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Compare vendors on their answers, not their sales pitch.

Search for something like “affordable payroll software” and the first results are usually ads. The companies behind them pay every time someone clicks, and for business software one click can cost the advertiser many dollars. That money comes back out of their customers, in the price. So when you look for the affordable option, the first companies you see are the ones paying to be seen.

NeutralPick works the other way round: you say what you need, every vendor answers the same questions, and no vendor can pay us to be shown or ranked.

Free. No account. Private unless you choose to share it.

Buying something for yourself, like a watch or a laptop? Compare it the same way.

Payroll for a 22-person company in 3 states Three vendors, same questions

How it works

  1. Say what you need

    Must-haves, nice-to-haves and a budget range, in your own words.

  2. Get a short checklist

    10 to 20 features written as questions a vendor can't dodge. Delete, add, reorder.

  3. Send it, or fill it in

    Copy each vendor a private link from your own email. If they won't answer, record what you hear on the call.

  4. Compare side by side

    A fit score weighted by your priorities, and the gaps in your must-haves called out.

  5. Book the right demos

    See which vendor to demo first and what to check while they're showing you.

Four answers. No room for a pitch.

Each vendor answers every item with one of four marks and a note of up to 180 characters. That's enough for "Partial: only through an add-on". It isn't enough for a brochure.

A costs extra box on every item catches the features that are only in the expensive plan.

    What vendors see, and what they don't

    Each vendor sees

    • The checklist questions
    • Their own answers

    No vendor sees

    • Which items are your must-haves
    • Your budget
    • Other vendors' answers, or who else you're talking to

    No account and no password: saving gives you a private link to your evaluation, and an email is optional. Please don't enter other people's personal data, such as customer or staff details. Nothing a vendor pays can change a score or the order you see.

    Before your next sales call

    It takes about five minutes to build a checklist.

    Build a checklist