Readers trust verdict boxes only if there is a method behind them, so here is ours, in full. Every tool on this site passes through the same twelve checks before we publish a word.

One: we sign up with a free account, the same one you would. Two: we complete a real task, not a demo task; the tool must survive an actual poster, script or spreadsheet. Three: we note every credit cap, because caps are where free tiers lie. Four: we read the license page for commercial rights, and we screenshot it, because terms pages change quietly. Five: we attempt checkout on the paid tier with an Indian card, to catch payment surprises before you do.

Six: we test the mobile experience, because half of India’s AI usage is on a phone under 20,000 rupees. Seven: we deliberately misuse the tool, feed it bad prompts and wrong data, and watch how it fails. Tools that fail loudly earn trust; tools that fail silently lose it. Eight: we run the uninstall test, asking whether the tool beats whatever you already have. Nine: we check export quality, the step where most free tools show their true colors. Ten: we verify support, filing one real question and timing the answer. Eleven: we check the pricing page for the annual-billing ambush, where monthly rates hide behind defaults. Twelve: we sleep on it. No verdict gets written the same day the tool impressed us; enthusiasm fades, and verdicts should not.

That is the whole method. It is not exotic, and that is the point: the same twelve checks fit in your next tool evaluation, and the checklist lives free in the vault.