How we're 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 — often better, because we help you negotiate.
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, can't pay to change a score, and don't influence the ranking.
We tell you what we make
Before you commit to anything, we disclose what we'd earn on your deal. No hidden incentive you have to guess at.
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. If you want a senior advisor to run a full diagnostic of your current stack before you buy (SIGNAL), or to sit on your side of the table through implementation after you buy (HELM), those are optional, separately-priced services. We charge for them because they're our people's time — not a vendor referral — and pricing them straight keeps the free selection process genuinely neutral.
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 rigged toward the seller. Vendors have teams of reps; the buyer is usually one stretched HR lead doing this 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're paid by vendors but we work for you — and we keep that honest by charging every vendor the same rate and disclosing it. A vendor can't buy a better ranking or even see your evaluation. 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 — and it's priced openly 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.