How We Vet
Every recommendation on Manna has a name behind it.
This page exists because we think you deserve to know exactly how tools end up on this site, who decides, and how we make money. We are publishing this publicly and permanently because the publications that don't are the ones you should worry about.
Our promise to readers.
Manna exists for one reason: to save you from picking the wrong software. Every recommendation we publish has been used in a real institution by someone who knows the sector. We do not take affiliate revenue. We do not let vendors pay for placement. We do not write top-ten lists ghostwritten by vendor PR. When we say a tool is good, we mean it. When we say a tool is not right for you, we mean that too.
How tools end up on Manna.
Tools come to us two ways. We seek them out — most tools on Manna got here because we kept hearing about them from operators we trust, or because we ran into a workflow gap and went looking for what fills it. And vendors submit — any vendor can email submit@manna.tools. Submission is free. Submission does not influence the outcome.
We do not publish a tool until at least one of these is true: someone on the Manna team has used it inside a real institution, or we have spoken with at least three current users of the tool in the relevant sector who are not employees or contractors of the vendor. In most cases, both are true.
How we evaluate.
For every tool we look at sector fit, pricing transparency, onboarding reality, support quality, data portability, and long-term viability. We do not score tools on a five-star or ten-point scale — reductive scores obscure more than they reveal. Every tool entry tells you what it is good at, what it is not, who it is for, and who it is not. What to watch out for. Roughly what it costs. If we would not recommend it to a colleague running an institution like yours, it does not go on the list.
How we make money.
Five ways. None of them affect what gets recommended.
Newsletter sponsorships — clearly labeled, sold separately from editorial decisions.
Manna Pro — a paid subscription for toolkit access and peer community.
The Manna Implementation Network — a vetted network of offshore implementers; we earn a margin on every engagement and we disclose this plainly.
Licensed editions for federations, foundations, and networks.
Commissioned research under editorially independent terms.
We do not make money from affiliate fees on tool signups, pay-for-placement on rankings, or selling reader data.
How tools come off Manna.
Tools can be removed at any time. When a vendor changes pricing or product in a way that no longer makes them a good fit. When the vendor is acquired or shut down. When current users repeatedly tell us the tool has gotten worse. When we learn something we cannot recommend in good conscience.
When a tool comes off, we say why. The removal note stays at the tool's previous URL with a date, a reason, and a name attached.