How We Make Money

We always put users first. Here is how the money works.

Comparing products on Firstcard is free. You don't pay us to browse the marketplace, compare products, see your matches, or read our guides. So it's fair to ask: how do we make money?

The short answer

Two ways. First, some companies on Firstcard pay us a fee when you get their product through our links. Second, we may offer optional paid tools of our own. Paid tools are always optional and clearly labeled, and they follow the same rule as everything else here: we tell you what they cost upfront. We never sell your data, and no one can buy a better rating.

What that money can affect

• Which products we feature, and where they appear on a page. Partner compensation is one of the factors in placement, along with how often members click and choose a product.
• Whether we have an "Apply" or "Get started" button for a product.

What that money can never affect

• Star ratings and reviews. Ratings are set by our editorial team using the rules in How We Rate Financial Products. Partners see them when you do.
• The true-cost math. The real cost of every product is calculated the same way for everyone and shown next to the product, no matter where it sits on the page.
• What our writers say. Nobody at Firstcard is paid based on how nicely they write about a partner.

Why we work this way

Our mission is to make finance simple, accessible, and transparent, so everyone can choose the right financial products with confidence. That only works if you can trust the numbers. The moment money changed our math (the ratings, the reviews, the true costs), this whole site would be worthless to you. We're not willing to trade that.

See the full list of our partners · Read How We Rate Financial Products · Read our Editorial Guidelines