Chris Mendenhall
Founder & Editor, ToolsByRole
I run ToolsByRole. Every ranking on the site is mine, every product page is one I'd actually pick if I were doing that work for a living, and every commission disclosure is documented on the affiliate page.
How I rank
I read the docs, open the trial, run the tool against the actual use case for the profession in question, and compare against the alternatives in that category. When a tool's only real strength is paying a high commission, it doesn't go on the list. When a tool pays nothing and is still the right answer, it goes at the top.
Pricing on the site is checked against the vendor's pricing page during research and re-verified monthly. Last-updated dates appear on every category page. When I get a price wrong, it gets fixed within 24 hours of someone emailing chris@toolsbyrole.com.
What I'm not
I'm not an analyst at a research firm, a consultant selling implementation services, or a vendor with skin in the game beyond affiliate commissions. The site is funded by those commissions and a few direct subscribers who pay for the email summary, not by a fund or a parent company.
How to reach me
Email chris@toolsbyrole.com. Corrections, pricing updates, "you missed this tool" notes, and "you ranked this wrong because" arguments are all welcome. Anything I take action on gets reflected in the next monthly refresh.
← Back to home