Methodology
No pay-to-rank: how SiftFox orders every list
Most directories quietly sell their rankings. SiftFox splits ranking, sponsorship and editorial opinion into three layers that never mix. Here is exactly how it works.
Open almost any software directory and ask one question: why is the tool at the top, at the top? If the honest answer is 'because someone paid', the whole list is an ad pretending to be advice. That is the problem SiftFox was built to avoid.
The three layers
Everything on SiftFox belongs to exactly one of three layers, and the layers never mix.
- Layer 1, the ranking: community boosts plus editorial order. Signed-in users boost tools they rate - one boost per tool per person, no anonymous votes, no vote packages. This layer is not for sale.
- Layer 2, sponsored slots: makers can buy a Featured placement at the top of a category. It is always labeled, visually separate and never counted in the ranking.
- Layer 3, editorial picks: our own collections, notes and posts like this one. Opinionated and human, always distinguishable from the ranking.
The reason for the split is simple: each layer answers a different question. The ranking answers 'what do users actually rate?'. Sponsorship answers 'who wants your attention?'. Editorial answers 'what do we think?'. A directory that blends them into one number is answering none of those questions honestly.
What money buys here - and what it never will
Money buys speed and visibility: a $19 fast-track through the review queue, a $39 launch date of your choice, a $67 per month labeled Featured slot. Money never buys a boost, a position in a ranking or a kinder profile. If anyone offers to sell you a SiftFox ranking position, it is a scam - forward it to fox@siftfox.com.
Full details, including the price table and the claiming process, live on the How we rank page. If you only remember one thing, make it this: on SiftFox, the order of a list is information, not inventory.
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