodology

We tell you what real operators are saying about each CRM right now, with every claim cited to the source. This page describes exactly how we collect, score, and present that signal. If we ever deviate from any rule on this page, it is a bug.

Editorial principles

1. No paid rankings. Sponsorships are explicit, labeled, and never alter a rating.
2. Source-or-it-didn't-happen. Every assertion in a review carries a citation to a public source.
3. Recency. Headline ratings only consider sources from the last 12 months.
4. Disclosed conflicts. Affiliate payout per CRM is shown on the review page itself.
5. Show your work. Source list, weights, and aggregation scripts are public.

Sources we collect

| Tier | Source | Why | | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | Reddit (r/CRM, r/sales, r/smallbusiness, r/entrepreneur, r/marketing) | Highest signal, threaded discussion | | 1 | Hacker News | Engineer/founder slant; deep threads | | 2 | X / Twitter | Volume + recency | | 2 | Threads | Less SEO-contaminated growing channel | | 2 | LinkedIn (public posts only) | Operator and consultant POV | | 3 | YouTube comments under top reviews | Real users motivated enough to comment | | 3 | TrustRadius / G2 (public) | Verified operator content | | 4 | Trustpilot, Sitejabber | Some signal but consumer-skewed |

Per source we capture: URL, author handle, date, raw text, parent thread context, platform, and raw upvote / like count where available.

Cleaning rules

• Dedupe by author within 30 days (one person posting the same complaint 5 times = 1 signal).
• Drop posts under 30 words.
• Drop posts with vendor URLs in the body (likely promotional).
• Drop bot-flagged accounts.
• Flag posts with abnormal posting velocity for human review.

Volume floor

We do not publish a rating below 50 distinct sources from the last 12 months. Below that threshold, the page shows "Insufficient recent signal — rating pending." Admitting we don't know is itself a trust signal.

Recency weighting

| Source age | Treatment | | --- | --- | | 0–90 days | Full weight in the headline rating | | 91–365 days | Half weight | | 366+ days | Excluded from the rating; archived in "historical context" |

Rating rubric

The headline 0–100 score is a weighted aggregate of cluster scores. Weights are public and constant across all CRMs.

| Dimension | Weight | | --- | --- | | Ease of use | 20% | | Value for money | 18% | | Core CRM functionality | 18% | | Integrations & API | 12% | | Automation & workflows | 10% | | Support quality | 10% | | Reliability | 7% | | Mobile | 5% |

We also publish a confidence rating (Low / Medium / High) based on source volume and time-distribution.

Human review gate

Every published synthesis is reviewed by a human editor before going live. The editor verifies:

• Citations resolve to real public sources.
• Quotes are accurate to the source.
• Nothing in the summary is libelous.
• The sentiment is defensible against the source pool.