Methodology: How the LeadChange Score Works

The LeadChange Score summarizes how well a product covers the needs of a software category, based only on facts we have verified. This page publishes the full model. The same model is implemented in the system that builds our pages.

• Scale: 0 to 10, shown with one decimal and a confidence label (High, Medium or Low).
• Published only with enough evidence: a product gets a number when at least 60% of the items we score are verified and its confidence is Medium or High. Otherwise it shows "Not scored yet" with how many of its facts are verified.
• Scope: computed per category. A product listed in two categories can have two different scores, and a product built for another job scores lower than in its own category.
• Inputs: verified facts only. No opinions, no user ratings, no commercial data.
• What it is: an editorial assessment based on public information. Every score is shown with that label and the date its facts were last checked ("Facts checked").

A fact is verified when all of the following are true:

• It is specific. A price, a plan limit, a certification, a supported integration or a capability, not an opinion or a marketing claim such as "easy to use".
• It is on a public page we can cite. We keep the exact address of the page the fact was checked against, the date of the check and the value we read.
• The source is the right kind. A vendor's own pricing page, documentation, help center or trust center counts as primary. Anything else counts as secondary and lowers the product's confidence (see "Sources hierarchy" below).
• It is current. A newer value replaces an older one, and the older value is kept in the fact's history with the date it changed.

A capability counts as present only with evidence that the product offers it, and as absent only with evidence that it does not. Silence on a vendor's site proves nothing either way, so it is never scored.

Every sub-criterion scores between 0 and 1, and a dimension is the average of its verified sub-criteria. A sub-criterion we could not verify is left out of the average; it never counts as zero (see "Missing data" below).

• Capability coverage: the share of the category's core capabilities the product offers, among the capabilities verified either way. Our research records the capabilities a product verifiably offers; where we have not yet verified that a capability is absent, this dimension has no verified sub-criterion and is left out, and the verified capabilities count toward coverage instead.
• Pricing transparency & value: three sub-criteria. Transparency scores 1 for fully published prices, 0.5 for partly published prices and 0 for quote-only pricing. A verified free trial scores 1 and a verified absence of one scores 0. Value compares the list cost per month for 25 employees, computed from published prices, with the category median: 1 at or below the median, otherwise the median divided by the product's cost. Value is left out when the cost cannot be computed.
• Integrations & API: five sub-criteria. Open API, webhooks, SSO and SCIM score 1 each when verified present and 0 when verified absent. Native integrations score the product's count divided by the highest count in the category.
• Security & compliance: SOC 2 Type II, ISO 27001 and a GDPR program score 1 each when verified present and 0 when verified absent. HIPAA is added as a fourth sub-criterion only in categories that handle health data: benefits administration, employee wellness, ACA compliance and PEO services.
• Fit & support: company sizes served (small business, mid-market, enterprise) divided by 3, support channels (up to 3) divided by 3, and mobile apps.
• Data confidence: critical facts verified on primary sources, divided by the critical facts that apply to the category.

When a whole dimension has no verified sub-criterion, it is left out and the weights of the other dimensions are scaled up in proportion, so they still add up to 100%.

Many products are listed in several categories, but each was built for one main job. A module of a product built for another job should not outrank the products built for this one, so the category score is multiplied by a category fit:

Products with a secondary fit show the reason next to their score, for example "Primarily an applicant tracking system; HRIS module is secondary." Awards such as "Best overall," "Best value" and the best pick for a company size go only to products with a fit of 0.85 or more.

The category score is 10 times the category fit times the weighted sum of the six dimensions, rounded to one decimal. Products with equal scores are listed alphabetically. Products that are not scored yet are listed after every scored product, the best-documented first.

When a vendor sells plans for different jobs, a category page shows only the prices of the plans for that category's job. For example, an employer of record page shows a vendor's EOR plan, not its cheaper recruiting plan. A product listed in several categories shows no price in a category for which it publishes no plan.

Pages for a specific segment, such as "for small business" or "for enterprise," list only products with a verified fact showing they serve that segment. They also explain the requirements that matter most to the segment, and they reweight the dimensions toward what it needs:

Enterprise pages use their own weights instead of the company-size row. Every segment page lists the weights it uses.

Missing data is never assumed, in either direction. An item we could not verify is not counted as present and not counted as absent: it is left out of the score and lowers the product's coverage, the share of the items we score (core capabilities and sub-criteria) that are verified. Every score is shown with its confidence label:

• High: at least 80% of the critical facts are verified on primary sources.
• Medium: at least 50% are; the rest are missing or rely on secondary sources.
• Low: fewer than 50% could be verified on primary sources.

A product gets a number only when its coverage is at least 60% and its confidence is Medium or High. Otherwise it shows "Not scored yet" with how many of its facts are verified, it is listed after the scored products and it receives no award. This keeps a score about the product, not about how much of it we have been able to research.

Payments, affiliate commissions and lead fees are never inputs to the score, and this is enforced in the system that builds our pages, not only promised:

• The score reads a fixed list of facts. The scoring code takes the verified facts listed on this page and nothing else. An automated test fails our build if that code ever refers to offers, affiliate links, commissions, leads or buyers.
• Rankings sort by score, then by name. Products with equal scores are listed alphabetically. Nothing else changes the order.
• The publishing system cannot see lead data. The database role that builds our pages has no access to requests sent through our forms, to the providers that receive them or to what they pay.
• Commercial links are labeled. The only place commercial data appears on a page is a "Visit website" link that may earn us a commission, and every such link carries a visible "Sponsored" label.

Whether a vendor pays us has no effect on its score or its position in rankings. See How we make money.

• Scores update with their facts. When an underlying fact changes, for example when a vendor changes its pricing or earns a certification, every score and page that uses the fact is rebuilt. The change appears in the page change log with the date.
• Every score shows its "Facts checked" date: the most recent date its facts were checked against their sources. A page also shows "Updated" (the last time its content or a fact value actually changed) and, when different, "Facts checked".
• When facts are rechecked: when we update a category's research, when we learn that a vendor's page changed and when we receive a correction request. A recheck that finds no change moves "Facts checked", never "Updated".
• Model changes are dated. Any change to the dimensions, weights or rules on this page is listed under "Model changes" below.

• Not a user rating. It does not measure satisfaction or reviews.
• Not a hands-on test. It is an editorial assessment of public information. We do not claim to have tested products we have not tested.
• Not a recommendation for every company. A high-scoring product can be the wrong choice for your size, industry or budget. Read the "best for / not for" notes on each page.
• Not a verdict on a vendor. A low score or "Not scored yet" usually means a product publishes less of what we score, or that our research is still in progress.

• Sell a score, a rank, an award or a "best for" label, or change one for a fee.
• Count a feature we could not verify, in either direction.
• Use undisclosed sources, anonymous tips or private demos as scored facts.
• Invent ratings, reviews, test results, customer counts or experts.
• Describe a vendor or product in mocking or sweeping negative terms. Weaknesses are stated as facts and fit, for example "no published pricing" or "less suited to companies with hourly staff".
• Give a vendor an advance look at, or a veto over, its score.

When sources conflict, we rely on them in this order:

1. Primary vendor sources: official pricing pages, product documentation, help centers, trust centers and published certifications.
2. Official government sources: for example, agency guidance, public registries and regulatory publications.
3. Reputable secondary sources: used only when no primary source is available, and always recorded as secondary.

Facts supported only by secondary sources count toward lower confidence.

We record the date each fact was last checked against its source. Facts are rechecked when we update a category's research, when we learn that a vendor's page changed and when we receive a correction request. Every page shows the date its content last changed.

Each fact is stored once and reused everywhere it appears on the site, with its value, the document it was verified against, the date of that check, a confidence level and its history of previous values. Because each fact has one value, a product's price or certification cannot differ between pages. When a fact changes, every page that uses it updates and records the change in its change log.

Where we show ratings or reviews from third-party sites, we quote them as published and name the site they come from. They are never mixed into the LeadChange Score and never included in our structured data.

• October 2026: items we could not verify are left out of the score instead of counting as zero; a product needs 60% coverage and Medium or High confidence for a published number ("Not scored yet" otherwise); capability coverage counts toward coverage until capability absence is researched; every score shows its confidence label.
• October 2026: every score shows the date its facts were last checked and the label "Editorial assessment based on public information".

If you believe a fact or score is wrong, use the correction request form. We review every request within 5 business days, and a fact changes only with public evidence. A score changes only when a fact it uses changes. See Corrections for how we handle requests.