How we are funded
Free for buyers. Here's exactly why.
Selecting HR software with HRStack costs you nothing — no fees, no premium tier, no catch in the fine print. Software vendors fund the platform. This page explains how that works, and how we keep it honest.
How we make money
When you choose a system through HRStack and go on to buy it, the vendor you picked pays us a referral fee. That's the whole model.
You never pay us — not directly, and not through a markup on your software. The fee comes out of the vendor's own sales-and-marketing budget, the same money they'd otherwise spend on ads and reps to reach you. We just reach you first, and better.
You pay nothing
Every selection tool — the diagnostic, requirements builder, demo scorecards, RFP generator — is free, start to finish.
Your price doesn't go up
Vendors don't inflate their quote to cover our fee. You get the same pricing you'd get going direct — and you arrive with your requirements already benchmarked.
No commitment
Start a selection, change your mind, walk away. There's nothing to cancel and nothing owed.
Can a vendor pay to rank higher? No.
It's the fair question to ask any free service that recommends products. Our answer, in specifics:
Every vendor pays the same
Our fee doesn't change based on which system you choose — so we have no financial reason to steer you toward one over another.
Vendors can't touch your results
Your Fit Engine scores and recommendations come from your requirements and your organisation's context, nothing else. Vendors can't see your workspace or where they land in your evaluation.
We tell you how we're paid
The model is on this page rather than buried in a footnote — we earn a referral fee from the vendor you choose. Ask us what a specific deal looks like and we'll tell you.
If we steered you wrong to chase a fee, we'd lose the only thing this model runs on: buyers trusting the recommendation.
What's free, and what isn't
We want to be precise about this, because “free” gets abused.
Everything you need to choose your software: market research, the maturity and fit diagnostics, your requirements brief, demo scorecards, the RFP, and an advisor's guidance while you evaluate. The selection process, end to end, at no cost.
Deeper expert engagements that sit outside the purchase decision — a full diagnostic of your current stack before you buy (SIGNAL), or client-side support through implementation after (HELM). We charge for these because they're our people's time, not a vendor referral.
The simple rule: choosing your software is free. Hiring our experts for the work around it is not.
Why we built it this way
The old way of buying HR software is lopsided. Vendors have teams of reps who do this every day; the buyer is usually one stretched HR lead doing it once every seven years, learning as they go. Review sites are pay-to-play. “Analyst” rankings are sponsored.
We think the buyer should have the better-resourced side for once. Making the tools free — and letting the vendors who want qualified, well-prepared buyers fund it — is how we get there without charging the person who can least afford another line item.
Too good to be true?
A few questions you might be asking right now.
Is it really free? What's the catch?
There's no catch. You use the tools, you pick a system, and if you buy it the vendor pays us. If you don't buy anything, nobody pays anyone. The catch people brace for — a bill at the end, a locked premium tier, your data sold — none of it exists.
If vendors pay you, aren't you working for them?
We earn a referral fee from the vendor you choose, and we say so publicly rather than burying it. A vendor can't see your evaluation — your scores come from your requirements. The recommendation is only worth something if it's genuinely independent, so protecting that is protecting our business.
Will the software cost me more because you're involved?
No. The referral fee comes from the vendor's existing sales-and-marketing budget, not your quote. If anything, buyers who arrive with a structured, benchmarked process negotiate better prices than those starting from a blank page.
Do I have to buy something?
No. Plenty of people run the diagnostic, build their requirements, and decide to keep their current system or pause. That's a fine outcome. We only get paid if you buy — but we won't push you toward a purchase you don't need. Telling you "do nothing" when that's the right answer is part of staying credible.
Isn't the paid advisory the real catch?
It's optional and it's separate. The entire selection process is free whether or not you ever talk to a paid advisor. Advisory exists for teams who want expert hands on the harder work — untangling a messy current stack, or steering an implementation. It's fixed-scope and quoted up front after a free call, so you can take it or leave it.
Start your selection — free
Run the diagnostic, build your requirements, and evaluate vendors — no cost, no commitment.