Methodology

Every verdict on this site comes from a document the tool or platform publishes itself: its terms of service, licence, pricing page or help-centre policy. We don't rely on forum posts, rumours or what a sales page implies.

How a page gets made

1. Fetch the source. We load the official page in a real browser and save its text, recording the date we fetched it and any date the document states ("last updated", "effective"). Two pages, Amazon KDP's content guidelines and Etsy's Creativity Standards, block automated fetches, so on 2026-10-17 we copied their text from the live pages in a browser by hand and checked our quotes against that copy. We will re-capture them automatically when possible.
2. Quote, don't paraphrase. We pick out the sentences that decide commercial use, ownership, attribution or watermarks, revenue caps and indemnity, and quote them exactly.
3. Check every quote by script. Before anything is published, a script confirms each quote appears word for word in the saved source text. If it doesn't match, it isn't published.
4. Write the verdict. Only then do we write a short plain-English summary and a verdict per plan. The verdict is our reading of the quoted text, and the quote sits right next to it so you can judge for yourself.

What the verdicts mean

Yes

The terms for that plan allow you to sell or commercially use what you make. We also mark Yes when the terms give you ownership of the output (or assign the provider's rights to you) and contain no clause limiting use to personal or non-commercial purposes. A provider only saying it "won't claim ownership" isn't enough on its own; that gets Unknown unless the terms say more.

No

The terms for that plan don't allow commercial use, or the provider owns the output.

Depends

Commercial use is allowed only under conditions, such as a revenue cap, specific platforms, marked materials or an add-on licence.

Unknown

The terms we read don't clearly say.

Needs browser check

The source blocks automated checks, so we haven't been able to quote it. We say so rather than guess. Read the source yourself.

Dates

Doc date is the date printed on the document, if there is one. Last verified is when we last fetched and checked it. Terms can change between checks, which is why every page links to the original.

Re-checks and changes

We re-fetch tracked sources on a schedule and compare them with the last saved version. When something that matters changes, we update the page and log it, with the date, on the Changes page (also available as RSS).

Limits

• Some tools have different terms by country (for example, a separate US agreement). We note it where we see it, but we cover the version linked on each page.
• Enterprise and API contracts are often negotiated privately. We cover the published consumer and self-serve terms.
• A platform allowing AI content doesn't mean a specific image, song or book is free of someone else's rights.