STscore: how we score software, rule by rule.

What STscore is, and what it is not

It is a set of fixed rules. The same product details always give the same score. There is no machine learning, no guesswork and no hidden weighting.

Version 1.0 measures how well a product is documented and verified. That means a clear and recent price, complete product information, India-specific features, honest pros and cons, and an audit by our team. It does not claim to measure how good the product is to use. When we hold buyer-outcome data we will add it in a later version, and publish the change here.

It cannot be bought. The score never reads any of these:

• Any payment, fee or sponsorship by the vendor
• Affiliate links or commission
• Clicks, page views or lead counts
• Lead prices or deals closed
• Where a product sits in a list
• The old editor score field

Price transparency (25 points)

Product information (20 points)

India readiness (as stated by the vendor) (15 points)

Buyer-fit information (15 points)

Trust and support (10 points)

Human audit by Software Today (15 points)

This is a made-up product, for illustration only. It is not listed on Software Today and the numbers are not real results. They were produced by running the real rules above on invented details.

“ExampleBill” starts with a thin listing: a short summary, two features, no price and nothing checked. It scores 10 out of 100. After the maker adds accurate, checkable details, it scores 73. When our team then audits it, it scores 88. Some points are still missing, such as testimonials and an Indian-language mention, so there is always something left to improve.

What a higher score can do for your business

• Buyers can see why they can trust your page. The STscore badge appears on your product card, on list pages and on your product page, and links to a breakdown anyone can check.
• Your gaps become a to-do list. Your breakdown page lists each missing item and the points it is worth, biggest first.
• Fresh facts beat stale ones. A recently checked price and a recent audit keep your score up, so buyers see current information instead of an out-of-date page.

What it does not do: it does not move you up a list (our lists follow fit and starting price), and we do not promise leads or sales, or publish growth figures we cannot prove. Better information helps buyers decide. It cannot be bought.

A product can sit in more than one software type. The Relevancy-Score (version R1.0) is a second, separate score from 0 to 100 that says how well a product fits that software type, judged against what buyers compare in it. A strong accounting tool with good payroll features can therefore show a solid fit under payroll, and a thin payroll tool will not outrank it on that count alone. It uses the same promise as STscore: fixed rules, nothing bought, every point explained on the product’s breakdown page. A software type with no list of “features worth comparing” yet is not scored.

Rules fingerprint: 1b84de4d87faaad80e3146f67586154bd9e62ef8b93fc56dc0e47da29b56a678. The Relevancy-Score describes fit, not quality, and it does not change the order of our lists.

How you can check our work

Open any product below to see every rule, the points it earned and the reason. The score is the sum of those points, rounded. Scores refresh every day, because the age of a price or an audit changes with time.

The rules are also published as data at /stscore/method.json. Every stored score keeps the version of the rules and this fingerprint of them:

15930fa7f1816d055a7b95ee14ff8d45f668c4f162887ebd2a795efcf9f7ccd8

Published 8 November 2026. Any change to the rules gets a new version number and a new fingerprint, and old scores stay on record under the version that made them.

STscore, its rules and its name are the work of Software Today. © Software Today.

For software makers

You raise your score by giving accurate, checkable information, not by paying. Each product’s breakdown page lists what is missing. Add details through the link in your listing email, or list your software.