How we make money
How we make money — and what it does not change
Startup Depot by Angelic is a free guide. We pay for it the same way most independent how-to sites do. One of the ways a site like this earns money is through affiliate links — and this site is a live example of it. When a reader signs up through some of our links, we may earn a commission, at no cost to you. This page explains exactly how that works.
How a commission link works
An affiliate link is a regular link to a product or service that also carries a tag identifying the sender. If you click one and then sign up for the paid product on the other end, the company pays the sender a small commission. The price you pay is the same whether you use that link or not. The commission comes out of the company's side, not yours.
Which links on this site earn a commission?
Most of the tool recommendations on the comparison pages are commission links. Each comparison page tells you which vendors we earn from and which we do not. We also include vendors with no partner program at all when we think they are the right tool for the job — we earn nothing from those recommendations, and we say so on the page.
Categories of vendors that are currently or will be commission partners (subject to approval) include domain registrars, web hosts, website builders, business formation services, email marketing platforms, payment processors, and invoicing tools. Editorial-only vendors that appear on the same pages without paying us a commission include Stripe, Carrd, Porkbun, Cloudflare Registrar, Hiveage, Claude, and ChatGPT.
What these links do NOT change
- The price you pay.The vendor charges you the same whether you sign up through our link or directly through their homepage. Commissions are paid out of the vendor's marketing budget.
- What gets recommended.A tool ends up on a comparison page because we think it is a good fit for some real beginner's situation, not because it pays the highest commission. When a free or cheaper option fits a beginner better than a more expensive paid one, we say so on the page.
- How we describe the tool.We do not write taglines or recommendations supplied by vendors. The comparisons, drawbacks, and “Our take” sections are ours.
What you can do if you do not want to use a commission link
Type the vendor's name into your browser and go directly to their website. Everything we describe on a comparison page is still available there. You will pay the same price; we will earn nothing on that signup. We will not know either way.
FTC compliance
United States Federal Trade Commission guidance requires that these commission relationships be disclosed clearly and conspicuously. That is the reason for the short aside that appears at the top of each comparison page, the reason for this page, and the reason the footer links here from every page on the site.
Questions
Email rj@angelic-investments.com. We will answer.