Editorial responsibility
Code or Buy is operated and published by Norbin AS. Material carrying the byline “Code or Buy Editorial” is researched, reviewed, and approved under the publisher's responsibility. Named contributors are identified when their reporting or first-person experience materially shapes an article.
A verdict is an editorial conclusion, not a guarantee that the same choice is right for every team. Each analysis must state its audience, assumptions, evidence level, and important unknowns.
Report types and evidence labels
We accessed and used the named product. The article states the plan, date, tested workflows, and important limits.
Analysis of an attributable public account. We link the primary source and separate documented facts from our interpretation.
A reader's experience, checked against supporting material where possible and published only with consent.
An illustrative decision model built from explicit assumptions. It is not presented as a product test or indexed as a finished review.
Evidence labels progress from Source checked, to Interviewed, Evidence checked, and Independently reproduced. We use only the highest level the work actually supports.
What “tested” must mean
We do not use “hands-on tested” merely because we read a landing page or generated a summary. A hands-on review records the product, plan, test date, account context, workflows attempted, important integrations, and observed limitations. Screenshots, exports, timings, or other evidence are retained when appropriate and lawful.
Vendor documentation can establish published features and prices, but not that a workflow performed well in practice. Vendor claims are attributed. Prices include a checked date, currency, billing period, and relevant plan constraints.
The build side receives the same scrutiny: scope, stack, implementation estimate, maintenance assumption, infrastructure, security obligations, and skills required must be visible. A prototype and a production-ready system are not treated as equivalent.
Estimates and cost models
Modeled numbers are labeled as estimates, never observations. We publish formulas and editable inputs, use ranges when uncertainty is material, and identify costs excluded from the calculation. Opportunity cost, migration, compliance, support, failure recovery, and switching risk are discussed even when they cannot be reduced to one credible number.
See the decision framework and cost calculator for the current method.
How we use AI
AI may assist with research organization, source discovery, transcription review, model scenarios, editing, and draft structure. It may not invent testing, interviews, prices, quotations, sources, or personal experience. Source claims are checked against the cited material, and an editor remains responsible for what is published.
AI-generated volume is not an editorial goal. We publish when a page adds a useful comparison, documented case, reproducible method, or original analysis. No article or reader submission is published automatically.
Reader submissions and moderation
Submissions enter a private review queue. We may request invoices, screenshots, repositories, timelines, or interviews, but submitters should remove secrets and personal data first. We verify identity privately when needed, agree attribution before publication, and may decline material that cannot be supported.
Marketing copy, undisclosed vendor placement, copied content, fabricated stories, and submissions intended mainly to create a backlink are rejected. Publication is never automatic and a submission does not create a right to publication.
Updates and corrections
Material changes receive an updated date and an explanatory note in the article. Small spelling or formatting corrections may be made silently. If a factual error changes the analysis, we correct the claim, explain what changed, and reassess the verdict.
Correction requests can be sent by post to Norbin AS, Hjalmar Wesselsvei 10, 1721 Sarpsborg, Norway. Please identify the URL, disputed claim, and supporting source. A dedicated digital contact channel will be published before public submissions open.