The short version
Some links on this site are affiliate links. If you sign up for a product through one, the vendor may pay First Response Lab a commission. You pay exactly the same price either way — affiliate links never cost you more, and we do not use discount-code arrangements that depend on you paying full price.
This is how the site is funded. There is no paywall, no advertising, and no sponsored content.
What it does not change
It does not change our rankings. Scores come from the weights published on the how we test page, applied to measurements from our own protocol. Commission is not an input and never will be.
It does not decide who gets covered. We cover the tools buyers are choosing between, whether or not we can earn from them.
It does not buy a vendor influence. No vendor sees an article before publication, and none can pay for placement, a badge or a score.
Current commercial relationships
Updated 4 October 2026. This table is maintained as the single source of truth, and each vendor's status changes here first.
| Vendor | Do they pay us? | Status |
|---|---|---|
| HubSpot | Potentially | Programme exists. Not yet applied |
| Tidio | Potentially | Programme exists. Not yet applied |
| LiveChat | Potentially | Programme exists. Not yet applied |
| Document360 | Potentially | Programme exists. Not yet applied |
| Zendesk | Potentially | Programme exists. Not yet applied |
| Freshdesk / Freshworks | Potentially | Programme exists. Not yet applied |
| Help Scout | Potentially | Programme exists. Not yet applied |
| Zoho | Potentially | Programme exists. Not yet applied |
| LiveAgent | Potentially | Programme exists. Not yet applied |
| Crisp | Potentially | Programme exists. Not yet applied |
| Olark | Unknown | A referral programme exists; terms are not published |
| Intercom | No | No affiliate programme available to publishers |
| Drift / Salesloft | No | No programme identified |
| Guru | Unknown | Not established |
| HelpJuice | Unknown | Not established |
At the time of writing, First Response Lab has not been approved by any affiliate programme and has not earned any commission. When that changes, this table changes on the same day, and the "potentially" entries become "yes" with the date.
We think saying that plainly is worth more than looking established.
On individual pages
Where an article recommends a product we may earn from, the disclosure appears next to the recommendation, not buried in the footer. Where an article recommends a product we earn nothing from — which happens, and Intercom is the standing example — we say that too, because the absence of an incentive is information as well.
Questions
If anything about how we are funded is unclear, ask us through the contact page and we will answer it here.