How we make money

Being upfront about this matters. If you understand how we earn, you can judge our independence for yourself. Here is the whole picture.

The one rule that comes first

Money never buys a better rating or a higher ranking. Our reviews, star ratings, "best for…" awards and comparison order are decided editorially, on the merits, for every product — whether or not the provider has any commercial relationship with us. A provider cannot pay to improve its score, move up a list, or remove a competitor.

Where our money comes from

• Affiliate commissions. When you click through to a provider from some of our links and go on to apply or open an account, we may earn a referral commission — at no extra cost to you. You pay exactly the same as if you'd gone direct. Whether a product earns us a commission has no bearing on whether or how highly we rate it.
• Qualified leads. For products like business funding and insurance, you can choose to submit an enquiry through Rateweb. With your consent we pass your details to matched providers, who pay us for that introduction. You're always told before you share anything, and you choose whether to proceed.
• Sponsored placements. A provider can pay to feature a product in a clearly-marked promoted slot. These are always labelled ("Sponsored" or "Promoted") and are never mixed into our editorial rankings as if they earned their position. A sponsored label never changes a product's independent star rating.
• Advertising. We show a limited number of display ads on free pages. Ads are kept light, are clearly distinguishable from our content, and advertisers have no say over our editorial.
• Rateweb Plus. Readers can pay for an optional subscription that removes ads and unlocks premium tools. This reader-funded revenue helps keep our core guides free and our incentives aligned with you.

How we protect your trust

• Editorial and commercial are kept separate. The team that rates and writes does not answer to advertisers or affiliate partners.
• Anything paid-for is labelled as such, every time.
• We disclose commission relationships on the pages where they apply — see our advertising disclosure.
• How we score and award products is documented openly in our ratings methodology, and how we research and fact-check is set out in our editorial guidelines.

What this means for you

You can use Rateweb without ever paying us, and you can trust that what we recommend reflects our honest assessment — not who pays the most. If you ever think a placement or rating looks influenced by commercial interest, tell us. We take that seriously.