How kitproof makes money

We earn money in three ways. None of them can change a verdict or a rank, and every one is labeled where it appears.

1. Affiliate links

Some "Visit" buttons are affiliate links: if you buy, the kit maker pays us a commission at no cost to you. These links are marked as affiliate on the page and in the link itself (rel="sponsored"). Whether a kit has an affiliate program is not an input to ranking, and our code and tests enforce this.

2. Sponsored placements

Kit makers can pay for one clearly labeled "Sponsored" slot on a category page ($79/month). Sponsored kits keep their normal verdict and rank in the list below the slot. Archived kits can't be sponsored.

3. Verification reviews

Makers of closed-source kits can pay a one-time $99 fee for us to check their private code. The fee covers the work, not the outcome: verified kits get the same evidence and the same rules as everyone else. How verification works.

What never happens

• No payment changes a verdict, a warning, a reason, or a rank.
• GitHub stars are never used for ranking (they're easy to fake).
• We don't accept payment to remove accurate evidence.