Software Advice’s Proprietary Data & Research Methodologies

Software Advice's independent and objective insights help software buyers evaluate which systems are most appropriate for their needs. Those insights are driven by proprietary data generated using the following research methodologies.

Software Advice’s ‘Best’ product lists methodologies 

Some pages on Software Advice include a list of highly rated products and areas in which they excel, such as Best Value for Money. We make these lists by evaluating thousands of verified user ratings and product information requests through our website, analyzing market demand signals, and researching vendor websites ourselves. 

These lists include five to 10 products each. Each product is chosen for a specific "Best for" distinction based on the available data from the 24 months leading up to our research for a given list. Sponsorship or client status has no influence on the selection of products in our lists.

Inclusion criteria

To be eligible for inclusion in a “Best” list, products must meet the following criteria:

• Be among the most popular products in a given category based on our analysis of online search trends. 

• Demonstrate U.S. market presence based on factors such as the availability of reviews on our website submitted from the U.S. and our research into the vendor’s website.

How we choose the products in our lists

We limit the list of eligible products to the 20 most popular. Only five to 10 products from that list may receive a "Best for" distinction. 

'Best for' distinctions may include the following types. For each distinction, we consider a product’s average rating weighted for the number and recency of reviews within the considered time period:  

• Overall, attribute, or key feature ratings: These distinctions can be informed by ratings for overall and attribute ratings. The overall rating informs our selection of the Highest Rated product. Other distinctions are informed by general product attribute ratings, such as Value for Money, Ease of Use, Customer Support, or Functionality. Some distinctions can also be informed by product ratings for specific product features in a given software category, for example, Best for Financial Reporting. The specific features showcased are the most important features in a software category, according to reviewers. Products assigned to these distinctions must have received at least 20 reviews in the past two years and a minimum 4 out of 5 rating for the feature in question. 

• Pricing research and ratings: These distinctions are informed by our team’s research into whether a product offers a free version or free trial and its starting price (if available), per the vendor’s website. Products assigned Best Free and Most Affordable distinctions must also have at least 10 reviews in the past two years and a minimum 4 out of 5 overall rating. 

• Product information requests and ratings: These distinctions are informed by how often our website users request information about specific products. These users provide us with details about their business, which we use to assign distinctions such as “Best for” small or enterprise businesses, and “Best for” an industry/segment, for example, Best for Healthcare. Products assigned these distinctions must have at least 10 user requests for information and 20 reviews in the past two years. They must also have a minimum overall rating of 4 out of 5.

To assign a distinction for each product, we start by listing the distinctions in the order they appear below. We then assign a top-rated product for each distinction in this specific order:

• Highest Rated 

• Best for Small Businesses

• Best for Enterprises

• Best for Industry/Segment (up to five may appear on a given list)

• Best Free

• Most Affordable

• Best Value for Money 

• Best Ease of Use

• Best Customer Service

• Best Functionality

• Best for Key Feature (up to two per list) 

If we don’t have enough supporting data to include one of these distinctions (for example, if none of the qualifying products have publicly available pricing information), we don’t include that distinction on the “Best” list for that software directory. 

If a product has already been assigned a distinction based on the list order, it cannot receive additional distinctions. This means that in cases where a product is highest-rated for multiple distinctions, it only receives the distinction that’s ordered first on the list. In these cases, the other distinctions would go to the next highest-rated qualifying product. This methodology is consistently applied across all eligible products.