Sponsor and Advertising Policy

Last updated: July 10, 2026

We make money so we can keep the directory independent. This page explains exactly how paid placements work, and the lines we will not cross.

What advertising can never do

No payment, tier, or campaign can change any of the following:

• an app's star rating or its "% would use again" Community Pulse signal;
• which apps appear in our "Top picks" and "Best apps" rankings, or their order and scores (those come from the published rubric, always);
• the results or ranking of the AI app finder;
• our Editor's Choice and Editor's Spotlight picks.

How Featured placements work

Every paid placement carries a visible "Featured" badge and is limited to one per page in its slot. A featured app can lead its category grid, but the badge always tells you why it is there, and the ratings, scores, and ranked picks around it stay earned. Our advertising products are:

• Featured in Category. The app's own card carries a Featured badge and appears first in its category grid.
• Homepage Feature. A badge-labeled featured card on the homepage.
• Featured Comparison. A badge-labeled head-to-head card (see below).
• Comparison Fast Track. A one-time fee that fast-tracks a badge-labeled column for your app in a "Best apps" comparison, plus optional buyer-proposed rows we verify before they ship. Inclusion is guaranteed; the column's scores and rank come from the same public rubric as every app.

The Priority listing tier

A Priority listing is a paid tier that unlocks display-only features for a developer's own listing, such as a richer profile, a pinned developer note, a changelog, and extra comparison rows that are clearly marked as provided by the app's makers. Priority also includes a launch bundle: one month of Featured in Category (the same badge-labeled placement anyone can buy), and thirty days in the homepage "New App Alert" section. New App Alert is a recency surface, it shows apps because they are new, never as an editorial endorsement, and it never changes a rating or ranking. Editor's Spotlight remains separate and cannot be bought.

The Featured Comparison ("versus")

A Featured Comparison shows a featured app next to another app in the same category. To keep it honest:

• both apps are shown using the same independent, platform-measured numbers we show everywhere else, including the rating, price, platforms, reviews, and churches;
• the sponsor is shown honestly even when it compares worse than the other app;
• we, not the sponsor, choose the app it is compared against (an earned peer in the category);
• it appears only on the sponsor's own listing and its own category page, never on a competitor's page, and it is capped at one per page.

Editorial picks are not for sale

Editor's Choice and Editor's Spotlight are chosen by us on the merits. They are never sold, and a paid placement is never disguised as an editorial pick.

How to tell a Featured placement from an earned result

Look for the badge. Anything paid carries a visible "Featured" marker. Everything without the badge, including every rating, score, top pick, and "Best apps" ranking, is earned.

Refunds and reversals

Placements bill monthly and renew automatically. You can cancel anytime from your developer dashboard: cancellation stops future charges and the placement runs to the end of the month you already paid for. If a payment is fully refunded or reversed, we cancel the placement (and its renewal) it funded. Billing terms are covered in our Terms of Service.

Questions

Want to advertise, or have a concern about a placement? Reach us through our contact page, or read more about promoting your app.