How We Collect & Verify Pricing Data

Accurate pricing data is the foundation of CompareTiers. This page explains exactly how we collect, verify, and maintain pricing information for every tool in our catalog.

Overview

Our approach combines automated scraping with manual verification to produce a dataset that is both broad and reliable. We favor transparency: every tool page displays the date the data was last updated, and we label data we cannot fully verify rather than presenting estimates as facts.

We scrape only publicly available pricing pages. We do not bypass paywalls, access private data, or use pricing information shared under NDA. If a vendor does not publish pricing publicly, we list the tier as "Contact Sales" and note that pricing is not disclosed.

Data Collection

Pricing pages are scraped using Playwright, a headless browser automation framework that handles JavaScript-rendered content. This allows us to capture pricing data from modern SaaS marketing sites that render pricing tables dynamically.

For each tool, our scraper visits the official pricing page and extracts:

Plan names and descriptions
Monthly and annual pricing (where published)
Feature lists per tier
Pricing model (per seat, flat rate, usage-based, freemium)
Free trial or free tier availability
Enterprise or custom pricing indicators

Extraction is guided by structured prompts processed with OpenAI to normalize unstructured pricing page content into a consistent schema. The output is reviewed against a validation layer that flags anomalies — such as prices that differ dramatically from previous scrapes — for manual review before publication.

Update Frequency

We run a full catalog scrape every week. In addition, we run daily incremental scrapes targeting tools that were recently updated, newly added, or flagged by our anomaly detection system.

Each tool record stores a lastScraped timestamp that is displayed on the tool page. You can always see exactly when a tool's data was last refreshed. If you notice pricing that appears outdated, you can report it and we will trigger a priority re-scrape within 24 hours.

Verification Process

Automated scraping captures what is visible on a pricing page at a point in time. We apply several layers of verification to improve accuracy:

Anomaly detection — Automated checks compare each new scrape against historical data. Price changes above a threshold trigger a manual review before the update goes live.
Cross-referencing — For popular tools, we cross-reference scraped data against publicly available sources such as vendor help docs, changelog announcements, and community discussions to validate significant changes.
Vendor verification — Vendors can claim their tool profile and provide authoritative pricing directly. Vendor-verified data is labeled and takes precedence over scraped data.
User reports — Logged-in users can flag incorrect pricing data directly from a tool page. Flagged data is queued for manual review within 48 hours.

What Data We Capture

For each pricing tier we attempt to record the following data points:

Plan name — the tier label as published by the vendor (e.g., Starter, Pro, Business, Enterprise)
Monthly price — cost per month billed monthly
Annual price — cost per month when billed annually (where the vendor offers a discount)
Pricing unit — per seat, per workspace, flat rate, or usage-based
Feature list — the key features listed for the tier on the pricing page
Pricing model — how the vendor structures pricing (freemium, tiered, usage-based, per-seat, flat)
Free trial — whether a free trial is available and its duration

Coverage

Our current catalog covers 500+ tools across 14 categories:

Project Management
CRM & Sales
Customer Support
Marketing & Email
Analytics & BI
Developer Tools
HR & People Ops
Finance & Accounting
Security & Identity
Communication & Collaboration
Design & Prototyping
Data & Integrations
E-commerce & Payments
AI & Automation

We add new tools on a rolling basis. If a tool you are researching is not in our catalog, you can submit a request and we will prioritize adding it.

Limitations

We strive for accuracy but acknowledge several inherent limitations in automated pricing data collection:

Enterprise pricing — Vendors that require a sales call for pricing do not publish figures publicly. We list these tiers as "Contact Sales" rather than estimating.
Usage-based pricing — Tools with complex usage-based pricing models (e.g., charged per API call or per GB) may have only partial data if the vendor does not publish a clear rate card.
Regional pricing — Some vendors publish different prices in different currencies. Our data reflects USD pricing unless otherwise noted.
Promotional pricing — Temporary discounts and promotional rates are not tracked. Our data reflects standard list pricing.
Scrape lag — Despite our weekly cadence, there may be a gap between a vendor updating their pricing and our data reflecting that change. The "last updated" date on each tool page indicates when data was last verified.

When in doubt, always verify current pricing on the vendor's official pricing page before making a purchasing decision. We provide a direct link to the official pricing page on every tool card.

Vendor Verification Program

SaaS vendors can claim their tool profile through our Vendor Verification program. Verified vendors can:

Submit authoritative pricing data directly to our database
Flag scraper errors and request immediate corrections
Add product descriptions and feature details
Display a verified badge on their tool page

Vendor verification is free. Vendors do not pay to influence how their tool is ranked, displayed, or described in comparison views. Editorial independence is non-negotiable.

To apply for vendor verification, contact us at privacy@comparetiers.com with your tool name and official pricing page URL.

Questions About Our Data

If you notice incorrect pricing data or have questions about our methodology, reach out at privacy@comparetiers.com. We take data accuracy seriously and respond to all correction requests within 48 hours.