How we score
Last updated: 2026-10-20
Each subject gets a 1 to 10 score per criterion. We multiply by the weight, add the points and divide by 10.
Software model
| Criterion | Weight |
|---|---|
| Features | 25% |
| Pricing | 20% |
| Ease of use | 15% |
| Integrations | 15% |
| Support | 10% |
| Verified reviews | 10% |
| Traction | 5% |
Service firm model
Firms sell people and judgment, not seats. We keep the weights and swap criteria that make no sense for a firm.
| Software criterion | Service firm criterion | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Features | Scope of services | 25% |
| Pricing | Fee transparency | 20% |
| Ease of use | Client experience | 15% |
| Integrations | Market coverage and specialization | 15% |
| Support | Responsiveness | 10% |
| Verified reviews | Verified reviews | 10% |
| Traction | Scale | 5% |
- Integrations becomes market coverage and specialization. A firm's reach, offices and niche matter the way connections matter for software.
- Pricing becomes fee transparency. We reward published fee schedules.
- Ease of use becomes client experience, and support becomes responsiveness. Both need client surveys, so they stay pending for now.
- Traction becomes scale, scored from reported revenue and headcount.
Recommendation labels
- Highly recommend 8.5 and up: best fit for most buyers
- Recommend 7.5 to 8.4: strong, documented strengths
- Conditional recommend 6.0 to 7.4: right when your needs match
- Not recommended below 6.0: better options exist
Rules
- Firm facts come from 10-K filings, annual reports or results releases, with links.
- Software prices come from vendor sites, dated. Hidden prices read "not published".
- Review averages appear only when we read them ourselves.
- Missing data stays pending, and we score on the remaining weight with the math shown.
- Boutique, regional and local firms are profiled, not scored, until they publish enough to fill the scope, fees, coverage and scale criteria.
- City hubs list only firms whose local office we confirmed on the firm’s own site. Scores shown there are firm-wide, not ratings of the local office.
- Shares of revenue are our arithmetic on the revenue lines each firm reports. Firm claims such as “largest” are quoted as theirs.
- Each ranking hub shows a last-verified date and a changelog.
- Software scores cover CRMs only. Lead data, transaction, marketing and commercial tools are listed unscored until we publish how the criteria apply to them.
- CRMs added after the first three reviews have ease of use pending, because vendor pages cannot show it and we have not used the products. They are scored on the remaining weight.
- Broker profiles: identity is confirmed on the broker’s current firm bio and, where a state lookup is publicly reachable, an active license. Evidence is tiered (A independent record, B firm or deal-party publication, C self-reported), dated and linked. Brokers are not ranked; they are grouped by city and specialty, alphabetically. Business relationships with the site operator are disclosed. Brokers can request corrections or removal. Details on the broker section.