How FEWL evaluates tools (HQ, parent company, badges)
Transparency about our evaluation methodology. Here's exactly how we assess and badge each tool in our directory.
TL;DR
We evaluate tools across three dimensions: geography (HQ location, parent company), data practices (hosting, residency, compliance), and product quality (features, pricing, integrations). Every badge has specific criteria.
Key Takeaways
- We check the parent company jurisdiction, not just the brand's marketing address.
- EU HQ badge requires incorporation in an EU/EEA country at the parent level.
- EU Data Residency badge requires primary storage and backups within the EU.
- Majority EU-owned means more than 50% of voting shares held by EU-based entities.
- We re-evaluate tools annually and update badges when ownership or practices change.
- Our evaluation is editorial, not paid — sponsored tools are clearly labeled.
Why transparency matters
When you use a directory to make software decisions, you need to trust the methodology. Here's exactly how we evaluate and badge each tool.
Geography checks
HQ Country
We verify the country where the parent company (not a subsidiary) is legally incorporated. This determines the primary legal jurisdiction.How we check: Company registry filings, corporate structure disclosures, and LinkedIn company pages. We cross-reference at least two sources.
Majority EU-owned
This badge means more than 50% of voting shares are held by entities incorporated in EU/EEA countries. This matters because it determines who ultimately controls the company's decisions.How we check: Shareholder disclosures, funding round announcements, and company registry filings. For publicly traded companies, we check major shareholder lists.
Data practice checks
EU Data Residency
This means the tool stores primary customer data and backups within EU/EEA data centers.How we check: Data Processing Agreements, trust pages, and direct vendor confirmation. We look for specific mentions of data center locations, not vague "we support EU hosting" claims.
EU Hosted
This means the primary infrastructure is operated by EU-based providers (OVHcloud, Scaleway, Hetzner, etc.) rather than hyperscalers.How we check: Trust pages, technical documentation, and vendor statements about infrastructure providers.
Product assessment
We don't try to be a review site. Our product assessment focuses on:
- Feature completeness for the stated category
- Pricing transparency (is pricing publicly available?)
- Integration ecosystem (API availability, key integrations)
- Free trial availability
What we don't do
- We don't accept payment for badges or favorable positioning (sponsored placements are clearly labeled)
- We don't penalize tools for being US-based — we present the facts
- We don't claim our assessment is perfect — we update when we learn new information
- We don't evaluate security practices in depth (that requires audits we can't perform)
Re-evaluation cycle
We re-evaluate each tool at least annually, or sooner when we learn about ownership changes, data practice updates, or significant product changes. If a tool's ownership changes (e.g., acquired by a non-EU company), we update badges accordingly.
Our goal is to be the most transparent and reliable source for European tool evaluation. If you spot an error, let us know.