Editorial standards
How we test and score
AcademyGems only works if you trust the list. So here is exactly how a gem earns its place, what our labels mean, and how we keep the money out of the rankings.
The scorecard
Every fully tested review is scored on the same four axes, each from 0 to 5. The same rubric applies to a free community and a paid course, so scores are comparable across the site.
Teaching quality
Is the material clear, structured, and genuinely useful, or padding around a sales pitch?
How current
AI moves fast. We weigh how recently the material was updated and whether it reflects current tools.
Support & activity
For communities, how alive is it. For courses, does the instructor answer questions.
Price for value
Is the price fair for what you actually get, including any ongoing tool costs and upsells.
First look vs tested
We are honest about how well we know a product, because pretending to have used everything would be the opposite of trustworthy.
- First look: researched from named, cited sources but not yet used hands-on. We show the facts we can verify (price, real third-party ratings, member or student counts) and label the entry clearly. No scorecard is shown, because we have not assessed it ourselves.
- Tested: we have signed up and worked through it. The full scorecard appears, and the verdict reflects real experience.
How we verify facts
Before we publish a claim, we read the actual source, not a search snippet. If a page cannot be reached, we say so and use a second independent source. We attribute income and revenue claims to whoever made them rather than restating them as fact, and we cross-check load-bearing numbers like prices and member counts. Every review lists its sources and the month it was last verified.
Ratings we show
We only display a star rating when a real third-party score exists, and we say where it comes from (for example a Udemy rating). Platforms without public ratings, like Skool communities, show factual figures such as member counts instead. We never invent a score.
How we make money
Some links on AcademyGems are affiliate links. If you buy through them we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. It never changes our rankings; we only recommend gems we'd send a friend to.
Here is the line we never cross: a company cannot pay to rank higher, to soften a verdict, or to bury a downside. Affiliate commissions keep the lights on, but the ranking is decided before we ever add a link, and plenty of our picks pay us nothing at all. We will also tell you to wait for a sale, take a cheaper route, or use a free alternative, even when that costs us the commission.
Corrections
The field moves fast and we are human. If a price changed, a course went stale, a community went quiet, or we simply got something wrong, email hello@academygems.com and we will re-check it and fix it. We update the verified date when we do.