How We Research

ToolVersus compares AI coding tools for readers who want a straight answer before they spend money. This page explains where our information comes from, how a verdict is reached, and what we do not do.

Where the information comes from

Every article is researched against primary sources: the vendor's own documentation and pricing pages (GitHub Docs, Cursor, Claude Code docs, Devin), OWASP and NIST for security claims, and git and language documentation for workflow claims. When an article relies on a price, a limit, a specification or a rule, the page it came from is listed under Sources at the end of that article, with the date we checked it. If we cannot confirm a figure on an official page, we leave it out rather than estimate it.

How a verdict is reached

Verdicts are framed by situation, not by a single "best" product. We start from the reader's constraints, such as budget, team size, floor type or account balance, and compare the options on the points that change the decision for that situation: what each option costs over time, what the free or entry tier leaves out, and what is hard to undo later. Where two options are close, the article says so.

What we do not do

We do not run hands-on lab tests, and we do not publish first-person testing claims. Articles are written with AI assistance and reviewed before publication by Jay Lim, who runs the site. We do not accept payment for a verdict or for placement in a comparison.

Keeping articles current

Prices and plans change. We re-check articles against the official pages and update the date shown at the top of each article when we do. The byline date is the most recent date a source in that article was checked.

Recent corrections

• Windsurf is now Devin Desktop: articles updated with the rename and current plans (October 2026).
• Claude Code: install steps now use the native installer, and the free Claude plan is noted as excluding Claude Code; an earlier claim that it is billed purely by usage was removed (October 2026).
• GitHub Copilot: plan allowances now described as AI credits rather than premium requests (October 2026).
• Tabnine: specific plan prices removed because its pricing page now redirects elsewhere (October 2026).

Found something out of date? Tell us through the Contact page and we will correct the article itself rather than quietly delete it.

This page was last reviewed on 3 October 2026.