Affiliate Disclosure
We believe in full transparency about how we make money. Here's exactly how it works — and why it doesn't affect our ratings.
How We Make Money
ToolStep is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission at no extra cost to you. We participate in the following affiliate programs:
- Amazon Associates: We earn a commission (typically 1-4%) on qualifying purchases made through our Amazon affiliate links.
- Best Buy Affiliate Program: We earn a commission on purchases made through our Best Buy links.
- Walmart Affiliate Program: We earn a commission on purchases made through our Walmart links.
- Brand Direct Programs: Some brands (e.g., Herman Miller, Branch, FlexiSpot) have direct affiliate programs. We earn a commission on purchases made through these brand links.
These commissions help us fund our independent editorial research and keep our reviews free for readers.
Why It Doesn't Affect Our Ratings
The core promise
Our affiliate relationships never influence our ratings or recommendations. Products are ranked based solely on evaluation results, build quality, and value — not on commission rates.
If a product scores poorly, we say so regardless of whether we earn a commission on it. If a competing product with zero commission scores higher, we rank it higher.
How we enforce this
- Separation of teams: The editorial team does not see affiliate commission rates before or during evaluation. The affiliate team does not see reviews before publication.
- Standardized scoring: Ratings are calculated from evaluation data using a fixed formula. See our scoring system for details.
- No brand preview: Brands cannot see our reviews before publication, and they cannot pay to have criticism removed.
- Equal treatment: Products from brands with affiliate programs and products from brands without affiliate programs follow the exact same evaluation process.
How to Identify Affiliate Links
All affiliate links on ToolStep are marked with one of these behaviors:
- Amazon links contain our affiliate tag (
tag=toolwise20-20) in the URL - Best Buy and Walmart links are tracked through their respective affiliate programs
- Brand direct links may use tracking parameters or redirect through affiliate networks
- All affiliate buttons on review pages use
rel="noopener sponsored nofollow"attributes
You can verify this by hovering over any "Check Price" or "Official Website" button and checking the browser's link preview.
What We Do With the Money
Affiliate commissions fund our ongoing editorial operations:
- Editorial research: Commission revenue supports our research into publicly available product information, manufacturer documentation, and specification analysis.
- Independent evaluation: We maintain an independent editorial evaluation process free from advertiser or brand influence.
- Editorial salaries: Our editorial staff are paid professionals, not unpaid volunteers or AI content farms.
- Reader resources: Funding allows us to keep our reviews and comparisons free for readers.
Your Cost
You pay the exact same price whether you use our affiliate link or go directly to the retailer's website. The commission comes out of the retailer's margin, not your wallet. Using our links is a way to support our work at no cost to you.
Products Without Affiliate Programs
Not every product we review has an affiliate program. When we review a product from a brand that doesn't offer affiliate commissions, we still review it and still link to where you can buy it — we just don't earn anything if you click through.
This happens regularly with smaller brands and direct-to-consumer companies. We review these products because they're relevant to our readers, not because they generate revenue.
Changes to This Disclosure
If we add or remove affiliate partnerships, we update this page and note the change date. We will never add a new affiliate partnership and retroactively change a review's rating to favor the new partner.
Contact
If you have questions about our affiliate practices, email us at disclosure@toolstep.com. For editorial questions, see our Editorial Policy or contact page.