How we score software
Every score on this site is the weighted total of the same six dimensions. The weights are below and they do not change per review.
- 01
Output quality
Does the tool do the job well, measured on a fixed task set every tool in the category gets.
25% - 02
Price vs. value
Real cost at real usage, including credit and overage traps.
20% - 03
Speed & reliability
Latency, uptime, failure modes and rate limits.
15% - 04
Integrations & API
How well it fits an existing stack. API quality, export, lock-in.
15% - 05
Data & privacy
Training on your data, retention, SOC 2 and GDPR posture.
15% - 06
Support & docs
Documentation quality, response times, community.
10%
Table of contents
The three rules that make this defensible
1. A fixed test suite per category
Every AI writing tool gets the same prompts. Every coding assistant gets the same repository tasks. Same inputs, published alongside the review, so you can disagree with the conclusion and still trust the inputs.
2. Re-tested every 90 days
AI products change monthly. A review dated eighteen months ago is close to worthless, so every review carries the date it was tested and the date its next re-test is due. If a re-test is overdue, the review says so.
3. Scores are allowed to be low
If everything scored 90 and above, the score would be decoration. Most software is mediocre and the scores here reflect that.
Scores from before this model
Reviews published before the six-dimension model carry a single headline score. Those are labelled as scored on their original date and marked re-test due. They are replaced with a full breakdown as each review is re-tested, and they are never mixed into a ranking as if they were current.
How this is paid for
Surges is reader-funded. Some links are affiliate links, which means we may earn a commission if you buy through them, at no extra cost to you. Those links are marked.
Placement is never for sale. No vendor can pay to be reviewed, to score higher, or to appear in a roundup. If that ever changes, this page changes first.
Corrections
Pricing and features move fast. If something here is out of date or wrong, tell us onX and it will be checked and corrected, with the page's updated date changed to match.
Last updated