Scoring methodology

How we score

Five criteria. No guesswork. Every score links to a source.

70 Tools scored
5 Criteria
0–100 Score range
V1 Current version

The five criteria

Market Traction

30%
0–20 points

Measures how widely a tool is used. We look at G2 review count relative to the category leader. A tool with 1,000 reviews in a category where the leader has 55,000 scores differently than one with the same count where the leader has 2,000.

Review share vs leader Score
≥ 50%9–10
25–49%7–8
10–24%5–6
2–9%3–4
< 2% or not on G20–2

Example: Plausible scores 3.2/10 on Traction. It has 847 reviews vs Zoom's 55,852 in the Video category — a 1.5% share.

Price Value

25%
0–20 points

Compares EU tool pricing against the US category median from G2 data. Tools priced below the median score higher. Free and open-source tools score 9/10.

EU price vs US median Score
Free / open source9
≤ 25% of median8–10
26–50% of median7–8
51–100% of median5–6
101–150% of median3–4
> 150% of median0–2
Tools without public pricing skip this dimension. Their weights redistribute proportionally across the other four criteria. These tools are capped at Emerging tier regardless of partial score.

OSS Trust

20%
0–20 points

Open source means anyone can inspect the code. We check the GitHub repository for a valid license, active maintenance, and community size measured by stars.

Signal Points
OSI-approved license (AGPL, MIT, GPL)+4
Active maintenance (commit within 6 months)+3
1,000+ GitHub stars+2
100–999 GitHub stars+1
Proprietary but audited+2
Not open source0

Data Sovereignty

15%
0–20 points

V1 confirms EU origin via the European Alternatives catalogue. All 70 tools are verified European. V2 will score infrastructure location and sub-processor exposure separately.

Known limitation: all 70 tools score 20/20 on this dimension in V1. The flat score reflects catalogue-confirmed EU origin only — not where data is physically hosted. V2 addresses this.

Maturity Signal

10%
0–20 points

A tool with a public pricing page, clear documentation, and a G2 listing operates as a serious business. Tools missing these signals score lower.

Signal Points
Public pricing page exists+4
Listed on G2+3
Description available+2
Website active+1

Score bands

80–100 Sovereign Strong EU tool with broad adoption, competitive pricing, and active maintenance.
60–79 Acceptable Solid option with minor gaps. Suitable for most teams.
40–59 Caution Usable but limited traction or partial data. Verify before adopting.
0–39 At risk Significant gaps in scoring data, traction, or pricing clarity.

Exceptions and edge cases

  • Tools without public pricing skip the Price Value dimension. Weights redistribute proportionally.
  • Tools with missing pricing are capped at Emerging tier, regardless of partial score.
  • All Sovereignty scores are 20/20 in V1 — flat score for confirmed EU origin.
  • Tools not listed on G2 score 0 on Traction and receive a Maturity deduction.
  • GitHub data reflects the state at time of last verification, not real-time.
  • Prices are in EUR where available. CHF and USD prices convert at approximate rates.
  • Free and open-source tools with no commercial offering score 9/10 on Price Value.

Update schedule

We review scores when vendors announce pricing changes, release major versions, or when community reports flag outdated data. The Verified_Date field on each tool shows the last manual check.

Ticker items update weekly. Airtable scores update at the next site deploy.

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