How we review automation tools

The checklist behind every Stackferret page — and what we refuse to do.

The process

1. Verify pricing at the source. Every price on a page is checked against the vendor's own pricing page, with the check date shown on the page. Pricing in this category changes constantly (Make switched from operations to credits in 2025; n8n removed workflow limits in 2026) — stale numbers are the #1 failure of comparison sites.
2. Compare what actually matters. Integration counts are marketing; we focus on flow logic, error handling, overage behavior, and what each plan gates — the things that bite you in month three.
3. Cost out a real scenario. Where possible we compute what the same workflow costs on each tool at realistic volumes, instead of quoting entry prices.
4. List real complaints. Each tool's recurring complaints from user reviews and forums go on the page — including for tools that pay us.
5. A human writes the verdict. Our build pipeline refuses to publish a page until the Stackferret engineer has written the verdict personally. That's enforced in code, not policy.

What we refuse to do

• No pay-to-rank. Commissions never move a tool up a list.
• No invented numbers. Anything we couldn't verify is marked or removed.
• No fake hands-on claims. If we haven't run a workflow in a tool, we don't pretend we have.

Found something wrong anyway? Tell us and we'll fix it.