How we make money

Right now we make nothing. This page explains how that will change and what won't change.

Last updated October 16, 2026.

Where we are today

BuildWithThis earns no money today. We have no affiliate links, no ads, no sponsors, and no paid newsletter. We'll update this page when that changes, and the change will show on every page it affects.

How we plan to earn

  1. Affiliate links. Some tools pay a commission when someone signs up through a link from us. If you buy through one, the price is the same for you.
  2. Newsletter sponsors, clearly labeled. A sponsor slot in the newsletter, marked "Sponsor", kept apart from the verdicts. Sponsors never get a verdict, a better score, or a say in what we test.

That's the list. We will never sell rankings, reviews, "featured" spots, or a place in a job page.

How we keep picks independent

  • The test log decides first. Every job has a test script written before testing starts. Tools are scored against it, and the pick is the top score (or the written tie-breaker). We check affiliate programs only after the pick is locked.
  • We link the winner either way. If the winning tool has no affiliate program, it still wins and we link to it with a normal link. Two of our current picks, Clerk and Cloudflare Pages, have no affiliate program we could find.
  • Commission never moves a score. A tool that pays well can lose, and a tool that pays nothing can win. Scores, test logs, and the rubric are public so you can check the math.
  • No paid placements, ever. Tools can't pay to be listed, tested, reviewed, ranked, or kept off a page. A vendor can ask us to test their tool; we publish the result either way.
  • No vendor gifts that touch a verdict. We don't accept free paid plans, credits, or swag in exchange for coverage. If we ever test on credits a vendor gave us, the test log says so.

How you'll know

  • Any job page with affiliate links says so at the top, before the first link.
  • Each affiliate link is marked "paid link" right next to it and uses rel="sponsored".
  • Each job page lists the public affiliate terms for the tools on it, including which ones pay us nothing.
  • Newsletter sponsors are labeled "Sponsor" in the email.

Questions or a conflict we missed?

If something here doesn't match what you see on the site, tell us: [email protected]. See also how we test and our privacy policy.