Frequently Asked Questions

Every review starts with a real purchase using our own money. We place orders as regular customers, without identifying ourselves as reviewers. We then track six measurable criteria: delivery speed and accuracy, follower or engagement quality, 30-day retention rates, customer support responsiveness, refund and guarantee policies, and overall value for money. Each criterion is scored individually, weighted according to our methodology, and combined into a final BestSitesToBuy Score out of 10.0. You can read the full process on our methodology page.

After a provider delivers followers or engagement, we track the count at day 1, 7, 14, and 30. Retention rate measures what percentage remains after 30 days. A provider with 90% retention means 900 of 1,000 delivered followers are still on the account after a month. This metric is weighted at 25% of the total score because it reveals actual quality — low-quality bot accounts get purged quickly, while genuine accounts persist.

We re-test our top-ranked providers every month and update their scores based on current performance. Full reviews are refreshed quarterly or sooner if we detect significant changes in service quality, delivery methods, or customer feedback. New providers are added to our testing pipeline continuously, and our leaderboard rankings are recalculated monthly to reflect the latest data.

Never. We purchase every service using our own editorial budget. We do not accept free trials, complimentary packages, sponsored test accounts, or any form of preferential treatment. This policy ensures our testing mirrors exactly what a regular paying customer receives. Any provider offering free access is politely declined, and the offer has no bearing on how we review their service.

The BestSitesToBuy Score is our proprietary rating out of 10.0 assigned to every provider we review. It is calculated using a weighted formula: Quality (25%), 30-Day Retention (25%), Delivery Speed and Accuracy (15%), Customer Support (15%), Guarantees and Refund Policies (10%), and Value for Money (10%). The weighting emphasizes quality and retention because those are the two factors that matter most to buyers long-term.

Platform-specific rankings are based on testing results for that specific service. A provider's Instagram score may differ from their YouTube score because we test each independently. The top-rated provider for each platform has the highest BestSitesToBuy Score for that platform's primary service — so a provider ranked first for Instagram may rank third for YouTube if their YouTube service performs differently in testing.

Providers scoring below 6.0 receive a caution flag visible on their review page. Providers scoring below 5.0 are excluded from our recommended lists entirely, though their reviews stay published for transparency. Immediate exclusion triggers include requesting user passwords during checkout, evidence of fraudulent practices, confirmed delivery of exclusively bot-generated accounts, and failure to honor stated refund or refill guarantees.

Focus on three things: the 30-day retention rate (the single most important quality indicator), the individual criterion scores rather than just the overall number (a provider may excel at delivery but underperform on support), and the date of the last update to ensure you're reading current data. Each review also includes a testing timeline, screenshot documentation, and a clear recommendation tier explaining which type of buyer the provider suits best.

No. Our editorial rankings and BestSitesToBuy Scores are never influenced by advertising, affiliate commissions, or sponsorships. Providers can purchase clearly labeled sponsored placements, but these are always visually separated from editorial content and have no impact on scores or ranking positions. A provider paying for advertising receives the exact same testing and scoring process as any other service.

Most review sites in the social media growth space are operated by the providers themselves under anonymous brands, or they accept flat fees to rank specific services at the top regardless of quality. BestSitesToBuy is different: every review is based on a verifiable real purchase, scores are calculated from measurable data rather than opinion, we publish our methodology transparently, and we maintain a strict no-pay-to-rank policy. We also re-test monthly rather than publishing static reviews that become outdated. Learn more about who we are.

We generate revenue through three channels: affiliate commissions earned when readers click through and purchase from reviewed providers, clearly labeled sponsored content placements that are visually separated from editorial rankings, and premium comparison tools. Editorial rankings and scores are never influenced by commission rates or advertising relationships — a provider paying higher commissions does not receive a higher score.

Yes. We accept review requests from both users and providers through our contact page. User-requested reviews are prioritized in our testing pipeline since they indicate genuine market demand. Provider-requested reviews go through the same independent testing process as any other service. Requesting a review does not guarantee a positive score, and providers cannot preview, edit, or influence the final published content in any way.

We currently review social media growth services across 12 major platforms: Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Google Business (Google Reviews), Trustpilot, Twitter/X, Spotify, Facebook, LinkedIn, Telegram, Discord, and Twitch. Within each platform, we test multiple service types including followers, likes, views, comments, subscribers, watch hours, plays, monthly listeners, and members. Each platform and service type has its own dedicated review guide with platform-specific testing criteria.

We have tested and reviewed over 74 individual social media growth providers to date across 12 major platforms. This number grows every month as we add new services to our testing pipeline. Our database covers everything from large multi-platform services to niche specialists focused on a single platform or engagement type, and every provider has been through our complete 6-step testing methodology with documented results.

Many "best sites to buy followers" articles on news and university media sites are paid sponsored content where providers pay for inclusion and ranking. BestSitesToBuy is a dedicated review platform where testing is our core business, not a side revenue stream. We maintain an ongoing relationship with each provider through monthly re-testing, track performance longitudinally rather than in a single snapshot, and publish granular scoring data rather than generic descriptions.

Safety depends heavily on the provider and the delivery method. Reputable providers we recommend never ask for your password, deliver gradually to mimic natural growth, and use higher-quality accounts that reduce the risk of platform detection. Low-quality bot services carry far higher risk. We document detection risk and password practices in every review, and our buyer's safety guide covers platform policies in detail.

A legitimate provider should never ask for your account password. For most services, only your public profile URL or username is required. Any provider requesting your password during checkout is an immediate exclusion trigger in our methodology, and we flag it prominently in the review so you can avoid it.

Common red flags include prices that are dramatically lower than the market, instant delivery of huge quantities all at once, requests for your password, no refill or refund guarantee, and accounts with no profile pictures or posting history. Our reviews inspect a random sample of delivered accounts and report the share that appear to be bots, so you can see the quality data before committing.