How we make money
Affiliate links, paid placements, and what a commission cannot buy on ToolDiver.
This page explains how ToolDiver earns money, what an affiliate link looks like here, and what a commission cannot buy. It is written to be checked rather than skimmed.
The short version
Some links to tools on this site are affiliate links. If you follow one and buy a subscription, the vendor pays us a commission. You pay the same price either way. No vendor has ever paid us to change a verdict, a ranking, or a weakness section, and none can.
How to tell an affiliate link from a normal one
When a listing contains an affiliate link, the button carries a line above it saying so, and the link
itself is marked rel="sponsored". If there is no such line, the link is a plain outbound link
and we earn nothing from it.
What is live right now
As of 27 October 2026, no affiliate link is live on this site. Every outbound link on every page
is currently a plain rel="nofollow" link with no commercial relationship behind it. When
programmes are approved and links are switched on, this paragraph and the affected listings will be updated
on the same day, and the date above will change.
We are stating this plainly because the alternative — a disclosure page that describes a business model as if it were already running — is the most common way these pages mislead people. Nothing here is live yet, and this page will say so until it is.
What a commission does not buy
- It does not set the order. The sequence of tools on a page is decided before we know what any programme pays, and it does not change when a programme is approved.
- It does not remove a criticism. Every listing has a section on where the tool falls short. A partner cannot pay to shorten it or move it below the fold.
- It does not buy a verdict. Paid placement exists as a separate, labelled product on the advertising page. A sponsored slot says "Sponsored" wherever it appears, and it is never presented as an editorial recommendation.
- It does not buy silence. If we find that a tool is worse than its marketing claims, that goes on the page whether or not there is an affiliate link.
The other ways this site could earn
Paid listings and expedited reviews. A vendor can pay to jump the queue or to occupy a labelled slot. Prices and terms are on the advertising page.
Display advertising. Not enabled. If it is ever enabled, it will be separated from editorial content and will not influence which tools are listed.
Newsletter sponsorship. No newsletter exists yet. If one does, sponsored issues will be labelled as such at the top.
What we do not accept
We do not accept payment for a ranking, a score, a verdict, or the removal of a criticism. We do not accept guest posts, paid links, or "partnerships" that consist of placing a link. Requests of that kind are declined without discussion — the methodology page explains why the directory is built the way it is.
If this page is wrong
If you believe a commercial relationship has influenced something on this site, write to leo@tooldiver.com. The claim will be checked against the record, and if it holds, the correction will be published on the page it affects. Corrections are not quietly edited in.
Last updated: 2026-10-27