Affiliate disclosure

Why does RuntimeWise use affiliate links?

Affiliate commissions are how the site pays for itself without subscriptions, paid placements or advertising trackers. Keeping 56 model pages, 26 appliance pages and 12 use-case lists accurate takes ongoing work, and commissions fund it.

We chose this model because it doesn't put anything between you and the answer. You don't pay to read a page, you don't sign up, and the site doesn't track you to show ads. The trade-off is that we earn when you buy through some links, so this page explains exactly where that happens and what it can't change.

Who pays the commission, and how much is it?

The retailer pays the commission, not you. When a purchase qualifies, the brand's program or Amazon pays us a share under its own terms.

• Brand programs. Each power station brand that runs an affiliate program sets its own commission and its own rules for what qualifies. Rates differ between programs and can change, so we don't publish them.
• Amazon. Amazon's Associates program sets its own rates and its own rules for qualifying purchases.
• Your price. The price you pay is the retailer's price. Using our link doesn't add a fee, and skipping it doesn't get you a discount.

A link only earns when a program has approved us and the link carries our tracking code. Where no program applies, the button still goes to the retailer, carries no tracking code and earns nothing. It appears the same way, because the button is there to help you check the price, whoever pays for it.

How do the Amazon links work?

For models we can match exactly on Amazon, the button opens that model's own Amazon product page. We find the listing through Amazon's official Creators API and accept it only when the title names the same model and capacity, with no bundle, kit or renewed listing. For the rest, the button opens an Amazon search for the model's name, and that results page may show other sellers, older versions or similar products, so check the exact model and capacity before you buy.

Where we show an Amazon price, it comes from the same API and carries the date and time we fetched it. Prices and availability change, and the price on Amazon at the time of purchase is the one that applies. If our Amazon data is more than 24 hours old, we don't show the price at all. Product images marked "Image: Amazon" are served from Amazon through the same API. The list price on a model page is separate: it is the manufacturer's price on its own store, with the date we saw it.

The statement Amazon requires is in the section above, and it applies to every Amazon link on the site.

How are affiliate links marked?

Every brand store and Amazon button is marked rel="sponsored nofollow" in the page code. That label tells search engines the link is commercial and shouldn't pass ranking credit.

• Buttons. The "Check price on Amazon" buttons and the "On Amazon" buttons in tables are marked sponsored. Brand-store buttons are shown only for brands whose own affiliate program has approved us, and are marked sponsored too.
• Source links. Links to government or lab documents are citations: they carry no tracking code and are marked nofollow. Links to a manufacturer's own website carry that brand's tracking code once its program approves us (Jackery today), so they are marked sponsored.
• Internal links. Links between our own pages, such as from a "can it run" page to a model page, are never paid links.

Every page ends with a short "How this page was made" note that links back here, so the disclosure is one click away wherever you land.

How are rankings kept independent of commissions?

Rankings come from published specs and the requirement stated on each page, and the code that sorts them reads spec metrics only. No brand pays for placement, and commissions don't change an order.

Here's how a "best for" list is built. The page states a requirement, for example enough continuous output and surge to start a given appliance. Every model is checked against it. Models that pass are sorted by a spec measure, and models that fail drop out. Commission isn't an input at any step. If a brand joined or left an affiliate program tomorrow, every list would come out the same.

The same holds for comparisons and the runtime calculator. Both work from the same spec database, and neither knows which links earn.

Do affiliate programs affect which models the site covers?

No. The site covers every current model it tracks from each of its 6 brands, whether or not that brand runs an affiliate program or has approved us.

Coverage decisions are made at the brand level: once a brand is in the database, its current US lineup goes in, from its smallest to its largest model. We don't drop a model because it earns less, and we don't add a model because it earns more. Today the database holds 56 models, spread across these capacity bands: Under 500 Wh (9), 500–999 Wh (6), 1,000–1,999 Wh (17), 2,000–2,999 Wh (10) and 3,000 Wh and up (14). Commission terms are not a reason to add a brand or leave one out.

Do brands pay for coverage or send free products?

No brand pays for coverage, and we don't accept payment for placement. Because we don't test units, a free sample would have no place in our method.

We cover the current models of the 6 brands we track: Anker SOLIX (9), BLUETTI (9), DJI Power (4), EcoFlow (14), Goal Zero (6) and Jackery (14). A brand being on that list doesn't mean it pays us, and a brand missing from it hasn't been left out for refusing to. If a brand asks about a partnership, the answer is the same: we can join an affiliate program, but nothing about the data, filters or order changes. The research method is the same for every brand.

Can you buy without using an affiliate link?

Yes. Type the brand's store address into your browser, or search for the model name on Amazon yourself, and no commission is recorded for us.

You'll pay the same price either way, since our links don't add a fee and don't unlock a discount. Some readers prefer to go direct, and that's fine. Everything on the site, from the model directory to the appliance pages, works the same whether or not you ever click a store button. If the site helped you decide and you'd like to support it, buying through one of its links is how to do that.

What should you do if a link or price looks wrong?

Tell us through the contact page, with the model and the link that looked wrong. Store URLs change when brands redesign their sites, and a button can end up on a missing page or the wrong model.

For prices, remember that the figure on our model page is the manufacturer's list price on the date shown. A sale or a price change since then isn't an error on our side, but a list price that was never on the official store would be, and we'll re-check it.