How we test and make money
Gold Penguin reviews AI and SaaS tools. Vendors and affiliate programs pay us. This page explains how we keep those two things apart.
How we make money
| Source | What it is | How you can tell |
|---|---|---|
| Affiliate links | Some Visit buttons and links pay us a commission if you buy. Programs vary by tool. | A disclosure line sits next to every Visit button. |
| Paid listings | A vendor pays to have its listing written sooner. It is written the same way as every other listing. | Nothing on the listing changes. Paying only changes when it goes up. |
| Featured and Sponsored spots | A vendor pays for a place in the Featured row, at the top of a category or next to the alternatives. | Always labelled Featured or Sponsored, and kept outside any sorted list. |
| Display ads | Ads served by Mediavine on some articles. | Shown as ads on some articles. Directory pages carry none. |
Where the line is
What paying buys
- A listing that goes up sooner
- A labelled Featured spot in the directory or a category
- A labelled Sponsored slot near the alternatives
What it never changes
- The order of any ranked list
- The good and watch-out lists, or the price we show
- A score or a verdict